NBA Predictions.

Now this is exciting.

I was gonna write a big blog about the league, but I’ll keep this short.

Western Conference regular season predictions:

1. Denver Nuggets

Don’t let this surprise you. Iggy will make a difference with Lawson. Denver has no star, but they have a lot of glue guys who fit well together. In the regular season, that’s a one seed.

2. Oklahoma City Thunder

Sure, they got rid of Mr. Beard, but they’ll be fine in the regular season because of Russell Westbrook (#0Appreciation), and the 2nd best player in the world. Kevin Martin isn’t James Harden, but he might be good enough (at least they hope so).

3. Los Angeles Lakers

The White. Kobe. Nash. Pau. Dumbass Metta. Terrible Bench. Average coach. Gonna be another hilarious season in Hollywood.

4. San Antonio Spurs

The spurs core is old. The rest of the team isn’t. They’ll be there at the end.

5. Los Angeles Clippers

Lob City. Lob Lob City. Deepest team in the West. If Blake Griffin can develop into a complete player, ruh roh Western Conference.

6. Utah Jazz

Ah. I might have them too high, but these guys were the 8th seed, and got a bit better adding Mo Williams, and Randy Foye to go along with Gordon Hayward, and Paul Milsap. Watch out for Utah.

7. Memphis Grizzlies

Remember when they upset the Spurs, and folks thought they’d be the next new team in the West? Well… after letting Mayo walk, Randolph is older now. Gasol is legit but after him, what do you like about Memphis? Rudy Gay? He disappeared when it mattered most.

8. Dallas Mavericks

Dirk is out for 6 weeks early. Mark Cuban broke up a title team because he wanted to get Deron Williams, and didn’t. OOPS.

9. Minnesota Timberwolves

No Rubio. Our favorite white guy here Kevin Love broke his hand. Brandon Roy has no knees. Derrick Williams is still young. Yeah, they’ll barely miss the playoffs.

10. Houston Rockets

Lin. Harden. A bunch of other random pieces that don’t fit well. Trading draft picks to a contender. You aren’t making the playoffs.

11. Golden State Warriors

Your season depends on Stephen Curry (My favorite player btw) and Andrew Bogut’s ankles. WELP.

12. Portland Trailblazers

Lamarcus is still there for now, and they will be taking a step back. Lilard is legit, though. Give them a few years.

13. New Orleans Hornets

Austin Rivers is your starting point guard. Sorry Anthony Davis, no lobs for you.

14. Phoenix Suns

Nash gone. Dragic is a good player. Mike Beasley high as a kite though.

15. Sacramento Kings

Random pieces. Demarcus Cousins is gonna be an all-star, but after that…. pray for Keith Smart.

Eastern Conference predictions:

1. Miami Heat

Bron. Bosh. That other dude named Wade. Defending champs. That’s all I’m gonna say about the league’s 2nd favorite team to overreact to.

2. Boston Celtics

One more run in store for Doc and the boys? Old, but young in certain areas. Jason Terry is a great addition.

3. Indiana Pacers

Nice young team who made a run last year. Expect them to be a little better.

4. Brooklyn Nets

Deron has friends now. Expect this team to take off. Even though Brook Lopez doesn’t play defense nor rebound well.

5. Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks won’t be that bad as people expect. Smith, Teague, and Horford are still there.

6. Chicago Bulls

No Rose for at least most, if not the whole season. They’ll be back in 2013-14.

7. New York Knicks

Amare out for 6 weeks. He doesn’t rebound nor play defense like Carmelo who’s still there. Jason Kidd is 39. Raymond Felton has weight problems. Rasheed Wallace is OLD. It’s gonna be fun reading the NY headlines in January.

8. Philadelphia 76ers

Andrew Bynum is your hope and future, Philly fans. YOLO.

9. Milwaukee Bucks

Congrats Buck fans, your backcourt will lead the league in worthless buckets.

