NBA Conference Standings Predictions

My predictions for the NBA Conference standings

The NBA season is upon us once again and it’s time for the predictions on how everyone is going to finish. Well, here goes nothing.

Eastern Conference

11.     Heat- Big Three with the addition of Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, great lineup

22.     Sixers- Adding Andrew Bynum is huge for this team and they have great young cast.

33.     Pacers- This team took a huge step last year. They will only get better with Roy Hibbert resigning with the team.

44.    Celtics- the addition of Jason Terry and Jared Sullinger will definitely help this team out. Also, when you have one of the top 5 point guards in the league, it’s very easy for a veteran team such as this to be good.

55.       Nets- The Nets will be the most improved team in the league with the addition of Joe Johnson, CJ Watson, and Mizra Teletovic.

66.    Knicks- The biggest question is can Carmelo Anthony play with Amare Stoudemire and Jason Kidd.

77.     Bulls- Without their star point guard, it’s hard to see this team finishing higher than 7^th.

88.     Raptors- Most underrated team in basketball. DeMar DeRozen is one of the most underrated scorers and ‪Jonas Valanciunas is the next great European big man.

Western Conference

11.     Lakers- If healthy, this team will be very tough to beat

22.     Thunder- Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook will continue to do well.

33.     Clippers- Will this be the year the Clippers take it to the next level?

44.     Spurs- Another year older for the Spurs’ aging three. How much more do they have in the tank?

55.     Nuggets- The Nuggets will have one of the most exciting teams in the NBA.

66.     Timberwolves- Watch out for the Wolves this year. This team will make life difficult for the top teams in the playoffs.

77.     Grizzlies- They didn’t do enough in the offseason to move up.

88.     Mavericks- With only three players left from the 2011 championship team, this team an old, slow, washed up team that has a chance to have one of the toughest years since the 1999 season.

NBA Finals:

Heat vs Lakers: Heat in 7 with LeBron James winning the MVP: The Heat are the defending champions, have the best player in the game,  have the most depth in the league, and have a great combination of youth and experience. 

A Theory on Kobe Bryant

A Theory on Kobe Bryant

In all of sports, I am no theorist and I am the least bit of a fan of a conspiracies because for the most part, they’re not true. However, this will be one of the rare ones that I will make and this one is about the one of the greatest players of all time, Kobe Bryant.

Over the past couple of weeks, Bryant has mentioned that he will retire after the 2013-2014 season. This means that he will still be thirty-five years old. With that being said, my bold theory and prediction will be that Kobe Bryant is retiring from the NBA after the 2014 because he wants to finish his basketball career in Italy, where he grew up. Another reason to believe that is because he almost played there during the last year’s lockout.

 

Kobe Bryant lived in Italy for seven years of his life until he was thirteen because of his dad having to play in the Euroleague. Finally, it is one of the major reasons why Bryant is respected throughout the world in basketball.

As good as the Euroleague is up to this point, it is still a league that Kobe can dominate in and play at least a couple of years in. He would be the biggest star they’ve ever had and he would be easily the highest paid player in Euroleague history.

Kobe also wouldn’t be the only one that is finishing their playing career overseas. Allen Iverson played a year in Turkey and Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, and now Tracy McGrady will be finishing their careers in China. With that wave of notable players going overseas, why wouldn’t Kobe finish in Europe?

With that being said there’s been a growing analogy that aging soccer players such as Pele and David Beckham go to America to finish their playing careers as NBA players go to Europe and China to finish their playing careers. Kobe would be the NBA’s version of Pele of going to Europe to finish his career.