Season Preview


     This could have been the last basketball related image in our minds if the lockout stuck any longer. But I doubt it’s an image we will see again. Not only will the Mavs not be favorites to repeat, I doubt they will even make the conference finals this year. They got rid of their defensive stopper in Tyson Chandler, lost Barea to a large contract in Minnesota, DeShaun Stevenson to the soon to be Brooklyn Nets and Caron Butler to the suddenly stacked Clippers. In return they got Vince Carter, Lamar Odom and another year tacked onto Dirk and Jason Kidd. To say the least, the odds are stacked against them. But they will still make the playoffs.
            Somehow, despite the popular opinion that the new CBA has done little to change the top-heaviness of the league, the shot to win the title this year is relatively wide open. There are obvious favorites such as the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, L.A. Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder and of course the champion Dallas Mavericks. But also a few surprise teams that have a shot to make a splash as well. The list includes the revamped L.A. Clippers, the fast paced New York Knicks, the up and coming Indiana Pacers, the injury-defiant Portland Trailblazers, the almost instantly rebuilt Denver Nuggets, the always in-limbo Philadelphia 76ers, the defensive-only minded Milwaukee Bucks, and the continually too old to compete Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs. But the bottom of the barrel doesn’t look bad either.
            I expect several lottery teams to at least show an added competitive edge this year. The Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz, Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings all seem to be aimed in the right direction. And not surprisingly, all of them have rebuilt through the draft. This leaves me at a loss for what small-market owners were really complaining about. I get that they weren’t making money and the basketball related income (BRI) needed to shift slightly in their favor. But this nonsense about player movement affecting their ability to put together a competitive team is just that, nonsense. If you stick to the draft and invest in your young talent like the Thunder, you can give yourself a window to win a title. Sure free agent superstars will leave now and then, but that has been going on since the beginning of the league and I don’t expect it to stop any time soon.
            What will stand out this season is not the top or bottom heaviness of the leagues best and worst teams, but rather the disappointments that will fall to the middle of the pack or perhaps, even lower than that. The Atlanta Hawks finally showed a bit of forward progress with their young core last season, but lost their 6th man Jamal Crawford to the Blazers. The Orlando Magic are now on edge and seemingly out of sync due to the continual Dwight Howard trade talk. The Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs could finally fall victim to father time. And last, the Lakers, who basically gave Lamar Odom to the Mavs, could potentially collapse if even one of their core players goes down with an injury.
            As for the teams who will stick to the bottom the whole season, they too at least have players to get excited about. The Nets have Deron Williams, the Toronto Raptors have a young star in DeMar DeRozen, the Cavs have the first overall pick Kyrie Irving, the Bobcats have Kemba Walker, the Hornets have a young star in Eric Gordon, the Warriors have Stephen Curry and the Suns still have a functional Steve Nash. In fact they only team without anyone worth watching is the Houston Rockets and they at least have a team full of trade assets and could easily wind up making a big move mid-season.
            Enough with the worry that the NBA lost momentum after having one of it’s most compelling seasons since the Jordan era. Not only has the NBA not lost momentum; I think this season will be even better than the last. This will be a test of will power and endurance. A gauntlet for all those included, viewers and players alike. So without further ado, I present to you my 2011-12 NBA regular season predictions:

Eastern Conference:

Atlantic Division:
1. New York Knicks- 42-24
2. Boston Celtics- 38-28
3. Philadelphia 76ers- 33-33
4. New Jersey Nets- 20-46
5. Toronto Raptors- 18-48
Central Division:
1. Chicago Bulls- 46-20
2. Indiana Pacers- 39-27
3. Milwaukee Bucks- 35-31
4. Detroit Pistons- 33-33
5. Cleveland Cavaliers- 16-50
Southeast Division:
1. Miami Heat- 52-14
2. Atlanta Hawks- 37-29
3. Orlando Magic- 36-30
4. Washington Wizards- 26-40
5. Charlotte Bobcats- 13-53

Western Conference:

Northwest Division:
1. Oklahoma City Thunder- 50-16
2. Denver Nuggets- 45-21
3. Portland Trailblazers- 42-24
4. Minnesota Timberwolves- 33-33
5. Utah Jazz- 21- 45
Pacific Division:
1. L.A. Clippers- 44-22
2. L.A. Lakers- 39-27
3. Golden State Warriors- 31-35
4. Sacramento Kings- 29-37
5. Phoenix Suns- 26-40
Southwest Division:
1. Dallas Mavericks- 45-21
2. Memphis Grizzlies- 43- 23
3. San Antonio Spurs- 40-26
4. New Orleans Hornets- 27-39
5. Houston Rockets- 25-41