2010-11 NBA Season Preview

Drew's Picks

Where they rank…

Here's how each division will shake out come April

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

1.      Boston Celtics (2)

2.      New York Knicks (7)

3.      Philadelphia 76ers

4.      New Jersey Nets

5.      Toronto Raptors

Central Division

1.      Chicago Bulls (4)

2.      Milwaukee Bucks (6)

3.      Cleveland Cavaliers (8)

4.      Detroit Pistons

5.      Indiana Pacers

Southeast Division

1.      Miami Heat (1)

2.      Orlando Magic (3)

3.      Atlanta Hawks (5)

4.      Charlotte Bobcats

5.      Washington Wizards

Western Conference

Northwest Division

1.      Utah Jazz (3)

2.      Portland Trailblazers (5)

3.      Oklahoma City Thunder (6)

4.      Denver Nuggets

5.      Minnesota Timberwolves

Southwest Division

1.      Dallas Mavericks (2)

2.      San Antonio Spurs (4)

3.      Houston Rockets (8)

4.      New Orleans Hornets

5.      Memphis Grizzlies

Pacific Division

1.      L.A. Lakers (1)

2.      Phoenix Suns (7)

3.      L.A. Clippers

4.      Golden State Warriors

5.      Sacramento Kings

Playoffs, we're Talkin' Bout Playoffs…

Here's why I see these 16 teams playing on after the regular season.

Eastern Conference

(1)   Miami Heat - Aside from having three of the top 15 players in the league in their starting five, I believe the hype of the team will have the players motivated to win a lot of regular season wins as long as role players can stay healthy.  Granted as I write this, Wade had already been sidelined throughout the pre-season, Mike Miller could possibly miss the first two months of the season, and at any time, any one of their "seasoned" big men could go down.  Regardless, the Heat will win the games they're supposed to and seeing as how the NBA has had LeBron and Wade live at the foul line on separate teams, 20 plus free throws a game between the two of them should assure them a majority wins against the top squads around the NBA.

(2)   Boston Celtics - The Celtics quietly had a tremendous off-season.  They addressed their needs in the paint by adding Shaq and Jermaine O'Neal and added much needed bench scoring by resigning Nate Robinson Von Wager and, though he may be sidetracked with his late night visits to LBJ's mom, Delonte West.  The only question mark I have about Boston is how they will play defensively without assistant coach Tom Thibodeau game planning for other team's superstars.  But with their veteran leadership they have the defense should hold and adding those pieces and retaining their core of Peirce, Allen, KG and Rondo should erase some bad losses the Celtics had late last season as they were resting the big three, and lock up the two seed.

(3)   Orlando Magic - No one is really talking about the Magic, and I don’t know why.  They've had back-to-back 50 win seasons, made it to the Finals two years ago and lost to a red hot Celtics in the conference finals last season, and they still have almost the same team in tact.  In fact, I think they even upgraded their roster by adding Chris Duhon to their back-court and swaping out Matt Barnes with Q-Rich, whose skill set is a much better fit for Orlando's sytem.  The only reason I have them in the three spot is the Vince Carter factor.  Though I believe VC will have a strong season as he plays for what will likely be his last NBA contract, I think Orlando ultimately moves him at the trade deadline and unless they find a way to swing a VC, picks and Gortat/Bass deal for Carmelo Anthony, no other player will be able to slide into the line-up with little time to adjust and rattle off enough wins to keep pace with Miami and Boston.

(4)   Chicago Bulls - The Bulls will have to have a stellar second half of the season to beat out the Hawks and Bucks for the 4 seed due to the loss of their headline free agent sign, Carols Boozer who is out for at least the first six weeks of the season with a broken hand.  I believe they can win with Rose leading the way offensively, a much improved bench with the additions of Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer and Kurt Thomas,  (and with more range on his jump shot based on what we saw in the summer games) and the defensive mindset that new head coach Tom Thibodeau is sure to instill in his players. And mark my words, if somehow they can swing a deal for Carmelo without sacrificing any major contributors, the Bulls may have find themselves playing in June.

