2011-12 NBA Season Predictions

[Diddy1122]

Didn't see one started so I figured I'd make one. Here's what I got:

East Standings
1. Chicago Bulls (51-15)
2. Miami Heat (49-17)
3. NY Knicks (42-24)
4. Indiana Pacers (38-28 (win tiebreaker over Orlando))
5. Orlando Magic (38-28)
6. Boston Celtics (34-32)
7. Philadelphia 76ers (33-33)
8. Milwaukee Bucks (32-34 (win tiebreaker over Atlanta))
9. Atlanta Hawks (32-34)
10. Charlotte Bobcats (23-43)
11. Detroit Pistons (19-47)
12. Washington Wizards (15-51)
13. Cleveland Cavaliers (12-54)
14. Toronto Raptors (9-57)
15. New Jersey Nets (8-58)

West Standings
1. OKC Thunder (47-19)
2. Dallas Mavericks (46-20)
3. Memphis Grizzlies (44-22)
4. LA Lakers (42-24)
5. Portland Trail Blazers (37-29)
6. LA Clippers (36-30)
7. Houston Rockets (34-32)
8. San Antonio Spurs (33-33)
9. GS Warriors (32-34)
10. Phoenix Suns (27-39)
11. Utah Jazz (24-42)
12. Denver Nuggets (20-46)
13. Minnesota T'Wolves (18-48)
14. Sacramento Kings (14-52)
15. NO Hornets (11-55)

East Finals
Bulls vs Heat

West Finals
Thunder vs. Grizzlies

NBA Finals
Bulls vs Thunder

And your 2011-12 NBA Champions are.....our very own Chicago Bulls! That's right, it's in bold because it's a bold choice, and I'm going to be sticking by it all season.

 

[CODE_BLUE56]

flint tropics win the NBA title

 

[BNB]

Eastern Conference:
1. Miami Heat
2. Chicago Bulls
3. Boston Celtics
4. New York Knicks
5. Orlando Magic
6. Philly 76ers
7. Atlanta Hawks
8. Indiana Pacers

--------

*Nets
*Wizards
*Bucks
*Cavs
*Raptors
*Pistons
*Bobcats


Western Conference:
1. OKC Thunder
2. Dallas Mavericks
3. L.A. Lakers
4. Memphis Grizzlies
5. L.A. Clippers
6. G.S. Warriors
7. S.A Spurs
8. Denver Nuggets

------------------

*Rockets
*Blazers
*Hornets
*Suns
*Kings
*Jazz
*T-Wolves

East Conf: Bulls Vs. Heat
West Conf: OKC Vs. Mavs

Finals: Heats Vs. Thunder

Heat win

 

[Scoot26]

Miami Heat (66-0)

 

[Scoot26]

In all seriousness though...

Eastern Conference:
1. Miami Heat
2. Chicago Bulls
3. Boston Celtics
4. New York Knicks
5. Indiana Pacers
6. Atlanta Hawks
7. Orlando Magic
8. Philadelphia 76ers
------
9. New Jersey Nets
10. Washington Wizards
11. Milwaukee Bucks
12. Detroit Pistons
13. Cleveland Cavs
14. Toronto Raptors
15. Charlotte Bobcats


Western Conference:
1. OKC Thunder
2. Dallas Mavericks
3. L.A. Lakers
4. San Antonio Spurs
5. Memphis Grizzlies
6. Los Angeles Clippers
7. Portland Blazers
8. Golden State Warriors

------------------

9. Houston Rockets
10. Denver Nuggets
11. New Orleans Hornets
12. Utah Jazz
13. Minnesota T'Wolves
14. Phoenix Suns
15. Sacramento Kings

East:
Heat > 76ers
Bulls > Magic
Celtics > Hawks
Knicks > Pacers

Heat > Knicks
Bulls > Celtics

Heat > Bulls

West:
Thunder>Warriors
Mavericks>Blazers
Lakers>Clippers
Grizzlies>Spurs

Thunder>Grizzlies
Mavericks>Spurs

Thunder>Mavericks

Finals:
Heat>Thunder

 

[Diddy1122]

In all seriousness though...

