2014-15 NBA Predictions!

[Phrazbit]

The 3 weeks too long preseason is nearly over, the actual season is nearly upon us, one week before a real game! Its time for a thread of some bold, some not so bold, some "I told you so" right and some 'salt in the eye' wrong predictions!

Last year when predicting the standings I went so far as to ensure my projections added up to a .500 record across the league... it wasn't worth the trouble. I will be a bit more loose... I am tempted to pick Philly to go -12 and 94.


If enough people bother to make predictions some bold predictions of their own I will create a prize (I am... an amazing... painter, you gotta trust me, seriously, if you want to get a tacky oil painting with a Suns theme... likely laced with bitterness, I'm your man).

Any predictions made may be edited up to opening night.

 

[Phrazbit]

Here goes:

East:

1. Cleveland 65-17
2. Chicago 58-24
3. Washington 49-33

Good lord the East is awful

4. Toronto 46-36
5. Miami 45-37
6. Charlotte 45-37
7. Atlanta 42-40
8. Detroit 37-45
9. New York 36-46
10. Brooklyn 33-49
11. Indiana 33-49
12. Orlando 32-50
13. Milwaukee 30-52
14. Boston 26-56
15. Philly 10-72

West:

1. LA Clippers 59-23
2. Golden State 57-25
3. Spurs 56-26
4. Dallas 55-27
5. OKC 53-29
6. Portland 52-30
7. Your Phoenix Suns 51-31
8. Houston 49-33
9. Memphis 47-35
10. Peli-Jazz-Horns 43-35
11. Denver 37-47
12. Sacramento 35-47
13. Minny 30-52
14. Lakers 28-54
15. Utah 24-58

East Finals: Cavs over Wizards in 5

West Finals: Clippers over Warriors in 7

Finals: Cavs over Clippers in 6

MVP: LeBalding

Coachy MVP: Horny

6th man: Isiah Thomas

DPOY: Not a Phoenix Sun.


Other bold predictions:

Houston's superstars will get their coach fired.

Goran or Bledsoe will be an all-star, but not both.

Gerald Green will be traded.

Kobe will shoot under 40% while shooting over 20 times a game, the national media interpret this as him not giving up and having the will of a warrior. He will also throw virtually everyone associated with that franchise under the bus.

Wiggins will be good for a rookie but fall miles short of the hype.

Alex Len will break a bone, best case but least likely scenario: an opposing player's nose.

Aaaand finally, despite again ranking as one of the top on-court duo's in the league people will continue to moan about how the Bledsoe/Dragic combo does not work.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I predict the Suns make the playoffs and win their first round.

I predict that Kobe will stop playing basketball this season well before the Lakers play their 82nd game. I also predict that Randle tires of Bryant's mentorship and that news goes public.

I predict that the Lakers or Nuggets will be the first West team to fire their Head Coach this season, probably before the All Star game.

I predict that Blatt will very much wish he'd been hired by any team other than the Lebronaliers.

NBA Final Standings:

Eastern Conference:

Cleveland
Chicago
Washington
Toronto
Charlotte
Atlanta
Detroit
Brooklyn
New York
Miami
Orlando
Indiana
Boston
Milwaukee
Philadelphia

Western Conference:

Los Angeles Clippers
Golden State
Houston
Phoenix
Dallas
Memphis
New Orleans
San Antonio
Denver
Oklahoma City
Portland
Utah
Lakers
Sacramento
Minnesota

COY: Doc Rivers
MVP: Lebron
ROY: Porker
6th Man: IT
MIP: Anthony Davis

Top level team with the best chance of being neutralized by injuries - The Chicago Bulls. Noah has to be a concern for them, Gasol is simply not an equal replacement.

And my predictions come with a confidence rating of zero.

Steve

 

[Phrazbit]

WOW! Your level of boldness in the standings make mine look like a bottle of runny Herdez... mild.

Miami and OKC missing the playoffs entirely, the Spurs as an 8 seed and Denver as the 4. Bravo.

I also assume you were typing that before I posted my own predictions, in which case our similar views on Houston's coaching situation and Kobe's career are humorous.

Another dark horse I like to get canned early is Monty Williams. I also really really hope the Lakers fire Byron Scott after the season. The idea of them paying 3 coaches to not coach them is immensely funny.

 

[AzStevenCal]

WOW! Your level of boldness in the standings make mine look like a bottle of runny Herdez... mild.

Miami missing the playoffs entirely, the Spurs as an 8 seed and Denver as the 4. Bravo.

I also assume you were typing that before I posted my own predictions, in which case our similar views on Houston's coaching situation and Kobe's career are humorous.

