NBA: Eastern Conference Team Predictions 2011-2012

Eastern Conference:
With the Western Conference is done, it's the Eastern Conferences' turn. This conference is so different compared to the West. Where the West has depth, the East has power houses. Teams like the Heat, Knicks Bulls, and Celtics make up for the lack of competition in the East. Those four teams could be in the top five in the NBA at any time. So lets get to it!

On the Rise:

Washington Wizards

I really like this teams nucleus, and that all begins with John Wall, who is a very special player. He has all the skills to become a player just like Derrick Rose and we know how that turned out for the Bulls. Although John Wall isn't the only reason I love where this team is headed. Don't forget about one of the more underrated centers, in JaVale McGee. He is explosive and a great presence in the paint as well. So talented, young players on this team, and that is why I believe they can really make a playoff appearance.

Falling Fast:

Orlando Magic

This team just doesn't seem like a top team in the East now. It sat comfortably in the top four for the past few years, but this year they will slip. Teams made moves this off season, and the problem here, is the Magic didn't. Who is there to help Dwight Howard make a playoff push?  Plus, if they want to keep Dwight they'll have to make a move, or else that's it.

Dark Horse:

New York Knicks

The whole process began last season when the Knicks made the move to acquire Carmelo Anthony to pair up with Amare Stoudemire. The one thing they lacked last season was depth because of that trade, but this season is a different story. They revamped their whole team starting with Tyson Chandler. Fills up their need at center and it gives them one of the best defenders in the league as well. They've also added much needed depth to their guard positions. Drafting Iman Shumpert, and signing two veteran point guards in Baron Davis and Mike Bibby. Now that Mike D'Antoni has it's players to run his system, I think the Knicks become a championship contender.

Champions:

Miami Heat

It was very difficult for me to pick against the Chicago Bulls, especially after adding Richard Hamilton. But I cannot pick against LeBron James who has a chip on his shoulder. Lets be real, a player like LeBron James will not allow the 4th quarter disappearance act to be his finals legacy. He wants that to be erased and he has players like Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to help him with his task. You just cannot pick against the Heat this year, its their year to win.

Read more »

NBA: Western Conference Team Predictions 2011-2012

What is this? Robin following up on his last article? It's about time I did. I left you all with my predictions for individual awards next year, and now it's time I make some predictions about teams. I'm going to break down each conference and then let you know my championship match up. Here we go!

Western Conference:
Now this conference is known for it's depth. Usually the 8th seed in this league has a better record than the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference. Since 2000, the Western Conference has also produced a 9-3 record in the NBA finals. It seems that the Western Conference has been dominated by the Lakers dynasty and the Spurs dynasty, and that all seems to be getting to the end. So is it time for a new dynasty to rise up?

On the Rise:

Los Angeles Clippers

How can I not pick this team? Kind of looks like the Thunder a couple years back. Thing about this team is, that they also have veteran leaders as well. Chauncey Billups, Caron Butler, Reggie Evans and Chris Paul were key additions. It adds huge depth to their bench and that is key to winning a championship. I also believe that Butler was a little over paid, but I think he can become a huge contributor to this team. Now lets get back to the main man, Chris Paul. He single handedly pushes the Clippers to automatic playoff contention. Keep this in mind, while in New Orleans, he had what I think was a less talented team than he has now. And he still manages to get his team into the post season every year. Now imagine a team with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan who are residents of "Lob City". Obviously the offense is going to explode off the scene, we've already had a glimpse of it against the Lakers twice this week. Now this is the team to get excited about, they will be fun to watch and I guarantee you'll be pulling for them if they make the playoffs.

Falling Fast:

Los Angeles Lakers

Don't get me wrong, I love Kobe Bryant, he has five rings, nine 1st Team Defense  and 1st Team All-NBA, but he can't do it by himself. I've heard great things about his surgery and how he feels almost 100 percent. My doubts are not in him, it's his team. The point guards on this team will not be able to compete against most point guards in this league. They're to slow and soft and need I remind you about J.J Barea? Now that they have lost Shannon Brown too, it's a mystery on why the Lakers front office didn't attack this weakness. I understand they tried to get Chris Paul, but because of that you also lost your 2nd best player on the team, Lamar Odom to the team that swept you last year. Not only that, but everyone knows that Pau Gasol is a soft player and Andrew Bynum has yet to prove he can stay healthy a full season. There are a lot of question marks on this squad, and I'm not sure if they'll be able to fix it.