Eastern Conference:
1. Miami Heat
2. Chicago Bulls
3. Boston Celtics
4. New York Knicks
5. Indiana Pacers
6. Atlanta Hawks
7. Orlando Magic
8. Philadelphia 76ers
------
9. New Jersey Nets
10. Washington Wizards
11. Milwaukee Bucks
12. Detroit Pistons
13. Cleveland Cavs
14. Toronto Raptors
15. Charlotte Bobcats


Western Conference:
1. OKC Thunder
2. Dallas Mavericks
3. L.A. Lakers
4. San Antonio Spurs
5. Memphis Grizzlies
6. Los Angeles Clippers
7. Portland Blazers
8. Golden State Warriors

------------------

9. Houston Rockets
10. Denver Nuggets
11. New Orleans Hornets
12. Utah Jazz
13. Minnesota T'Wolves
14. Phoenix Suns
15. Sacramento Kings

East:
Heat > 76ers
Bulls > Magic
Celtics > Hawks
Knicks > Pacers

Heat > Knicks
Bulls > Celtics

Heat > Bulls

West:
Thunder>Warriors
Mavericks>Blazers
Lakers>Clippers
Grizzlies>Spurs

Thunder>Grizzlies
Mavericks>Spurs

Thunder>Mavericks

Finals:
Heat>Thunder

9th place for New Jersey? WoW. You do realize they just lost Lopez for atleast a month & will be relying on newly acquired Mehmet Okur to shoulder the load at Center, right? I think that's an even bolder pick then me picking the Bulls to win it all.

 

[Scoot26]

9th place for New Jersey? WoW. You do realize they just lost Lopez for atleast a month & will be relying on newly acquired Mehmet Okur to shoulder the load at Center, right? I think that's an even bolder pick then me taking the Bulls.

I've seen stranger things happen with teams weathering storms like that. To me, with Lopez they are a playoff team. The East is a crap shoot after the top 4 four though.

 

[Diddy1122]

Interesting, BNB. Warriors & Nuggets in playoffs. I got Warriors just missing it. I think they will be in the hunt til the end but will come up short. Nuggets, without Smith & Chandler, I don't see anyway how they would make the post-season.

 

[Diddy1122]

I've seen stranger things happen with teams weathering storms like that. To me, with Lopez they are a playoff team. The East is a crap shoot after the top 4 four though.

The East is really nothing but Chicago, Miami, & New York now. Pacers I feel will be the over achievers this season because there isn't 1 lazy body on that team. It is a 10-deep team of hustle players. Even though they are in our division, and can play rather dirty, I can't help but find myself rooting for them because of their tremendous work ethic.

 

[Bullsman24]

East

1. Chicago Bulls
2. Miami Heat
3. New York Knicks
4. Boston Celtics
5. Indiana Pacers
6. Atlanta Hawks
7. Orlando Magic
8. Philadelphia 76ers

9. Milwaukee Bucks
10. Washington Wizards
11. Detroit Pistons
12. Cleveland Cavaliers
13. Toronto Raptors
14. New Jersey Nets
15. Charlotte Bobcats

West

1. Oklahoma City Thunder
2. Dallas Mavericks
3. Los Angeles Clippers
4. Memphis Grizzlies
5. Los Angeles Lakers
6. San Antonio Spurs
7. Houston Rockets
8. Golden State Warriors

9. Phoenix Suns
10. Portland Trailblazers
11. Minnesota Timberwolves
12. Denver Nuggets
13. Sacramento Kings
14. Utah Jazz
15. New Orleans Hornets

Conference Semis
Bulls def Celtics
Heat def Knicks

Thunder def Grizzlies
Clippers def Mavericks

Conference Finals
Bulls def Heat
Thunder def Clippers

NBA Finals
Bulls def Thunder

I really think the acquisition of Rip Hamilton will be enough to put the Bulls over the Heat, and Bulls/Thunder really isn't too much of a struggle in my opinion.

