User:Bob rulz/2008-09 NBA season predictions

Final predictions as of October 29, 2008. I will not change any of these for any reason from now on.

Playoffs
Eastern Conference
 * (1) Boston Celtics over (8) Chicago Bulls 4-1
 * (2) Detroit Pistons over (7) Washington Wizards 4-2
 * (6) Toronto Raptors over (3) Philadelphia 76ers 4-3
 * (5) Cleveland Cavaliers over (4) Orlando Magic 4-2


 * (1) Boston Celtics over (6) Toronto Raptors 4-1
 * (5) Cleveland Cavaliers over (2) Detroit Pistons 4-3


 * (1) Boston Celtics over (2) Cleveland Cavaliers 4-2

Western Conference
 * (1) Los Angeles Lakers over (8) Dallas Mavericks 4-1
 * (2) Utah Jazz over (7) Portland Trail Blazers 4-2
 * (6) Houston Rockets over (3) New Orleans Hornets 4-3
 * (4) San Antonio Spurs over (5) Phoenix Suns 4-1


 * (1) Los Angeles Lakers over (6) Houston Rockets 4-2
 * (2) Utah Jazz over (4) San Antonio Spurs 4-3


 * (1) Los Angeles Lakers over (2) Utah Jazz 4-2

Championship
 * (1) Los Angeles Lakers over (1) Boston Celtics 4-3
 * The Celtics have as good of a chance as the Lakers I believe, but I have to pick a winner and the Lakers are just so dominant. Defense still wins championships, but the Lakers' offense is so potent and I think their defense is adequate. The return to health of Bynum will be a huge factor and the Lakers are potentially one of the most dangerous teams of this decade. It will be a tough, physical, grinding battle and the Lakers will barely come out victoriously. But I won't be surprised if the Celtics win either.

All-Star Game
Eastern Conference

Starters:
 * PF Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
 * SF LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
 * C Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
 * SG Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
 * PG Jose Calderon, Toronto Raptors

Backups:
 * F Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors
 * F Elton Brand, Philadelphia 76ers
 * F Caron Butler, Washington Wizards
 * G Richard Hamilton, Detroit Pistons
 * G Devin Harris, New Jersey Nets
 * F Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia 76ers
 * F Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics

Injury replacements (if needed):
 * F Richard Jefferson, Milwaukee Bucks
 * G Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls

Western Conference

Starters:
 * PF Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
 * SF Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets
 * C Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns
 * SG Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
 * PG Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets

Backups:
 * F Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets
 * F Carlos Boozer, Utah Jazz
 * C Andrew Bynum, Los Angeles Lakers
 * G Kevin Martin, Sacramento Kings
 * G Tracy McGrady, Houston Rockets
 * C Yao Ming, Houston Rockets
 * G Deron Williams, Utah Jazz

Injury replacements (if needed):
 * G Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
 * F Brandon Roy, Portland Trail Blazers

Awards

 * MVP: Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
 * Rookie of the Year: Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
 * Defensive Player of the Year: Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
 * Sixth Man of the Year: Lamar Odom, Los Angeles Lakers
 * Most Improved Player: Devin Harris, New Jersey Nets
 * Coach of the Year: Nate McMillan, Portland Trail Blazers

All-NBA First Team:
 * F LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
 * F Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
 * C Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns
 * G Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
 * G Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets

All-NBA Second Team:
 * F Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
 * F Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets
 * C Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
 * G Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
 * G Deron Williams, Utah Jazz

All-NBA Third Team:
 * F Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors
 * F Carlos Boozer, Utah Jazz
 * C Yao Ming, Houston Rockets
 * G Tracy McGrady, Houston Rockets
 * G Kevin Martin, Sacramento Kings

Leaders

 * Points per game: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers - 31.1
 * Rebounds per game: Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic - 15.5
 * Assists per game: Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets - 12.0
 * Steals per game: Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets - 2.75
 * Blocks per game: Josh Smith, Atlanta Hawks - 2.86

Playoffs
Here are my official pre-playoff predictions. I actually got 13 of the 16 playoff teams right, but the seeding ended up much differently than I expected. So here's my predictions of how this postseason will turn out.

Eastern Conference
First round
 * (1) Cleveland defeats (8) Detroit 4-0
 * Wow how Detroit fell. This Allen Iverson trade was a huge mistake. Cleveland is at the top of their game and will run Detroit out of the building. I could see Detroit winning a game, 2 if they're lucky, but I'm predicting a clean sweep here.
 * (2) Boston defeats (7) Chicago 4-1
 * Chicago has become a pretty competent team, but they're no match for even a Kevin Garnett-less Celtics team. They have enough firepower to pull out a victory, but anything more than that is a pipe dream.
 * (3) Orlando defeats (6) Philadelphia 4-0
 * Sure, this is a 3-6 seed series, but Orlando is so much better than Philadelphia. I just don't think this is even a contest.
 * (4) Atlanta defeats (5) Miami 4-3
 * This is probably the only compelling match-up in the Eastern Conference's first round. Actually, I think it will be a very compelling match-up. Atlanta is a much better overall team, and will also defend their home court with their lives, but Dwyane Wade will make things interesting and could pull out the victory for the Heat. I don't see it happening, although I wouldn't be too surprised if it did.

