Devin: 2012-13 NBA Preview

Eastern

Atlantic
Boston Celtics 52-30

Rajon Rondo is an elite point guard who should be in everyone’s top 5, no questions asked. Boston got a little younger with the departure of Ray Allen, but not by much since they brought in Jason Terry to take his place. They had a solid draft, look for Jared Sullinger to make a decent impact from the get go. They are better than last year, and should win the division again.

Philadelphia 76ers 44-38

In my opinion the 76ers entire season depends on whether or not Bynum stays healthy and grows up a bit. If he matures at all and puts some effort into this season, the 76ers could be a scary team. Losing Iguodala hurts, but that blow will hopefully be softened by the emergence of Evan Turner. I think Jrue Holiday will have a solid year, averaging 14/6, and the additions of shooters Jason Richardson and Dorell Wright should open up the lane for Bynum to do some work.

Brooklyn Nets 41-41

I am very interested to see how this team gels. There is a lot of excitement with this team moving to Brooklyn, and in the past 2 seasons they have brought in some big talent. With Brook Lopez hopefully healthy for the season, the signing of Joe Johnson, and Deron Williams running a healthy squad, I expect a big improvement.

New York Knicks 38-44

This team seems to have just about everything. A superstar in Carmelo Anthony, veteran leadership in Kidd, great defense down low with Chandler, and arguably one of the best places to call home at MSG. The one problem I have with this team, and it’s a big one, is I believe the Knicks will need to play team ball to win. Enter Carmelo Anthony, the king of the ISO. It’s what he does, and he’s very good at it. Coach Mike Woodson will cater to Melo and the ISO. But the Knicks have a few egos on the team that will want the ball and will stop playing hard when they know they won’t get it. In the end, the Knicks need to play team ball, and I just don’t see it happening.

Toronto Raptors 29-53

The Raptors are talented, that’s for sure. But they will need a few years before they can be considered any kind of contender. I love the additions of Kyle Lowry and Landry Fields. If Jonas Valanciunas can meet his potential, DeMar DeRozan can develop a jump shot, and Bargnani can stay healthy, this team could be much better, much faster than we all thought. But again, it will take some time.

Central

Indiana Pacers 54-28

I believe this is the Pacers year. They came out of nowhere last year and challenged the Bulls. They are a young, big, talented team who now have playoff experience, and are hungry for more. They traded Collison for some much needed depth. With that they will be handing the reigns over to George Hill at the point, to go along with Hibbert, Granger, George, and West. That is a solid starting 5, but they also might have a pretty deep bench with the likes of Ian Mahinmi, D.J. Augustin, Tyler Hansbrough, and Gerald Green.

Chicago Bulls 48-34

Derrick Rose will miss most, if not all of the season. So the Bulls hopes are down the drain, right? Wrong. This team is very deep, and they play great defense. Rose missed 1/3 of last year, yet they were still able to maintain the #1 seed in the East for the second straight year. They won’t have a superstar until Rose returns, but every player on that roster knows their roll and they play it perfectly. I don’t think they will be as good as last year, or even win the division, but this team will manage well without Rose, and hopefully get him back in time for the playoffs.

Milwaukee Bucks 37-45

The Bucks might have the most entertaining backcourt duo in the NBA, but that’s about it. Trading Bogut was a bad move in my opinion.  Ersan Ilyasova began to look like a solid forward at times last year, so hopefully he can build off of that. Drew Gooden was solid last year when healthy, but will they give Samuel Dalembert more minutes in order to hopefully shore up the defense? I will say this, with Monte Ellis and Brandon Jennings in the backcourt I don’t see the Bucks ever getting a shot clock violation.

