As June ended this past summer, the San Antonio Spurs surprised everyone, including yours truly by not only winning the wild, Wild West, but also taking out the even more surprising Cleveland Cavaliers in 4 straight. After this display, many a sportscaster and fan alike are now calling the Spurs that "D" word. No not Defensive, but of course dynasty, as they have won 3 championships here in the 2000's, plus the one during the strike season of 98-99. I for one say no to the dynasty name, since they have never been able to defend the championship, which to this NBA fan, is the first and foremost rule number 1 to be a dynasty. In fact these Spurs haven't even made it to back-to-back championship series, so please; until they are able to win 2 in a row, as Bill Russell would say, take that "weak stuff" out of my paint area.

Now on with my predictions for this upcoming season; for one I am not going to bore you with a team by team breakdown on who will finish where, because, just like the NBA season itself, that would be way to long and no one would even bother to read it to the end. No, instead I will give you what I think will be the top teams in the league, regardless of the conference they play in and then which team that I believe will be "cutting down the nets" come June 2008. So without further "mouth diarrhea" here are the top teams that I believe have a shot.

Eastern Conference:

Boston Celtics - Yes everyone is anxious to see how this team is going to work, both chemistry wise and league wise, with many an expert picking them from going from the lottery to the championship in a single bound. Yea, more talent now surrounds no doubt Garnett then he ever was in Minnesota, but as we all know, talent alone does not win titles. While there is no doubting Garnett's heart, desire, or drive to win, I on the other hand question his 2 new teammates being able to sacrifice their game to the greater good of the "Team" and make this reality. I saw Paul Pierce play for years with Walker and they could never do it come playoff time, to the point where Walker was shipped out. Now maybe Walker was the problem, as he has been moved twice more since leaving Boston, including his latest stop in Miami, where he was able to grab a title on the coattails of Shaq and Wade, but I think that Pierce, may still have too much selfishness in him and I have never seen Ray Allen take his team anywhere in the playoffs. In the Eastern Conference they will be good for 45-50 plus wins, but I think they will wilt once the playoffs roll around.

New York Knicks - Everyone will be watching to see if Isiah Thomas suffers anything from this off season's sexual harassment trial. If they get off to a slow start, watch for the New York media to be screaming for blood. Isiah is going to have to work out a situation on how to play Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry. I am not certain if they can both play at the same time or not, so I would look for Curry to start at center along side David Lee and then bring Randolph off the bench as your 6^th man and main scorer off your bench. If Randolph can accept this role, then Knicks can become a force in the East, if not, someone will need to be moved. I also look for Stephon Marbury to come off the bench to relieve Nate Robinson. I really believe that the Knicks, if Isiah can get them to accept their roles can be a real player this season. Make them my "dark horse" eastern pick.

Miami Heat - If ever there was an NBA team suited for a "Ben Gay" or "Icy Hot" it would be the Heat. With Dwayne Wade's shoulder or the age of Shaq, Alonzo Mourning, Gary Peyton, this team could easily loose 50 as well as win 50. Not to mention that they also lost Jason Kapono and James Posey who not only provided a spark off the bench, but also gave them the intangibles that a champion needs. Since they traded Antoine Walker they will be lacking a third scoring option and with all of this facing the Heat, I believe that they will struggle just making the playoffs, even in the east.

Cleveland Cavaliers - Defending Eastern Conference champions, who made no off-season moves to strengthen their team going into this season. This fact, coupled with LeBron James playing yet another summer with team USA will not do much to strengthen the Cav's, who can only hope that James is able to pace himself during the season so that he can be effective in the playoffs. Cleveland made it to the finals with Larry Hughes contributing as LeBron's "robin", but then got hurt in the Eastern Conference finals and was a total non-factor against the Spurs. I have found Hughes to be one of those players "on the cusp" of greatness, only to have injuries keeps him from being one of the league's elite. I believe that the Cavaliers dodged the "injury bullet" last season and with no additions will be very hard pressed to repeat the success they had last season. I don't really see them making it out of the 2^nd round this season.

Detroit Pistons - This is another team that to me is facing that "closing window" of opportunity due to the age factor. Their Fantastic Four of Billups, Hamilton, Wallace and Tayshun Prince are getting older with the exception of Prince. They also picked up Chris Webber in the latter half of the season, but he seems to be a "shell" of his former self. Besides Webber, they also have Antonio McDyess coming off the bench, but his level of play has been dropping each season also. Bottom line is that this team simply lost too much when they let Ben Wallace leave, they have problems rebounding both offensively and defensively and this is what hurts them in the playoffs. Look once again for a deep run into the playoffs, but to come up short once again.

Chicago Bulls - A very scary team, definitely championship material, many will say that they are still a season away, but I believe they have enough to get out of the Eastern Conference. All they have to do is avoid the temptation to trade for Kobe Bryant and they should be a lock to win the Eastern Conference and advance to the NBA championship. What doesn't this team have, well for one they don't have a low post scorer Ben Wallace and Joe Smith are fine, and Joakim Noah as we know from the last 2 years at Florida is a total "Hustle/Energy" player but he's not going to scare anybody outside the paint area. Instead of Kobe, they need to find a low post scorer; maybe Zac Randolph from the Knicks if he doesn't pan out over there could be the answer.

Stay tuned for part 2 covering the Western Conference.

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