Predict the 2011 playoff teams

[super man]

East:
1- Chicago
2- Boston
3- Miami
4- Orlando
5- Atlanta
6- Philadelphia
7- New York Knicks
8- Indiana Pacers

West:
1- San Antonio
2- LA Lakers
3- Dallas
4- Oklahoma City
5- Denver
6- Portland
7-Memphis
8-New Orleans

[sinobball]

[*]Cleveland - The East doesn't deserve 8 play-off teams

Cleveland doesn't deserve to be mentioned in this thread twice...

[mvblair]

East
1. Boston - I'm waiting for this team to collapse
2. Miami - They'll have a good start, but slow down in February
3. Orlando - This will be the same team as last year
4. Milwaukee - A logjam at SG/SF means a trade is coming, perhaps for another big man
5. Atlanta - This will be the same team as last year
6. Chicago - Boozer will give Chicago something, but I still don't trust them
7. Cleveland - LeBron and Z are gone, but they still have some good players
8. Indianapolis - I'm hoping for big improvements

West
1. Los Angeles - This will be the same team as last year
2. Dallas - As usual, they still have a big defensive hole at center, but at least Chandler can play offense
3. Houston - Yao is back, Aaron Brooks, Scola, Battier, Martin, Brad Miller...this team is loaded...if Yao stays healthy, this team wins
4. San Antonio - This will be the same team as last year
5. Utah - Al Jefferson will be about the same as Boozer
6. Phoenix - Losing Stoudemire isn't that bad. Childress could be the 6th man of the year, Turkoglu will help
7. Denver - Harrington is a nice addition, but injuries to other big men will hurt this team
8. Portland - This is the same team as last year

Man, what the heck was I thinking!? I guess I was trying to be bold. For a full, novel-length post about my thoughts on the conferences and play-off potential, check out this thread. Here are my new predictions:

East

• Orlando - Pretty much the same team
• Miami - Wow, wow, wow. I go back and forth about whether this team will be incredibly dominant or moderately dominant.
• Boston - Added Shaq & Jermaine add some beef
• Milwaukee - They need a back-up big man like everybody else, but otherwise I really like this team. They look great.
• Chicago - Meh. Rose is good, Noah is OK, Boozer is good, Deng is OK.
• Atlanta - I don't like where this team is going. They haven't added anybody
• Charlotte - The East doesn't deserve 8 play-off teams
• Cleveland - The East doesn't deserve 8 play-off teams

West

• Dallas - They are ready to go after a full training camp
• Los Angeles - They can cruise through the regular season
• Houston - If Yao stays healthy, I like this team's chances
• San Antonio - Splitter & Blair will be a big help defensively
• Utah - If Jefferson cares, this team will be as good as last year
• Portland - Some good players, but not very deep
• Phoenix - This team needs Turkoglu like Turkoglu needs the disco. If he plays well, this team can be good.
• OKC - I don't trust OKC. I don't believe in them. I'm just putting them here to be on the bandwagon. They have good starters, but no depth

[Southpaw]

The Phoenix Suns are rated so high, despite Amare's exit, but I believe so, as long as Steve Nash is there, you had to put Phoenix in the top four. My playoff forecast:

East

1. Miami
2. Boston - Celtics are still capable of pulling surprises
3. Orlando
4. Chicago
5. Atlanta
6. New York
7. Milwaukee
8. Indiana
West

1. LA.Lakers - I think they'l do better than
the 57-25 record last season
2. San Antonio
3. Portland
4. Phoenix
5. Utah
6. Oklahoma City
7. Houston
8. Dallas

I disagree with your Phoenix assessment. Scrappy team without any big guy who can draw defense will not make it out in the West. Houston was the same last year but they got burned in the end. We will see.

[Southpaw]

East
1. Boston - I'm waiting for this team to collapse
2. Miami - They'll have a good start, but slow down in February
3. Orlando - This will be the same team as last year
4. Milwaukee - A logjam at SG/SF means a trade is coming, perhaps for another big man
5. Atlanta - This will be the same team as last year
6. Chicago - Boozer will give Chicago something, but I still don't trust them
7. Cleveland - LeBron and Z are gone, but they still have some good players
8. Indianapolis - I'm hoping for big improvements

West
1. Los Angeles - This will be the same team as last year
2. Dallas - As usual, they still have a big defensive hole at center, but
at least Chandler can play offense
3. Houston - Yao is back, Aaron Brooks, Scola, Battier, Martin, Brad Miller...this team is loaded...if Yao stays
healthy, this team wins
4. San Antonio - This will be the same team as last year
5. Utah - Al Jefferson will be about the same as Boozer
6. Phoenix - Losing Stoudemire isn't that bad. Childress could be the 6th man of
the year, Turkoglu will help
7. Denver - Harrington is a nice
addition, but injuries to other big men will hurt this team
8. Portland - This is the same team as last year

West
Lakers are deeper this year. The bench failed miserably last year.

