Division By Division NBA Preview
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On the eve of the most interesting NBA season in recent history, Miles Cooper gives you his NBA predictions, along with interesting stats for each division and a rebuttal from sports editor Patrick Crawley.
Predicted playoff teams are represented by an asterisk (*).
Here goes:
Western Conference
Northwest Division
1. Oklahoma City*
2. Utah*
3. Denver*
4. Portland*
5. Minnesota
Biggest storyline: The Carmelo Anthony Watch will headline this division. If Melo does indeed get traded during the season, it will be hard for the Nuggets to make a run for the playoffs, considering their new centerpiece would be 34-year-old Chauncey Billups.
Interesting stat: Seeing such a good team with this kind of youth is rare. The Oklahoma City Thunder are the youngest team in the NBA (average age: 24.2 years old) this year and they are everyone’s preseason pick to go far into the playoffs. The second youngest team in the league is the Sacramento Kings (24.7).
Patrick's rebuttal: This is the toughest division in the league. I agree that Oklahoma City is the cream of the crop, but I think the Jazz will struggle more than people think. Al Jefferson is a terrible interior defender, the bench got considerably thinner with the losses of Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer and Wesley Matthews, and C.J. Miles doesn't deserve to be in any starting lineup (let alone a playoff contending team's starting lineup). I think either Portland or Denver (probably Portland) will finish second here, with the Jazz coming in third.
Southwest Division
1. Dallas*
2. San Antonio*
3. Houston
4. Memphis
5. New Orleans
Biggest storylines: Even with the addition of young talent such as Tiago Splitter and Big 12 Player of the year James Anderson, the Spurs will not overtake last year's Southwest champions: the Dallas Mavericks. It will be interesting to see if the return of CP3 for the Hornets and Yao for Rockets will lead these teams back to the playoffs.
Interesting stat: Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks is the only owner in the league to have owned a team for five-plus years and taken that team to the playoffs every year. His Mavericks have made 10 playoff appearances in his 10 years with the team. The complete list can be seen here.
Patrick's rebuttal: Again, no disagreement with Dallas at the top. I think they'll gel a lot better now that Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood have had time to acclimate to the team. In fact, I agree with your top 3, except I think Houston will make the playoffs this season in place of Phoenix. Memphis and New Orleans need to be flipped though. The Hornets made some nice moves, picking up Trevor Ariza and Jerryd Bayless (whereas Memphis stayed pat). I like New Orleans' potential.
Pacific Division
1. Los Angeles Lakers*
2. Phoenix*
3. Los Angeles Clippers
4. Golden State
5. Sacramento
Biggest storylines: The reloading of an already talented Lakers squad and the departure of Amar'e Stoudemire from Phoenix has paved the road for the Lakers to repeat as Pacific champions. The firing of Don Nelson and the return of Blake Griffin will make the Warriors and Clippers more entertaining to watch.
Interesting stat: Warriors players missed 273 total games to injury last season (that's a whopping 27.3 games per player). Meanwhile, the Clippers had 234 games missed due to injury and the Kings 158. The Suns stayed relatively healthy (must be their "fountain of youth" training staff) with just 80 games missed, as did the Lakers (82 games missed).
Patrick's rebuttal: First and foremost, I have an issue with your decision to put the Warriors ahead of the Kings. How is Golden State going to get defensive stops with a lineup that includes Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis and David Lee? Answer: they're not. Tyreke Evans is only going to get better and the Kings finally have a legitimate interior scorer in DeMarcus Cousins. They'll be better than the Warriors. Guaranteed. I think only one playoff team will come out of this division and that will be the Lakers. I see the Clippers as one of the league's most improved teams (prediction: 41-41), but they won't make it to the postseason.
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
1. Boston*
2. New York*
3. Philadelphia
4. New Jersey
5. Toronto
Biggest storylines: The Celtics didn't get any younger when they added free agents Shaquille O’Neal and Jermaine O’Neal. They will, however, help the Celtics’ adjustment without workhorse center Kendrick Perkins. The Knicks will be a team to watch this season. With the addition of All-Star power forward Amar'e Stoudemire and a solid point guard in Raymond Felton should help this team reach the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
Interesting stat: The Knicks are currently the highest valued team in the NBA at $613 million dollars. The second highest is the Los Angeles Lakers. See the whole list here.
Patrick's rebuttal: The Celtics and Knicks notwithstanding, there are some crappy teams in this division. The Nets will get better under new coach Avery Johnson, but they're still bad. The Sixers are counting on Elton Brand and Spencer Hawes to anchor their front court. They're bad. And the Raptors may well be the worst team in the league now that they've been properly gutted. I'm not excited to watch those teams, but I am excited for Knicks fans. They finally have a team deserving of their fandom. I think New York will be the most improved team in the league.
Central Division
1. Chicago*
2. Milwaukee*
3. Indiana
4. Detroit
5. Cleveland
2. Milwaukee*
3. Indiana
4. Detroit
5. Cleveland
Biggest storyline: The Cavs will be at the bottom of the division without Lebron to lead them. King James leaves behind a team that doesn't have a player averaging more than 16 points per game. This means the new-look Chicago Bulls, led by All-Stars Carlos Boozer and Derrick Rose, will take command of this division and be contenders come playoff time.
Interesting stat: Last year, the Cavaliers had the highest-scoring front court in the league with a 66.2 points per game average (the team scored 101.3 ppg total on average). Of those 66.2 points, Lebron James had 29.6 (which means he accounted for 45 percent of Cleveland's front court scoring). The next highest player was Antawn Jamison (with 15.6 ppg).
Patrick's rebuttal: I've been flirting with the idea of the Bucks at the top of the Central now that they've added more depth but it's dumb to bet against the Bulls. They'll get Carlos Boozer back before you know it and soon they'll be rolling. Defensively, they're going to be better than ever. I have reservations about Tom Thibodeau as a head coach but not as many reservations as I have about the Pacers, Pistons and Cavaliers. The bottom half of the East sure is awful. Free Rip Hamilton!
Southeast Division
1. Miami*
2. Orlando*
3. Atlanta*
4. Charlotte*
5. Washington
Biggest storyline: All eyes will be on the “Three Kings” this season. Everyone will be scrutinizing every Heat game to see whether this experiment will work out. I, for one, do not see this Heat team winning a championship this season. They will, however, make it deep into the playoffs and that is when we will see if this team will implode or excel together.
Interesting stat: The Heat are not only adding two franchise players, but they will now have the most efficient player in the league (LeBron James, 31.2 PER); the most efficent shooting guard in the league (Dwyane Wade, 28.1); and the most efficent power forward in the league (Chris Bosh, 25.1).
Patrick's rebuttal: "Miami Thrice" will fight like hell to earn the best record in the East (and they'll probably get it), but I'm with Miles. I don't think they'll reach the Finals. I think it'll be another Lakers-Celtics repeat. Charlotte as a playoff team is dicey but can you think of a better remaining contender? I can't. Gilbert Arenas will continue to unintentionally poison the Wizards. John Wall will overcome though. He's a special player. I can't wait to see what he has in store for us.
Agree with Miles' predictions? Disagree?
Chime in with your predictions in the comments section below or send him an email.
