Red Carpet Section
MVP: Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
Rookie of the Year: John Wall, Washington Wizards
Sixth Man of the Year: JR Smith, Denver Nuggets
Most Improved Player: Darren Collison, Indiana Pacers
Coach of the Year: Mike D'Antoni, New York Knicks
The Playoffs Baby!
Where I make entirely pre-mature on predictions that are based games which exist only in my mind, let's do it!!
Finals Remix Edition - Lakers vs. Celtics
There is greater depth in the West, so each round will be a battle for the Lakers. The Lakers will be a visible notch better than any other Western team, but they tend to let teams hang around and they will be tested.
While the Celtics should have an easy first round, the sledding will get real tough facing the Magic and Heat in consecutive rounds. The salty veteran Celtics will ultimately relish being underdogs to the self-indulgent Heat. Depth, defense, and chemistry will get Boston past Miami.
The matchup of Lakers versus Celtics is entirely reliant on health, as both teams are aging, and have key players that have had injury issues. For the sake of fun, and having a control in this experiment I will assume that both teams are at relative full strength, which means a healthy Andrew Bynum and Kobe Bryant for LA, and a healthy Paul Pierce, Kendrick Perkins, and Kevin Garnett for Boston.
The layers to this matchup are so many and so juicy that I can hardly wait to see it happen. Shaq vs Kobe in a Finals matchup between some of the deepest teams the league has seen in the past ten years, the Lakers will be looking to tie Boston with 17 titles for most all time, and Boston is still chirping that LA has never beaten them with their full complement of healthy players (Boston seems to overlook that LA hasn't had a healthy Bynum either time the two have met in the finals). Bryant will still be the best player in the series, and Pau Gasol will be the second best. Rajon Rondo though, could reach a new stratosphere this year, and has all the skill to make this Boston team the best in the league.
Matt Barnes, Steve Blake, and Theo Ratliff replace Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, and Josh Powell as position substitutes, and represent a huge upgrade in skill, reliability, defense, ball handling, and veteran stability. Ratliff won't play much if the Gasol-Bynum-Lamar Odom triumvirate is healthy, but he can come in and rebound and challenge shots against any team. Blake and Barnes are huge additions that could start for a lot of teams, and both understand exactly what their role will be.
Ultimately, I like the Lakers talent more than Boston's by just a pinch. LA's offseason acquisitions close the defense and toughness edge Boston previously held. The Lakers will three-peat, and Phil will get his twelfth championship.
Lakers in 7.
MVP: Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
Rookie of the Year: John Wall, Washington Wizards
Sixth Man of the Year: JR Smith, Denver Nuggets
Most Improved Player: Darren Collison, Indiana Pacers
Coach of the Year: Mike D'Antoni, New York Knicks
The Playoffs Baby!
Where I make entirely pre-mature on predictions that are based games which exist only in my mind, let's do it!!
Finals Remix Edition - Lakers vs. Celtics
There is greater depth in the West, so each round will be a battle for the Lakers. The Lakers will be a visible notch better than any other Western team, but they tend to let teams hang around and they will be tested.
While the Celtics should have an easy first round, the sledding will get real tough facing the Magic and Heat in consecutive rounds. The salty veteran Celtics will ultimately relish being underdogs to the self-indulgent Heat. Depth, defense, and chemistry will get Boston past Miami.
The matchup of Lakers versus Celtics is entirely reliant on health, as both teams are aging, and have key players that have had injury issues. For the sake of fun, and having a control in this experiment I will assume that both teams are at relative full strength, which means a healthy Andrew Bynum and Kobe Bryant for LA, and a healthy Paul Pierce, Kendrick Perkins, and Kevin Garnett for Boston.
The layers to this matchup are so many and so juicy that I can hardly wait to see it happen. Shaq vs Kobe in a Finals matchup between some of the deepest teams the league has seen in the past ten years, the Lakers will be looking to tie Boston with 17 titles for most all time, and Boston is still chirping that LA has never beaten them with their full complement of healthy players (Boston seems to overlook that LA hasn't had a healthy Bynum either time the two have met in the finals). Bryant will still be the best player in the series, and Pau Gasol will be the second best. Rajon Rondo though, could reach a new stratosphere this year, and has all the skill to make this Boston team the best in the league.
Matt Barnes, Steve Blake, and Theo Ratliff replace Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, and Josh Powell as position substitutes, and represent a huge upgrade in skill, reliability, defense, ball handling, and veteran stability. Ratliff won't play much if the Gasol-Bynum-Lamar Odom triumvirate is healthy, but he can come in and rebound and challenge shots against any team. Blake and Barnes are huge additions that could start for a lot of teams, and both understand exactly what their role will be.
Ultimately, I like the Lakers talent more than Boston's by just a pinch. LA's offseason acquisitions close the defense and toughness edge Boston previously held. The Lakers will three-peat, and Phil will get his twelfth championship.
Lakers in 7.
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