Quest for the Best: 2011-12 NBA Playoff Predictions – Round 1

In the West, if you switch San Antonio and OKC and you switch Dallas and Denver and you remove Houston and replace them with Utah—then I was perfect.

In the East, if you drop Orlando from #4 to #6 and you drop Philly from #5 to #8 and you bump Boston from #7 to #4 and Atlanta from #6 to #5 and you New York from #8 to #7—then I was perfect.

Let’s just say my predictions were a little farther off than I anticipated.

We’ll get it right this time, though. =P

The playoffs are here. I will say no more.

West			East
(1)     San Antonio	V	(8) Utah	(1) Chicago	V	(8) Philadelphia
San Antonio in 5			Chicago in 6
(4) Memphis	V	(5) L.A. Clippers	(4) Boston	V	(5) Atlanta
L.A. Clippers in 7			Boston in 6
(3) L.A. Lakers	V	(6) Denver	(3) Indiana	V	(6) Orlando
L.A. Lakers in 5			Indiana in 6
(2)     Oklahoma City	V	(7) Dallas	(2) Miami	V	(7) New York
Oklahoma City in 6			Miami in 5

Thanks for reading

The Sporacle's NBA Predictions for 2011-12 (Part 2 of 3)

With the trade deadline having passed, the Dwight Howard fiasco all settled (for this season that is) and teams prepping and getting healthy for the playoffs, this seemed like a good time to post an update on my playoff predictions and how I see things panning out the rest of the season.

1,498 games down and we're ~73% through this shortened 66-game season. The sun is setting on this wild, compressed, yet thoroughly awesome season and playoff time a.k.a. Christmas for a month in April is coming.

Here's how I see things netting out.


Individual Merits

Rookie of the Year	Kyrie Irving
Most Improved Player	Ryan Anderson
6th Man of the Year	James Harden
Defensive Player of the Year	Dwight Howard
Coach of the Year	Frank Vogel
MVP	Kevin Durant

I've made a few changes here after the season has progressed.

My sixth man pick changed from Louis Williams to the bearded-one a.k.a James Harden. If there's one true starting guard that's coming off the bench, it's Harden.

I almost switched my Coach of the Year pick to San Antonio's, Greg Popovich, but I think the Pacers have picked up some big wins--and for such a small market team, they've done a terrific job.

Lastly, in this past Sunday's dismantling of Miami,--Lebron's best chance to make his case for MVP--he came up a bit lame in a less than inspiring performance versus Kevin Durant.

NBA Playoff Predictions

Eastern Conference

1	Chicago
	No Change
2	Miami
	No Change
3	Indiana
	No Change
4	Orlando
	Ever since Dwight confirmed he's staying in Orlando at least until next year, Orlando has picked up it's level of play. I guess a little focus is all it takes sometimes.
5	Philadelphia
	Doug Collins and Philly have progressed and with the emergence of "Ohio State Evan Turner", they might cause a little scare for a top seed come playoff time.
6	Atlanta
	Atlanta for some reason feels less and less imposing as the time goes on. It cost them two spots in my playoff predictions.
7	Boston
	Boston is still sitting at #7 but I get the feeling that this is "Boston's last stand" and Miami better take them seriously or they'll be in for a long series.
8	New York
	With an new semi-emphasis on defense, I don't really know what to expect out of this New York team come playoff time.

Western Conference

1	Oklahoma City
	No Change
2	San Antonio
	With the return of Ginobili (and the unfortunate loss of  TJ Ford out for the season), the Spurs still look strong. Most importantly, coach Popovich is doing a terrific job of resting his veterans. Should be energized come playoff time.
3	L.A. Lakers
	Kobe is very much a different person than I expected under Mike Brown. Humble, timely and a very willing teammate at times--even though he's breaking usage rates records. Playoff time is Black Mamba time.
4	L.A. Clippers
	With Billups out for the season, their chances are severely depressed, but after what Chris Paul did with the Hornets last year I can't count them out.
5	Memphis
	The Grizzlies of are the same team they were last year, plus Rudy Gay. With Randolph getting healthy for playoff time, things are looking up for the Grizz.
6	Dallas
	No Change.
7	Denver
	The Nuggets don't particularly scare any playoff teams, but they always play with a "nothing to lose" attitude--which for a 7-seed is exactly what should do.
8	Houston
	Not sure how Houston has made it's way into the playoff hunt. But honestly, they'll probably be the only team to be swept in the 1st round if they face OKC.