Dark Horse:

San Antonio Spurs

People keep forgetting that the Spurs still have Manu Ginoboli, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan. I understand these players are getting older, but you really have to factor in the shorten schedule of 60 games. It's going to help these guys out. They were on fire during the season last year and towards the end, injuries happened and they wore down. I think this team is still capable of championship basketball. It's whether or not this team can pull through the whole season.

Champions:

Oklahoma City Thunder

Yes, I know. I picked the zombie sonics, but you can't argue against it. They have the same exact team coming back, but every single player looks better. Even Kendrick Perkins lost 35 pounds. My biggest emphasis is how Russell Westbrook and Surge Ibaka play this year. We all know how Kevin Durant will do, but can Westbrook get the ball to Durant more? Will Serge be a bigger presence in the post this year? I think if they can do that, we have ourselves the new dynasty that you've been looking for. Remember last year when they had the motto, "Why not now?" Well here is your chance, it's your Western Conference to lose.

Read more »

NBA: Making a list before Christmas

As a fan there are so many things we have learned about the NBA in the past six months.

• The owners are greedy and do not care about the players
• NBA players are stubborn
• David Stern has been compared to every dictator in the world
• And all of a sudden the NBA cares about the "small market' teams

So now what? The season is about to begin and I've been ready for a the NBA season about a month and a half ago. I promise I won't bash on the lockout and David Stern, but I've become so involved with NCAA basketball it'll be hard for me to come back to the NBA. Obviously my Supersonics are now longer a team, and why should I still invest my time into this game? Well it's because no other league can still compete with this one. We have the best talent available to us as a country and we cannot just turn our backs on it now.

Here are my predictions on the 2011-2012 season:

Rookie of the Year:

Kyrie Irving 

Cleveland Cavaliers

Now I know it's easy for me to sit here and pick the #1 pick overall and most of you probably thought I'd be bias and pick my boy Klay Thompson, but this guy can play. Coming out of college I didn't believe he could become an elite point guard, but now watching him play in the pre season games he as already become a leader on that team. He's got all the components of a star in the making. Has great court vision, a quick first step and is efficient in the paint. That sounds similar to the MVP, Derrick Rose, who I believe has done pretty good in the league so far too.

Honorable Mentions: Marcus Morris HOU, Kemba Walker CHA, Klay Thompson GSW

Most Improved Player of the Year:

DeAndre Jordan

Los Angeles Clippers

To me this was an easy pick after the CP3 trade. This third year player out of Texas A&M just signed a large contract with the Clippers for four years and 43 million dollars. Now with that type of money he's going to need to produce, and I think this is his year. In the pre season he has already shown his explosiveness and athletic ability, but we already knew this about him. What's different this year is who is distributing the rock for this team, Chris Paul. Fans are probably looking into officially changing the name to "Lob City" and rightfully so. I can tell with the new players and the up rising of this team, DeAndre Jordan will improve with it. I'm predicting a 15 and 10 season for the big man.

Honorable Mentions: Terrance Williams HOU, John Wall WAS, Baron Davis NYK

Defensive Player of the Year:

Dwight Howard

Orlando Magic

Do I really need to explain myself here? The only thing I really want to say about this guy is I think he'll be traded by the deadline, to either Dallas, Lakers, or the Nets. Depending on where they are at and how they're doing, but this guy will win the award again, hands down. It's already been three years that he has won it, and only Ben Wallace and Dikembe Mutumbo have won the award four times, but not consecutively. The only way he doesn't win this award is with injury or if he does just as good as he did last year and someone sneaks up with an amazing performance.

Honorable Mentions: Ron Artest LAL, LeBron James MIA, Chris Paul LAC

Sixth Man of the Year:

James Harden

Oklahoma City Thunder

This award is a pretty tricky one to give out. One of the criteria for it is to start more than 50 percent of your games off the bench. Which kind of makes my picks limited. But this guy has been money since the playoffs last season. Even though people believe that all this lock out play has been overrating some players, I think it helped Harden out. It gave him confidence and aggressiveness. Being the best player on his team half the time really helped him offensively. Lets see if it all pays off this season.

Coach of the Year:

Paul Westphal

Sacramento Kings

I know people want to lean on the big name coaches, but I think this year the Kings have a legitimate shot to make it to the playoffs. Understanding that they were second to last in the Western Conference last year, but this could be the last year they are in Sacramento, this could mean a lot for this city. They have the pieces now, Tyreke Evans, Jimmer Fredette, and DeMarcus Cousins. I think that this team can make a huge push and Westphal will be the guy for them.

