Friday, February 14, 2014

The 2013-2014 NBA Season Predictions Part II

2013-2014 NBA Season Predictions 
- Part II - 
02-13-14

One thing that I really enjoy about the NBA is how unpredictable it really is. Don't agree? Check my picks from a few months ago:
NBA Predictions

So now, with the All-Star break upon us, we make some new predictions.
Here are the standings at this point -

Eastern Conference Standings (as of 02-13-14) -
                  Record                                                
1. IND        40-12
2. MIA       37-14
3. TOR       28-24
4. CHI       27- 25
5. ATL      25-26
6. WAS      25-27
7. BKN      24-27
8. CHA      23-30
On the outside of the playoffs:
9. DET     22-30
10. NY      20-32
11. CLE    20-33
12. BOS    19-35
13. ORL    16-38
14. PHI      15-39
15. MIL      9-43

Let's start with ten things I predicted wrong - Eastern Conference first -
1) I listened to the media too much. They all said that Philadelphia was gonna go for the record... the all-time worst winning percentage. I predicted them to win just 14 games this season, and at this point, they have 15. Missed that one... Oops.
2)  I predicted the Bucks to win 37 games. They've got 9 at this point. If they go 28-2 the rest of the way, I'll be correct!
3) I predicted the Pacers to finish 4th in the East, and they will either finish 1st or 2nd. I guessed 51-31, but they already have 40 with 30 games to play. Wrong on that one.
4) The Chicago Bulls. Enough said.
5) The Brooklyn Nets. Jason Kidd is coaching them. Why did I ever think they would have been good?
6) The Detroit Pistons and everything about them. So much talents, such a big let down.
7)Never saw it coming, but the Atlanta Hawks are in line for the fifth seed. I had them missing the playoffs.
8) Holy Cow, the Toronto Raptors! They are the third seed at this moment! That's just crazy.
9) I thought the Knick's would fall off a bit, but not as much as they have. Really a shame. Honestly though...
10) The whole East just sucks, and I thought they would be... adequate. Why does the West Coast get all the good NBA teams, minus Indie and Miami? Sad.

Western Conference Standings
1. OKC    43-12
2. SAN     38-15
3. HOU   36-17
4. LAC   37-18
5. POR   36-17
6. DAL   32-22
7. PHX    30-21
8. GSW   31-22
On the outside of the playoffs:
9. MEM  29-23
10. MIN   25-28
11. DEN   24-27
12. NOR  23-29
13. UTA   19-33
14. LAL   18-35
15. SAC   18-35

Now we will discuss ten things I predicted wrong about the West -
1) Sacramento being somewhat decent. Truthfully, they have the ability to win versus anyone, but too often they have just sucked.
2) I predicted Kobe to have a stellar game when he returned from his injury, because that would just be Kobe-like. He ended up scoring 9 points and then got injured a few games later. Sad to see a great competitor not playing.
3) I never saw the Trailblazers doing as well as they have, but they have themselves in the 5th seed, and nineteen games over .500. That's pretty good..
4) Phoenix has easily been the biggest surprise of the season. I predicted them to win just nineteen games, and they've already won 30, and have 30 games to go. As you can see, I was really off.
5. I may have over extended myself with my Warriors pick. More on that later.
6. I really thought this was the year for the T-Wolves, but I might have been wrong again. Injuries over the last few weeks haven't helped.
7. Predicting LBJ over KD in the MVP race. There is still time, and we all know who I want, but right now, KD is killing it. This is not to say LBJ is a slacking off, but more just a testament to KD skills.
8. I overshot it with the Grizzlies. They likely wont even make the playoffs. Sorry Memphis.
9. Forgetting the Dirk Nowitski affect, and how good he can make a team when he is healthy.
10. Phoenix is really a playoff team? How did this happen?

Now that I've talked about what I did wrong, we're gonna talk about which teams I think will make the playoffs.
EAST -
1. Pacers - They want the #1 seed, and they've played like a #1 seed.
2. Heat
3. Raptors - Unless one of the other teams steps up, this is the Raptors to lose.
4. Chicago - A fourth seed wouldn't be bad after losing D-Rose early in the season.
5. Wizards - I actually kind of sort of like this Wizards team, and I love the backcourt of Beal and Wall.
6. Hawks
7. Nets - They don't even deserve this. Luckily for them, they match up well versus Miami.
8. Pistons - too much talent to miss out on the playoffs
WEST -
1. Thunder - KD is an animal
2. Rockets - Playing great ball right now
3. Spurs - I'm a bit worried about them of late. Injuries could make them fall lower.
4. Clippers - Blake has been out of his mind of late.
5. Trailblazers
6. Warriors - Still a dangerous team at #6
7. Mavericks
8. Suns - If this happens, I'll be so happy for Phoenix!

Playoffs -
Pacers over the Pistons in 5
Heat over the Nets in 6
Hawks over the Raptors in 6
Wizards over the Bulls in 6

Thunder over the Suns in 4
Rockets over the Mavs in 6
Warriors over the Spurs in 6
Clippers over the T-Blazers in 7

Pacers over the Wizards in 5
Heat over the Hawks in 5

Thunder over Clips in 7
Warriors over Rockets in 6

Heat over the Pacers in 7
Thunder over the Warriors in 7

Heat over the Thunder in 6

Yes, I picked the Heat. As long as LBJ is running the show, I will not pick against him.