Another update...unbelievable
Hey guys, it's me again.
I feel like everyone is starting to reach the 6 week period where they are starting to miss home more than ever. People around here and some of the people I've talked to from home seem a little bit more depressed than usual. I'm feeling just as good as usual, though. I don't know whether this is because I feel so close to people here already or because I was away for 3 months in Israel, but it's still really interesting to note. People will start to turn it around, but it's still an interesting phenomenon.
The real reason I did this was because I wanted to post an NBA Preview here, because it's coming soon.
For the first time in 5 years, the Eastern Conference will rise again to be the stronger conference. Ever since the Lakers dominance starting in the year 2000, the Eastern Conference has been known as the "Leastern Conference." However, last year, with the great Pistons-Spurs series, it was clear that the conferences were more balanced than they had been in a very long time. After this year's offseason, the Eastern Conference will rise again. Seemingly every team in the Eastern Conference improved themselves. Miami added Jason Williams, James Posey, Antoine Walker, and Gary Payton to Shaq and Dwayne Wade. Indiana welcomes back Ron Artest and added backcourt snipers in Sarunas Jasakavicus and draft pick Danny Granger. New Jersey, despite missing out on Shareef Abdur-Rahim, will benefit from having a full season of Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, and Richard Jefferson playing together. Cleveland, in an attempt to improve LeBron James' supporting cast, signed free agents Larry Hughes, Damon Jones, and Donyell Marshall, while still holding on to center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Milwaukee drafted Andrew Bogut and signed Bobby Simmons while holding on to Michael Redd. The Knicks added Eddy Curry and Quentin Richardson while getting rid of the logjam at shooting guard.
Even teams that didn't improve kept together just fine. Detroit loses Larry Brown, but kept its core together and signed the best coach on the market in Flip Saunders. The Wizards lost Larry Hughes, but might have gotten the steals of the offseason in Caron Butler and Antonio Daniels. The Bulls parlayed a potentially bad situation by getting Michael Sweetney and Tim Thomas for Eddy Curry, improving their overall depth. The Celtics lost Antoine Walker and Gary Payton, but are building towards the future with Tony Allen, Al Jefferson, Delonte West, and rookie Gerald Green. Even Orlando should be improved, with the emergence of Dwight Howard. These 11 teams will be beating each other up all season, and all should compete for the playoffs.
Meanwhile, in the Western Conference, the top teams are mostly reeling. San Antonio should remain strong with the addition of Michael Finley, but the rest of the conference looks much worse. The only other team to improve is Houston, who signed Stromile Swift to play up front with Yao and Tracy McGrady. The rest of the teams have question marks. Phoenix, last year's surprise first place team, already lost shooters Quentin Richardson and Joe Johnson, and now will be without Amare Stoudamire for most, if not all, of the season. Seattle, another surprise team last year, signed most of their free agents, but lost coach Nate McMillan and will be unable to sneak up on anyone this year. Dallas lost mainstay Michael Finley, meaning that Dirk Nowitzski will have to do even more scoring. Sacramento lost Cuttino Mobley and added headcase Shareef Abdur-Rahim, which is hardly a trade I would take. Denver looks poised to win this year, but still didn't solve their shooting guard problems. Memphis lost James Posey and Jason Williams. Golden State and the LA Clippers should be much improved, but keep in mind they are the Clippers and the Warriors. The Lakers gained Phil Jackson, but still have little talent, while Minnesota looks worse than ever. The West could go any way this season.
Without further ado, my picks... (playoff teams in bold)
Atlantic Division
1. New Jersey
2. New York
3. Boston
4. Philadelphia
5. Toronto
Central Division
1. Indiana
2. Cleveland
3. Detroit
4. Chicago
5. Milwaukee
Southeast Division
1. Miami
2. Washington
3. Orlando
4. Charlotte
5. Atlanta
Northwest Division
1. Denver
2. Seattle
3. Utah
4. Minnesota
5. Portland
Southwest Division
1. San Antonio
2. Houston
3. Dallas
4. Memphis
5. New Orleans
Pacific Division
1. Sacramento
2. Golden State
3. Phoenix
4. LA Clippers
5. LA Lakers
Playoffs:
East:
(1) Indiana 4 (8) Washington 1
(5) Detroit 4 (4) Cleveland 3
(3) New Jersey 4 (6) New York 2
(2) Miami 4 (7) Chicago 1
(4) Detroit 4 (1) Indiana 3
(2) Miami 4 (3) New Jersey 2
(2) Miami 4 (4) Detroit 2
West:
(1) San Antonio 4 (8) Seattle 1
(4) Houston 4 (5) Dallas 2
(6) Golden State 4 (3) Sacramento 2
(2) Denver 4 (7) Memphis 0
(1) San Antonio 4 (4) Houston 3
(2) Denver 4 (6) Golden State 1
(1) San Antonio 4 (2) Denver 0
FINALS: San Antonio 4, Miami 2
MVP: Lebron James
FINALS MVP: Manu Ginobili
ROY: Chris Paul
6th Man: Michael Finley
Defensive: Ben Wallace
I feel like everyone is starting to reach the 6 week period where they are starting to miss home more than ever. People around here and some of the people I've talked to from home seem a little bit more depressed than usual. I'm feeling just as good as usual, though. I don't know whether this is because I feel so close to people here already or because I was away for 3 months in Israel, but it's still really interesting to note. People will start to turn it around, but it's still an interesting phenomenon.
