A quick pre-season look at the postseason, with predicted conference ranking and predicted record in parentheses.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Lakers (#1, 57-25): Best conference record against the West (37-15) says something, so let the dynasty begin.
New Orleans (#2, 56-26): Surprising Hornets could be prime candidate for postseason letdown, but they're led by former Lakers champion Byron Scott, which says something.
San Antonio (#3, 56-26): Many believe Spurs are old, but Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker aren't, so don't be surprised if defending champions reach conference finals.
Utah (#4, 54-28): Jazz horrendous on the road all season long, but they won Game 7 in Houston a year ago with Derek Fisher on the roster, so we'll see what they're all about in the rematch.
Houston (#5, 55-27): The value of the big man - if it weren't for Luis Scola and the ageless Dikembe Mutombo, the Rockets would be out and the Warriors would be in.
Phoenix (#6, 55-27): Suns' poor head-to-head record against West playoff teams says a lot about their ability, or lack thereof, to compete with the best of 'em, but the arrival of Shaq and the re-emergence of Amare Stoudemire have made the Suns legitimate contenders once again.
Dallas (#7, 51-31): Not that it's possible, but the Mavs could do to the Hornets this year what the Warriors did to the Mavs last year.
Denver (#8, 50-32): It's obvious to me that Carmelo Anthony's desire to be in Denver in the future is not in his plans, as poorly timed DUI charge indicates, therefore Nuggets have zero chance of winning a game against the mighty Lakers.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Boston (#1, 66-16): Leading the league in defense and wins and 25-5 record against the Western Conference says something, so let the dynasty begin.
Detroit (#2, 58-24): The Spurs of the East keep winning with balance and chemistry and they're deeper and younger, so don't be surprised if Pistons reach NBA Finals.
Orlando (#3, 52-30): Magic have been better on the road than at home all season so home-court advantage in the first round could actually hurt them.
Cleveland (#4, 46-36): Lebron of 2007-'08 looks like Kobe of 2005-'06, which means one-and-done in the postseason.
Washington (#5, 43-39): The Nuggets of the East - all that talent and firepower but not enough in quality decision-making to win big games.
Philadelphia (#6, 41-41): Even if overachieving Sixers get swept in the first round, young team has already made believers out of tough Philly fan base.
Toronto (#7, 41-41): Underachieving team can't seem to solve point guard situation and Bargnani is a bust, which means Raptors will be one-and-done against the Pistons in the first round.
Atlanta (#8, 38-44): Even if the Hawks were to pull off an upset and win game one of their series against Boston, they still don't have enough big-game experience to close out the Celtics in a seven-game series.
Conference Finals Prediction
West - Lakers over Spurs in six East - Detroit over Boston in seven
You didn't learn enough last year you coming back for more ? You say Denver don't win a game ! Put your money where your mouth is ! Count on a win from Denver !
Your Lakers did not run away with a West Title either ! Six teams are two games apart. Last year there was a 67 win season and a 61 win season !
Strong talk for a team not getting out of the first round two years in a row !
Here's hoping you stay around long enough to face them Suns again !
I like your conference finals. Lakers v Suns is a dream matchup.
Shaq v Kobe in a series that will stand as the ultimate settling of that old score. Shaq has just enough left to be amazing in this series. I hope it happens.
If you follow that up with Lakers v Celtics, NBA fans will go nuts.
Go Lakers!!
The Pistons are about as deep if not deeper than the Celtics though, nba is the worst. I hope that is about what happens but I would rather have the Celtics in the finals losing in 7 or 6 to the LAKERS!!!
a win from denver the nuggets match up very well with the lakers and i could see an upset. the lakers are tough but the nuggets can get hot and i could see the series going to 6 or 7 games
NBAISTHEWORST: I was pretty accurate. SA is blowin out the Jazz and will finish #3. Dallas beat NO and will finish #7. Denver will win tonight and play the Lakers on Sunday. Orlando beat Washington just like I thought. Houston took care of business and will have home court against Utah just like last year.
