Early NBA Predictions... Have At It!

[ThreeSportStar80]

Nobody is beating a healthy Laker squad in a 7 game series.

Lakers win 99-92.

Lakers for life! I've been a Laker fan since the days of Show Time, growing up as a kid I was like now that's how you play basketball!

 

[JohnnyHopkins]

MVP - LeBron. No one should have to carry a team the way he does, but he can do it better than anyone I've seen in a long time.

LVP - Shaq. He is pretty much done and has managed to find two straight suckers to pony up ridiculous cash for his services.

Eastern Finals - Orlando over Cleveland in seven games. Boston has more than both on paper, but injuries and age will catch up to KG, Ray Allen and Rasheed. LeBron will give it his all again, but his one man show will come up just short due to facing an Orlando squad that is much deeper than last season. LeBron gets fed up and signs with the Knicks in the offseason.

Western Finals - San Antonio over Lakers in six games. An injury free Spurs squad derail the Lakers repeat bid.

Finals Prediction - San Antonio over Orlando in six. My Magic are once again denied the prize and Tim Duncan cements his legacy as one of the top five players of all time.

 

[SLATEmosphere]

MVP - LeBron. No one should have to carry a team the way he does, but he can do it better than anyone I've seen in a long time.

LVP - Shaq. He is pretty much done and has managed to find two straight suckers to pony up ridiculous cash for his services.

Eastern Finals - Orlando over Cleveland in seven games. Boston has more than both on paper, but injuries and age will catch up to KG, Ray Allen and Rasheed. LeBron will give it his all again, but his one man show will come up just short due to facing an Orlando squad that is much deeper than last season. LeBron gets fed up and signs with the Knicks in the offseason.

Western Finals - San Antonio over Lakers in six games. An injury free Spurs squad derail the Lakers repeat bid.

Finals Prediction - San Antonio over Orlando in six. My Magic are once again denied the prize and Tim Duncan cements his legacy as one of the top five players of all time.

I would agree with that. I don't know what's up with the Cavs but they will reach the Conference Championship for sure. They'll probably still struggle against Orlando or Boston.

Spurs look solid. Very deep. If a team could beat the Lakers in a 7 game series it would be the Spurs. They matchup with them very well.

 

[Mavs Man]

Weird. If you had told me before the season started that the Mavs would open up at home against the Wizards and on the road against the LA Lakers, that they would win 1 game by 10+ points and lose the other by 10+ points, I would have gotten the games out of order.

Which just goes to show you, the first part of the season doesn't tell you a whole lot about how the rest of the season will go.

Shawn Marion fits on this team like ketchup on french fries. Great match.

I'm very curious to see how the starting lineup looks when Josh Howard finally returns. If he is healthy Josh again, this team could be pretty good.

 

[pdh]

Weird. If you had told me before the season started that the Mavs would open up at home against the Wizards and on the road against the LA Lakers, that they would win 1 game by 10+ points and lose the other by 10+ points, I would have gotten the games out of order.

Which just goes to show you, the first part of the season doesn't tell you a whole lot about how the rest of the season will go.

Shawn Marion fits on this team like ketchup on french fries. Great match.

I'm very curious to see how the starting lineup looks when Josh Howard finally returns. If he is healthy Josh again, this team could be pretty good.

agree 100%

this team is scary deep.

i was mad when they traded bass, but man these guys really gel. the espn announcers summed it up perfectly - we are 'long'. from tim thomas to howard to dirk to marion (heck even kidd for a pg), there's a bunch of guys over 6'7" that can play at a fast pace and get those long arms to create steals

i'm ready to see what they can do. i had them pegged as 7th/8th west pre-season, because i thought it would take too long to gel

call me crazy, but i see them now within a spot of 3rd in the west (lakers, then spurs as 1-2).

 

[Mavs Man]

agree 100%

this team is scary deep.

i was mad when they traded bass, but man these guys really gel. the espn announcers summed it up perfectly - we are 'long'. from tim thomas to howard to dirk to marion (heck even kidd for a pg), there's a bunch of guys over 6'7" that can play at a fast pace and get those long arms to create steals

i'm ready to see what they can do. i had them pegged as 7th/8th west pre-season, because i thought it would take too long to gel

call me crazy, but i see them now within a spot of 3rd in the west (lakers, then spurs as 1-2).

I've been impressed with their bench, especially since Dirk has been slow to get into a rhythm (a summer off for the first time in a decade will do that) and of course Josh is out.

Guys like Humphries and Gooden and Thomas won't sell a lot of tickets, but they were part of the Mavs offseason plan to add much needed length and athleticism. This team is much more versatile than years past. It's sad to think of what their bench was last year: Terry, Bass, Barea, Singleton, uh... Ryan Hollins... Gerald Green (!)... Matt Carroll (lol). Not much to look at. We kept all the useful ones (except Bass) and added enough talent to move Singleton to major scrub time. I really like what he brings, but I like it better when we have so much depth he really doesn't have to play much.

I hated to see Bass go (2nd favorite player after Dirk) but we couldn't compete with Dirk-Bass-Josh-Kidd-Jet/JJB except for short stretches - too small. Now we have Dirk at the 4 (7 ft), Gooden at the 5 (6-10), Marion (6-7), Josh (6-7), and Kidd (6-4). Or we can replace Gooden with Jet for more scoring and move Dirk to the 5, Marion guarding the PF, etc. Or go small ball with the 3 PG lineup with Dirk and Marion/Josh. Lots of options.

I forgot how funky Marion's shot is. But most of the time it goes it, even though it looks so odd.

 

[SLATEmosphere]

I've been impressed with their bench, especially since Dirk has been slow to get into a rhythm (a summer off for the first time in a decade will do that) and of course Josh is out.

Guys like Humphries and Gooden and Thomas won't sell a lot of tickets, but they were part of the Mavs offseason plan to add much needed length and athleticism. This team is much more versatile than years past. It's sad to think of what their bench was last year: Terry, Bass, Barea, Singleton, uh... Ryan Hollins... Gerald Green (!)... Matt Carroll (lol). Not much to look at. We kept all the useful ones (except Bass) and added enough talent to move Singleton to major scrub time. I really like what he brings, but I like it better when we have so much depth he really doesn't have to play much.

I hated to see Bass go (2nd favorite player after Dirk) but we couldn't compete with Dirk-Bass-Josh-Kidd-Jet/JJB except for short stretches - too small. Now we have Dirk at the 4 (7 ft), Gooden at the 5 (6-10), Marion (6-7), Josh (6-7), and Kidd (6-4). Or we can replace Gooden with Jet for more scoring and move Dirk to the 5, Marion guarding the PF, etc. Or go small ball with the 3 PG lineup with Dirk and Marion/Josh. Lots of options.

I forgot how funky Marion's shot is. But most of the time it goes it, even though it looks so odd.

I underestimated the Mavs. I forgot they even had Josh Howard. That's how deep they are. They could hang with any team. Length galore.