Cleveland Cavaliers 35-47

I absolutely love Kyrie Irving, and if you’re a Cavs fan you should as well. But he isn’t the only player from the 2011 draft you should be excited about. Tristan Thompson will be a name to keep an eye on this season. I personally thought the Cavs reached on him in the draft, but he started 25 games last year and has looked very good so far in preseason this year. I fully expect the Cavs to make a big jump this year with Irving leading the way, and the likes of Thompson and Alonzo Gee making big contributions. Plus, they got Luke Walton. Enough said.

Detroit Pistons 32-50

The Pistons are a hard team to figure out. They have some good young talent, but almost no discipline on either end of the floor. It’s a far cry from the Pistons of the mid 2000’s. Greg Monroe is the center piece of this team, and made pretty big strides in his 2nd season. Knight and Stuckey can be a formidable guard combo, but one of them will need to emerge as an assist man. Andre Drummond could be good in the future if he puts some work in. But Jonas Jerebko is my X factor for this team, his success in his 3rd season could play a huge part in whether this team goes up or down.

Southeast

Miami Heat 64-18

Miami will easily take this division and walk into the playoffs with the best record in the East. In fact, I don’t think there is any team in the whole conference that can even challenge them right now. LeBron is too good, Dwayne is too good, and even Bosh is getting better. The additions of Allen and Rashard Lewis will open up the lane even more, and this team will cruise to the Finals.

Atlanta Hawks 42-40

The departure of Joe Johnson will hurt, but it will also open the door for Josh Smith to take over the team. And that he will do, while making his first All-Star game. The Hawks off season moves confuse me a little though. They traded away Johnson and Marvin Williams, and then replaced them with nobody near the same talent level. They traded Marvin Williams for Devin Harris, who is basically an older, less athletic version of Jeff Teague. But due to a weak division they will still make the playoffs.

Washington Wizards 30-52

The injury to John Wall hurts, but not many people were expecting Washington to do much this season anyway. Even still he should be back a few weeks into the season, which gives him plenty of time to try and mesh with Bradley Beal and Nene. The latter of which I think is the biggest question mark for this team. If Nene can get past his foot issues and play like he did in Denver, Washington could improve significantly.

Orlando Magic 24-58

Orlando got the shaft, hard. This went from Dwight Howard’s team to Glen Davis’s team. Not only did they lose Howard, but they go almost nothing in return. Orlando will be rebuilding for a while, and hopefully they can be smart with some of those draft picks. I see no hope in the immediate future for this team, but maybe that is what they are gunning for.

Charlotte Bobcats 18-64

The Bobcats are going to be bad. Not 7 wins bad, but bad none the less. But there is a small light at the end of the very long, dark tunnel. They do have some young talent that could develop into something a few years down the road. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist should be fun to watch for this team, Kemba Walker should improve with a season under his belt, Ramon Sessions should be an upgrade at point, and Bismack Biyombo could possibly turn into an elite defender. Even still, they should have the most ping pong balls going into next years draft lottery.

Western

Southwest

Memphis Grizzlies 56-26

I think the southwest division belongs to the Grizzlies this year. They stayed pretty well intact, with the only real loss being O.J. Mayo. Marc Gasol proved to be a top 5 center last year, Rudy Gay will be an All-Star this year, Mike Conley has looked unreal this preseason, and Tony Allen is capable of shutting down almost anyone in the NBA. If Zach Randolph stays healthy then I have no question Memphis will take this division.

San Antonio Spurs 52-30

I very much dislike the Spurs, but I have learned over the years to not count them out. Duncan is still solid and consistent, Tony Parker had arguably the best season of his career last year, Ginobili is still a gritty do whatever it takes to win competitor, and they play team ball better than any other team in the NBA. Until Duncan has retired I will not count this team out.

Dallas Mavericks 43-39

Dirk Nowitzki will miss the first month of the season. Guess what, he basically missed the first month of last season as well. Dallas made some good moves this off season, picking up Darren Collison and O.J. Mayo, while letting Kidd walk. But the pickup that I think helps this team the most is Chris Kaman. Having an offensively capable big man alongside Dirk could make this team capable of exploding on any given night. Unfortunately, the loss of Jason Terry will be big, the southwest division is too strong, and the Mavs will no longer be able to contend.