The only ones I got wrong were Philly at #6 and Toronto at #7 but both of those teams won't get out of the first round anyway. I thought Cleveland would beat Detroit but the Piston's loss doesn't affect seeding.
I am hoping for Lakers-Celtics but I really like Detroit this year. The "Flip factor" won't change the fact that the Pistons are hungrier than ever. And Flip's not as bad a coach as you think. He has more big-game coaching experience than Doc Rivers.
EA7777: Did you hear what your boy Carmelo said in his apology? That guy ain't sincere and he's messing up his team. He's all about me, me, and me and he's right, what he did was uncalled for but if you read between the lines he sent a message to his team. The wrong message.
Of course I'm coming back for more. I'm a warrior buddy. I don't stop. I keep it coming so hard I'm like Kobe's twin brother.
Your Nuggets will get swept. If they actually learned how to play defense for 48 minutes, maybe they could steal one game at home. And if they did, it would be because L.A. went away from the gameplan and shot 35+ three pointers. But it's not gonna happen.
R DOG: "the nuggets match up very well with the lakers"
I'm not sure you and I were watching the same regular season games between these two teams. If I'm not mistaken the Lakers averaged 118 against Denver while giving up 101 in the three games combined.
If the series goes six or seven, I'd be the first one to commend the Nuggets and admit I was wrong about them. But like I told EA7777, it ain't gonna happen. The Lakers won't blow it because they're not the Dallas Mavericks.
are you kidding? wizards are the nuggets of the east? have you even watched a single wizards game all year? They are actually playing some real team ball with some good decision making in the clutch. They did beat Boston 3 times this year, including a back to back. The one problem is that they play down to their opponents level. This shouldn't be a problem in the playoffs. KEY WORD: SLEEPER
DMAL: Maybe you're right. But the Nuggets also beat Boston this year and they, too, play down to their opponent's level.
"Playing down to your opponent's level" = poor decision-making by the players. I hope you see my point. 43-39 with three All-Star caliber players (Jamison, Butler, Arenas), granted Gilbert was out most of the year, but the Wizards still had the surprise of the year in Nick Young, DeShawn Stevenson (who had some huge scoring games), and a much improved Brendan Haywood (career highs in scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots) and yet couldn't win more that 43 games in the East.
They are indeed a sleeper and that's why I have them defeating Cleveland in round 1.
Trust me, I've watched the Wizards several times. And I haven't even started talking about Antonio Daniels.
First of all I'm not a Denver fan ! I am with the team that kicked your royal #### last year ! I am for the team that kicked you royal #### the year before that ! I am with the team that will pound your #### again this year !
Guess you forgot all that #### you talked last year then disappeared to face all of us after we kicked your #### !
Denver will win a game maybe two or hell might just beat your #### like the Suns did !
EA7777: " I am with the team that will pound your BLEEP again this year!"
Who? The Smurfs? Guess what buddy, last time I checked the Lakers humiliated your Suns all year long. In front of your silly crowd, twice. With Bynum, without Bynum. Ya, I know you remember.
You're just like the rest of them chumps. Keep dwelling on last year and the year before cuz that's about as close to a title you're gonna get.
And no, I did not disappear. Go check my archives and then go check yourself, I wrote a blog commending the Suns after they beat the Lakers in five. So why don't you go take a hike in your desert country and go sit on a cactus.
.You guys try to copy the Lakers so much you went out and got a former Laker and had the nerve to act like you're the s-h-!-t when in fact you might not even get past the first round cuz you're playing a team you've never beaten in the postseason before.
OOOooOoooOo, a little Suns-Lakers drama is always a good way to get my day started!
The Suns won't get past the Spurs. Simple as that. I've said it once, I've said it twice, San Antonio has been playing possum. They'll flip the switch, dispose of the Suns, and when the dust settles, Phoenix will continue to hate the Spurs day in and day out.
I like the sound of that, but wouldn't it be - continue?