Another dark horse I like to get canned early is Monty Williams. I also really really hope the Lakers fire Byron Scott after the season. The idea of them paying 3 coaches to not coach them is immensely funny.

Correct. I took a quick break to calm down some angry cats (strange cat at the front door) and that cost me a few minutes in posting. My other candidate for an early firing is in Denver. That team has a lot of talent and excuses were made last season because of injuries. If they don't get out of the gate strong this year though, I could see a short coaching career for Shaw. If it happens early enough I wouldn't be shocked to see Karl return to the bench and lead them to a playoff spot even with the poor start.

I had to laugh, earlier today I listened to part of the Sirius preview of the Suns. Eddie Johnson said we'd do worse this year than last because of how much tougher the East will be. I'm with you though, the East has been bad for awhile but might be even worse this year. They could end up with the two best teams but the middle and bottom of the conference is very weak.

Steve

 

[FArting]

East

Cleveland
Chicago
Miami
Washington
Toronto
Charlotte
Atlanta
Milwaukee
Orlando
Brooklyn
Detroit
Boston
New York
Indiana
Philadelphia

West
San Antonio
Clippers
Mavericks
OKC
Phoenix
GSW
Utah
Denver
Houston
Pelicans
Portland
Memphis
Kings
Lakers

ECF Cleveland over Miami in 6
WCF OKC over Clippers in 6
Finals OKC over Cleveland in 6
ROY Jabari Parker
COY Jeff Hornacek
MVP Lebron James
6TH Man Isiah Thomas

 

[PDXChris]

Calling it now, Most Improved Player - Derrick Rose!!

 

[JCSunsfan]

East

Cleveland
Chicago
Miami
Washington
Toronto
Orlando
Brooklyn
Charlotte
Atlanta
Milwaukee
Indiana
Detroit
Boston
New York
Philadelphia

Indy will fall off the map this year. They have just lost too much talent to stay in the playoff hunt. They had already declined by the end of last year.

West
San Antonio
GSW
Clippers
OKC
Houston
Memphis
Phoenix
Utah
Portland
Minnesota
Mavericks
Denver
Pelicans
New Orleans
Kings
Lakers

The west is tough. Minny, Dallas, Portland, and Utah will all be clustered around that last playoff spot. I think there will be a little distance for the Suns with the 7th.


ROY Andrew Wiggins
COY Jeff Hornacek
MVP Lebron James
6TH Man Isiah Thomas

 

[leclerc]

I predict the Lakers will blow up and miraculously get the no 1 pick. Also a lopsided deal in their favour.
IT will not be 6th man. I hope I'm wrong, it's just that now I can tell you other guys I told you so.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I predict the Lakers will blow up and miraculously get the no 1 pick. Also a lopsided deal in their favour.
IT will not be 6th man. I hope I'm wrong, it's just that now I can tell you other guys I told you so.

If you really feel an overwhelming need to say "I told you so", you might as well just go for it now. The odds are well against any of us actually nailing something like that as even the favorites for this award have to be considered long shots. I think Thomas is as good a pick as any but with Goran's year around play and Bledsoe's injury history, how many here would be shocked to see Thomas starting for too much of the season to draw votes as a 6th man?

Steve

 

[Phrazbit]

Correct. I took a quick break to calm down some angry cats (strange cat at the front door) and that cost me a few minutes in posting. My other candidate for an early firing is in Denver. That team has a lot of talent and excuses were made last season because of injuries. If they don't get out of the gate strong this year though, I could see a short coaching career for Shaw. If it happens early enough I wouldn't be shocked to see Karl return to the bench and lead them to a playoff spot even with the poor start.

I had to laugh, earlier today I listened to part of the Sirius preview of the Suns. Eddie Johnson said we'd do worse this year than last because of how much tougher the East will be. I'm with you though, the East has been bad for awhile but might be even worse this year. They could end up with the two best teams but the middle and bottom of the conference is very weak.

Steve

Yeah, I'm not sure where the across the board improvement in the East is supposedly coming from. Obviously the Cavs are much better, but Indy and Miami are much worse and the rest of the conference looks similar to last year. If it takes less than 48-50 wins to make the playoffs in the West it will be because it cannibalizes itself.

 

[Superbone]

Calling it now, Most Improved Player - Derrick Rose!!

You mean from injured to close to his former self? There is no way he could improve enough above his peak to win MIP.

 

[PDXChris]

You mean from injured to close to his former self? There is no way he could improve enough above his peak to win MIP.

