1 MIAMI
The Heat are returning fresh off their back-to-back championships with two new additions, Michael Beasley and Greg Oden. Both players are considered major wild cards. Oden has played in only 82 games since being drafted with the number over all pick in 2007 due to several knee surgeries. As for Beasley well, let's just say he's been known more for smoking pot than being the number 2 overall pick in the 2008 draft. With that said, I think the Heat got a steal by signing both players for league minimums and if both players are healthy by the playoffs in 2014, the Miami Heat will be the clear cut favorite to win the NBA title.
2 SAN ANTONIO
Unless you've been living under a rock, is the only way you wouldn't know about the Spurs epic failure in game 6 of last season's NBA Finals. With only 28 seconds left in the game and up five points, the Spurs found a way to lose the game thanks two misses at the line and Ray Allen's 3-pointer; arguable the greatest shot in NBA Finals. The Spurs should be the champs right now and if they were, they would be ranked number one. I'm sure they will remember game 6 for the rest of their lives, but they are returning with pretty much the same team, so I can't rank them any lower than second.
3 INDIANA
The Spurs are in a great position, but not because of the emergence of Roy Hibbert. Most pundits are acting as if Hibbert is the second coming of Kareem, because of his performance against the Heat in last year's Eastern Conference Finals, but I beg the differ. I expect Hibbert to have a solid season, but my prediction is that the Pacers will remain in contention because of the return of Danny Granger. I expect him to return very strong with number mirroring Paul George; the Pacers real emerging star and this should make Granger one of the hottest commodities on the trading block. The Pacers can add another star by trading Granger, or even two solid players and this is the main reason why I see this team being very dangerous in the Eastern Conference. By the way, Luis Scola was a very nice addition. He will back up both David West and Roy Hibbert
4 CHICAGO
Derrick Rose is back! He's quicker, his vertical is 5" higher and he's going to win the NBA's MVP award this season. These are just a few of the proclamations Rose has made since returning to the court following his 15-month layoff. Rose may right and my guess is, he's counting on the fact that is Bulls will finish with the best record in the East, which should bolster his chances of winning the MVP. However, unlike three seasons ago, when the entire league hated the Heat, which help Rose win his first MVP, I highly doubt he will win it this year. For one, I see Lebron having another monster year and I expect the Heat to finish with the best record in the East, with the Bulls being a close second. Either way, Rose's return will be a great thing for the league and his team.
5 BROOKLYN
The Nets have a $100 million dollar payroll, thanks to their billionaire owner who is going to shell out an additional $75 million in luxury tax penalties. You add in the addition of an aging Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Kidd; the boy-wonder rookie head coach, it's hard to not join the bank wagon. I will say this, If this team is matched up against the Heat, it would be an all out war, but against the Bulls and the Pacers, I think Brooklyn will come up short, which is why I'm not as high on them as most pundits might be. Until I'm proven otherwise, I just don't see the Brooklyn Nets cracking the top 3 in the Eastern Conference ranking this entire season.
6 LA CLIPPERS
The Clippers have clearly taken over the city of L.A., at least for one season anyways. New head coach Doc Rivers has requested that the Lakers banners be covered during the Clippers home games, and I like that. I think Rivers will have the Clippers playing defense like never before, but the key to his success will have to be whether Blake Griffin can develop a consistent inside game.
7 GOLDEN STATE
Disclaimer: I do live in the Bay Area, but this has nothing to do with my bold prediction in my next sentence. I believe the Golden State Warriors, if healthy, has the potential to go all the way to the NBA Final next June. They are as deep as any team and have the athleticism, inside game and outside shooting to contend for a championship. The question is, will Curry's gimpy ankle and will Andrew Bogut's back hold up for the entire season? Igoudala was a nice addition and if this team can stay healthy for the entire season, look out!
8 HOUSTON
The addition of Dwight Howard should have Rocket fans salivating, especially when you pair him with James Harden, who is ranked as the best shooting guard in the league, though I will still put Wade and Kobe ahead. I think both players have a lot to prove. Harden, has to prove that he's worth the number one shooting guard ranking in the league and Howard must put up, or shut up and I think he will. I expect Howard to average 21ppg, 13 or more rpg and over 3 blocks, which should help the Rockets maintain a top 4 position in the Western Conference this season.
9 OKLAHOMA CITY
If Russell was back, the Thunder would obviously be ranked much higher, but with him out of the lineup for probably of few more months, I can't justify ranking the Thunder any higher than the ninth. His value was clearly on full display when the Thunder loss him in last year's playoff as we all watched Durant look very human against the Grizzlies. I expect them to climb once Westbrook returns, but until then, don't expect to see them any higher than the 4th seed in the Western Conference.