(5)   Atlanta Hawks - It pains me to even discuss the bottom 4 seeds in the East because let's be honest, none of these teams have any legit shot of upsetting the elite three (possibly four) teams in the conference.  The Hawks showed this the last two seasons when they were, to put it lightly, man-handled by the Cavs and Magic.  The Hawks made no real roster additions, have three key players with the exact same skill set and still no true center to compete with the other front lines in the East.  I have them slated behind the Bulls for all those reasons, plus Jamal Crawford's disgruntled demeanour over not getting a contract extension could hurt the overall chemistry of the team.

(6)   Milwaukee Bucks - Brandon Jennings is a stud, the young talent has great upside and they added a tremendous scorer by acquiring Corey Maggette. BUT, the Bucks will be hampered by a recovering Andrew Bogut, who I believe will need at least one full season to fully recover from the devastating elbow injury he suffered towards the end of last season.  If Bogut can't draw double teams in the post and be aggressive in the paint then it will be tough for the Bucks to have a consistent offense needed to compete with the elite teams in the East.

(7)   New York Knicks - I know this is crazy, but I place the Knicks here because I truly believe the Nuggets will have no choice but to eventually send Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks for some young talent, Eddie Curry's expiring contract and a draft pick which they will pay through the roof to obtain by the All-Star break.  And in the East the combo of Carmelo and Amare for even just half a season will be enough to get the Knicks the subpar record needed to obtain the 7th or 8th seed in the conference.  If the trade doesn’t go down, I'd probably give this spot to the Pistons, Bobcats or Sixers, and either of the three would get swept - badly.

(8)   Cleveland Cavaliers - Now I don’t think this pick is as crazy as it seems.  I mean I know the entire world wants to make up excuses for LeBron's failures to win a chip in Cleveland and say how weak his supporting cast was, but I don't see it.  Williams and Sessions will be a solid back court, Jamison and J.J. Hickson will make up a versatile front line and they'll have depth on the wing with Parker, Moon and Joey Graham.  Granted they will no longer have the dominant scorer and superstar in James, but they're real issue will be at the center position, because without James being there, Anderson "Side Show Bob" Verajou won't be getting those flop calls and wont get away the numerous "hustle fouls" he's used to getting away with game after game.  Plus, can you imagine a Heat/Cavs first round playoff series?  David Stern is getting giddy just thinking about it.

Western Conference

(1)   L.A. Lakers - It will be far from easy, but the Lakers should still finish the regular season with the best record out West.  They'll be without 7 foot big man Andrew Bynum until December and Kobe is still recovering from his off-season knee surgery so it will be crucial for the supporting cast to contribute early in the season.  Like Boston, the Lakers quietly added depth to the bench this summer, adding Steve Blake, Matt Barnes and Theo Ratliff and drafting rookies Devin Ebanks and Derek Caracter.  These additions plus the improved offense of Ron Artest (at least based on the pre-season) and the drive of Lamar Odom coming off his gold medal summer should keep the Lakers ahead of the pack until Kobe and Bynum are healthy and firing on all cylinders.

(2)   Dallas Mavericks - As always, the Mavericks have the talent across the board to contend for a championship.  The real question is whether or not they can gel and bring it all together.  They were able to resign Dirk and added Tyson Chandler to contender with the size of the Lakers so the pieces are there to accomplish Mark Cuban's vision, but Dallas will need their wing players - Caron Butler, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion and DeSean Stevenson- to show up in big spots when it matters.  Terry has my confidence, but the battle of minutes between Butler and Marion could be locker room nightmare for the Mavs.  Head coach Rick Carlisle will have his hands full all season, and the expectations have never been higher.

