So Miami got their NBA rings on opening night and the preceeded to get POUNDED by the new look Chicago Bulls 108-66.  Something other teams will witness this season.  The Bulls are much improved this year.  The other suprise will be the Detroit Pistons returning to the NBA finals.  They lost Ben Wallace and that will make them better.  Washington Wizards will try to make a move this year in the right direction, but they still don't have it yet.  Lets breakdown some teams and make some predictions.


NBA Eastern Conferance playoff teams for 2007

1. Detroit Pistons
2. Washington Wizards
3. New Jersey Nets
4. Chicago Bulls
5. Cleveland Cavaliers
6. Miami Heat
7. Philadelphia 76ers
8. Boston Celtics


Those are my predictions for the playoff brackets.  Teams 1, 2, and 3 are the division winners.  Boston will sneak back in this year, so will Philly.

Detroit will suprise people by not taking a step back from losing Ben Wallace.  He was the heart and soul for a few years but could never seem to get any better on offense.  Wallace is only a 41% free throw shooter for his career.  Wallace likened air balling to free throws to Paris Hilton say "thats hot!"  Enter Jason Maxiel for the Pistons.  He is a defensive player who actually can shoot.  They still have four of the same starting five they have had all along and also are looking to bring in Jalen Rose this week.  And they also have the X factor as well, ME, you can clearly tell by my picture that I play for them.

Washington will onlystep up to the second spot in the bracket because they will suprise everyone and win their division over Miami.  Washington has been on the rise for a few years now but still may not be ready to move deeper into the playoffs.  Only time will tell.  New Jersey is still the best in the Atlantic Division but that isn't saying too much, although I do have three teams from that division making the playoffs.

Chicago has been on the rise the last two years and may have added the one piece they were missing all along.  A player who will play like he has a pair and he will actually use them if neccesary.  Ben Wallace will be the heart and soul on defense with his great defensive ability, they just better not pass him the ball when it is time to shoot.  Alley oops only for Ben.  But when you need to get a stop on defense or get a huge blocked shot into transition he is your man.

Miami will take a step back with an aging roster that was old last year, but won the NBA title.  Shaq may have lost some weight but they will be beat by their own injury bug again but it may be worse this year.

Cleveland is blowing it.  They made a push last year giving Detroit all they could handle but fell short.  They bring in David Wesley who will just be version two of Damon Jones a player they already have at the same position.  They needed a big man, a dominant one.  They have Larry Hughes coming back but he has to get reaquainted with LeBron.  They may work out well for them once they make the playoffs.

Philly and Boston will both also be back to the playoffs but only for a few minutes once they get waxed in the first round.  Indiana has so many team issues on and off the court they won't be beating too many teams this year.  They may end the season with more players in jail than in the All-Star game.