Well, no doubt for San Antonio to repeat. Added two veterans in Finley and Van Exel, to an already stacked roster.

I also heard that Amare could be out all season. That would suck for Phoenix! That could make your Golden State prediction all the more likely, although they would be a huge surprise to finish top.

Also, I am a huge fan of KG, but even with good numbers last season (22P, 13R, played all 82 games), Minnesota struggled without any real contributions from Sprewell and Cassell. They even have Hoiberg's heart concerns that will keep him out. They will rely on Wally to have a big year. I don't think Minnesota will make the playoffs.


The big team to watch will be Miami. Will they dominate or fall in a screaming heap due to players whining they don't get enough of the ball? Will be interesting...

I also think Indiana is the dark horse for the title, or at least to make the finals. If oneal plays like the solid player he is, tinsley stays healthy, Artest has another defensive player of the year seasons and Jasikevicius adds that final peice, then they could be strong in the playoffs.

Eastern Conference
Atlantic:

1. New Jersey - If Kidd stays healthy, they finish top of Atlantic.
2. New York - Look for Nate Robinson to ignite them off the bench.
3. Boston - Young and will run - but 2 years away from competing.
4. Philidelphia - Cant see Philly scaring too many teams.
5. Toronto - Not enough Talent.

Central:
1. Detroit - Will slide downward from last 2 years.. but not by much.
2. Cleveland - Very dangerous team, will push Detriot for Division title right to the end.
3. Indiana - Will miss Miller.. but only a good point guard away from a division win.
4. Milwaukee - Could possibly underachieve this year if chemistry is not found.
5. Chicago - Will play hard and compete, but not enough talent to seriously push the top 4.

SouthEast:
1. Miami - Big question mark over playoff chemistry. Should breeze through the reg season. Will they be another Portland '01 or will everyone play their parts?
2. Washington - Good pick up in Caron Butler and Antonio Daniels who should counter Arenas high turnover rate.
3. Orlando - a .500 team
4. Charlotte - Will compete most nights - but not enough depth
5. Atlanta - Juries still out...

Western Conference

NorthWest:

1. Denver - Karl will get wins again this season - but how long before the conflict starts?
2. Seattle - Wont miss Big Snacks, but loss of Nate and Daniels will be felt. Look for Petro to make some waves.
3. Utah - WIth a healthy Boozer and Kirilenko and the addition of Deron Williams, Utah will improve.
4. Minnesota - On the downward spiral
5. Portland - Will have an awful season. Nat + young guys who want to wear headbands doesnt mix.


Pacific:
1. Phoenix - Nash will lead them to another Division Title.
2. Sacramento - Will have a similar year to last season
3. LA Lakers - Should improve if Odom and Kwame play to potential.
4. LA Clippers - They are the Clippers. I dont care how much they improved last season, they wont make the playoffs.
5. Golden State - They are the Warriors. I dont care how much they improved last season, they wont make the playoffs.

SouthWest:
1. San Antonio - Very tough to beat - although there is a question mark over Chemistry that Pop usually doesnt have to worry about
2. Houston - Great depth, and will actually push Spurs for Division title.
3. Dallas - Cant see them doing much damage in the playoffs, but they will win a few reg season games.
4. Memphis - blah
5. NO/Oklahoma City - Have an exciting team with D Mase addition to Paul, and JR Smith. Will still suck.

Eastern Conference

Atlantic: Probably the worst division in the league. Brooklyn Nets do well playing in this div.

1. New Jersey - Top team in probably the worst division in the League. Any team with Kidd, Jefferson and Vince will compete. Probably a decent centre and powerforward away for doing any real damage. Will have the 3rd seed in the playoffs just for being the best team in the Div. A busted Kidd knee from being a lottery team.

2. New York - Addition of Curry is big, but I think the addition of AD is bigger. Will compete but a lot will depend if they buy into Brown's system. Can score, but can they defend????

3. Boston - Nice collection of young'uns. Watch the highlight reels for Gerald Green. Pierce to be traded by the all-star game.

4. Philidelphia - Any team with AI will compete. Sadly it's all they got. Webber is gone and the Kings definate won that trade scenario. Kyle Korver is the sweetest shooter in the League. Will be very lucky to have the 8th seed in the playoffs.

5. Toronto - Got nothing bar Bosh and a great rook in Villy.

Central: Toughest division in the League. Every team has a legit playoff chance.

