It is obviously very early to be talking about this, but I believe that the team who wins it all will be the winner of a New Orleans Hornets and Houston Rockets Western Conference Championship. You obviously cannot count out the Celtics and Lakers, but I think the Hornets and Rockets are ahead of the field in the NBA this season.
Yes.. even with Bynum getting better the clear edge in terms of big men lies with Yao and the Rockets. Kobe is obviously better than T-mac, but with Artest and Battier you have two lock down defenders who are among the best in the league on the defensive end. The whole package together is perfect for playoff hoops. This is a team that won close to 20 straight games last season without Yao. Add Yao and Artest, and they are scary good.
I'm not really that big on Houston this year. They really haven't played any title contenders this year so we haven't seen them up against the best. I think it's Detroit vs Toronto in the East and Utah vs LAL in the west. New Orleans being right there wouldn't surprise me, but I also think SA could be right there, as well as Phoenix.
I might actually put Houston as the 6th best team in the West behind the 5 listed above.
I might actually put Houston as the 6th best team in the West behind the 5 listed above.
LONG way to go and it'll come down to injuries and maybe a trade-deadline pick-up (Lakers getting Gasol last year put them over the top), could happen again in either conference...
If every team gets and remains healthy, I'd be shocked if LAL and BOS do not make their respective Conference Finals series, so it'll just be a matter of who they play and seedings will play a major role for all of those announcers on TV who say the regular season doesn't matter...And I think the Hornets are the 2nd best team in the West and Utah or Houston are even, so he healtiest team standing at the end would be third best...I don't see PHOE, SA or DAL getting by any of these 4 teams...So LAL will the #1 seed, probably Utah #2 as they have an easier division to deal with, and then NO #3 and HOU #4, so since I believe all 4 of these teams will wi their 1st-round series', then the Rockets would get the Lakers in the Semis...Tough road...
Although Kevin Garnett was in McGrady's boat at one time, never geting out of the 1st round for 6 or 7 years and then when the T'Wolves finally did get out of the first round, they made it to the Conference Finals before losing to LAL...Houston may do this, too, with McGrady this year, if they can win their division so they can avoid LAL till the Finals...
The East is wide open behind Boston being the #1 seed again...DET should be the #2 seed and ORL the #3 seed, and that would leave a really tough 1st-round match-up between TOR and CLE...Would be a great series...PHI would be better off getting the #6 seed because I think they could beat ORL in the first round...
If every team gets and remains healthy, I'd be shocked if LAL and BOS do not make their respective Conference Finals series, so it'll just be a matter of who they play and seedings will play a major role for all of those announcers on TV who say the regular season doesn't matter...And I think the Hornets are the 2nd best team in the West and Utah or Houston are even, so he healtiest team standing at the end would be third best...I don't see PHOE, SA or DAL getting by any of these 4 teams...So LAL will the #1 seed, probably Utah #2 as they have an easier division to deal with, and then NO #3 and HOU #4, so since I believe all 4 of these teams will wi their 1st-round series', then the Rockets would get the Lakers in the Semis...Tough road...
Although Kevin Garnett was in McGrady's boat at one time, never geting out of the 1st round for 6 or 7 years and then when the T'Wolves finally did get out of the first round, they made it to the Conference Finals before losing to LAL...Houston may do this, too, with McGrady this year, if they can win their division so they can avoid LAL till the Finals...
The East is wide open behind Boston being the #1 seed again...DET should be the #2 seed and ORL the #3 seed, and that would leave a really tough 1st-round match-up between TOR and CLE...Would be a great series...PHI would be better off getting the #6 seed because I think they could beat ORL in the first round...
