The season is upon us, and it's time for us to do our season preview. And those of you who have been reading us for a while know we can't just do a plain ol' preview.
So in honor of the return of Delonte West... we decided to take a crack at his greatest contribution to society: The Delonte West KFC freestyle.
It is as bad as you might think. So without further ado, Chuck and I preview the Celtics season with an homage to our man DWest:
Yeah... I know.
Here's the written form of all that noise:
Celtics
Chuck: Regular season record: 61-21 (1st, Atlantic Division, 2nd, Eastern Conference)
Yes, I know this team is built for the post-season and Doc Rivers will preserve minutes. But this team is very deep and will win many games due to its strong second unit. After losing Game 7 of the Finals in LA, I think this team understands the importance of playing for home court. Will we see a flip-the-switch mentality? Possibly, but it will not be as dramatic as last season.
John: Regular season record: 59-23 (1st, Atlantic Division, 2nd Eastern Conference)
The bench will account for a bulk of the improved record. An understated aspect of Danny Ainge's moves is the fact that a lot of second unit guys are playing for contracts... meaning they'll have plenty of motivation to come through when called upon. They'll still drop a few as they coast here and there and rest up injuries... but they'll still nab the second seed because Miami will beat out Orlando for the division... dropping the Magic in the seeding.
Jay's prediction: 58-24
KWAPT'S prediction: 57-25
Team MVP:
Chuck: Kevin Garnett - He's the leader of the defense.
John: Rajon Rondo - This team always plays its best when he's at his best.
Jay: Rondo: KWAPT: Rondo
NBA:
Eastern Conference:
Chuck:
1. Miami 66 - 16
2. Boston 61 - 21
3. Orlando 60 - 22
4. Chicago 54 - 28
5. Atlanta 54 - 28
6. Milwaukee 50 - 32
7. Washington 43 - 39
8. Cleveland 41- 41
Barring catastrophic injury, the top 6 teams in the East are set. I still don't think the Knicks are good enough to crack the playoffs, and I think the Cavs will play with a chip on their shoulder all season.
John:
1: Miami: 66- 16
2: Boston: 59-23
3: Orlando: 59-23
4: Chicago: 53-29
5: Milwaukee: 52-30
6: Atlanta: 49-33
7: New York: 41-41
8: Washington: 38-44
Chicago leads the "best of the rest" division with Milwaukee continuing it's solid play of last year. This is the year Atlanta takes a step back, New York makes a little run to get to .500 and Washington rides the John Wall train into the last spot just ahead of Charlotte and New Jersey
Western Conference:
Chuck:
1. LA Lakers 63 - 19
2. Dallas 58 - 24
3. Portland 56 - 26
4. OKC 56 - 26
5. Houston 53 - 29
6. San Antonio 51 - 31
7. New Orleans 50 - 32
8. LA Clippers 46 - 36
Denver gets the boot because of the Melo drama. Despite the addition of Big Al, I think Utah lost too much talent on the wings and bench. A healthy Chris Paul gets NO back on track. That is not a typo - I have the Clippers making the playoffs.
John:
1: LA Lakers: 61-21
2: Dallas: 61-21
3: OKC: 59-23
4: Portland: 55-27
5: Houston: 54-28
6: San Antonio: 52-30
7: Utah: 49-33
8: Denver: 48-34
I'll say Denver slips into that last spot. Melo will stick around until the trade deadline and the fall will be precipitous, but it Denver will hold on. The class of the West is still LA, and I'm still high on OKC.
NBA Finals:
Chuck: Celtics over the Mavericks.
John: Celtics over the Lakers
Jay: Celtics over Lakers
KWAPT: Celtics over Lakers