Houston Rockets 33-49

Houston could soon be the class of this division. I’m not sold on Jeremy Lin as the franchise point guard, but with a rookie class of Terrence Jones, Jeremy Lamb, Donatas Motiejunas, and even Royce White, this team looks to have a bright future. As of right now they have a solid team and could sneak into the playoffs this year.

New Orleans Hornets 29-53

New Orleans was able to have a very good off season. Lucky for them they were able to retain Eric Gordon. But then they also drafted Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers, and traded for sharpshooter Ryan Anderson. With all that said there is just too much talent in this division for them to make any real noise this season. But they are building something big in New Orleans, and in a few years this team could contend for the division.

Northwest

Oklahoma City Thunder 62-20

OKC is easily the class of this division. Durant is unstoppable, Ibaka is scary defensively in the paint, Westbrook is frustrating at times, but overall a dynamic scorer and just plain fun to watch, and then you have James Harden, who I think is the second best SG in the league behind Kobe Bryant. Oh, and he comes off the bench for this team. They are a hungry team; I could see them in the Finals. It won’t be easy, but they are capable.

Utah Jazz 50-32

This is a big, talented team. They will start 4 players over 6’8, and they are absolutely stacked down low. Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, and Derrick Favors could start on 90% of the teams in the NBA. And behind them is Enes Kanter, who has shown a lot of promise this preseason. They also made some very under rated pickups this off season with Marvin Williams, Randy Foye, and Mo Williams, which should improve the teams 3 point shooting dramatically. Look for Gordon Hayward to build off of his strong finish last season and become a leader for the Jazz. This team will play hard every night and should, and in my opinion, contend for a 4-6 seed.

Denver Nuggets 45-37

The Nuggets are a very talented squad, but there is something about this team that I just don’t trust. I love the up tempo running style team they are; Lawson is the perfect point guard for it. They have forwards who can shoot, Iguodala who does it all and compliments this team perfectly, and a big man in the middle that can alter shots. They will make the playoffs, but don’t look for this team to make any noise after that.

Portland Trailblazers 40-42

This team is also very talented. In my opinion their draft woes did not curse them this year. Damian Lillard looks like the real deal. The starting 5 of Lillard, Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum, J.J. Hickson, and LaMarcus Aldridge is solid. They will be better than most people expect them to be, but miss the playoffs in what I consider to be the toughest division in the NBA.

Minnesota Timberwolves 37-45

I was really high on the Timberwolves until Kevin Love broke his hand. He will now be out for up to 2 months, returning about the time Ricky Rubio is expected to return. I feel as if that will be too much for Minnesota to overcome this season. I love the addition of Brandon Roy, but he can’t be expected to play more than 20 minutes per game, if even that. I am excited to see what Derrick Williams will do in Love’s absence, but all in all I think the injuries will be too much to overcome in this division.

Pacific

Los Angeles Lakers 63-19

Where do I start? This team looks like the NBA’s version of the Yankees. As much as I hate to say it, the starting 5 of Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, MWP, Kobe Bryant, and Steven Nash makes them instant title favorites. Obviously the acquisitions of Nash and Howard are the ones everyone will be talking about, but Jodie Meeks and Antwan Jamison will make a huge impact off the bench while these stars are resting. The Lakers bench was pretty bad last year, those two should fix that. But seriously, where did the Lakers get weaker? Absolutely nowhere. They lost the #2 center in the league, but in exchange got the #1 center in the league. They gained one of the best shooters/distributors in the game with Nash, they still have the NBA’s best closer in Bryant, and then you can shoe in Gasol and MWP. My only concern with them is health towards the end of the season, as OKC will match up pretty well with them if they meet in the playoffs. Poor Laker fans, life must be tough for you guys.

