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

NBA Finals Prediction

Lakers over Detroit in seven

I was at my homie's pad the other night and a very serious discussion broke out as to who was the best team of all time in the NBA. Some of my buddies made terrible arguments to support their claim, and as I enjoyed ripping people's head off backing up my '87 Lakers, I'll cut them some slack since a bottle of Remy Martin 1738 managed to get the best of us.

One of them said the Houston Rockets of '94-'95, and while I can certainly give Olajuwon and company a lot of credit for being a six-seed and coming back from behind in spectacular fashion against the Jazz and Suns and sweeping Orlando, I'd have to say my buddy was smoking something. Then I looked over and indeed he was choking on a blunt.

I know the hardest thing to do when it comes to debating which team is the best ever is to compare eras because the competition was vastly different, the rules are no longer the same, and the most important element of luck cannot ever be quantitatively measured.  But at least we can talk about it and compare our opinions, right?

So here, I start the debate of ALL-TIME BEST NBA TEAM of the Modern Era, post-1980. The compensating factors that will be measured are playoff opponents, level of regular season competition and roster quality for that team's respective year.

Please feel free to add honorable mentions since I will undoubtedly leave out other great teams. And the nominees are (in no particular order)...

1996 CHICAGO BULLS (72-10): 

Playoff Opponents- Orlando (60-22) w/ a young Shaq and Penny and Indiana (52-30) with a deadly Reggie Miller were the other two East contenders, as well as an aging yet formidable New York squad (47-35) that still fielded a lineup that included Ewing, Starks, Mason,and Oakley. These three teams would give today's Eastern Conference a run for their money. And considering the Bulls swept Mourning's Heat in the first round, go 4-1 against the Knicks and then sweep Orlando 4-0 before going on to take care of the 64-18 Sonics in the Finals in six games, you can appreciate the Bulls' accomplishment that much more. This was not an easy opposition. Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, and Coach Jackson all had something to prove and prove it they did... in record setting fashion.

Regular Season Competition- There were a total of seven teams that won over fifty games, but a more telling statistic is that there were three teams that won over 60 and San Antonio, with The Admiral and Sean Elliott, won a respectable 59 suggesting that there may have been a lack of any serious competition.  All in all, Olajuwon, Robinson, Ewing, The Mailman, Stockton, Miller, Shaq, Penny, Grant Hill, Jason Kidd, Shawn Kemp, and Gary Payton were still all in their primes and Jordan was still a step above everybody else.

Roster Quality- You really can't argue much with Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman and the contributions of role players such as Toni Kukoc, Steve Kerr, Luc Longley, Ron Harper, Jason Caffey, Randy Brown, Jud Buechler, and yes Jack Haley. If there was ever a weakness on this team it was at the center position. The fact that Chicago didn't have a legitimate center made Jordan's impact much more special than it really was. This Chicago team, throughout the regular season, displayed a consistency unmatched by any other and it's propensity to play tough-nosed defense all 48 minutes o####ame made the Bulls a team for the ages.

OVERALL GRADE: A

1987 LOS ANGELES LAKERS (65-17):

Playoff Opponents- Los Angeles steamrolled through the playoffs with their trademark fastbreak, beating Alex English and Doug Moe's fun-n-gun Denver Nuggets 3-0 in the first round, Don Nelson's Run TMC Warriors 4-1, and the game Seattle Supersonics 4-0 before manhandling the mighty Boston Celtics 4-2 in the Finals. This came after the Lakers were seeking major redemption for not winning it all the previous year after Houston upset L.A. on that Ralph Sampson shot, allowing Larry Legend to sort of "escape" with a title. This Laker team presented "Showtime" at its finest and perfectly displayed that in the playoffs.

Regular Season Competition- The Lakers dominated the West considering that there were only two teams in the conference with over 50 wins, but they still faced the Warriors, Drexler's Blazers, and Seattle five to six times a year. Dallas was supposed to be the Lakers' biggest matchup with Derek Harper, Rolando Blackman, Roy Tarpley, Mark Aguirre, Sam Perkins, and James Donaldson but they were upset in the first round by Seattle, who the Lakers swept. Not until 1988 did L.A. play Dallas, in the West finals where Los Angeles won in seven. The NBA featured a cast of all-time greats including Bird, Jordan, Barkley, Malone, Stockton, Dr. J, Isiah Thomas and the Bad Boys, Joe Dumars, Clyde Drexler, Olajuwon, Moses Malone, and Dominique Wilkins. The Lakers were just in a league of their own because not only could they run any team out of the gym, they could also play defense and play physical if the situation called for it.

Roster Quality- This is perhaps the most balanced roster of all time. I say this because you have the ultimate floor leader in Magic Johnson, the ultimate finisher in "Big Game" James Worthy, the ultimate scorer in Kareem, the ultimate outside threat in Byron Scott, and the ultimate defender in Michael Cooper, who won defensive player of the year. The Lakers were the deepest team in the NBA as seven players averaged in double figures, and as a team averaged 118 ppg while giving up 108, a 10-point differential. This means they pretty much blew out every team they played in which they won. Unbelievable.

OVERALL GRADE: A+

1986 Boston Celtics (67-15):

Playoff Opponents- Swept a young Jordan's Bulls 3-0 in round one, defeated the Atlanta Hawks of Dominique Wilkins, Doc Rivers, Antoine Carr, and Kevin Willis 4-1, then swept the Milwaukee Bucks of Sidney Moncrief, Jack Sikma, Paul Pressey, and Terry Cummings before dispatching Akeem's and Sampson's Rockets 4-2 in the Finals. Although the Celtics, in a sense, played a consolation team in the Rockets after the heavily favored Lakers failed to meet their end of the bargain in the annual Boston-L.A. ratings extravaganza, they still dominated their opponents with their precision and toughness.