I do, if you look at the last three season, he has barley played and when he did, he was not good. Even if he plays 70-75 games at 85% of his peak, he would have to win it. Since there are no offical rules on how to vote for it and since last years draft class sucks, I think he will stick out.

This was two nights ago.

 

[leclerc]

Just some light humour Steve. I wouldn't be surprised if Goran and Eric lost some games due to injury. Hope Archie gets the chance to prove himself. He's still too young but he has to show flashes and some improvements. I'm already an IT fan.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Just some light humour Steve. I wouldn't be surprised if Goran and Eric lost some games due to injury. Hope Archie gets the chance to prove himself. He's still too young but he has to show flashes and some improvements. I'm already an IT fan.

I took it that way, just figured you could go ahead and fulfill your dream instead of waiting. I think Thomas will have a good year for us but team results will have a lot to do with who wins that award. It doesn't look like we've solved the problem created by Frye's departure just yet so our results might not be what many of us hoped for. Who knows though, maybe Jeff is holding something back for when it counts.

As for Goodwin, our needs are such that I'm hoping we play him a lot early and he shines. That way maybe we can package him for a quality big man. I like him but we need a big man much more than we need another athletic guard, even one with huge up-side.

Steve

 

[Ronin]

NBA Final Standings:

Eastern Conference:

Cleveland
Washington
Toronto
Chicago
Miami
Atlanta
Charlotte
Detroit
Brooklyn
Boston
New York
Milwaukee
Orlando
Indiana
Philadelphia

Western Conference:
Dallas
San Antonio
Los Angeles Clippers
Golden State
Portland
Denver
Minnesota
Oklahoma City
Phoenix
New Orleans
Houston
Memphis
Utah
Sacramento
Los Angeles Lakers


COY: Rick Carlisle
MVP: Lebron
ROY: Wiggins
6th Man: IT
MIP: Derrick Rose

 

[Phrazbit]

A lot more participation this year! I like it. Clearly people are big fans of the arts.

 

[Absolute Zero]

Suns 52-30, eliminated in First Round of Playoffs

NBA Final Standings:

Eastern Conference:

Cleveland
Chicago
Washington
Miami
Toronto
Brooklyn
Charlotte
Atlanta
Detroit
Orlando
Boston
Indiana

New York
Milwaukee
Philadelphia

Western Conference:
San Antonio
Portland
Golden State
Los Angeles Clippers
Denver
Memphis
Phoenix
Oklahoma City
Dallas
Houston
New Orleans
Utah
Sacramento
Los Angeles Lakers
Minnesota

 

[elindholm]

NBA Final Standings:

Western Conference:
Dallas

Say WHA?

 

[AzStevenCal]

WOW! Your level of boldness in the standings make mine look like a bottle of runny Herdez... mild.

Miami and OKC missing the playoffs entirely, the Spurs as an 8 seed and Denver as the 4. Bravo.

I also assume you were typing that before I posted my own predictions, in which case our similar views on Houston's coaching situation and Kobe's career are humorous.

Another dark horse I like to get canned early is Monty Williams. I also really really hope the Lakers fire Byron Scott after the season. The idea of them paying 3 coaches to not coach them is immensely funny.

I watched Houston play tonight and I was more impressed with them than I was at any point last season. Ariza is not the outside threat that Parsons was but his defense is much more valuable to this team. I have to change my predictions. If this team stays healthy they will battle the Clippers for best record in the West.

Steve

 

[Errntknght]

Am I the only one that read the projections - two people listed New Orleans and the Hornets as different teams and one of them left out the Wolves - the other had sixteen teams listed for the WC.

My euphoria about the Suns was short lived... I'm afraid Tolliver is a case of subtraction by addition because Jeff is going to try to find a place for him in the rotation. Our rebounding is going to be too weak to fuel much of a fastbreak. I really think it was the idea that we had to replace Frye's three point shooting that is the root cause of the trouble. We brought in a guy, who in some years has shot the 3 well, but can't hold his own as a PF and Markieff seems to have lost all interest in his inside game. Heck Randolph has probably shot more 3's in the preseason than he has in his prior seven years in the league. Without that on his mind, McD may have given serious thought to grabbing Ed Davis, who can actually play the position and is one of the better defenders around the league.
I really think we ought to take the long view and play Len as many minutes as he can physically handle - forget making a run at the playoffs if he doesn't improve very rapidly, which isn't likely. I don't see any way out of this mess without some magical trade.
I hope Hornacek has some things up his sleeve but if he has, he's hidden them extremely well. Right now, I see our backcourt carrying us to about 46 wins - and I really hate to agree with the pundits.

