Golden State Warriors
PG: Stephen Curry (Jeremy Lin)
SG: Monta Ellis (Charlie Bell)
SF: Vladimir Radmanovic (Reggie Williams)
PF: David Lee
C: Andris Biedrins (Dan Gadzuric)

Coach: Keith Smart

Breakdown: We’ll see how David Lee fits in with Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry, but overall this team has the potential to almost make the playoffs. Coach Keith Smart has a talented young team to mold, and it’s anyone’s guess as to how he’s going to do. This is a young team overall, so I expect that they’ll be a fun team to watch, but they will make their fair share of mistakes. It’s a rebuilding year for the Warriors, but they’ll make the most of it.

Prediction: 35-47

Los Angeles Clippers
PG: Baron Davis
SG: Eric Gordon (Randy Foye)
SF: Ryan Gomes (Rasual Butler)
PF: Blake Griffin
C: Chris Kaman (DeAndre Jordan)

Coach: Vinny Del Negro

Breakdown: This is a team with a lot to prove. Blake Griffin wants to prove that he’s the future of basketball, not John Wall. Baron “Boomdizzle” Davis needs to show that he’s still got it, and Eric Gordon wants to take his game to the next level. Kaman is a center who is consistently underrated, so expect him to try to dominate. And coach Del Negro wants to make the Bulls regret unceremoniously firing him last season. The Clips are missing a few pieces, but they’re building a pretty solid core for the future.

Prediction: 33-49

Los Angeles Lakers
PG: Derek Fisher (Steve Blake)
SG: Kobe Bryant (Sasha Vujacic; Shannon Brown)
SF: Ron Artest (Matt Barnes)
PF: Pau Gasol (Lamar Odom)
C: Andrew Bynum (Theo Ratliff)

Coach: Phil Jackson

Breakdown: They lifted banner number 16 yesterday and then followed that up with a last second victory over a Yao-ful Houston Rockets. Newcomer Steve Blake proved why the Lakers acquired him by drilling a 3 point shot at the end of the game after a feed from Kobe. The Lakers are basically the same team as last year with a much deeper bench. Kobe might be a year older and slightly injured, but the team around him might be the best he’s ever had. And with that, I’m going to confidently predict their record for this season (you heard it here first):

Prediction: 70-12

Phoenix Suns
PG: Steve Nash (Goran Dragic)
SG: Jason Richardson (Josh Childress)
SF: Grant Hill (Jared Dudley)
PF: Hedo Turkoglu (Hakeem Warrick)
C: Robin Lopez (Channing Frye)

Coach: Alvin Gentry

Breakdown: Umm, the Suns still  lack a big man (as usual), but they’ve also still got Nash, so they’ll be ok. However, Nash himself expressed doubt that they would make the playoffs this year, so it’s hard to say where his head’s at. Like never before, Nash is going to have to take on the scoring load for this team while simultaneously getting his teammates shots. I think he’s going to go all CP3 on us this season and handle the ball even more than he did before. It’s going to be an interesting time out in the desert.

Prediction: 41-41

Sacramento Kings
PG: Beno Udrih
SG: Tyreke Evans (Luther Head)
SF: Omri Casspi (Francisco Garcia)
PF: Carl Landry
C: Samuel Dalembert (DeMarcus Cousins)

Coach: Paul Westphal

Breakdown: Lastly, we get to the Kings. In the early 2000′s they were strong rivals to the Lakers, but recently things haven’t gone their way. The current edition is extremely young and talented (e.g. Evans, Casspi, and Cousins) with Udrih and Landry entering their prime years. They might out-hustle a lot of teams, but they still need better discipline. It’ll be up to coach Westphal to guide this team to relevance…but probably not this season.

Prediction: 27-55

-Shogun

Atlanta Hawks
PG: Mike Bibby
SG: Joe Johnson (Jamal Crawford)
SF: Marvin Williams (Maurice Evans)
PF: Josh Smith (Josh Powell)
C: Al Horford (Zaza Pachulia; Etan Thomas)

Coach: Larry Drew

Breakdown: While I’m tempted to describe this team as a young, up-and-coming team, the time has passed for that. This is no longer an inexperienced team with nothing to lose. This team has been to the playoffs several times now and there are expectations now. After almost losing to the Bucks and then getting dominated by Boston, I would say that this team needs to find itself quickly before the chemistry they built starts to break down.

