Counting on a lot of "What If's" for some of those predictions.
M.V.P.-Shaquille O'Neal. Maybe. But Shaq doesn't strike me as the type to starting working out harder just to show up anybody, including the Laker management. And how can he make the Lakers look like fools for trading him when GM O'Neal orchestrated the trade?
Coach of the Year-Jeff Van Gundy. Van Gundy had the chance with Yao and Francis and he sort of ignored Ming in the offense. With T-Mac hogging the ball, expectations are very high in Houston in his pairing with Yao. No pressure, but if he doesn't produce now with this lineup, I would say Van Gundy is history, let alone NOT COTY
Rookie of the Year-Emeka Okafur . Possibly, and highly dependent on his health. Doesn't Okafur have a bad back? NOT what you want with your foundation player.
Most Improved Player-Al Harrington. I always thought this award goes to someone who makes a huge improvement in their game from one year to the next. Harrington is already pretty solid, so the jump to regular just doesn't strike me as likely to be that noticable.
Atlantic Division Winner-NY Knicks. PUL-EEZE!! If the ball boy in New York signs a new sneaker deal, they start screaming that this is just what the Knicks needed to put them into the championship. What they should be worried about is how these players are going to handle the NY scrutiny and start laying bets on which one they can make cry first.
Central Division Winner-Detroit Pistons. Well, it certainly is a safe bet, isn't it?
Southeast Division Winner-Miami Heat. See above. But if they don't - YIKES!!
Southwest Division Winner-San Antonio Spurs. See above. Plus, the addition of Brent Barry is going to be huge on this team. He is a perfect fit, IMHO.
Northwest Division Winner-Denver Nuggets. I don't know if Martin is going to be enough, but the watered-down NBA is in such flux that the Nuggets are as likely as anyone else, so I have no problem picking them. Elsewhere on this team, they are young, however, and sometimes that plays into those late season playoff pushes.
Pacific Division Winner-Sacramento Kings. More by default, I would say. The Kings still have a dangerous core group of players, but now that a Webber/Peja feud is brewing, it might affect the play of both of them. Everyone says "So what, Kobe and Shaq feuded for years and they got the Lakers three championships." I say, Peja and Webber are NOT Kobe and Shaq, they DON'T have Phil Jackson to mitigate their differences. and who knows if their animosity towards each other doesn't affect both their games.
Biggest Surprise-Utah Jazz. As Bum Phillips once said about Don Shula, "He can take his'n and beat yourn, and he can take yourn, and beat his'n" That is Sloan.
Biggest Flop-Dallas Mavericks. Terry is not that big of a stiff. He actually is not a bad point guard at all, and most importantly, he is still getting better. I thought Nash fell off last year.
Players Traded by Midseason-Vince Carter, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Jason Kidd, Wally Sczherbiak, Ray Allen, Joe Johnson, Nickoloz Tskitishvilli, Nick Van Exel and Antoine Walker. Plus a dozen more.
