3) Dallas Mavericks—For a team that slipped so badly last year I’m surprised I’m even putting them back up here. Then again I do think the world of Jason Kidd. I think Kidd has two years left in him before we say goodbye to a future first-ballot Hall of Famer.
4) Houston Rockets—They had one hell of a run last year. However, that was during the regular season. They haven’t done anything in the playoffs since Charles Barkley was on the team. Tracy McGrady in my mind is the most over-rated player in the NBA.
5) Memphis Grizzles—The Grizzles are playing the toughest division in the NBA hands down. You cannot argue that. The addition of O.J. Mayo will raise some eyebrows however they did trade Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown and I don’t think the Grizzles will be able to do anything this year…What else is new?
2008-2009 Playoffs
Eastern Conference
(1) Boston Celtics over (8) Indiana Pacers, 4-1.
(2) Detroit Pistons over (7) Atlanta Hawks, 4-2.
(3) Orlando Magic over (6) Toronto Raptors, 4-1.
(4) Cleveland Cavalries over (5) Chicago Bulls. 4-2.
(1) Boston Celtics over (4) Cleveland Cavalries, 4-2.
(2) Orlando Magic over (2) Detroit Pistons, 4-3.
(1) Boston Celtics over (3) Orlando Magic, 4-1.
Western Conference
(1) L.A. Lakers over (8) Dallas Mavericks, 4-2.
(2) Utah Jazz over (7) Denver Nuggets, 4-1.
(6) Portland Trailblazers over (3) San Antonio Spurs, 4-3.
(4) New Orleans Hornets over (5) Phoenix Suns, 4-1.
(1) L.A. Lakers over (4) New Orleans Hornets, 4-3.
(2) Utah Jazz over (6) Portland Trailblazers, 4-2.
(1) L.A. Lakers over (2) Utah Jazz, 4-2.
NBA Finals
(1) L.A. Lakers over (1) Boston Celtics, 4-3.
In my opinion if Andrew Bynum was not injured during the second half of the year I think we would have seen the Lakers winning the NBA Championship. Instead the Lakers have to wait a year for a rematch that everyone would love to see once again.
Could you imagine what Game Seven of the NBA Finals would do for the NBA? With two legendary teams going at it one more time? Game Seven of the NBA Finals doesn’t happen very often.
The last time it happened was back in 2005 when the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Detroit Pistons. Prior to that the last time Game Seven happened was during the 1994 NBA Finals when the Houston Rockets went on to defeat Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks.
The Lakers haven’t won the NBA Championship since 2002 if you can believe it or not. That’s quite a drought for Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers but it looks like that drought will end next season.
What else is going to happen next year? Here are some of my ideas in bullet points.
· Ron Artest will be traded before the trade deadline.
· Kobe Bryant will win his second straight MVP award.
· Greg Oden will win Rookie of the Year and be on the NBA All-Star Team.
· Los Angeles and Boston will win more than 60 games.
· The New York Knicks will not…
· People will draft Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose way to high on their fantasy basketball teams.
It’s never too early to talk about next season. Training camp is set to open on Oct. 1st but that’s too far away for me. However, we will be seeing several NBA players starting on Aug. 8th.
That’s right the Olympics are coming and 2008 looks to be the year that Team USA brings back the gold medal back where it belongs. However, one thing that is bound to happen is injuries. Will an injury affect Team USA this summer? Only time will tell as they say, time is an allusion.
Wait who ever said that?
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