10. Detroit Pistons

Corey Maggette is your starting two guard most likely. Greg Monroe and Brandon Knight deserve better, b.

11. Toronto Raptors

Oh, Toronto. Demar DeRozen will be solid. Bargnani can shoot well. Other than that, expect a long year Raptor fans.

12. Cleveland Cavaliers

I love Kyrie’s game. Drafting a guy in the top 4 who is just like him is silly, but it’s typical Cleveland.

13. Washington Wizards

We still doing the John Wall dance or nah? Bradley Beal will fill it up, but no Wall for two months will be a problem.

14. Orlando Magic

TheWhite gone. Get ready to draft Nerlens Noel, Magic fans.

15. Charlotte Bobcats

The Bobcats will be as bad as Michael Jordan’s wardrobe at games.

Awards:

MVP:

Lebron James, Miami Heat, F.

The voters won’t get tired of giving it to him, so Bron will walk away and win it again.

6th Man of the Year:

Jamal Crawford, Los Angeles Clippers, G.

This might seem as a shock to you, but since Harden is gone from this, who’s gonna make the most impact on their team off the bench? Crawford will.

Most improved Player:

DeMarcus Cousins, F/C, Sacramento Kings

I’m not sure if Cousins qualifies here, but I expect him to have a monster season. 23/12 type of numbers.

Rookie of the Year:

Damian Lilard, G, Portland Trailblazers

NO ANTHONY DAVIS?! YOU’RE A HATER! Nah, I just Lilard will light the league up more than the Brow.

Coach of the Year:

George Karl, Denver Nuggets

I have Denver as the surprise team in the west, so Karl will get it.

Defensive Player of the Year:

Dwight Howard, C, Los Angeles Lakers

TheWhite is back defending the middle with the NBA’s most talked about team. If his back holds up, he’ll win this award and start a new streak.

Western Conference finals prediction:

Lakers over Spurs in 6

A little old school here. It’s probably the last run for the spurs, so why not have them and the Lakers match up in late May for one last time? Dwight gets the Nash finally over the Spurs hump, and the Lakers into the finals.

Eastern Conference Finals Prediction:

Heat over Celtics in 7

Too much Lebron. Not enough firepower on Boston to beat Miami in a 7 game series. It’ll be close though just like last year.

NBA Finals:

Heat over Lakers in 6

Yeah, Miami will go back to back. Even though I’m a Laker fan, I have to be honest. Nobody can really stop Lebron James but Lebron James. Miami should win, but this is a close 6 game series.

Disagree?

My take on the James Harden deal.

This happened late last night during the Oklahoma/Notre Dame game (Awkward, right? Way to take the attention of Little Game Bob losing another home game this year, Sam Presti), but Oklahoma City decided to part ways with James Harden. They traded him for Jeremy Lamb, Kevin Martin and a much of draft picks. Houston also got Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook, and Lazar Hayward.

So basically, James Harden will get a max deal with the Houston Rockets, and probably miss the playoffs this year instead of taking the 52 dollar million extension from Oklahoma City. It’s funny how these types of situations occur in the league. As a Laker fan, I remember Trevor Ariza in 2009 asking for A LOT to stay in LA instead of taking a little bit of a discount to stay put and try to win.

Do I fault Harden for wanting to get paid? Not even close. If you think you’re a max deal player, and you think you’re that good, get your money. But, the fact that Oklahoma City traded 1/3 of their scoring to Houston shows that Sam Presti wanted to get something in return instead of letting Harden walk in the off-season.

I still don’t like this trade from Oklahoma City’s standpoint personally. Sure, you’re gonna make the playoffs, and you’ll be a top 4 seed in the Western Conference, but you’re giving up a chance to win a title for a couple of years. Yes, I do like how they stole draft picks from Houston, and stole a potential superstar in Jeremy Lamb, but you can’t expect Kevin Martin to be like Harden off the bench. In my opinion, I feel like Oklahoma City took a step back for not just this season, but next season because think about it… Kendrick Perkins isn’t that good, and he’s not an offensive type of player, and most likely won’t even be on the roster next year.