Regular Season Competition- Six teams won over 50 games and only two, L.A. and Boston, won over 60. The contenders throughout the year were the Sixers of Barkely, Dr. J, and Mo Cheeks, but they too were upset in the playoffs making the Celtic championship drive that much easier in the playoffs. Nevertheless, you can't discount the fact that they still finished the season a remarkable 82-18, with a margin of victory of 111.8 to 102.5 in the regular season., finishing third in the league in offense and number one on defense.

Roster Quality- This was perhaps the best and most consistent team the Celtics fielded during their dynasty. Larry Bird was in his prime averaging 26 ppg, 10 rpg, and 7 apg. McHale averaged 21, Parish and DJ averaged 16, and Ainge averaged 11 on mostly three pointers. Plus they had a dependable yet fragile Bill Walton off the bench, who gave them huge minutes. This team was balanced all the way around but what made them great was their knack for hustling, superb defense, and ability to put teams away when they were down. Only a few teams in history struck as much fear in their opponents as the 1986 Celtics.

OVERALL GRADE: A-

Other teams worth mentioning are the 1989 Detroit Pistons, 1983 Philadelphia 76ers, 1995 Houston Rockets, 2001 Los Angeles Lakers, and 2005 San Antonio Spurs.

The Bad Boys were indeed a dominant bunch but they're run was stopped short by the Bulls because they got old too quickly. In any case, they maximized what they had as they went to the Finals three straight years, winning two.

The Sixers dominated 1983, losing only one game in the playoffs and sweeping the Lakers in the Finals. This was perhaps Moses Malone's best season as he averaged 24.5 ppg, 15.3 rpg, and 2 bpg and was the league's MVP and Finals MVP. Bobby Jones was a key contributor off the bench, winning the sixth man award, and Dr. J (21 ppg), Andrew Toney (19.7 ppg) and Mo Cheeks' uncanny leadership and defensive genius rounded out the best 76er team of all time.

We all know the story of Hakeem Olajuwon's Houston Rockets of 1995. When teams "underestimate the heart of a champion" you get what the Rockets accomplished, which was special considering they were number six in the West, down 3-1 against the Jazz and the Suns before coming back to win both series. The performance of Olajuwon in the playoffs is arguably the single-most dominating performance in the postseason in quite some time.

The Lakers of 2001 is an honorable mention simply because they orchestrated perhaps the most dominant playoff run of all time, going 15-1 against the West which fielded seven 50-game winners. The magnitude of this accomplishment can be felt once we look back and see that they swept the Blazers (50-32), who literally had an all-star cast with Scottie Pippen, Rasheed Wallace, Steve Smith, Arvydas Sabonis, Dale Davis, Detlef Schrempf, Bonzi Wells, Damon Stoudamire, and Greg Anthony. Then they went out and swept the Sacramento Kings (55-27) of Chris Webber, White Chocolate, Vlade, Peja, and Bobby Jackson and also swept the one-seed San Antonio Spurs (58-24) who still had The Admiral, Sean Elliott, Steve Kerr, Avery Johnson, and  Derek Anderson to support Tim Duncan. Lastly, we all know what they did to A.I. and Mutombo in the Finals.

You also can't argue with the 2005 Spurs as being worthy simply because of the way in which they won with their defense that year. They beat the Pistons in a grueling seven-game series in the Finals and it was Detroit who was supposed to have a much tougher defense that year. This team deserves some recognition despite the fact that they weren't the most fun to watch. They are arguably the most fundamentally sound team in the modern era and thanks to their acquisition of Robert Horry they also became one of the most clutch teams in the postseason in recent memory.

SUMMARY IN A NUTSHELL:  All of these teams could beat each other at least twice in a seven-game series on any given two-week period. So the debate boils down to which team would be more likely to have a higher winning percentage against each other should they all face each other at least once in a seven-game series.

So here goes... the All-Time Best NBA Team of the Modern Era is the 1987 Lakers, with the '96 Bulls a close second, and the '86 Celtics not that far behind.

The Lakers win out because of their overall balance as a team offensively and defensively. Magic and Jordan would have neutralized each other as would Worthy and Pippen. The Bulls would have no match against stopping Kareem despite the toughness of Rodman. Plus the Lakers could have used Michael Cooper to tire out Jordan, allowing Magic to do his thing. The Lakers also had a much deeper bench than both Chicago and Boston and would have run the heck out of them. The Lakers' versatility also made them formidable in a slow-it-down tempo since they could have gone to Kareem at will in the low post or allow Magic to post up the smaller guards. Jordan would have gotten his 30-50 points but Magic, Worthy, Kareem, and Byron Scott would have consistently combined for 80 points night in and night out.

I wouldn't be surprised if the A.I. deal backfires on the Nuggets. Don't be too quick to elevate Denver into elite status just yet. George Karl not only has the egos of 'Melo and Iverson to tame, but he still has that ever-lingering  headache called Kenyon Martin. And more importantly, how will J.R. Smith's and Earl Boykin's roles change and how many minutes and touches will they lose? Many questions but is there an "answer"? We'll see...

Meanwhile in Minnesota, K.G. is upset that Glen Taylor and Kevin McHale have failed once again to bring in that much needed support. The best chance for Garnett to win is in L.A. or Boston. The Lakers have more to offer. The T-Wolves can pick any three plus a draft pick between  Andrew Bynum, Kwame Brown, Lamar Odom, Smush Parker, Sasha Vujacic, Vladimir Radmanovic, Aaron McKie, Brian Cook, and Chris Mihm. The Celtics would most likely part with Wally Sczerbiak, Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, plus a scrub or two. The choice is K.G's. If he wants to win bad enough, all he has to do is demand it.