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

Best overall teams in order (when healthy):

1. Miami Heat
2. Oklahoma City Thunder
3. Chicago Bulls
4. Dallas Mavericks
5. Portland Trail Blazers
6. Los Angeles Clippers
7. Los Angeles Lakers
8. Memphis Grizzlies
9. San Antonio Spurs
10. New York Knicks
11. Orlando Magic
12. Boston Celtics
13. Indiana Pacers
14. Denver Nuggets
15. Phoenix Suns
16. Philadelphia 76ers
17. Milwaukee Bucks
18. Atlanta Hawks
19. Houston Rockets
20. Minnesota Timberwolves
21. New Jersey Nets
22. Sacramento Kings
23. Golden State Warriors
24. Utah Jazz
25. Cleveland Cavaliers
26. New Orleans Hornets
27. Washington Wizards
28. Detroit Pistons
29. Toronto Raptors
30. Charlotte Bobcats

Best records (Western Conference):

1. Oklahoma City Thunder (45+ wins)
2. Dallas Mavericks (~45)
3. Portland Trail Blazers (40+)
4. Los Angeles Clippers (40+)
-
5. Memphis Grizzlies (~40)
6. San Antonio Spurs (~40)
7. Los Angeles Lakers (~40)
8. Phoenix Suns (25+)
-
9. Denver Nuggets (25+)
10. Minnesota Timberwolves (~25)
11. Houston Rockets (~25)
12. Sacramento Kings (~20)
13. Golden State Warriors (~20)
14. Utah Jazz (~20)
15. New Orleans Hornets (~20)

Best records (Eastern Conference):

1. Miami Heat (~50)
2. Chicago Bulls (~50)
3. Orlando Magic (~40)
4. New York Knicks (~40)
-
5. Indiana Pacers (35+)
6. Boston Celtics (35+)
7. Philadelphia 76ers (30+)
8. Atlanta Hawks (30+)
-
9. Milwaukee Bucks (30+)
10. New Jersey Nets (20+)
11. Cleveland Cavaliers (~20)
12. Washington Wizards (~20)
13. Detroit Pistons (15+)
14. Toronto Raptors (~15)
15. Charlotte Bobcats (~10)

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

Diddy-
your's looks all right... except:

10. Charlotte Bobcats (23-43)

Very overrated.

15. New Jersey Nets (8-58)

Extremely underrated

4. LA Lakers (42-24)

A bit overrated.

7. Houston Rockets (34-32)

I'd say somewhat overrated.

12. Denver Nuggets (20-46)

Underrated.

15. NO Hornets (11-55)

Underrated.

And on second look, SAS is a bit underrated and GSW is pretty overrated.

 

[Uman85]

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

West
1) Oklahoma City
2) Dallas
3) Memphis
4) Portland
5) Los Angeles Clippers
6) San Antonio
7) Denver
8) Los Angeles Lakers

East Finals: Miami vs. Chicago

West Finals: OKC vs. Memphis

Finals: Miami vs. OKC

2011-12 Champ: OKC

 

[BNB]

Interesting, BNB. Warriors & Nuggets in playoffs. I got Warriors just missing it. I think they will be in the hunt til the end but will come up short. Nuggets, without Smith & Chandler, I don't see anyway how they would make the post-season.

I think this season will favor teams like the Nuggets and Warriors because they're young and they'll be able to play hard for 66 games in 126 days.

I actually thought about knocking the Spurs out of the hunt.

And the Nuggets should get Chandler back by March, just in time to make a push for the playoffs.

 

[Uman85]

This season is going to be a problem for the older teams. There's no question about that.

 

[Uman85]

A clean sweep for the Bulls from ESPN. All 30 "experts" picked the Bulls to win the Central division.

NBA -- Central champion predictions - ESPN

 

[CODE_BLUE56]

This season is going to be a problem for the older teams. There's no question about that.

most likely...new players on teams will have less practice and adjusting time as well..it may not be evident very early but there'll be some sloppiness

 

[Diddy1122]

Diddy-
your's looks all right... except:

10. Charlotte Bobcats (23-43)

Very overrated.

I'll admit it's a bit of a stretch but I'm high on Kemba Walker. This kid is a winner. He reminds me alot of BG7 when he came into the league. I think he's going to find ways to get them wins in the 4th.

15. New Jersey Nets (8-58)

Extremely underrated

The Nets just lost their starting center and 2nd best player for roughly a 1/4 of the season. They replaced him with 32 yr old Memhet Okur, who's coming off Achilles surgery. The Nets will struggle big time and Howard won't be there to save them til next year.