1. Detroit - Central champs, this team has the chemistry, the experience and the defence to challenge again. Nice pickup in Dale Davis, plus hopefully Darko will step up. Nice rook in Maxiell as well.

2. Indiana - Will challenge the elite teams with Artest back for the whole year, plus their two rookies make up for the loss in Miller. Granger is for real and Jasivikious is a good veteran that will help this team.

3. Cleveland - Could be anything from lottery to NBA champions. Lebron and Hughes in the backcourt is nice.

4. Milwaukee - Stotts is a chump. A very nice team in the making, but Redd doesn't deserve to be a max player. Magliore is a huge pick up. Big problems at the PF position.

5. Chicago - Now have no post presence in offence. Teams will clamp down on Gordon now. Have problem gone backwards compared to last year.

SouthEast:

1. Miami - One word.... chemistry. Wade is already not happy and will Tone really be happy coming of the bench along with the Glove. Pat Riley will be coach by all-star game. Too many additions for my liking (see the Lakers a few years ago).

2. Washington - Very nice team, probably an top notch centre from really challenging for Eastern Conference champs. Butler, Arenas and Jamieson is a nice triple threat. Good move in shipping Kwame... anyone spell 'BUST'...

3. Orlando - Won't make the playoff but will give the 8th seed a rock. Draft nightmare in picking Fran and then he decides to pull a 'no-show'. Too many holes in the roster to be a serious threat.

4. Charlotte - Young, but still seriously lacking a scoring threat anywhere on the court. Okafor is a stud and will be an all-star. Zero scoring out of the SG and SF positions will really hurt.

5. Atlanta - A vast improvement over last season. There best rook is Salim, not Marvin. Zaza is a nice pick-up, but expect Harrington to be shipped by all-star game for either a PG, PF or C. Too many holes in the roster.

Western Conference

NorthWest:

1. Denver - Could really challenge this season, but things had to go right. Camby has to stay health, Melo has to step it up a notch, K-Mart needs to crack heads and Nene needs to fulfil some potential.

2. Utah - A real sleeper. Could be last seasons Seattle. Boozer, AK47, Okur, Harpring and Deron could be dangerous.

3. Minnesota - This team sucks... why, KG's crap contract. If I was Minny I'd trade him and start again. They haven't won with him, and they won't win this season. Time to bust it up and start again.

4. Seattle - Last year was a fluke, this year will really show the true collection of talent this team has... not much outside of Lewis and Allen.

5. Portland - This years worst team in the League. Too young to compete this year, but in 5 years they'll be ready to challenge.

Pacific:

1. Phoenix - Nash will lead them to another Division Title. To really challenge they need Amare back and firing. Nash and co will keep to wins rolling, but to challenge the Spurs they need Amare. The pick ups of KT and Bell makes up for JJ and Q. They now has some toughness on the D end.

2. Sacramento - They will roll along quitely, just rolling up the W's. Very nice starting 5, but will the curse of Reef rub off on this team???

3. LA Clippers - Best team in LA. May challenge for 8th seed. Mobley is a nice pickup, plus the ugliest man in the NBA will help at the PG position. They really need Livingston to get healthy. Brand will do another 20/10.

4. LA Lakers- Outside of Kobe, Phil and Lamar they suck. Any chance of making the play off relies on these three. If Kwame explodes then they should make it. Moral of the story.... never trade Shaq...

5. Golden State - Another 8th seed potential team. A full season of Baron and J-Rich in the backcourt will be nice to watch. Need a real centre, sorry Foyle doesn't do it.

SouthWest:

1. San Antonio - Will roll along during the season, and will decide to play come playoffs. Will do enough to win the div. Sweet roster with the addition of NVE and Finley. NVE needs to shut up cause this is his best chance of a ring. Will go all the way.

2. Houston - My sleeper team to take it out. T-Mac and Yao will finally work it out. Unstoppable pick and roll with these two. Swift will explode this year and put up great numbers. Rafer needs to keep his trap shut and just run the offence and not be a biatch.

3. Dallas - Regular season champs, playoff chumps......

4. Memphis - Nice squad, but seriously, get rid of this primary school thinking of 'everybody get's to play'. Need someone to help Gasol now Swift is gone.

5. NO/Oklahoma City - They will stink it up this season. Expect NO/Ok to change their name to Las Vegas Hornets in the next season or two. CP3 is for real. This team will feature on the highlight reels a lot, but won't win many games.

NOK beat Sacramento last night quite easily - 93 - 67.

Paul got 13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a block.