Early Season NBA Playoff Predictions

Eastern Conference

1)  Celtics

Great defensively, balanced offense, and one of the best closers in the game in Paul Pierce.

2)  Magic

Lethal offense with multiple scorers on the perimeter and superman inside.

3)  Cavs

Lebron and Shaq will figure things out, but once LBJ has no supporting cast.

4)  Wizards

Butler, Jamison, and Arenas are a three-headed monster on the offensive end. Throw in the emergence of Blatche and Haywood and veteran Mike Miller and you have a solid Wizards team.

5)  Bulls

Rose gets better and better every game.

6)  Hawks

Dangerous on offense, but poor defensively.

7)  Heat

Dwayne Wade will carry the Heat into the playoffs once again.

8)  Pistons

Hamilton, Prince, Villanueva, Gordon, and Stuckey make up a great core, but it’s going to take time for them to gel.

Western Conference

1)  Lakers 

Kobe has a lot of help as this is probably the best team he has been on in his career.

2)  Nuggets

Billups is one of the best pg’s in the league and Melo will be an MVP candidate this year. They also have a great supporting cast.

3)  Spurs 

Parker, Duncan, and Ginobli have played with each other for which seems like forever. New addition Richard Jefferson has to find his role.

4)  Blazers

Great young core of players that will only get better with time, and Brandon Roy is a great closer down the stretch.

5)  Jazz

Deron Williams is the most underrated point guard in the NBA, and the Jazz have good role players and great team chemistry.

6)  Mavs

Jason Terry is will be a candidate for sixth man of the year and the addition of Marion gives them more athleticism on both sides of the ball.

7)  Hornets

The loss of Tyson Chandler will affect them defensively.

8)  Rockets

Lowry and Budinger have emerged as potential big time players in the future, but without Yao the Rockets won’t go anywhere in the playoffs.