NBA Preview

With the NBA kicking off next week, it is time for my 2010-11 NBA season preview. I can't think of another season that has been as anticipated as this year. Obviously, there has been a major shift in power from the West to the East. Just to name a few names...Carlos Boozer left Utah for Chicago, the Celtics added Shaq O'Neil, Delonte West and Jermaine O'Neil, Amare Stoudamire left Phoenix for the big apple,and the Miami Heat acquired Chris Bosh and Lebron James. We are coming off a summer that paid Joe Johnson over 120 million dollars over 6 years, Hakeem Warrick 18 million dollars over four years, Channing Frye 30 million dollars over five years,Rudy Gay roughly 82 million dollars over five years and Darko Milicic 20 millions dollars...so you get the point. For the last two years we have been hearing about a possible lockout season in 2011 and how crappy teams finances are but GM's had no problem dishing out these contracts. Funny how that works...

Anyway, without seeing a game yet, I'm going to assume we are about to witness some of the best basketball since Michael Jordan was with the Bulls. Without further ado, here are my season predictions...

MVP: Lebron James

A lot of people are assuming Kevin Durant is ready to take the NBA MVP crown. I would like to give everyone a reality check. Lebron James is the best basketball player on the planet. Please do not confuse that with the best winner on the planet. In terms of statistics on a night in and night out basis, there is no better player in the world. Kevin Durant is a great player and a rare talent but he does not have the all-around game that Lebron James has. Lebron will have better stats and a better record.

Defensive Player of the year: Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard will own the defensive player of the year award until he gets injured or old. He consistently is in the top of the rankings in rebounds and blocks. He is also a big name so he will always get the nod over players like Gerald Wallace and Josh Smith. The only hope is if one year Rajon Rondo steals it from him. If Howard could ever get his offensive game together, he would be a serious contender for the MVP award.

Rookie of the year: John Wall

This was a tough one. I love John Wall as a point guard and I also love his former teammate DeMarcus Cousins has a dominant big man. It should also be mentioned that Blake Griffin is entering his rookie season. The three of them will dominate the rookie of the year race but Wall will come out on top for two reasons. He plays point guard, which is the NBA's most popular position to date and he also plays on a team where he was handed the keys to the city. DeMarcus Cousins is a great talent but he will share minutes with the full front court the Kings have. Blake Griffin will dominate at the power forward position but he is surrounded by Chris Kaman, Baron Davis and Eric Gordon(had a breakout summer with USA team). John Wall will play with an uninterested Gilbert Arenas and a decent supporting cast of guys who wouldn't start on more than half of the teams in the NBA. Not to mention he is the point guard so he runs the show.

Most Improved Player: Michael Beasley

Call me biased but I think Michael Beasley will have a breakout season. All the pressure he has had is officially off his shoulders. When the Heat traded him, he was written off as a top young NBA talent. He was shipped to a confused franchise with no leader or franchise player. If anything, he will flourish just because there will be more shots available and he doesn't have to worry about Dwyane Wade giving him disgusted faces after every mistake.

Now for my NBA team rankings by conference. By no means is this how I think the playoff picture will turn out but it is how I rank the best teams in each conference. As we know from last year, the Celtics were the best team in the East but they did not play that way during the regular season. So keep that in mind...

Eastern Conference

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

Western Conference

1.LA Lakers
2.Oklahoma City Thunder
3.Utah Jazz
4.San Antonio Spurs
5.Portland Trailblazers
6.Dallas Mavericks
7.Houston Rockets
8.Memphis Grizzlies
9.LA Clippers
10.Phoenix Suns
11.Sacramento Kings
12.New Orleans Hornets
13.Denver Nuggets
14.Minnesota Timberwolves
15.Golden State Warriors

There you have it. Only time will tell what really happens.