Honorable Mentions: Byron Scott CLE, Doug Collins PHI, Flip Saunders WAS

Most Valuable Player of the Year:

Kevin Durant

Oklahoma City Thunder

I want Durantula to win the MVP this year, for the past two seasons he has finally played like one and now it's his year. They said that last year the Thunder were the team of the future, but quite honestly, they are there now. The Thunder is the scariest team in the Western Conference right now. They haven't lost anyone important and can only improve. This is where Kevin Durant comes in. I think this year he goes for career highs in almost every category. He trusts his team mates more, and with the criticism Russell Westbrook took during the playoffs I think that he will default to Durant more now as well. I'm not sure if you've been keeping an eye out for Durant, but during the lock out, he never stopped playing. He was showing athleticism that I hadn't seen before and I cannot wait for this year where he lets it all out.

Honorable Mention: Chris Paul LAC, LeBron James MIA, Dwyane Wade MIA

With my individual awards done, look out for my team predictions before Christmas day. Happy Holidays everyone!

Read more »

The Sports Pundits Podcast #2

Are you in the mood for the soothing voices of Robin Dich and I this holiday season? You're in luck! We've just wrapped up the second-ever podcast in Sports Pundits history and it's ready for your enjoyment! Topics ranged from NFL playoff scenarios to the latest happenings in the drastically-shifting AL West. There was no time limit, thus accounting for the hour and six minutes that maybe could have been spent doing community service or something important of that nature. Regardless, we hope you enjoy! Thanks for listening!

Read more »

The new Pac-12: Where defense comes to die

This is all my fault.

If you watched any Pac-12 football in 2011, you may have noticed a key component of the game missing througout the entire season.

But I'm not talking about a particular coach or player. I'm talking about defense.

In the era of the spread offense, the Pac-12 finds its teams rapidly adjusting to the changing of the guard with each passing season. And as Washington State hired offensive guru Mike Leach to be their next head coach, it has become evident that the old "defense wins championships" mantra has never been further from the truth.

For some statistical evidence, here's a breakdown of the points per game in the Pac-12 over the last five seasons (yes, there were only 10 teams up until this season).

2011: 30.9 PPG
2010: 29.1 PPG
2009: 26.9 PPG
2008: 27.2 PPG
2007: 28.5 PPG

Though the differences may not be staggering, one can see that there is certainly an upward trend in terms of offensive production. You can also believe that Mike Leach's entrance into the conference will only continue the trend, particularly for a program that has been devoid of offensive production for much of these past five seasons.

The implementation of more of the spread offense and offensive explosion is certainly nothing new to college football, however. Anyone who watched one quarter's worth of a MAC or Big 12 game this season could certainly figure out that the plan for most defensive coordinators was to ensure that their team's offense had the ball last.

Now, even programs that have typically sent prominent defensive players to the NFL are realizing the importance of being able to spread the field and score points in bunches on offense. Just look at the USC Trojans. Just a few years removed from sending great defensive personnel like Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews, and Troy Polamalu to the NFL, the Trojans' defense is practically an afterthought with Matt Barkley, Robert Woods and Marquise Lee on the roster.

Despite being the fourth-best defense in the conference this season, the Trojans gave up over 100 more yards per game in 2011 (374.8) than they did when leading the conference in defense back in 2007 (274.2).

The conference has also witnessed firsthand the importance of having a dynamic offense when Oregon head coach Chip Kelly came over from New Hampshire to serve as the Ducks' offensive coordinator in 2007. Since his arrival, Oregon has averaged no less than 36 points per game, including an astonishing 47 points per game during their run to the national championship in 2010. Kelly continues to recruit stellar, impact athletes on the offensive side of the ball that he is able to utilize efficiently in the open field seemingly at will. Even in their lone Pac-12 loss to USC this season, the Ducks still managed to rack up 474 yards of total offense.

Arizona State and UCLA still have yet to choose their next head coach, but nearly all of the names mentioned thus far are those known for their offensive innovation and their teams' ability to score lots of points. And with Mike Leach (whose Texas Tech team averaged 510 yards of total offense in his last three seasons) now in the fold in Pullman, the rest of of the Pac-12 understands that the days of relying on stingy defenses to carry them to the Rose Bowl and beyond are long gone.

I kinda like to think of the new Pac-12 like that old Edwin Starr song, albeit with a lyrical twist.

Defense. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.

Read more »