Los Angeles Clippers 54-28

The Clippers possess two of the most exciting players to watch in the NBA with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. They will of course be a fun team to watch. Although they did lose quite a bit of talent this off season, I feel as if they got better with the additions of Jamal Crawford, Grant Hill, and Lamar Odom. If the Odom of 2 years ago shows up, this team will be very deep. When Chauncey Billups gets back it will make this team even deeper. Lastly, if DeAndre Jordan can form any kind of offensive consistency it could make the Clippers a legitimate threat to their cross town rivals, the Lakers.

Golden State Warriors 38-44

The trade for Andrew Bogut was exactly what this team needed; now they just have to hope he can get healthy and stay healthy. He will bring a defensive presence that this team hasn’t seen in a long time, and pairing him up with David Lee in the post will give them a very talented duo in the paint. Harrison Barnes should also help on both ends of the floor and give them a nice spark off the bench. I also really liked the way Klay Thompson played when he got the starting nod after Monte Ellis was traded. If Stephen Curry and Bogut can stay healthy, and the team can make even minor improvements on defense, they should compete for 3rd in this division, and maybe even sneak into the playoffs as an 8 seed.

Phoenix Suns 32-50

The Suns lost a lot, and I don’t mean only Steve Nash. Grant Hill was great for them last season, as was Channing Frye, who will miss the season with heart problems. Marcin Gortat is still there, but his production will fall with the departure of Nash. They did bring in Goran Dragic, who will fill in nicely at point, but again, he is no Nash. I’m excited to see what Michael Beasley can do for the Suns, this is the kind of team he was made for. Ultimately though, the Suns will not make the playoffs. This division is too talented and they simply weren’t able to replace what they lost.

Sacramento Kings 26-56

This is the most frustrating team in the NBA to me. Talent everywhere, but the attitude has been me, me, me for too long. DeMarcus Cousins could be an All-Star talent, but he is too immature to realize it. Tyreke Evans has seemed to get worse each year since his rookie year. Marcus Thornton has talent, but he is just another player who has to have the ball in his hands. Thomas Robinson is very talented, but just like Jimmer Fredette last season, I’m not sure where he’ll fit in. So much talent, but no one has been able to harness it yet, and I don’t see this year being any different in Sacramento.


Eastern Conference Playoffs
1-Miami Heat vs. 8-New York Knicks- 4-1 Miami Heat
2-Indiana Pacers vs. 7-Brooklyn Nets- 4-2 Indiana Pacers
3-Boston Celtics vs. 6-Atlanta Hawks- 4-1 Boston Celtics
4-Chicago Bulls vs. 5-Philadelphia 76ers- 4-2 Philadelphia 76ers

Eastern Conference Semi-Finals
1-Miami Heat vs. 5-Philadelphia 76ers- 4-0 Miami Heat
2-Indiana Pacers vs. 3-Boston Celtics- 4-3 Indiana Pacers

Eastern Conference Finals
1-Miami Heat vs. 2-Indiana Pacers- 4-0 Miami

Western Conference Playoffs
1-L.A Lakers vs. 8-Dallas Mavericks- 4-0 L.A. Lakers
2-Oklahoma City Thunder vs. 7-Denver Nuggets- 4-0 OKC Thunder
3-Memphis Grizzlies vs. 6-Utah Jazz- 4-3 Utah Jazz
4-L.A. Clippers vs. 5-San Antonio Spurs- 4-3 L.A Clippers

Western Conference Semi-Finals
1-L.A. Lakers vs. 6-Utah Jazz- 4-0 L.A. Lakers
2-Oklahoma City Thunder vs. 4-L.A. Clippers- 4-1 OKC Thunder

Western Conference Finals
1-L.A. Lakers vs. 2-Oklahoma City Thunder- 4-3 OKC Thunder

                                                                                   NBA Finals
                                                                            Miami Heat vs. OKC Thunder
                                                                            4-2 OKC Thunder