So basically, you could potentially ruin Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook’s career here by doing this. Sure, those two guys plus Ibaka will be the remaining core, and they are still young. But you can’t help and wonder if Presti is just waiting for the remainder of the other teams in the West. If that’s the case, nice trade Sam Presti.

I don’t even know what Houston is doing personally.

They overpaid Jeremy Lin, and now they are about to overpay James Harden. Put it like this: Their starting backcourt is gonna be one of most overpaid backcourts in the NBA. I’m not saying Lin or Harden are bad. They are good young players, but you can’t be THAT desperate to sell tickets, and overpay to get a “star” in James Harden.

I told my friend Jared this earlier today that James Harden has just turned into another Joe Johnson. Good player, not really a star, and he’ll probably disappear when the moment shines on him (That already happened with Mr. Beard in the NBA Finals this year). Harden will probably be an all-star caliber player. In fact, he’ll probably make a Houston a better team, but just how good will they be? How good will he be?

James Harden, you have A LOT to live up to.

Oklahoma City, did you make the right move in getting rid of your 6th man of the year, and a third of your offense?

We’ll find out in a what seems to be like a dope NBA season.

Yeah… USC just happens to lose.

You know….. I’m not even mad they lost.

I mean, when you turn the ball over 5 times, commit stupid penalties, and yet you have a shot to win.

It’s crazy how USC beats themselves all the time. And I’m not taking anything away from Arizona. In fact, I picked Arizona to win, and I thought they’d win by 10 points.

Going to Tuscon is very very tough, and well Arizona’s offense is a top 5 offense in college football.

But, the stupid shit has to stop. Maybe it will.

Maybe it won’t.

I don’t know anymore.

I don’t even blame Lane Kiffin.

Wanna know why?

As a coach, you can only do so much to tell your guys to stop committing stupid penalties. But, if they continue to commit them, then well… you’re not meant to win.

Sure, USC was the #1 team in the preseason poll (AP), and I still think they are a top 10 team which is weird, but they aren’t THAT bad of a team.

Were they looking ahead to Oregon? Nah, they weren’t. They simply just got outplayed and beat themselves.

What’s gonna happen next week?

I don’t even know.

I can tell you one thing, it won’t be a blowout.

Oregon isn’t gonna come in the Coli and blow out USC.

There has to be some focus, some discipline, and honestly, start having fun again.

And it starts next week.

More on USC later on this week (Yes, I’ll have time to write something that might get the troops together.)

Fight On.

– Shaun

I was gonna write a blog about USC, but

if USC wins tomorrow, then it’ll come out next week.

School is starting to pick up, so I’m not really home most of the time, and thus, I can’t update this.

But, to take a break from the sports stuff, something else personal coming tonight.

Giants or Tigers?

Ah, the World Series is here.

San Francisco came back to beat the defending champs in 7 games, and the last two games were DOMINANT.

Detroit murdered the New York Yankees in a sweep that felt like it was over after Derek Jeter broke his ankle in the 12th inning of game 1. The Tigers beat the Yankees so bad, it sent ESPN in a spiral creating stories about if “Alex Rodriguez should be traded or not” and boy, that was fun. (Speaking of the Yankees, it wasn’t even all A-Rod. Robinson Cano went cold, too. Nick Swisher was awful. Teixeria was terrible with the bat. But, that network likes to blame one player who’s well known and hated by most. )

So who am I taking?

Giants in 7.

I can’t deny the fact that they come back when down in series.

I don’t care if Justin Verlander is the best pitcher in the game right now, and that Miguel Cabrera won the triple crown.

The Giants have heart, and homefield advantage, and to me, that’s enough for them to win it all.

– Shaun