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This season I predicted the records a little differently. I still used the same process of taking production from the previous 2 seasons and adjusting for things like age and circumstance. The difference is I gave myself more latitude to change records that just looked wrong. I did this because things can change during the season. Last year two trades, one silly the other sensible, changed the balance of power in the West. So while the Cavs may not be as strong as the Pistons and Celtics right … [Read more...] about NBA Preview 2008-09: Projected Records

The Western Conference powers have been gradually shifting.  The old powers seem to be fading but still dangerous and the new power brokers that emerged in the 2007-08 playoffs look pretty significant too.  I happen to agree with the opinion put out by David Stern and others that the West has regressed a bit against the East.  No longer are the best teams clearly in the West.  In fact, the tough teams are getting more evenly distributed as the Detroit/Boston duo is as tough as any two teams out … [Read more...] about NBA Preview 2008-09: Western Conference

This felt like one of the quicker off seasons we've had and now all of sudden a new NBA season is upon us.  What has changed in these four months since the Celtics beat the Lakers?  Not too much really.  There haven't been too many changes in roster, Elton Brand being the notable exception.  The real change is in time.  How have four months changed the teams?  Are the Celtics too old to be prohibitive favorites?  Are the Pistons crumbling?  Is LeBron at his peak?  Really, the East boils down to … [Read more...] about NBA Preview 2008-09: Eastern Conference

One of the bigger potential ironies of this season is that the Philadelphia 76ers look like a pretty solid playoff team whereas the Denver Nuggets, who took Allen Iverson from Philly because the Sixers were mired in the lottery, are likely going to miss the playoffs.  Of course, that's a bit of a superficial observation as ironies go.  The Nuggets are significantly better team than Philly but the Sixers have the fortune in being a far less deep conference.  Still, Philly's run has been … [Read more...] about Philly Phlying: Refusing to Tank?

Last season when I did the tournament preview, one of the theories I suggested for picking the winner was to look for a team with a strong point guard. The idea being that a good PG is the most essential player to NCAA tournament success. Last year things didn’t turn out that way, as a team without a true PG won their 2nd title in-a-row. After actually researching this theory, I discovered I couldn’t have been more wrong. Not that it’s better to have a bad PG, but teams with strong frontcourts … [Read more...] about NCAA Tourney Preview