The real reason I did this was because I wanted to post an NBA Preview here, because it's coming soon.
For the first time in 5 years, the Eastern Conference will rise again to be the stronger conference. Ever since the Lakers dominance starting in the year 2000, the Eastern Conference has been known as the "Leastern Conference." However, last year, with the great Pistons-Spurs series, it was clear that the conferences were more balanced than they had been in a very long time. After this year's offseason, the Eastern Conference will rise again. Seemingly every team in the Eastern Conference improved themselves. Miami added Jason Williams, James Posey, Antoine Walker, and Gary Payton to Shaq and Dwayne Wade. Indiana welcomes back Ron Artest and added backcourt snipers in Sarunas Jasakavicus and draft pick Danny Granger. New Jersey, despite missing out on Shareef Abdur-Rahim, will benefit from having a full season of Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, and Richard Jefferson playing together. Cleveland, in an attempt to improve LeBron James' supporting cast, signed free agents Larry Hughes, Damon Jones, and Donyell Marshall, while still holding on to center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Milwaukee drafted Andrew Bogut and signed Bobby Simmons while holding on to Michael Redd. The Knicks added Eddy Curry and Quentin Richardson while getting rid of the logjam at shooting guard.
Even teams that didn't improve kept together just fine. Detroit loses Larry Brown, but kept its core together and signed the best coach on the market in Flip Saunders. The Wizards lost Larry Hughes, but might have gotten the steals of the offseason in Caron Butler and Antonio Daniels. The Bulls parlayed a potentially bad situation by getting Michael Sweetney and Tim Thomas for Eddy Curry, improving their overall depth. The Celtics lost Antoine Walker and Gary Payton, but are building towards the future with Tony Allen, Al Jefferson, Delonte West, and rookie Gerald Green. Even Orlando should be improved, with the emergence of Dwight Howard. These 11 teams will be beating each other up all season, and all should compete for the playoffs.
Meanwhile, in the Western Conference, the top teams are mostly reeling. San Antonio should remain strong with the addition of Michael Finley, but the rest of the conference looks much worse. The only other team to improve is Houston, who signed Stromile Swift to play up front with Yao and Tracy McGrady. The rest of the teams have question marks. Phoenix, last year's surprise first place team, already lost shooters Quentin Richardson and Joe Johnson, and now will be without Amare Stoudamire for most, if not all, of the season. Seattle, another surprise team last year, signed most of their free agents, but lost coach Nate McMillan and will be unable to sneak up on anyone this year. Dallas lost mainstay Michael Finley, meaning that Dirk Nowitzski will have to do even more scoring. Sacramento lost Cuttino Mobley and added headcase Shareef Abdur-Rahim, which is hardly a trade I would take. Denver looks poised to win this year, but still didn't solve their shooting guard problems. Memphis lost James Posey and Jason Williams. Golden State and the LA Clippers should be much improved, but keep in mind they are the Clippers and the Warriors. The Lakers gained Phil Jackson, but still have little talent, while Minnesota looks worse than ever. The West could go any way this season.
Without further ado, my picks... (playoff teams in bold)
Atlantic Division
1. New Jersey
2. New York
3. Boston
4. Philadelphia
5. Toronto
Central Division
1. Indiana
2. Cleveland
3. Detroit
4. Chicago
5. Milwaukee
Southeast Division
1. Miami
2. Washington
3. Orlando
4. Charlotte
5. Atlanta
Northwest Division
1. Denver
2. Seattle
3. Utah
4. Minnesota
5. Portland
Southwest Division
1. San Antonio
2. Houston
3. Dallas
4. Memphis
5. New Orleans
Pacific Division
1. Sacramento
2. Golden State
3. Phoenix
4. LA Clippers
5. LA Lakers
Playoffs:
East:
(1) Indiana 4 (8) Washington 1
(5) Detroit 4 (4) Cleveland 3
(3) New Jersey 4 (6) New York 2
(2) Miami 4 (7) Chicago 1
(4) Detroit 4 (1) Indiana 3
(2) Miami 4 (3) New Jersey 2
(2) Miami 4 (4) Detroit 2
West:
(1) San Antonio 4 (8) Seattle 1
(4) Houston 4 (5) Dallas 2
(6) Golden State 4 (3) Sacramento 2
(2) Denver 4 (7) Memphis 0
(1) San Antonio 4 (4) Houston 3
(2) Denver 4 (6) Golden State 1
(1) San Antonio 4 (2) Denver 0
FINALS: San Antonio 4, Miami 2
MVP: Lebron James
FINALS MVP: Manu Ginobili
ROY: Chris Paul
6th Man: Michael Finley
Defensive: Ben Wallace