West prediction:
LAC
Spurs
GSW
Portland
Dallas
OKC
Houston
Denver
New Orleans
Memphis
Phoenix
Utah
Minnesota
LAL
Sacramento

East
Cleveland
Chicago
...
who cares...

 

[Sci Fi]

I would say it's almost impossible for the 11th seed tp win 46 games. Last year the 10th seed had 40 wins and the 11th had 36. So here's a prediction. 45 wins will make the playoffs in the west. The good teams out west didn't really get better and some of the bad teams did. Plus, the east looks like it will pick up about 10-12 games on the west. I see one of the tightest races from the top to about 12th ever.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Dallas added Chandler Parsons and Tyson Chandler. Plus Dirk is healthy.
Houston lost Parsons, Asik, and Lin. Starter and depth. They will be worse.

I think it will be very tough for the Suns to make the post-season this year. The West is just so deep.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Am I the only one that read the projections - two people listed New Orleans and the Hornets as different teams and one of them left out the Wolves - the other had sixteen teams listed for the WC.

My euphoria about the Suns was short lived... I'm afraid Tolliver is a case of subtraction by addition because Jeff is going to try to find a place for him in the rotation. Our rebounding is going to be too weak to fuel much of a fastbreak. I really think it was the idea that we had to replace Frye's three point shooting that is the root cause of the trouble. We brought in a guy, who in some years has shot the 3 well, but can't hold his own as a PF and Markieff seems to have lost all interest in his inside game. Heck Randolph has probably shot more 3's in the preseason than he has in his prior seven years in the league. Without that on his mind, McD may have given serious thought to grabbing Ed Davis, who can actually play the position and is one of the better defenders around the league.
I really think we ought to take the long view and play Len as many minutes as he can physically handle - forget making a run at the playoffs if he doesn't improve very rapidly, which isn't likely. I don't see any way out of this mess without some magical trade.
I hope Hornacek has some things up his sleeve but if he has, he's hidden them extremely well. Right now, I see our backcourt carrying us to about 46 wins - and I really hate to agree with the pundits.

I noticed that JC had the Pelicans and New Orleans both listed but I figured it was meaningless since he had them rated back to back. I missed the other one you're referring to. I'm surprised you have us winning 46 games yet finishing 11th. I think 46 wins would typically get us somewhere around the 6th or 7th seed, last year's numbers being an aberration.

I also think you're letting preseason get to you a bit, I suspect we all are. Despite how poorly we looked at times we still finished with a 4 - 2 record and that included at least one loss where we made little effort to actually win the game (compared to our opponent anyway). And Tolliver, while not being what most of us wanted, is a far cry from the player he should be once his hand heals. I wanted Kamen or Davis but I have to believe Tolliver has a lot more than he's shown so far.

I think one of the things that has us all worried is the shaky play of Plumlee. We were hoping he'd be a better fill-in for Alex until Len was ready to take it on full time. From what I read this offseason, I can't help wondering if Miles lost some confidence by going head to head against Len and realizing his starting career was coming to a close. We haven't seen the Len side of this equation because of injuries but from all reports he was looking much better in the scrimmages and practices.

Steve

 

[FArting]

Am I the only one that read the projections - two people listed New Orleans and the Hornets as different teams and one of them left out the Wolves - the other had sixteen teams listed for the WC.

My euphoria about the Suns was short lived... I'm afraid Tolliver is a case of subtraction by addition because Jeff is going to try to find a place for him in the rotation. Our rebounding is going to be too weak to fuel much of a fastbreak. I really think it was the idea that we had to replace Frye's three point shooting that is the root cause of the trouble. We brought in a guy, who in some years has shot the 3 well, but can't hold his own as a PF and Markieff seems to have lost all interest in his inside game. Heck Randolph has probably shot more 3's in the preseason than he has in his prior seven years in the league. Without that on his mind, McD may have given serious thought to grabbing Ed Davis, who can actually play the position and is one of the better defenders around the league.
I really think we ought to take the long view and play Len as many minutes as he can physically handle - forget making a run at the playoffs if he doesn't improve very rapidly, which isn't likely. I don't see any way out of this mess without some magical trade.
I hope Hornacek has some things up his sleeve but if he has, he's hidden them extremely well. Right now, I see our backcourt carrying us to about 46 wins - and I really hate to agree with the pundits.

West prediction:
LAC
Spurs
GSW
Portland
Dallas
OKC
Houston
Denver
New Orleans
Memphis
Phoenix
Utah
Minnesota
LAL
Sacramento

East
Cleveland
Chicago
...
who cares...

I was the other one