If we win it this year or in the next two, that would be 4 in this decade, thus passing the Spurs, (assuming they don't win again, but they've never gone back to back) making US the dominant franchise of the decade. I think we have a few titles coming in the next few years. (Damn that feels good to say.) Go Lakers! (I can hardly wait for Sunday) RONNY!!!!
I feel the same exact way about Spurs-Suns as you Dizzle. Hard to pick against Shaq knowing what he can do.
I think Utah is gonna go down in the first round.
Anyone that thinks the Nuggets are gonna beat the Lakers is crazy. Upset special my ####. The real question is, what does this Nuggets team do to George Karl's legacy? I have far less respect for him as a coach now than I had after that first season with the Nuggets where he had them on fire going into an unfortunate first round match up against the Spurs.
what a waste of time. So... everybody with an ex laker on the roster has a minimum chance cause that?? dont make me laugh. Lakers over Detroit. Seems even u couldnt believe putting the Lakers over Boston, jajaja.
Lakers wont even make the Finals, I'm a die hard hornet fan, but it will be difficult to see them as well. Best shot would be the Spurs or Suns to reach them just to fall to the migthy celts.
Have you even watched the nuggets? They play a up and down run and gun offense were anyone can score twenty points. They can definitely get hot and win the series. Who does the Lakers have that can slow down a trio of Melo AI and JR Smith. Plus K-Mart can get hot and Kleiza is a star in the making. I think Karl will get these guys to start playing defense and it will result in a good series.
ELGALLOGIGANTE: If the Spurs "flip the switch" and "dispose of the Suns", Phoenix fans might as well commit suicide.
BleedPRPL&GLD: "FAMILY VALUES" - that's why the Lakers organization is as great as they are. They're better than the Yankees and Cowboys combined.
LAKERSFAN19: The only good thing going for the Suns against the Spurs is the fact that Shaq has a way of minimizing Duncan's impact on the game.
I agree, Utah won't beat Houston this time around. They will finally see the difference of a Derek Fisher and I've said this since day one. Jazz fans booing Fish will come back to bite them (karma).
George Karl is about as good a coach as Mike Dunleavy. They're second tier.
NITHENZ: It's a fact that everybody with an ex-Laker on the roster is better because of that. Why do you think other teams want to acquire ex-Lakers? Because all we do is win, win, win. You should know... look who's coaching your team. What have the Hornets done in its franchise history before Byron came to town? And please don't even tell me Allan Bristow did anything special.
RDOG: "I think Karl will get these guys to start playing defense"
If he's finally decided to teach his team how to play defense, he sure picked a bad time to start. And it's plain obvious you have never watched the Lakers. But I gotta give it to ya. You have faith and that's commendable in my book. But here's the reality...
"I wrote a blog commending the Suns after they beat the Lakers in five." Yes you did, J-Dizz. Only because I bet you to do so on the series. No other reason. And don't try to say otherwise. I know you too well.
" . . in fact you might not even get past the first round cuz you're playing a team you've never beaten in the postseason before." Actually, the Suns have beaten the Spurs in the post-season. And since it was when Duncan was injured, I don't want to hear any excuses. We Suns fans know that excuses are like D'Antonis. Wait, that's not what I meant. Excuses are like Popovich's. Yeah, that's it.
Now, if you really want to seriously talk some NBA, I know o####reat site. Shoot me an email. It's in my bio.
let me say this boston will be the nba champions this year and get numgber 17 garnett pierce and allen are to hungry they are so focused and the other competion is too young it will be boston and the lakers boston 4 games to 3 and what the hell is dmal talking about washington winning that is crazy
UC IRVINE graduate and proud to be an ANTEATER. My claim to fame is having played against the likes of Tayshaun and Tommie Prince, Jacque Vaughn, and Charles O'Bannon, plus getting dunked on by Schea Cotton in a CIF second round match in the nineties.
WIDELY KNOWN on FOX as one of the most biased LAKER HOMERS in blog history, highly criticized for hating on the PHOENIX SUNS fan base, and has been told on more than one occasion that LAMAR ODOM isn't worth the suit he's wearing.
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