Prediction: 51-31

Charlotte Bobcats
PG: D.J. Augustin (Shaun Livingston; Javaris Crittenton)
SG: Stephen Jackson (Matt Carroll)
SF: Gerald Wallace (Tyrus Thomas)
PF: Boris Diaw
C: Nazr Mohammed (DeSagana Diop)

Coach: Larry Brown

Breakdown: Larry Brown may have a history of making bad teams decent, but it’s hard to have hope with this group. Coach Brown is going to have to pull out all the stops to get this team into the playoffs. Gerald “Crash” Wallace is the best player on this team with Captain Jack providing experience and support. D.J. Augustin is good, but still young and inexperienced. I don’t think they’re going to do much this year.

Prediction: 22-60

Miami Heat
PG: Mario Chalmers (Carlos Arroyo)
SG: Dwyane Wade (James Jones; Eddie House)
SF: LeBron James (Mike Miller; Da’Sean Butler)
PF: Chris Bosh (Udonis Haslem)
C: Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Joel Anthony)

Coach: Erik Spoelstra

Breakdown: Here we go! Although they have been “plagued” with injuries this preseason, it doesn’t really matter. As long as they make the playoffs, this team is going to make it to the NBA Finals and square off against the Lakers. Don’t be fooled, this is a good team outside of the big three. Chalmers is a capable point guard and the team is replete with an array of shooters that can come off the bench and spread the floor. The team is a little weak at the center position, but LeBron, Wade, and Bosh should be enough to offset this deficiency. I expect the team to start off strong, struggle a bit mid-season, and then pick it up for the Playoffs. Will they win it all? We shall see. Let the journey begin!

Prediction: 59-23

Orlando Magic
PG: Jameer Nelson (Jason Williams; Chris Duhon)
SG: Vince Carter (J.J. Redick)
SF: Michael Pietrus (Quentin Richardson)
PF: Rashard Lewis (Brandon Bass; Ryan Anderson)
C: Dwight Howard (Marcin Gortat)

Coach: Stan Van Gundy

Breakdown: The Heat’s biggest threat in the East may very well come from within their own division. The Orlando Magic are consistently overlooked and disrespected year after year and that definitely doesn’t sit well with them. The team is better than most people give them credit for, but they do rely a bit too much on shooting the three. Biggest factor for this team this year: Dwight Howard’s growth (not physically, but in ability). He’s been working with Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing, so we’ll see if he’s developed his own “Dream Shake”. Another factor will be consistent play from Rashard Lewis who has a habit of being really hot and really cold. In the end, I’m putting my money on Superman to figure it out.

Prediction: 58-24

Washington Wizards
PG: Kirk Hinrich (John Wall)
SG: Nick Young (Gilbert Arenas)
SF:  Josh Howard (Al Thornton; Adam Morrison)
PF: Andray Blatche (Yi Jianlian)
C: JaVale McGee

Coach: Flip Saunders

Breakdown: A lot of questions for this team. Will John Wall dominate as a rookie? Will Josh Howard return healthy and is Al Thornton going to be a good backup/replacement at small forward? Will Yi finally play to his potential? Is Gilbert Arenas going to stabilize and morph back into “Agent Zero”? With that many questions on the table, I can’t see this team figuring it out this season. They’ll do ok, but eventually fall short.

Prediction: 39-43

-Shogun

Dallas Mavericks
PG: Jason Kidd (Jose Barea)
SG: Caron Butler (Jason Terry)
SF: Shawn Marion (DeShawn Stevenson)
PF: Dirk Nowitzki
C: Tyson Chandler (Brendan Haywood)

Coach: Rick Carlisle

Breakdown: While this team seems pretty good, let’s not forget that the Mavericks always seem to fall short of their goals. Dirk is an awesome player and Jason Kidd continues to play well despite his age (he even figured out how to shoot threes in his free time). With Butler, Terry, and Chandler, and with Marion coming off the bench, this team seems poised to do great things. However, something inside of me says that they’ll figure out some way to screw it up. They’ll make the playoffs for sure, but I’m betting that they don’t go far. I like Dirk, but his team is cursed.

