Eastern Conference Playoff Seeds:
1. Miami Heat
2. Orlando Magic
3. Chicago Bulls
4. Boston Celtics
5. Atlanta Hawks
6. Milwaukee Bucks
7. New York Knicks
8. Charlotte Bobcats
Miami holds off Orlando for the number one seed in the East. Chicago will pass Boston for third because Doc Rivers will rest his players periodically during the season for the playoffs. Atlanta and Milwaukee are interchangeable at the 5-6. The Knicks could past them both if they land Carmelo. Charlotte gets the eighth seed due to coaching and a mid-season trade to bring a center.
Western Conference Playoff Seeds:
1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. Oklahoma City Thunder
3. Dallas Mavericks
4. San Antonio Spurs
5. Utah Jazz
6. Portland Trail Blazers
7. Phoenix Suns
8. Houston Rockets
Los Angeles and Oklahoma City are easily the class of this conference. Dallas gets third due to the underrated addition of Tyson Chandler which gives them a plethora of “bigs” that they never had before. San Antonio and Utah are easily playoff contenders. Portland and Phoenix get the sixth and seventh seeds due to Brandon Roy and Steve Nash respectively. Houston gets the eight and final seed over the Clippers due to well they’re the Clippers. Denver is the wild card in this conference. With Carnelo, they could end up winning a round in the playoffs. Without “Melo,” the Nuggets start a fire sale and trade away Chauncey Billups, J.R. Smith, and Kenyon Martin.
MVP: LeBron James
Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard
Most Improved Player: Jrue Holiday (or Terrence Williams provided no “Melo” in NJ)
Sixth Man: Mike Miller
Rookie of the Year: Blake Griffin
Coach of the Year: Tom Thibodeau
Player Watch:
Stock Up:
Russell Westbrook
Jrue Holiday
DJ Augustin
Eric Gordon
James Harden
JeVale McGee
Nicholas Batum
Terrence Williams
Derrick Brown
JJ Hickson
Michael Beasley
Stock Down:
Chauncey Billups
Baron Davis
Jose Calderon
Mike Bibby
Rashard Lewis
Caron Butler
Tayshaun Prince
Shawn Marion
Elton Brand
NBA Finals Prediction:
Heat over Lakers in 7
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