So you probably heard a little something this summer about a guy named LeBron James who decided to leave Cleveland and take his talents to South Beach to join Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh (who left Toronto for Miami). Well that was in July and we still had to wait another three months before we could actually see them on the floor together in a meaningful game. This Tuesday the wait is finally over. The Miami Heat head up to Boston to take on the defending Eastern Conference champion Celtics. (Bud Selig take note this is how to properly promote your sport)
That’s just the first of almost 2,500 NBA games this season, and here is my projection for how many games each team will win.
EASTERN CONFERENCE

  1. Miami Heat 68-14*
  2. Orlando Magic 57-25
  3. Boston Celtics 53-29
  4. Chicago Bulls 51-31*
  5. Atlanta Hawks 50-32
  6. Milwaukee Bucks 48-34
  7. Charlotte Bobcats 42-40
  8. Indiana Pacers 40-42
  9. New York Knicks 40-42
  10. Philadelphia 76ers 39-43
  11. Washington Wizards 38-44
  12. Detroit Pistons 35-47
  13. New Jersey Nets 30-52
  14. Toronto 24-58
  15. Cleveland 22-60*

WESTERN CONFERENCE

  1. LA Lakers 58-24*
  2. Dallas Mavericks 57-25
  3. Oklahoma City Thunder 54-28*
  4. Houston Rockets 54-28
  5. San Antonio Spurs 50-32
  6. Portland Trail Blazers 49-33
  7. Utah Jazz 48-34
  8. Phoenix Suns 44-38
  9. New Orleans Hornets 41-41
  10. LA Clippers 40-42*
  11. Memphis Grizzlies 39-43
  12. Denver Nuggets 34-48
  13. Golden State Warrios 33-49
  14. Sacramento Kings 26-56
  15. Minnesota Timberwolves 18-64

*In my mind the Miami Heat are the team to beat in the NBA this season and are my pick to win the NBA Championship (over the Lakers in 6 games). What’s not to like about this team (other than Mike Miller missing the first couple weeks of the season).  The best overall player in the NBA (LeBron James). Another top 5 overall player in Dwayne Wade, and a premier big man in Chris Bosh. Miami did an excellent job of putting players around them too. Mike Miller when he comes back is exactly what this team needs; a spot up shooter who will always demand attention away from the basket clearing the lane for LeBron, Wade, and Bosh to slash and post up. Udanis Haslem re-signing was big for Miami too. He’ll be happy to come off the bench and score 10 points a game and grab 8 rebounds. Eddie House is another shooter who can stretch the floor.
*I really like what the Bulls did in the off season. They added a big man who can score down low in Carlos Boozer (who will miss the first couple months of the season due to injury) and put another shooter out there in Kyle Korver. Don’t forget about the young athletic duo of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah either.
*What a difference a year makes for Cleveland. Without LeBron this team is awful. Anyone who doubted just how good LeBron James is will get a better understanding of what he meant to that team when they finish dead last in the conference.
*Although I have the Lakers winning the west this is the year where we start to see the downfall of Kobe Bryant. He’s only 32, but he has a lot of miles on his legs. He’s already played over 1,000 regular season games in the NBA while averaging 37 minutes a game in his career. Not saying the Kobe totally falls off the map this year, but I expect his scoring average to drop from 27 points per game to about 22-23 this year, about 20 points a game the following year, and only about 14-16 points per game the year after that.
*Oklahoma City is a team to look out for. They are young, athletic, hungry, and their role players are always under the radar. Kevin Durant will likely lead the league again in scoring and probably average about 32 points per game. The Thunder are very dangerous and they proved that in the first round of the playoffs last season taking the eventual champion Lakers to 6 games when many people believed they would be lucky to take 1 game from the Lakers.
*Don’t sleep on the Clippers. I know that sounds stupid, but really they could make a run at a playoff birth out west. Blake Griffin could easily average 23 points and 14 rebounds this season. It’s a toss up between him and John Wall for rookie of the year.
It looks like it’s going to be an exciting NBA season. I don’t remember a time in my life where there has ever been such hype and excitement for an NBA regular season to start. All eyes will be in Boston opening night for the debut of the new big 3 taking on the old big three of the Celtics.

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