East
1.) Boston - Returning champs always get placed here
2.) Cleveland - Team chemistry improves with time together
3.) Detroit - Old legs. Their core will be broken up soon
4.) Orlando - As Howard gets better, Orlando gets better
5.) New York - They will be a whole new team with D'Antoni
6.) Washington - Add a couple vets w/a healthy Arenas...
7.) Philly - Nice starting lineup, just no bench yet
8.) Milwaukee - Nice team, just a few more pieces to get
Miami is my wild card b/c it's hard to call until Marion is gone and we see his replacement...
West
1.) LAL - Bynum back + Odom replacement = Finals rematch
2.) New Orleans - CP3 with a better bench...
3.) San Antonio - They come back every other year
4.) Utah - If they learn how to win on the road...
5.) Dallas - More time for Kidd to Dirk passes in practice
6.) Portland - They have the talent to do it
7.) Houston - Healthy Steve Francis, TMac, & Yao?
8.) Phoenix - How much different will their offense be ran
Denver earns the wild card spot with both AI/Melo combo, or the possibility of a new staring lineup including some of the Detroit bunch