Prediction: 52-30

Houston Rockets
PG: Aaron Brooks (Kyle Lowry)
SG: Kevin Martin (Courtney Lee)
SF: Shane Battier
PF: Luis Scola (Chuck Hayes)
C: Yao Ming (Brad Miller)

Coach: Rick Adelman

Breakdown: Yao’s back…Yao’s back…Yao’s back!  The league’s most overachieving team just got its best player back…for about 22 minutes a game. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Yao lasts the season, but I’m not holding my breath. With Kevin Martin on board, the Rockets have a consistent/prolific scorer, albeit one that is also injury prone. It’s tough to predict how well this team will do, but I’m going to venture a guess that Rick Adelman will get this team to maximize its potential.

Prediction: 46-36

Memphis Grizzlies
PG: Mike Conley
SG: O.J. Mayo (Tony Allen)
SF: Rudy Gay
PF: Zach Randolph
C: Marc Gasol (Hasheem Thabeet)

Coach: Lionel Hollins

Breakdown: Not much that I can say about this team, mostly because I didn’t follow them last year. Somehow they pulled out a 40-42 record. They definitely have talented players and hopefully Mayo and Gasol continue to develop, but otherwise the team doesn’t have much depth.  Rudy Gay is a good player, but I think they need a few more pieces before they can be considered a contender. I’m going to predict a slight step back this season.

Prediction: 34-48

New Orleans Hornets
PG: Chris Paul
SG: Marco Belinelli (Marcus Thornton)
SF: Trevor Ariza (Peja Stojakovic)
PF: David West
C: Emeka Okafor (D.J. Mbenga)

Coach: Monty Williams

Breakdown: The Hornets will always be a threat as long as they have CP3, but other than that there’s not much else going on for them. David West is a rock and Ariza is pretty good, but the team lacks depth and Okafor has been a disappointment the last few seasons. It’s going to be a tough season for these Hornets.

Prediction: 37-45

San Antonio Spurs
PG: Tony Parker (George Hill)
SG: Manu Ginobili
SF: Richard Jefferson
PF: Tim Duncan (Matt Bonner)
C: DeJuan Blair (Antonio McDyess; Tiago Splitter)

Coach: Gregg Popovich

Breakdown: The Spurs certainly aren’t getting any younger, but their big three are still as solid as ever. If RJ can get things together, then this team will be a serious threat. If the Spurs can somehow get another superstar, they would be that much closer to a return to glory. I’m not going to write off this team anytime soon.

Prediction: 48-34

-Shogun

Chicago Bulls
PG: Derrick Rose
SG: Ronnie Brewer
SF: Luol Deng (Kyle Korver)
PF: Taj Gibson (Carlos Boozer)
C: Joakim Noah

Coach: Tom Thibodeau

Breakdown: If only LeBron had chosen to come to the Bulls. Long-term, I think that would’ve been the smarter move, but he’s made his decision clear, so we won’t dwell on that too much. As it is, this team has a pretty strong starting line, though the team lacks a whole lot of depth. I put Boozer in the secondary position because he broke his hand “answering the door,” which happens to me all the time, so I won’t hold that against him. With Rose leading the charge, Noah doing the dirty work and pulling down rebounds, Korver launching bombs from the outside, and Deng slashing to the basket, this team has it all.  Gibson is a young, but talented, player who will hopefully continue developing this season. Once Boozer is ready to play, this team will contend with anybody…until they run out of gas and realize that they need some better bench players.

Prediction: 46-36

Cleveland Cavaliers
PG: Mo Williams (Ramon Sessions)
SG: Anthony Parker (Daniel Gibson)
SF: Jamario Moon
PF: Antawn Jamison (J.J. Hickson)
C: Anderson Varejao

Coach: Byron Scott

Breakdown: So things aren’t looking too good in Cleveland right now. Without LeBron, the Cavs are a mediocre team of role players with no leader. The entire team was built around one man, and since that man is now gone, what’s left is a gaping hole of despair. Ok, it’s not that bad, but it’s close. Byron Scott is a great coach who has done incredible things with what he has been given (think Nets making the Finals two years in a row). If I were to make a guess, I would say that the Cavs will trade away Varejao, Parker, Jamison, and Williams if they can and get some young talent. These guys are valuable in that they can be the missing pieces on championship teams, so the Cavs would be wise to give up this year and start rebuilding like the Wolves. Don’t expect any of them to be traded to Miami, however. That would just be ridiculous.