4. LA Lakers (42-24)

A bit overrated.

Odom was lost, which is big, but this team still has Kobe, Pau, Bynum, & depth. They won't be #1 but are still a top 4 team in the West.

7. Houston Rockets (34-32)

I'd say somewhat overrated.

Houston is young, deep, & hustles more than any team in the league not named the Bulls. They have a good 3 guard attack in Lowry, Dragic, & Flynn and look for Jordan Hill to make a significant jump this season.

12. Denver Nuggets (20-46)

Underrated.

No Chandler, No Smith, No Martin will make Denver struggle this year. I like Afflalo, but I don't ever see him as a leading scorer. That falls to Nene now, who doesn't seem fully equipped to handle that.

15. NO Hornets (11-55)

Underrated.

Sadly, I don't think you're joking about this one. Nola will be atrocious this season. All 3 of their new acquisitions do not want to be there. 2 of them will flee in the off season. The team could go through an ownership change during the season. Overall, the team is not that good & we'll see just how much CP3 made this joke of a team better.

And on second look, SAS is a bit underrated and GSW is pretty overrated.

SAS are old & completely wore down by the times the playoffs rolled around last season. In this compressed season, they will only struggle more. GSW are very young, very talented, & deep. Jackson has them even starting to play defense now.

 

[RamiTheBullsFan]

I'll admit it's a bit of a stretch but I'm high on Kemba Walker. This kid is a winner. He reminds me alot of BG7 when he came into the league. I think he's going to find ways to get them wins in the 4th.

This is by far the worst team in the league. They are 1 deep at C (Diop) and Corey Maggette is their best scorer. Even if Walker turns into a great PG, this team will still be horrific.

The Nets just lost their starting center and 2nd best player for roughly a 1/4 of the season. They replaced him with 32 yr old Memhet Okur, who's coming off Achilles surgery. The Nets will struggle big time and Howard won't be there to save them til next year.

Losing Brook Lopez hurts but Okur and Petro can cover the 5. Humphries will give them good rebounding and DeShawn Stevenson is one of the best wing defenders and a solid three-point shooter. A team with Deron Williams will never have as bad of a record as you predicted.

Odom was lost, which is big, but this team still has Kobe, Pau, Bynum, & depth. They won't be #1 but are still a top 4 team in the West.

Bynum never stays healthy. Kobe Bryant is aging and will not be at 100%. Mike Brown is a terrible offensive coach at the pro. level. They also lost Shannon Brown, while not great, was the only back-up scorer that Kobe Bryant had. Fisher is a year older. Peace is way out-of-shape (even more than he was last year). I don't think they will be a top 4 seed. They definitely won't be a top 3 seed.

Houston is young, deep, & hustles more than any team in the league not named the Bulls. They have a good 3 guard attack in Lowry, Dragic, & Flynn and look for Jordan Hill to make a significant jump this season.

Rick Adelman was huge for that team. Losing him and gaining a bad pro. level coach (McHale) is going to hurt them. Gaining Dalembert as a shot-blocker is good, but their defense is still pretty bad. Martin? Scola? Budinger? Lowry? All ineffective defenders. Johnny Flynn is not very good and is a 3rd string PG. Dragic is a bad defender. There was a reason that team was about to gut itself for Pau Gasol.

No Chandler,

Chandler is a RFA who will be back in March or April.

No Smith,

They gained Rudy Fernandez who is just about as good.

No Martin will make Denver struggle this year.

Losing Martin does hurt, but I like their rookie they drafted to replace him.

I like Afflalo, but I don't ever see him as a leading scorer. That falls to Nene now, who doesn't seem fully equipped to handle that.

Nene is a very good scorer. Gallinari and Lawson are, too. Andre Miller will also provide them veteran leadership, defense, and play-making ability.

Sadly, I don't think you're joking about this one. Nola will be atrocious this season. All 3 of their new acquisitions do not want to be there. 2 of them will flee in the off season. The team could go through an ownership change during the season. Overall, the team is not that good & we'll see just how much CP3 made this joke of a team better.