Semi-finals (2) Boston defeats (3) Orlando 4-3
 * (1) Cleveland defeats (4) Atlanta 4-1
 * Atlanta is a pretty solid team, but Cleveland is going to run circles around them. LeBron James steps it up for the playoffs, and he will power this team to a near-sweep of the Hawks.
 * This is going to be a very tough, well-fought match-up. Even though Boston may be missing Garnett at this point, they still have just enough strength, size, and tenacity to make it past Orlando. Orlando will shoot their way to a few victories, and Dwight Howard is always a major X-factor, but Boston is a powerful team. Boston may also have Garnett back by late in this series.

Finals
 * (2) Boston defeats (1) Cleveland 4-2
 * This may be a controversial pick, but more than likely, Boston will have Kevin Garnett back by this time, fully healthy and ready to play. This will make Boston complete, and I don't think that the Cavaliers can compete with a fully-healthy, motivated Boston team that will fight to retain their title. LeBron James will make things interesting, but I just don't think his supporting cast is strong enough yet. If Boston is still missing Garnett though, it will be a different story.

Western Conference
First round
 * (1) L.A. Lakers defeat (8) Utah Jazz 4-2
 * To be fair, the Jazz would have been much higher if they wouldn't have been so injury-plagued. The injuries hurt them early in the year and when everybody returned healthy, they never rediscovered their chemistry. I think they will be locked in and ready to go for the playoffs, and will pull out a couple on their dominant home court, but the Lakers are too strong for them.
 * (7) New Orleans defeats (2) Denver 4-3
 * New Orleans lacks depth, and Denver has proven to be remarkably resilient and tough with Chauncey Billups and an emerging supporting cast, but I think the Hornets are the better team, despite what the seeding says. Chris Paul will make things difficult for them. However, I wouldn't be surprised if Denver won this one either.
 * (3) San Antonio defeats (6) Dallas 4-2
 * Even though San Antonio will be missing Manu Ginobili, Dallas isn't that good. Aside from Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas doesn't have enough weapons to compete with San Antonio's veteran, playoff-tested roster and brilliantly-executed, tough offense.
 * (5) Houston defeats (4) Portland 4-3
 * This will be another very engaging match-up, but I think Houston is coming together at the right time and will be able to pull out 1 victory on Portland's tough home court. Shutting down Tracy McGracy for the season was the right thing to do, and will finally push Houston out of the first round. Their tough defense will overcome Portland's young, green roster. However, Portland has an incredible cast of young players and a budding superstar in Brandon Roy, as well as one of the toughest home courts in the league, so I wouldn't be surprised if they manage to pull out the victory either.

Semi-finals
 * (1) L.A. Lakers defeat (7) New Orleans 4-0
 * I think that New Orleans will give the Lakers less fits than the Jazz will. They're an injury-hobbled team with a short bench, and the Lakers are going to slice and dice them no issues.
 * (3) San Antonio defeats (5) Houston 4-3
 * Oh what an interesting match-up this will be. The Texas rivalries in this league are epic and are going to set things up very well for the playoffs. Even without Manu, San Antonio has enough of a strong, young supporting cast and playoff experience to overcome Houston's lingering chemistry issues. This is going to be a very tough, physical series, as both teams are among the toughest and dirtiest in the league. If the Spurs had Manu then this would be an easy San Antonio victory, but without Ginobili, things could get very interesting and Houston's toughness might win out. But it probably won't.

Finals
 * (1) L.A. Lakers defeat (3) San Antonio 4-2
 * The Lakers are going to have an easy time in these playoffs I think. Well, relatively easy. I may be overestimating their dominance (or underestimating the other teams) but the Lakers are undoubtedly the best team in the West, and they'll have no trouble rolling over the Spurs just like all of the other teams. Without Ginobili, the Spurs don't stand a chance, and unlike previous years, they're more limping into the playoffs rather than soaring into them. However, their playoff experience will get them far, like always.

Championship

 * L.A. Lakers defeat Boston Celtics 4-3
 * In a rematch of last year's Finals, the Lakers I believe will come out on top. My prediction from the beginning of the season has not changed, and if Garnett manages to get back and healthy, then the Celtics will be nearly as scary as they were last year. However, a slight drop-off in their production, a tougher playoff trip, and an improved Lakers team, complete with Andrew Bynum, I think will be enough to bring the Lakers over the top this time in what will prove to be a remarkable series, regardless of if the Celtics or Cavaliers make it out the East. The Lakers are a well-oiled machine with a tougher defense than they had last season, a veteran coach, an experienced roster, and improved focus. If a Kobe-LeBron match-up occurs instead, I think Kobe will come out on top anyway, so either way, I proclaim the Lakers as my 2009 NBA Champion.