Mavs have 2 defensive center Haywood and Chandler. Haywood is the guy who have
some offensive arsenal. Chandler is not

Childress and Turkuglu and Warrich can easily replace Amare's number but not his presence especially on offensive end. None of them can draw defense like Amare do.

Portland has been dealt with numerous injuries. I have this feeling this is gonna be their year for outstanding year especially if Oden can somewhat stay healthy.

Hornets were actually in the playoff mix until Chris Paul got injured.

[Southpaw]

East
Miami
Orlando
Boston
Atlanta
Chicago
Charlotte
Milwaukee
Washington

West

Lakers
Dallas
Portland
Denver
Oklahoma
Utah
San Antonio
Houston

If Carmelo get traded , Denver will miss the
playoff. If Yao Ming get injured again, they
will hit the lottery again. If any team beside
the Lakers lose their top player in a season,
they will not make it. Too many darkhorses
in the West. Phoenix, New Orleans, Clippers
and Memphis will have their chances to
sneak in. West is loaded

[sinobball]

East: Miami, Chicago, Orlando, Boston, Milwaukee, Atlanta, New York, Washington
West: LA Lakers, Utah, Houston, Portland, Sacramento, Oklahoma City, Dallas, San Antonio

[mvblair]

East
1. Boston - I'm waiting for this team to collapse
2. Miami - They'll have a good start, but slow down in February
3. Orlando - This will be the same team as last year
4. Milwaukee - A logjam at SG/SF means a trade is coming, perhaps for another big man
5. Atlanta - This will be the same team as last year
6. Chicago - Boozer will give Chicago something, but I still don't trust them
7. Cleveland - LeBron and Z are gone, but they still have some good players
8. Indianapolis - I'm hoping for big improvements

West
1. Los Angeles - This will be the same team as last year
2. Dallas - As usual, they still have a big defensive hole at center, but at least Chandler can play offense
3. Houston - Yao is back, Aaron Brooks, Scola, Battier, Martin, Brad Miller...this team is loaded...if Yao stays healthy, this team wins
4. San Antonio - This will be the same team as last year
5. Utah - Al Jefferson will be about the same as Boozer
6. Phoenix - Losing Stoudemire isn't that bad. Childress could be the 6th man of the year, Turkoglu will help
7. Denver - Harrington is a nice addition, but injuries to other big men will hurt this team
8. Portland - This is the same team as last year

[CKR13]

Let's make this the prediction thread

Eastern All-Stars Starting 5

C Dwight Howard
F Amare Stoudemire
F LeBron James
G Dwyane Wade
G Rajon Rondo

Western All-Stars Starting 5

C Yao Ming
F Tim Duncan
F Kevin Durant
G Kobe Bryant
G Chris Paul

[mon23]

The Phoenix Suns are rated so high, despite Amare's exit, but I believe so, as long as Steve Nash is there, you had to put Phoenix in the top four. My playoff forecast:

East

1. Miami
2. Boston - Celtics are still capable of pulling surprises
3. Orlando
4. Chicago
5. Atlanta
6. New York
7. Milwaukee
8. Indiana

West

1. LA.Lakers - I think they'l do better than the 57-25 record last season
2. San Antonio
3. Portland
4. Phoenix
5. Utah
6. Oklahoma City
7. Houston
8. Dallas

[dxjayrock2008]

Eastern Conference Teams:

1)Boston Celtics
2)Orlando Magic
3)Miami Heat
4)Atlanta Hawks
5)Milwaukee Bucks
6)Charlotte Bobcats
7)Chicago Bulls
8)New York Knicks


Western Conference Teams:

1)LA Lakers
2)Phoenix Suns
3)Dallas Mavericks
4)San Antonio Spurs
5)OKC Thunder
6)Portland Trailblazers
7)Houston Rockets
8)Sacramento Kings

[CKR13]

Pacers > Celtics

I'm not really a fan of the Celtics. As far as I am concerned, they are on borrowed time.

My personal bias aside, the Celtics are still ripe for the Playoffs. Maybe 2nd to 5th as there will be a lot of factors to be considered.

On my part, it is really not that hard to imagine an Eastern Conference Playoff without the Celtics.

[eliooo93]

EAST

1. HEAT
2. Bucks
3. Magic
4. Bulls
5. Hawks
6. Bobcats
7. Pacers
8. Knicks

Pacers > Celtics

[CKR13]

WEST

1. Lakers
2. Thunder
3. Suns
4. Blazers
5. Jazz
6. Mavericks
7. Hornets
8. Kings


EAST

1. HEAT
2. Bucks
3. Magic
4. Bulls
5. Hawks
6. Bobcats
7. Pacers
8. Knicks

[eliooo93]

WEST:
SUNS
MAVS
THUNDER
LAKERS
JAZZ
SPURS
BLAZERS
HORNETS/NUGGETS (I'll say NOH because the Nuggets are not in a very comfortable situation right now).

EAST: (most people will agree with me)
BULLS
HEAT
BOBCATS
CELTICS
HAWKS
KNICKS
MAGIC
BUCKS