10 MEMPHIS
Rounding up the top ten is the team that sent the Thunder home, the Memphis Grizzlies. I have them one spot below the Thunder, mainly because they lost coach Hollins, one of the most underrated coaches in the league. They still have Mark Gasol, the NBA's reigning Defensive Player of the Year and Tony Allen, one of the league's best perimeter defenders, but most of their defensive success has to be accredited to Hollins. He turned their entire team and culture around and he will be missed greatly!
11 NEW YORK
Please people, hold on with the Carmelo Anthony criticisms. All the guy said was, it would be nice to be a free agent for once in a player's career. He wasn't saying he would abandon his team, all he was saying was it would be nice to be wooed for once in a player's career. The addition of Bargnani should help them in the scoring department, but the Knicks only chance of seriously contending in the East depends on the healthy knees of Amare and I'm sorry to say, are all but done at this point. To make matters worse, the Knicks are stuck with the remaining 2 years and $44 million of Amare's uninsured contract, which makes him almost impossible to trade.
12 DENVER
Imaging losing George Karl, the NBA's Coach of the Year and Andre Igoudala, one of the the best all around players in the league. Well, that was the path the Nuggets decided to take this offseason. I think hiring new head coach Brian Shaw, was a good addition, but I don't see the Nuggets being any better. Yes, they will make the playoffs, but another First Round exit is the best you can expect if you're a Nuggets fan.
13 WASHINGTON
The Wizards have a nice back court tandem with Wall and Beal, but they took a step in the right direction by trading for center Marcin Gortat. This trade will allow Nene to move back to his natural position, the power forward spot. A Nene-Gortat front court, should be enough to earn the Wizards one of the bottom two seeds in the Eastern Conference.
14 NEW ORLEANS
I'm not one to put much stocks into the preseason, but a 7-1 mark should have Pelicans fans optimistic. I fully expect them to make the playoffs, but imagine if they suffered a few injuries and ended up with Andrew Wiggins in next year's draft, wow!! Well, that's not going to happen, because barring injuries, the Pelicans will finish with one of the last two seeds in the Western Conference.
15 LA LAKERS
Yes, we all know Dwight is gone, Kobe's recovering and the Lakers are stuck with Mike D'Antoni as their head coach, but beware Lakers hater, this team is not going to tank as you may wish. Kobe will be back sooner than expected and Pau Gasol will return to his all-star form. Gasol will average 18-20ppg and over 11 boards this season, because now the Dwight is not there to clog the middle, Gasol will play center, his natural position and I expect him to relish in his new, actually old role this season. Considering how ESPN ranked him 25th overall in the league, I expect Kobe to return with a vengeance to help lead his team to the playoffs.
16 DALLAS
Dirk is a year older, but healthy and a healthy Dirk should be enough to lead the Mavericks to the playoffs in the weaker Western Conference. I don't see Dirk buying into tanking the season in hopes of getting Wiggins in next year's draft, because he's older, he's a champion and he wants to win now. I know it may be far fetched, but it wouldn't surprise me to see the Mavericks trade Dirk in an effort to fully rebuild through the draft.
17 MINNESOTA
Losing Kirilenko will hurt the Wolves perimeter defense, but the success of this team lies in the hands of it's two star players, Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio. Last season, both players played in a combined 75 out of 164 games and obviously that was a recipe for disaster. Word out of Sota is that both players are healthy and ready to go. If they can stay healthy, the Wolves will have a good chance of beating out the Jazz for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West this season.
18 DETROIT
The Pistons haven't done much over the last few years, but the addition of Chauncey Billups, Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings should make the Pistons a playoff team. When you add in Rodney Stuckey, and an improved Andre Drummond with Greg Monroe, the Pistons along with the Wizards will be the surprise teams of the Eastern Conference. The Piston however, presents the most challenge to the upper echelon teams in the East.
19 UTAH
Losing Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap may be a setback initially, but I think this move will allow forward Derrick Favors and center Enes Kanter to develop. Offensively Favors is ahead of Kanter and he should average 15ppg and around 10 boards this season, but that might not be enough to secure the Jazz a playoff spot this year. I think if both players continue to develop, the Jazz will be ready to make some noise come next season.
