The Heat Is On: Bold Predictions For the 2010-11 Season
Within a month, the National Basketball Association will begin their 65th season with more interest and eyes watching the league after an offseason of transformation across the landscape.
Unless you’ve been under a rock this past offseason, the new “Big Three” of Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh will have the spotlight throughout the entire season as they are the pick to win the NBA Championship in June.
While most people pick the Heat, the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers are being overlooked to an extent by the media, even when they have a more cohesive team that has been together for several seasons.
Outside the cities of Miami and Los Angeles, the massive offseason saw a lot of top-tier free agents stay at home as Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki, Atlanta’s Joe Johnson, and Celtics’ Paul Pierce and Ray Allen all re-signed this summer.
At the same time, Carlos Boozer and Amar’e Stoudemire chose to leave their teams and, respectively, sign with the Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks, in a sign-and-trade deal.
To round out the storylines for the new season, there will be eight new leaders on the bench in 2010, including most notably Avery Johnson in New Jersey and Bryon Scott in now LeBron-less Cleveland.
With that being said and the offseason rapidly coming to an end, let's take a look around the league to see how the divisions, major awards, and the playoffs play out in the 2010-11 season.
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Eastern Conference: Atlantic Division
1 of 8
Boston Celtics:
Overall Record: 62-20
Philadelphia 76ers
Overall Record: 42-40
Toronto Raptors
Overall Record: 41-41
New York Knicks:
Overall Record: 32-50
New Jersey Nets:
Overall Record: 19-63
Western Conference: Southwest Division
2 of 8
Dallas Mavericks
Overall Record: 56-26
San Antonio Spurs
Overall Record: 50-32
Houston Rockets
Overall Record: 45-37
Memphis Grizzlies
Overall Record: 39-43
New Orleans Hornets
Overall Record: 36-46
Eastern Conference: Central Division
3 of 8
Chicago Bulls
Overall Record: 55-27
Milwaukee Bucks
Overall Record: 48-34
Detroit Pistons
Overall Record: 35-57
Indiana Pacers
Overall Record: 33-59
Cleveland Cavaliers
Overall Record: 12-70
Western Conference: Pacific Division
4 of 8
Los Angeles Lakers
Overall Record: 62-20
Phoenix Suns
Overall Record: 48-34
Golden State Warriors
Overall Record: 31-51
Sacramento Kings
Overall Record: 29-53
Los Angeles Clippers
Overall Record: 28-54
Eastern Conference: Southwest Division
5 of 8
Miami Heat
Overall Record: 65-17
Orlando Magic
Overall Record: 60-22
Atlanta Hawks
Overall Record: 50-32
Charlotte Bobcats
Overall Record: 43-39
Washington Wizards
Overall Record: 30-52
Western Conference: Northwest Division
6 of 8
Oklahoma City Thunder
Overall Record: 60-22
Portland Trailblazers
Overall Record: 58-24
Denver Nuggets
Overall Record: 56-26
Utah Jazz
Overall Record: 55-27
Minnesota Timberwolves
Overall Record: 16-66
NBA Award Winners
7 of 8
Most Valuable Player: Kevin Durant
Sixth Man of the Year: Lamar Odom
Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard
Rookie of the Year: Evan Turner
Coach of the Year: Tom Thibodeau
NBA Playoffs
8 of 8
First Round
1 Miami wins series 4-0 over 8 Toronto
4 Chicago wins series 4-3 over 5 Atlanta
2 Boston wins series 4-1 over 7 Philadelphia
3 Orlando wins series 4-2 over 6 Milwaukee
1 Los Angeles wins series 4-0 over 8 Houston
4 Dallas wins series 4-2 over 5 Denver
2 Oklahoma City wins series 4-2 over 7 San Antonio
3 Utah wins series 4-2 over 6 Portland
Conference Semifinals
Miami wins series 4-1 over Chicago
Boston wins series 4-3 over Orlando
Los Angles wins series 4-2 over Dallas
Oklahoma City wins series 4-2 over Utah
Conference Finals
Miami wins series 4-3 over Boston
Los Angeles wins series 4-2 over Oklahoma City
NBA Finals
Los Angeles wins Finals 4-2 over Miami
