With the season about to start, it' time for some bold NBA predictions. Now I'm saying you should bet anything on these, but they are just a few things to look for this season.
Ron Artest will be fine, but T-Mac and Yao won't A lot of people are saying that the Rockets fortunes hinge on whether or not Ron Artest spontaneously combusts at some point in the season; I think that's the least of their worries. The bane of the Rockets existence over the past several seasons has been the injury bug. It seems that every year both Yao and T-mac miss a lot of games, and that these absences ultimately cost the Rockets their season. Three years ago they both missed over 20 games and the Rockets missed the playoffs. Two years ago they were both healthy but the rest of the team stunk. And last year they were ready to do some postseason damage before Yao was lost for the season. I don't expect anything to change this time around; the only questions are: (1) how many games will each one miss, and (2) will they come at the worst possible time, like the playoffs. I predict that Artest makes it through the season, but that the usual cause of death will rear it's ugly head once again.
The Suns could miss the playoffs Now this is a real hypothetical here, but it's one worth paying attention to. The Suns are now an old team with four starters well past 30 years old, three of whom haven't played a full season in who knows how long. Grant Hill, Shaquille O'neal, and Steve Nash are bound to miss at least ten games apiece, and if they all come at the same time thhat could be enough to tank their whole season. Amare Stoudemire is not the same player without Nash, and Leandro Barbosa is not good enough to start at point guard should Nash get hurt. They've already been banished to the lower tier of the playoff chase due to improvement in other cities and their own decline, a little bit of misfortune could have them counting ping pong balls in June.
Detroit will win the division one last time. We've been predicting their breakup for several seasons now, and I think it will finally happen in 2009. Rip Hamilton's contract runs out, and his replacement is already on the roster in the form of Rodney Stuckey. Rasheed Wallace is also a free agent in 2009, and the team will have to seriously consider whether or not they want to keep a 30-something year old with a huge salary number. But none of that matters right now; the Pistons are built for the regular season, and won't go through the ups and downs that the Cavaliers are prone to suffer from. Lebron has a retooled lineup, again, and there are going to be nights where it just doesn't work right. The Pistons all know each other and won't have any problem meshing together seamlessly for one more run. It won't help them in the playoffs, where you need a big star to carry the load, but there's no reason they won't rattle off another 50-plus wins for their swan song.
Boston wins the East: It might be easier this time around; now that they've gotten over the hump, confidence won't be the issue that it was last year at times. Their Eastern rivals are all fatally flawed in one way or another, as they were last season, and none of them will be able to win four out of seven against the Celtics when it counts.
The Lakers win the West: Too much talent for anyone else to stop them in a series. Houston, if healthy, could give them a serious challenge but you just can't count on that happening. I like the Hornets, but I just don't think they have enough greatness outside of Chris Paul to prevail. And the Spurs just can't run with them anymore.
I am back bitches
The Finals is pretty much set imho!! LAKERS / CELTS.. here are my reasons. http://jib-sports-culture.blogspot.com/