Western Conference

Pacific Division

Phoenix Suns: The Amare Stoudemire health watch has dominated the headlines out of Phoenix this October, but making sure Steve Nash can pace himself for the playoffs will be significantly more important.  Mike D?Antoni should be able to keep his minutes in the low 30?s with the addition of Marcus Banks and the continual emergence of Leandro Barbosa.

Los Angeles Clippers: You know there is a new order of thinking for the Staples Center JV team when Donald Sterling approves the signing of the overvalued Tim Thomas.  A very good team will be even better with the confidence their playoff run gave them and the development of Shaun Livingston and Chris Kaman.

Los Angeles Lakers: They are now in the 24 era, yet still are not ready to truly contend for a title, but if Andrew Bynum could make legitimate strides and Kwame Brown continues his effective play in gold and purple, they should squeeze into the playoffs again.

Sacramento Kings: The Kings were very good in the second half last season after acquiring Ron Artest, but the loss of Bonzi Wells and a lack of depth will keep them on the outside looking in come the middle of April.

Golden State Warriors: Take a look at how things are going for Art Shell and the Raiders to anticipate how the Don Nelson re-hire will pan out for the Warriors.  Truth is, the Warriors will be better under Nellie than they ever were under Montgomery, but the talent that Chris Mullin has assembled is just average and in the Western Conference, you need to be better than average.


Northwest Division

Minnesota Timberwolves: For Kevin Garnett?s potential last run in Minnesota, Randy Foye and Mike James come on board to get the club back to the playoffs and they will.  The Wolves have plenty of perimeter talent, so the contributions of Mark Blount and Eddie Griffin will be necessary for them to win a flawed division.

Denver Nuggets: How many power forwards do the Nuggets have on their roster?  They are definitely one of the early candidates to have a major in-season shakeup, but the acquisition of J.R. Smith gives them an element they didn?t have last season and Carmelo Anthony had a great summer.

Utah Jazz: Will this finally be the season Andrei Kirilenko and Carlos Boozer remain healthy for the entire season?  If it is, they will compete for top billing in the Northwest Division.  Also, the development of Deron Williams will be fascinating to watch, as he was stellar in the second half last season.

Portland Trailblazers: The Blazers will be very young, but they hope veteran pieces like Jamaal Magloire can steady out Zach Randolph.  Brandon Roy is an early ROY favorite, as a senior out of Washington.

Seattle Supersonics: The season-ending injury to Robert Swift thins out an already meek frontline beneath the Space Needle.  There is a lot of pressure on Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis to carry them over even just 30 wins this season.  

Southwest Division

Houston Rockets: The Shane Battier trade, coupled with the Bonzi Wells steal, gives the Rockets all of the tools they need to take the Southwest Division.  Their record will only be as good as the amount of time Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady stay on the floor.  This team looks like the Lakers, circa 1999-2000.

Dallas Mavericks: The Mavericks bring back pretty much the same team as last year, but there is bound to be a little let down in the regular season.  Avery Johnson will do all he can to avoid a blas? attitude, but the Mavericks are comfortably an elite team and will have to pace themselves for the grind of an extended season.

San Antonio Spurs: Could you imagine any Tim Duncan led team not making the playoffs?  Would Duncan have missed the playoffs the last two season had he and Garnett swapped places?  Surely, Garnett is playing in May with Parker and Manu, but so is Duncan with Jaric and Hassell.

New Orleans Hornets: They can easily win 50 games, but the loss of Speedy Claxton may not only single-handedly keep them from that plateau, but the playoffs as well.  Claxton was brilliant in his role as second fiddle to Chris Paul and now the injury-plagued Bobby Jackson will try to pick up that role.  Paul was able to fight through injury after injury last season, but his body is not built to play 82 games and the lack of reliable depth at point guard will offset the nice moves Jeff Bower made over the summer to balance the club.

Memphis Grizzlies: The injury to Pau Gasol will put the Grizzlies in a hole that will be impossible to dig out of in the best division in the NBA.


In The Playoffs..
1. Phoenix Suns
2. Houston Rockets
3. Minnesota Timberwolves
4. Dallas Mavericks
5. San Antonio Spurs
6. Los Angeles Clippers
7. Denver Nuggets
8. Los Angeles Lakers

Eastern Conference

Central Division

Detroit Pistons: The Pistons were a dominant team during the regular season and the loss of Ben Wallace will not aversely affect their ability to win those January games.  The Cavaliers, Bulls, Pacers and Bucks will need a few months to tinker with their new acquisitions, while Nazr will settle in very quickly and nicely in an offense that will be able to flourish unimpeded.  

Chicago Bulls: The Bulls are the deepest team in the NBA, so the question here is whether or not John Paxson will look to consolidate some of the pieces on the roster in order to create an outstanding 8-man rotation, instead of a very good 11-man one.  

