Smells like basketball outside! You know the feeling, at least up in the Midwest, when you take a deep breath of fresh air and your sinuses freeze up and eyes start to water that it's finally basketball season. Man I'm pumped, let me tell you. There was little shake-up around the league, but a lot of teams either stayed the course or improved just enough to make things spicy. It should be a slow, jammed up road ahead, but a few teams are taking the carpool lane to the conference finals.
This year is going to be the official breakout year for the leagues best player, Lebron James. Last season, if you remember, Lebron played like a seasoned veteran, hitting his shots with increased accuracy and guiding his team to a playoff series victory - though I'll be the first to tell you, he didn't deserve the MVP for a number of reasons (yeah that's right). This year, well this year, with his team another year under its belt, he will take the team to the Eastern conference finals to go up against none other than... the Chicago Bulls.
That's right, I'm a huge Bulls fan this season. I love the dynastic squad GM sharp shooter John Paxson has put together. This team simultaneously got younger, more athletic, and more seasoned and experienced. Athletic monsters on the court, Ben Wallace and Tyrus Thomas will bring to this team a tenacity never seen before in professional basketball, and with their skilled and underrated offensive talent they will easily have an average point differential over their opponents of 8 or 10 points this season. Their amazing season will kick off tonight when they trounce the Heat (last year's champions remember?).
My pick in the East - James and Hughes and the Cavaliers.
Out in the West, nothing exciting to add. No bold predictions there. The Suns and Mavs will square off in the conference finals. Watch out for the Suns, they'll be impossible to beat during the first 92 games, but the Mavs will prove tougher in the end and get back to the Finals. Dirk will be named MVP, because a future hall-of-famer that will have the best season of his career should get the MVP, especially when he leads his team to the NBA Championship. You heard me, Dirk over Lebron two times. Dallas gets the title.
This year is going to be the official breakout year for the leagues best player, Lebron James. Last season, if you remember, Lebron played like a seasoned veteran, hitting his shots with increased accuracy and guiding his team to a playoff series victory - though I'll be the first to tell you, he didn't deserve the MVP for a number of reasons (yeah that's right). This year, well this year, with his team another year under its belt, he will take the team to the Eastern conference finals to go up against none other than... the Chicago Bulls.
That's right, I'm a huge Bulls fan this season. I love the dynastic squad GM sharp shooter John Paxson has put together. This team simultaneously got younger, more athletic, and more seasoned and experienced. Athletic monsters on the court, Ben Wallace and Tyrus Thomas will bring to this team a tenacity never seen before in professional basketball, and with their skilled and underrated offensive talent they will easily have an average point differential over their opponents of 8 or 10 points this season. Their amazing season will kick off tonight when they trounce the Heat (last year's champions remember?).
My pick in the East - James and Hughes and the Cavaliers.
Out in the West, nothing exciting to add. No bold predictions there. The Suns and Mavs will square off in the conference finals. Watch out for the Suns, they'll be impossible to beat during the first 92 games, but the Mavs will prove tougher in the end and get back to the Finals. Dirk will be named MVP, because a future hall-of-famer that will have the best season of his career should get the MVP, especially when he leads his team to the NBA Championship. You heard me, Dirk over Lebron two times. Dallas gets the title.