Prediction: 20-62

Detroit Pistons
PG: Rodney Stuckey (Will Bynum)
SG: Rip Hamilton (Ben Gordon)
SF: Tayshaun Prince (Tracy McGrady)
PF: Charlie Villanueva (Chris Wilcox)
C: Ben Wallace

Coach: John Kuester

Breakdown: On paper this team is pretty good. In reality…we’ll see. Last season they were hampered by injuries, so that helps to explain their 27-55 record. They lack some size, but overall this team has talent in both their starting lineup and their bench. The Eastern Conference has become loaded this year, so I don’t think that this team will vie for a championship, but I’m going to venture a guess that this team will make the playoffs.

Prediction: 42-40

Indiana Pacers
PG: T.J. Ford (Darren Collison)
SG: Mike Dunleavy (Brandon Rush; James Posey)
SF: Danny Granger (Dahntay Jones)
PF: Tyler Hansbrough
C: Jeff Foster (Roy Hibbert)

Coach: Jim O’Brien

Breakdown: This is a guard heavy team for sure. While Danny Granger is listed as a Small Forward and is definitely their star, both he and Dahntay Jones are combo Guard-Forwards and not true 3s. Tyler Hansbrough better bust out this year, or this team is going to have a lot of trouble against teams with a big frontcourt. Maybe they’ll trade for Varejao. This is definitely another team in the midst of a rebuilding phase.

Prediction: 27-55

Milwaukee Bucks
PG: Brandon Jennings (Keyon Dooling)
SG: John Salmons (Chris Douglas-Roberts)
SF: Corey Maggette (Luc Mbah a Moute; Carlos Delfino)
PF: Drew Gooden (Ersan Ilyasova)
C: Andrew Bogut

Coach: Scott Skiles

Breakdown: This is a good team. They’ve got experience and youth, talent and depth, bigs and smalls…seriously what does this team not have? Ok, maybe they don’t have that superstar player that can impose his will, but it’s not out of reach that one of these players can become that guy. With Jennings, Douglas-Roberts, and Ilyasova leading the youth train and Salmons, Maggette, and Gooden providing the experience, this is a well balanced team (with Bogut smack dab in the middle). Bogut is the type of player who, when healthy, can match up with almost any big man, so they’ve got that pretty much covered. If Scott Skiles does what he does best and gets this team to both play together and play hard, then the rest of the league will learn first hand what they mean when they say “Fear the Deer”. I mean, what other team can say they have a mascot that can do this?

Prediction: 50-32

-Shogun

Denver Nuggets
PG: Chauncey Billups (Ty Lawson)
SG: Arron Afflalo
SF: Carmelo Anthony (J.R. Smith)
PF: Al Harrington (Kenyon Martin)
C: Chris Anderson (Nene Hilario)

Coach: George Karl

Breakdown: If Carmelo leaves this team, it’s gonna be a couple of long winters for Denver. However, if he stays, they can compete with anybody. I’m going to assume that Carmelo stays for the first half of the season and gets traded, so it’ll be interesting to see what the Nuggets get in return for him. I’m guessing they’ll get young talent, so this season will probably be a bust for the Nuggets. Also, with Harrington and K-Mart injured for the start of the season, they’ll pretty much be without any depth at the PF position.

Prediction: 42-40

Minnesota Timberwolves
PG: Luke Ridnour (Jonny Flynn)
SG: Corey Brewer
SF: Martell Webster
PF: Kevin Love (Michael Beasley)
C: Darko Milicic

Coach: Kurt Rambis

Breakdown: The wolves are still in their rebuilding phase, so expect to see a lot of experimentation this year as they continue to develop their players. A clear superstar has yet to emerge, but expect the team to progress under coach Rambis as the year goes on.

Prediction: 25-57

Oklahoma City Thunder
PG: Russell Westbrook
SG: James Harden (Thabo Sefolosha)
SF: Kevin Durant
PF: Jeff Green (Serge Ibaka)
C: Nenad Krstic (Cole Aldrich)

Coach: Scott Brooks

Breakdown: While the Thunder may have the youngest starting lineup in the league, that actually works to their advantage. This team is oozing with talent and confidence after they nearly beat the Lakers in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs last season. Led by Durant, this team is loaded with weapons that can outenergize any team they go up against. With another season under their belt, this ragtag group is as close as any team to toppling the Lakers and making the Finals. If Durant can stop turning the ball over and the team tightens up their defense a little more, then this team will be nearly unstoppable.