They will be bad, but they won't be the worst team in the NBA. Yes, CP3 made this team a LOT better. Luckily, they got back a decent amount for him. Kaman and Okafor is as solid of a 1-2 punch as there is at C in the NBA right now. Landry is very active and athletic on both ends. Ariza is the same. Eric Gordon is a flat-out scorer. Jarrett Jack needs serious help at PG but he is a tough defender and plays smart and within the offense.

SAS are old & completely wore down by the times the playoffs rolled around last season. In this compressed season, they will only struggle more. GSW are very young, very talented, & deep. Jackson has them even starting to play defense now.

SAS had the best record in the West last year. They aren't going to be as good as last year, but they are WAY better than GSW who you only have a game or 2 behind them? Mark Jackson is a 1st year head coach and he is not teaching this team how to play defense.

 

[Diddy1122]

This is by far the worst team in the league. They are 1 deep at C (Diop) and Corey Maggette is their best scorer. Even if Walker turns into a great PG, this team will still be horrific.

And that's why I called it a stretch.

Losing Brook Lopez hurts but Okur and Petro can cover the 5. Humphries will give them good rebounding and DeShawn Stevenson is one of the best wing defenders and a solid three-point shooter. A team with Deron Williams will never have as bad of a record as you predicted.

Okur & Petro? Seriously? That team is dog shit other than D-Will & Lopez, who I said will miss 1/4 of the season, upon further review it's more like half. That team will not break 20 wins, not with this schedule.

Bynum never stays healthy. Kobe Bryant is aging and will not be at 100%. Mike Brown is a terrible offensive coach at the pro. level. They also lost Shannon Brown, while not great, was the only back-up scorer that Kobe Bryant had. Fisher is a year older. Peace is way out-of-shape (even more than he was last year). I don't think they will be a top 4 seed. They definitely won't be a top 3 seed.

Didn't say they would be a 3 seed. For some reason, I feel their depth & Kobe's drive will keep them close to the top in the West.

Rick Adelman was huge for that team. Losing him and gaining a bad pro. level coach (McHale) is going to hurt them. Gaining Dalembert as a shot-blocker is good, but their defense is still pretty bad. Martin? Scola? Budinger? Lowry? All ineffective defenders. Johnny Flynn is not very good and is a 3rd string PG. Dragic is a bad defender. There was a reason that team was about to gut itself for Pau Gasol.

I'll keep this mantra going for probably the first few weeks of season: Young & deep teams stand a better chance with this schedule. Houston is 3 deep at every position, with a roster full of young talent & hardworking role players. McHale has never had a full season as a head coach, so I'm holding out calling him a bad pro level coach just yet.

Chandler is a RFA who will be back in March or April.

That's assuming he's resigned with the Nuggets & seamlessly blends into a team that's been learning how to play & win without him for months.

They gained Rudy Fernandez who is just about as good.

Not even close. Worse defender, scorer, athlete, prima-dona, you name it. Corey Brewer is better than Rudy & he will have a bigger role on this team than him.

Losing Martin does hurt, but I like their rookie they drafted to replace him.

Martin is not the biggest loss for this team, it's Smith & Chandler no question. Though he's a loss, you're probably right that Faried could replace some of what he provided.

Nene is a very good scorer. Gallinari and Lawson are, too. Andre Miller will also provide them veteran leadership, defense, and play-making ability.

Nene is a decent scorer, definitely not a #1 option. Neither are Lawson or Gallinari. They won last year by playing as one cohesive unit. This year they are missing two of those pieces for virtually the whole season.

They will be bad, but they won't be the worst team in the NBA. Yes, CP3 made this team a LOT better. Luckily, they got back a decent amount for him. Kaman and Okafor is as solid of a 1-2 punch as there is at C in the NBA right now. Landry is very active and athletic on both ends. Ariza is the same. Eric Gordon is a flat-out scorer. Jarrett Jack needs serious help at PG but he is a tough defender and plays smart and within the offense.

Ariza is overrated, & Jack is not that good. Gordon I could see playing well, but I just don't see it from the rest of this group. Landry will be called upon to be a consistent scorer which isn't really his game. He's a hustle glue-guy like Taj. Other than at the 5 they have really no depth. I just don't see this team coming anywhere close to 20 wins.