NBA Finals Predictions

Eastern Conference Champions

Miami Heat

Western Conference Champions

Oklahoma City Thunder

2011-12 NBA Champions

Miami Heat

2011-12 All-Star Sunday: Foreshadowing the Future

D-Wade, Derrick Rose, and Dwight Howard are on the same team. Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul and Kevin Durant are on the same team. That kind of talent on the same floor at the same time is guaranteed entertainment.

It's worth noting that some teams have multiple All-Stars. In most cases, the teams that do are serious contenders for the title this year. Chicago, Miami, Oklahoma City, Boston and both Los Angeles teams all have at least two All-Stars. Boston and L.A. are contenders simply because of their histories, but I don't give them much chance against the youth and athleticism they'll be facing come playoff time.

Good news for tonight is that they'll have a host of surrounding talent on both sides.

In all honesty, I think the starters on the West are a better fit based on play style, experience and balance, but the All-Star game isn't about all that for the most part--it's about flash, athleticism and playing as little defense as possible until the last 5 minutes of the game.

That said, I'm going with my the Eastern Conference All-Stars. Coincidentally, I think this years NBA Champions are coming out of the East as well.

Then there's the MVP...In sync with who I think will be the league MVP, I'm going with Lebron James--when it comes to stuffing the stat sheet, there's nobody better. (I do think my man D-Wade will take hold of the closing duties, though).


Thanks for reading.

2011-12 All-Star Saturday Night: The Stars are Out--in Hollywood

I'm not going to lie, planning the NBA All-Star weekend festivities on the same weekend as the Oscars seems like a horrible idea to me. That's coming from a movie buff / sports fanatic, though. The NY Times seems to think their co-existing won't really be a problem. The problem is that the star-studded cast of Hollywood names that would ordinarily attend, won't be there. More notably, the Saturday Night festivities are lacking more big names than usual. Either way, since Twitter will prevent any chance of avoiding spoilers there's no really choosing one or the other. I'll just have to resort to flipping channels.

I said all that to preface my picks and predictions for All-Star Saturday Night (Sunday Night coming soon)--minus the D-League All-Star Game because I honestly have no idea who any of these players are. Besides Gerald Green, and he doesn't really count.

Haier Shooting Stars
Team Orlando - Jameer Nelson, Marie Ferdinand-Harris and Dennis Scott
Team Atlanta - Jerry Stackhouse, Steve Smith and Lindsey Harding
Team New York - Landry Fields, Cappie Pondexter and Allan Houston
Team Texas - Chandler Parsons, Sophia Young, Kenny Smith

My Prediction - Judging this competition is hit or miss. I think I've picked the winner maybe one time. To put it simply, it feels like the year for Team New York to win it. Jeremy Lin's in the building, baby!


Taco Bell Skills Challenge
Kyrie Irving, Clevland Cavaliers
Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
John Wall, Washington Wizards
Deron Williams, New Jersey Nets
Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics

My Prediction - Well, Rajon Rondo still can't really shoot; John Wall is on the Wizards, Russell Westbrook is probably taking this competition too seriously, and Tony Parker, although playing really well this season, has lost a step. That leaves Deron Williams and Kyrie Irving. Kyrie Irving was on fire last night but I'm going with Deron Williams--after all, he is auditioning for the Dwight Howard.

Foot Locker Three-Point Contest
James Jones, Miami Heat
Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves
Ryan Anderson, Orlando Magic
Anthony Morrow, New Jersey Nets
Mario Chalmers, Miami Heat
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder

My Prediction - Don't ask me to explain this typo, i.e. Kevin Love in the 3-pt contest. I thought it was a mistake or a joke too, but it's not. He's really in there. If this were a team game the Miami Heat would have the best odds (33.3%) of winning But it's not. I think Mario Chalmers (who is having a terrific season) will put on a show, and there's no telling what kind of streak KD35 is going to put on--but I'm going with the host city's own, Ryan Anderson. He's also my pick for Most Improved player, but I think Jeremy Lin has ruined that early season prediction.

Sprite Slam Dunk Contest
Derrick Williams, Minnesota Timberwolves
Paul George, Indiana Pacers
Jeremy Evans, Utah Jazz
Chase Budinger, Houston Rockets

This has to be the least star-studded dunk contest...ever. Not saying it won't be at least relatively impressive since it always is, but I'd love to see a Lebron James v. Blake Griffin v. Dwight Howard v. Nate Robinson (to make it interesting). Either way, this is what we have and I'm taking Jeremy Evans because this is the first I've heard of him.

Thanks for reading.