Cleveland Cavaliers: The 2005 signing of Larry Hughes will look awful if he can?t contribute beside LeBron James in the same ways he did in Washington with Gilbert Arenas.  These pieces that surround James are clearly not as good as Dwyane Wade?s in Miami and probably not even as good as Carmelo?s in Denver.  He will carry a heavy load and seems willing and eager to do so, but if they can?t get homecourt advantage in the first round again, their playoff run will be shorter this season than it was last year.

Indiana Pacers: Jermaine O?Neal remains one of the best frontcourt scorers in the league, but this team is not nearly as talented as they were this time last year.  We thought there would be less distractions without Ron Artest around, but then the strip club incident occurred.  They were able to salvage the Artest-for-Peja deal with a shrewd trade exception that became Al Harrington, but the class of the Central will not be in Indianapolis this season.

Milwaukee Bucks: Acquiring Charlie Villanueva for T.J. Ford was a great trade, but just how he?ll play in Milwaukee is a huge question.  He is a unique talent and fits certain systems better than others.  Between Michael Redd, Bobby Simmons and Villanueva, they should score plenty of points, but their lack of depth will be a problem, though the point guard position is one spot depth is not a problem at.

Southeast Division

Miami Heat: No division winner is as certain as the Heat.  Even with the way they will pace Shaquille O?Neal, Miami is a virtual lock to win the division and have homecourt advantage in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.  Being spotted their annual allotment of games against the Hawks and Bobcats gives them a nice headstart that the Pistons just can?t match in the Central.

Orlando Magic: The Magic were terrific following the Steve Francis deal and while there are many uncertainties, most notably Grant Hill and whether or not the promising glimpses of Darko Milicic were a mirage, this club seems destined to reach the postseason.

Washington Wizards: This will finally be the season Gilbert Arenas receives the full credit he deserves.  Picking up DeShawn Stevenson will help take the pressure off Antonio Daniels, who struggled in his first season in Washington.  Look for a breakout season from Caron Butler.

Atlanta Hawks: It is impossible not to wish good things on this Hawks team, but their frontcourt will keep them from winning the close games that Joe Johnson and Josh Smith keep them in.  Drafting Shelden Williams won?t get them in the postseason this season and his ceiling is as high as a trash can.

Charlotte Bobcats: Being paired with Gerald Wallace is the best thing that could have happened to Adam Morrison.  Raymond Felton is legit, but Emeka Okafor and Sean May have been injury-plagued and uninspiring.  Fortunately, there will be great frontcourt players to pick from this next June.

Atlantic Division

New Jersey Nets: Their roster is exciting and the addition of Marcus Williams allows Lawrence Frank to keep Jason Kidd?s mileage down, but they are not built to move beyond the second round of the playoffs, regardless of who they play.

New York Knicks: No NBA franchise has been examined with as much scrutiny as the Isiah Thomas-era Knicks.  Much of it has been well-deserved, but a lot of it has been short-sighted and hasn?t accurately taken into account the irrelevance of the salary cap for CableVision?s pockets.  Most people acknowledge that there is heaps of talent there and with Thomas down on the bench, they will do anything and everything to make it work.  They will play exciting and spirited basketball and just barely squeak into the postseason in the eighth seed.

Boston Celtics: Let?s not forget that the Celtics have the best player in the Atlantic Division on their roster.  With Telfair and Rondo, West and Wally, they have four very good backcourt players to surround him, but they are very lean in the frontcourt, which was the staple of those legendary Boston clubs.  Al Jefferson should bounce back from last season, but there is little else there.  Danny Ainge will have to acquire an athletic four or five in order for the Celtics to have a shot at the postseason.

Toronto Raptors: It was mildly surprising to see Bryan Colangelo retain Sam Mitchell.  He is the likeliest candidate to be relieved of his duties midseason if the Raptors are unable to get off to a start that finds them at least .500.  Expectations are unfairly a little too high and the importance of the losses of Mike James and Charlie Villanueva are being overlooked.  They are undoubtedly heading in the right direction faster than any other team in the Atlantic, but one more year of growing pains is likely unless the Knicks and Celtics collapse much like they did last season.

Philadelphia 76ers: Might Allen Iverson still be the best player in the Atlantic?  He is, but given the way he requires a team to be entirely built around him, he isn?t.  The marriage of A.I. and Chris Webber has been a waste and Andre Iguodala is on the overrated side of the fence.  They missed the playoffs last season and are the likeliest candidates to take over the role of the New York Knickerbockers, circa Larry Brown.


In The Playoffs..
1. Miami Heat
2. Detroit Pistons
3. New Jersey Nets
4. Chicago Bulls
5. Cleveland Cavaliers
6. Orlando Magic
7. Washington Wizards
8. New York Knicks

Conference Finals
Suns defeat Spurs
Pistons defeat Bulls

The Finals
Suns defeat Pistons

Awards
MVP: LeBron James
Rookie of the Year: Tyrus Thomas
Defensive Player of the Year: Andrei Kirilenko
6th Man: Leandro Barbosa
Coach of the Year: Mike Dunleavy
Most Improved Player: Darko Milicic