(3)    Utah Jazz - As usual, everyone seems to be sleeping on the Utah Jazz.  Not me.  I have nothing but faith in head coach Jerry Sloan as well as the best, that's right, the best point guard in the league, Deron Williams.  The Jazz basically swapped out Carlos boozer for Al Jefferson, Wes Matthews for Raja Bell and Kyle Korver for rookie Gordon Hayward.  The most critical swap of the three is Boozer for Jefferson.  The two players put up very similar stats, and oddly enough, both have injury prone concerns.  However I believe Jefferson is the better fit for Utah because they play in the Western Conference, and if you want to win out west, you'll need the size to match-up with the Lakers, a problem that has caused Utah to be ousted by LA the last three post seasons.  Jefferson is a legit 6'10", while Boozer was a generous 6'-9".  Team that with a healthy 6'11" Mehmet Okur and the Jazz will be able to send the best squad yet at the Lakers in the upcoming season.  We'll see if they can stay healthy enough to see them in April.

(4)   San Antonio Spurs - There's really not much to say here.  If the Spurs core of Manu, Tony P and Timmy D can stay healthy, they'll finish in the top 4 of the Western Conference.  If they can't, they'll finish somewhere between 6 and 8.  Everyone took a break from the summer games and their national teams this past summer, so fatigue shouldn’t be an issue hopefully.  Plus the progression of George Hill and DeJuan Blair along with the addition of Tiago Splitter should give the Spurs big three plenty of rest during the regular season.

(5)   Portland Trailblazers - Portland has a lot of potential to get serious this year, but potential only takes a team so far.  With all the plug-ins they used last year at center coupled with a late season injury to Brandon Roy, the Blazers still managed to win 50 games and took the Suns to six games in the first round of the playoffs when most thought they'd probably be swept.  The key to it all is former number 1 pick, Greg Oden.  Oden vows to live up to the hype that once surrounded him this upcoming season, and if he can make god on that promise, watch-out for the Blazers come playoff time.

(6)   Oklahoma City Thunder - I love Durant, love Westbrook and love James Harden.  But I think everyone is jumping the gun a tad bit to early on picking the Thunder to shake up the West and challenge the Lakers.  Aside from Durant they still lack consistent outside shooting and Nenad Krstic and Serge Ibaka just won't be able to cut it as starting centers in a seven game series against the likes of Bynum, Gasol, Duncan, Jefferson and Dirk.  One thing to especially watch for with the Thunder around the trade deadline is whether or not they decide to move Jeff Green, who has yet to reach an agreement with management on a long-term extension.  If they decide to move Green and are able to bring in a package that can fill those few voids in their roster, then perhaps the Thunder can fully live up to everyone's high expectations.

(7)   Phoenix Suns - This season won't be easy for the Suns.  They were undersized last season, and now without Amare, they're more undersized and the double teams in the post that freed up three point shooters won't be coming anymore.  They added Josh Childress and Hakim Warrik to help fill the void, and I think these two will fit in nicely with the uptempo Alvin Gentry offense.  But the big name acquisition, Hedo Turkalou, isn’t going to work out as well as Suns fans think.  Hedo is at his best when he has the ball in his hands and can create off the dribble and pull up for jumpers and runners in the lane.  That's all well and good, except when you're playing on Steve Nash's team, the Sun's two-time MVP playmaker who creates all the plays.  For now I have the Suns slotted 7th, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they slide down further and lose their playoff spot to a team I think will surprise a lot of people, the L.A. Clippers.

(8) Houston Rockets - The Rockets won 42 games last season without Yao Ming and having Aaron Brooks and Trevor Ariza leading the way.  Now bring back Yao, add scoring machine Kevin Martin and hard nosed Courtney Lee and I can't see how the Rockets don’t find their way back to the playoffs.  Yao's limited minutes during the regular season will hurt the Rocket's playoff seeding, but Yao will play as much as needed in the post-season and given the right first round match-up, Houston can grit out

(Championship predictions and awards later today)