Prediction: 55-27

Portland Trailblazers
PG: Andre Miller
SG: Brandon Roy (Rudy Fernandez)
SF: Nicolas Batum
PF: LaMarcus Aldridge
C: Greg Oden (Marcus Camby; Joel Przybilla)

Coach: Nate McMillan

Breakdown: The Blazers could’ve done a lot better last season is half their team didn’t go down with injuries. The talent is still there this season, though there are some grumblings from Fernandez about playing time and Oden’s health is a constant question. Roy and Aldridge are both good enough to carry the team themselves, so I expect another good season from this group.

Prediction: 46-36

Utah Jazz
PG: Deron Williams (Ronnie Price)
SG: CJ Miles (Raja Bell; Sundiata Gaines)
SF: Andrei Kirilenko (Gordon Hayward)
PF: Paul Millsap
C: Al Jefferson (Mehmet Okur; Francisco Elson)

Coach: Jerry Sloan

Breakdown: A redesigned logo can’t hide the fact that the Jazz lost Boozer over the summer. However, they would’ve been without him at the beginning of the season anyway since he tripped over a bag and fractured his hand while answering the door. They did pick up Al Jefferson, and Paul Millsap is as good a Boozer replacement as anybody. Oh, they also have one of the best point guards in the league in Williams, so that helps. Jefferson is the real x-factor this season as he could be rejuvenated after many dismal years on the Timberwolves or he could continue his underachieving ways. I’m predicting a better than expected season for the Jazz.

Prediction: 52-30

-Shogun

Boston Celtics
PG: Rajon Rondo (Delonte West)
SG: Ray Allen
SF: Paul Pierce
PF: Kevin Garnett (Jermaine O’Neal)
C: Kendrick Perkins (Shaquille O’Neal)

Coach: Doc Rivers

Breakdown: It may be unbelievable, but somehow the Celtics got even older. The old guard is back this season with the additions of ex-Cav Delonte West, ex-player Jermaine O’Neal, and ex-Laker Shaquille O’Neal (I know for a fact that this doesn’t sit well with a lot of Celtics fans). On the positive side, they now have some big bodies to throw against the Magic and the Lakers, so the Celtics have an outside shot of repeating the magic of last year and making it to the Finals. As much as they want home court this year, though, they won’t get it.

Prediction: 53-29

New Jersey Nets
PG: Devin Harris (Jordan Farmar)
SG: Anthony Morrow
SF: Terrence Williams
PF: Derrick Favors
C: Brook Lopez

Coach: Avery Johnson

Breakdown: Not sure if this lineup is right, but it will be changing anyway as new coach Avery Johnson figures out how best to use what he has. Lopez is a rock at the center position and the rest of the lineup is solid, if not a little inexperienced. Morrow was a great pickup last year, but it will take time for Johnson to get this group to start working as a team. Unless the Nets pick up a superstar this season, expect mediocre results at best.

Prediction: 34-48

New York Knicks
PG: Raymond Felton (Toney Douglas)
SG: Roger Mason Jr. (Kelenna Azubuike)
SF: Danilo Gallinari
PF: Anthony Randolph
C: Amar’e Stoudemire (Ronny Turiaf)

Coach: Mike D’Antoni

Breakdown: The Knicks, underachieving since 1973. I was preparing to laugh while writing a breakdown for this team, but after actually looking at their team, the situation is not as dire as I first thought. Before getting injured last season, Anthony Randolph was playing great ball scoring over 10 points consistently and grabbing close to 10 rebounds a game. Not sure that Felton is up to the task of leading a D’Antoni offense, but the rest of the team can Run and Gun with the best of them. However, this team suffers from the same problem that all D’Antoni seem to have…a lack of size. Amar’e and Turiaf aren’t really centers and Mozgov is a rookie.