20 CLEVELAND
The Cavs have really been bitten by the injury bug over the last few years, especially last season. Kyrie Irving, missed 23 games last year. Anderson Varejao was averaging 14.1ppg and a league leading 14.4 rebounds per game, before going down and missing 57 games. Andrew Bynum, the Cavs newly acquired center, whose an absolute beast when healthy, missed the entire season last year. Defensively the Cavs will be much better now that Mike Brown is back as their head coach and if his players can all be healthy at the same time, the Cavs could be a scary team. I hope so, because Kyrie is one of my favorite players to watch, but I'm doubtful.
21 ATLANTA
The addition of Paul Millsap and an over-the-hill Elton Brand, should bolster the Hawks interior game and help compensate for the loss of Josh Smith and Zaza Pachulia, but that's just it. The Hawks could surprise me and make the playoffs, but that would be a surprise. I'm not going to say they took a step back, but I will say this team did not move forward.
22 PORTLAND
Every season starts of with the same question for the Blazers, will they make the playoffs? In a weaker Western Conference, this seems likely, but if you're a Jazz fan you have to be realistic. Is this team better than the Spurs, Thunder, Warriors, Rockets, Clippers, Memphis and Nuggets, of course not! This leaves the Lakers, New Orleans and the Jazz as the teams the Blazers will have to beat out to get the eighth seed. Once again I see this team missing the playoffs.
23 TORONTO
The Raptors new GM Masai Ujiri has already started positioning his team for the Wiggins sweepstakes. His first move was to trade Andre Bargnani and if you think he's done well, you better think again. The Raptors GM will continue to make trades for future draft picks and the Raptors will tank the season in an effort to land Toronto's native Andrew Wiggins, who is projected to be the number one pick in next year's draft.
24 SACRAMENTO
For those of you who were following, the city of Sacramento was in danger of losing the capital city's only sports franchise, fortunately the Kings will be staying in Sac town. The addition of Luc Mbah a Moute and rookie Ben McLemore should be great for the Kings. The sad new if you're a King's fan, is that there's at least 10 teams that are better in the West, so join the Wiggins sweepstakes.
25 CHARLOTTE
Well, Michael Jordan made $80 million dollars last year and around $30 to $35 million of that came from endorsements, meaning M.J. made $45 to $50 million as an owner. Signing Al Jefferson was his way of showing the fans that he wants to win, but in all honesty, the only chance the Bobcats have of really getting better is through the draft. If any team needs a lucky break, it's the Charlotte Bobcats. Another losing season will increase their chances of drafting Andrew Wiggins.
BOTTOM FEEDERS
26 MILWAUKEE
The Bucks are clearly in rebuilding mode. Brandon Knight, O.J. Mayo, Caron Butler and Zaza Pachulia are all decent additions, but losing Samuel Dalembert, Monte Ellis, Brandon Jennings and Luc Mbah a Moute from a team that wasn't good enough to make last year's playoffs, is definitely taken a step back. Then again, if I were the GM, I would have done the exact thing. Why re-sign Ellis and Jennings to outlandish contracts for the next five years that would have cost the team an extra $20 to $30 millions per season, for a team that's only good enough to be the eighth seed at best.
27 PHILADELPHIA
Honestly, I have no inkling on which directions the Sixers are heading. They fired an excellent coach in Doug Collins, lost Andrew Bynum; who didn't play a game for them last season, along with Jrue Holiday and Nick Young. They then drafted injured Nerlens Noel, whose expected to be out for the entire season. So no it doesn't make any sense to me. If you're a Sixers fan though, your hope is that your team wins the ultimate price by drafting Wiggins and have Noel return at full strength, because in essence it would be like have the top two picks in consecutive drafts. Like I said, that's what a hopeful Sixers fan should wish for.
28 BOSTON
If Rajon Rondo and new head coach Brad Stevens can click and lead their young team together, the Celtics will not be as bad as many are predicting. Does that means they have a chance to make the playoffs, absolutely not! The Celtics are in rebuilding mode, but I don't expect them to stay down for long. I expect Rondo to be key part of the Celtics rebuilding, but that's only if he gets along with Stevens, if not, Danny Ainge will move him.
29 ORLANDO
Victor Oladipo is one of two rookies I'm predicting will win the Rookie of the Year Award. Where does that leave Jameer Nelson, well, that will depend on if the Magic are truly committed to having Oladipo playing the point guard position. I see him as a two guard, in which case Nelson will stay, If they choose to play him at the point, then you can expect Nelson to be moved sooner, rather than later.
30 PHOENIX
The Suns just traded their best player, center Marcin Gortat, which confirms that they intend to tank the season. In their case, this may not be a bad thing, because even with Gortat, they were probably still the worst team in the Western Conference.
