With so much to look forward to and so much to indulge in throughout the course of the next 6 months it seems odd to already be looking ahead to the playoffs. But despite all the excitement that is sure to flow in the regular season, in the NBA its all about the playoffs.
It seems that this years playoff race may be extra special too, with so many new faces flashing around the league, opinions on who will make the top 8 in each conference will differ greatly.
So why have I waited over a week into the season to make my prediction, well its given me a chance to see all 32 teams in action, and already we have been offered some unexpected results. The Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers are off to flyers, while the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls are taking a little longer than expected to warm up. Suddenly the final 16 playoff teams I envisioned a week ago has changed, not drastically but it has indeed changed my perspective.
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| Who will lead their team to the top, LeBron(left) or George(right) |
Eastern Conference
1st Miami Heat
It doesn't feel such a foregone conclusion this year with the return of Derrick Rose and the sudden rise of the Indiana Pacers. Still its hard not to see the growing depth of Coach Spo's squad head the top of the East once again, and with LeBron James looking to improve once again on his MVP season they are hard to bet against. They have already suffered a few tricky moments and sure enough they'll meet many more obstacles along the way, but when Miami perform at their best, it seems that no team in the NBA can get the better of them.
2nd Indiana Pacers
Quite simply the Pacers are Miami's biggest threat in the East, there size and versatility gave LeBron and co fits last season in the Eastern Conference finals. With a 5-0 start the Pacers are clearly improved on last season and with Danny Grainger set to return later in the season (he'll be back a long time before the playoffs start) they are now one of the front runners for the NBA title, and Paul George has begun the season in MVP form. They don't have many weaknesses but depth may be one of them, but the 5 starters are as good as any in the NBA this season.
3rd Chicago Bulls
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| Just how important will the return of D-Rose be for the Bulls |
Despite the return of D-Rose, I still see the Bulls as quite a way behind the top two in the East. That has already been demonstrated this season, suffering loses to both Miami and Indiana, and quite conclusive loses at that. Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng are as tough a front line as you can get, and they don't lack in quality either. Bulls will win a lot of games based on defence just like last season, but with the return of Rose they have a game winner at the other end.
4th New York Knicks
Thus far they don't quite seem the team they were last season. Carmelo Anthony is lighting a spark but he's not on fire like he was all of last season. Bargnani will no doubt bring something from the bench and JR Smith's return from suspension will be most welcome, but while they'll more than comfortably make the playoffs, its unlikely they'll make the same waves they made last season.5th Brooklyn Nets
For me it'll be the same top 5 this season as last season, and there's a good reason for that. The Nets have added Garnett and Pierce to an already good roster, but its far from exceptional. Depth is once again a thing they lack, and sending Kris Humphries and Gerald Wallace the other way ensures they haven't added much to the bench that wasn't already there. Nets have been on and off this season in the opening week but a win over the defending champs shows they are to be taken seriously with the big boys of the East.
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| The acquisition of Jennings(left) & Smith(right) should help Detroit back to the post-season |
6th Detroit Pistons
It should be a welcome return to the playoffs for the Pistons, as Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings are added to the starting line-up. Andre Drummond has been showing signs of how good a centre he can be and expect him to find plenty more openings to up his scoring average this year with 'J-Smoove' in the front court. With Jennings they have a good passer and a game winner, it also adds to their depth having the always effective Will Bynum on the bench.7th Philadelphia 76ers
This is where the selections get hard, and its likely the gap between 7th and as far as 10th/11th will be less than 8 games. This should make for a dramatic final month in the East, something that has been lacking in recent seasons, where the top 8 have been quite easy to predict. For me Philly's start has been convincing enough to say they can make a push for the playoffs. The loss of Jrue Holiday looked to be disastrous but Michael Carter-Williams has taken the NBA by storm, a historic debut against the Heat suggests he is an early favourite for Rookie of the year.8th Atlanta Hawks
This was a real toss-up between the Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers but despite not having a real star player in their team, Atlanta have a solid set up and their big line-up will help them to possibly sneak into the playoffs.The rest: 9th Cleveland Cavaliers; 10th Orlando Magic; 11th Toronto Raptors; 12th Charlotte Bobcats; 13th Boston Celtics; 14th Milwaukee Bucks; 15th Washington Wizards
Western Conference:
1st Oklahoma City Thunder
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| Westbrook(left) & KD(right) make OKC a title contender |
2nd San Antonio Spurs
If there's one thing that the Spurs do its win, somehow they just manage to win. With good depth every game they'll find someone to go to, or it'll be a team effort to win the game. Defensively they are the best in the West and one of the best in the whole of the NBA. Their peak at the right time approach though will keep them from seriously challenging OKC to the very end for the top spot.3rd Golden State Warriors
The ever improving Warriors seem to have picked up where they left off in the regular season. Boasting arguably the best backcourt in the NBA, they are looking good to be one of the top teams in the West. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are so key to their offense and at least one of the two enjoys a 20+ night every game. They were a surprise package last season but they wont be this season, and likely they'll finish exactly where they deserve to be.
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| Howard(left) looks at home in Houston with James Harden(right) |
4th Houston Rockets
Already it seems that Dwight Howard has found his perfect home, his connection with fellow All-Star James Harden has been instant and the Rockets are living up to the hype. Defensively though they are still missing something, but for now they're brilliant offense will be their scapegoat.5th Los Angeles Clippers
With the best Point Guard in the league, Chris Paul, the Clippers are going to enjoy years of playoffs over the next few years, but thus far they have not been able to emulate neighbouring Los Angeles Lakers when they get there. It's likely the Clippers could be the only LA team in the playoffs this year, and while they have the best scoring offense in the league, they also have one of the worst defences. At least it could possibly make for a first round playoff match-up to remember.6th Dallas Mavericks
After a rough year last season the 2011 NBA champions have all the tools this year to make the playoffs. With Monta Ellis and Jose Calderon in the backcourt they have scoring and assists at abundance, and Dirk Nowitzki should be reaping the rewards. Still the gap between themselves and the top 5 is quite big but with Utah Jazz, Lakers and Denver Nugget's big struggles they look good odds for a respectable playoff position.7th Memphis Grizzlies
Despite a rough early start the Grizzlies are a team that loves to play to their strengths, and through that good frontcourt the likes of Mike Conley and Jared Bayless have flourished. Although their standing in the playoffs will be further down than they have been used to in recent seasons, they should comfortably make the playoffs in a season that will provide more highs than lows.
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| Kevin Love(right) is back and ready to take the Timberwolves to the playoffs |
8th Minnesota Timberwolves
Although they will be close run by the Portland Trail Blazers, their depth will be key to piping a team that has a poor bench output. Behind the brilliant production of Kevin Love and Kevin Martin the Timberwolves can put recent struggles behind them. Barring the injuries that struck their season down last year they can make the playoffs, and will no doubt be a team to keep a keen eye on.The rest: 9th Portland Trail Blazers; 10th Phoenix Suns; 11th Los Angeles Lakers; 12th New Orleans Pelicans; 13th Denver Nuggets; 14th Sacramento Kings; 15th Utah Jazz