Prediction: 39-43

Philadelphia 76ers
PG: Jrue Holiday (Louis Williams)
SG: Andre Iguodala (Evan Turner)
SF: Thaddeus Young (Andres Nocioni; Jason Kapono)
PF: Elton Brand
C: Spencer Hawes

Coach: Doug Collins

Breakdown: Not sure what to make of this team. I mean, I didn’t even realize Spencer Hawes was on it. Hawes is solid, Brand is great when healthy, AI2 is solid, and the rest of the team is pretty good. I have a feeling that this team will struggle at the beginning of the season as they try to find their identity under new coach Doug Collins, but will pick it up mid to late in the season. Collins hasn’t coached in 7 years, but who knows, maybe he’ll figure out how to make this group productive. The Sixers definitely have individual talent, but we’ll see how they play together.

Prediction: 34-48

Toronto Raptors
PG: Jose Calderon (Jarrett Jack)
SG: DeMar DeRozan (Leandro Barbosa)
SF: Linas Kleiza
PF: Amir Johnson
C: Andrea Bargnani

Coach: Jay Triano

Breakdown: What can be said about this team except that they lost everything when Chris Bosh left. Linas Kleiza is capable of scoring 40 points, but really this team is in clear rebuilding mode. This is a team filled with role players and no leader. People interested in Fantasy Basketball might want to pick up Kleiza and possibly Bargnani, but don’t expect much from this team this season.

Prediction: 13-69

-Shogun

It’s all bright and sunny in California as the Lakers are the two-time reigning champions and they’re going for their second threepeat in 10 years. And, with the additions of talented veterans Steve Blake, Matt Barnes, and Theo Ratliff, as well as the Trevor Ariza clone in Devin Ebanks, the Lakers look more unbeatable than ever.

However, down in South Beach, a new three-headed contender has been spawned by former Lakers Coach Pat Riley. Led by Lebron (or Dwyane Wade based on who you ask), these young upstarts are looking to challenge the Lakers for league supremacy and, in all likelihood, they will get their wish. Lebron + Wade + Bosh + Anybody is a formidable beast of a matchup.

Despite the attention that Miami is getting, one can’t overlook Superman in nearby Orlando or the revamped Celtics with the addition of the O’Neal “Brothers”. Both teams have the talent and drive to push Miami to the limit. They may still make it to the Finals, but it won’t be a walk in the park, unless the park is filled with lava pits and dinosaurs, then it would be an accurate comparison.

It won’t be all sunshine and rainbows out west either. Kevin Durant is playing the best basketball of his young career and, fresh off his World Championship, he’ll be looking to take his game to the next level. And he won’t be alone. The Thunder have assembled a young, but extremely talented group of guys that pushed the Lakers to 6 games last post-season. While I will be looking forward to watching them play, most teams in the NBA won’t be.

And let’s not forget the other contenders in the West. I won’t go through every team, but some teams that will be competing with the Lakers will be the Blazers (always a threat when they’re actually healthy), the Suns (Steve Nash will keep them competitive), the Spurs (Tim Duncan’s not THAT old), and Houston (Yeah, that’s right, look what they did last year without Yao. And now Yao’s coming back…probably).

Yeah, that’s about it. I have a feeling that this is going to be a crazy season with lots of ups and downs with some teams coming out and surprising everyone (read: Fear the Deer). Look for miniature season previews for each team to be published soon. And, in case you weren’t excited about basketball enough, here’s a clip from the just release NBA Jam 2010:

-Shogun

Overall, I like the entire series and suggest you go watch the entire thing at the Adidas site.  I am posting part 3, because I think that it is the best of the three segments.  Enjoy!

I’m not sure if Coach Del Negro picked anyone on the team to be the go to guy, but it didn’t really look like it.  Everyone on the team was hawking up shots, and very few of them were going in, which is partly a testament to the defense of the Celtics.  However, if this team is going to win games this season, they need to start working on their teamwork in spreading the floor as they are a pure jump-shooting team.  What does this mean?  It means that to back up starters Rose and Deng, they need to start jump-shooting threats (Ben Gordon and/or Nocioni?)  Then, try to get one of these guys hot early and ride that person through the end of the game, whoever that may be.  If Gordon or Deng get hot early, they can be devastating.  The offense of the Bulls should be focused around these two guys, not the rookie Rose or the inconsistent Thomas.

The Bulls are still a team trying to find themselves, so we’ll see if they can learn from today’s disaster.