NBA Second Half Preview

With the All Star weekend right around the corner, its time to look back at what I said at the beginning of the NBA season, what I ment to say, and how I see the rest of the season playing out:

What I Said: "I see a huge comeback year for (Wade). This is a big rebound year for the Heat"

What I Ment To Say: I ment what I said, and I said what I ment. Everybody was down on the Heat coming into this season, with many publications picking them to finish last in their division. The Heat, however, have Dwanye Wade, and in the NBA, one superstar is all you Wade. Wade has been an MVP canidate this season, averaging 28 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists. The Heat have been in playoff contention all season, and if the playoffs ended today, they would finish 7th (however, they are tied with 3 teams for 5th) . I predicted they would finish 5th, and with the possible trade for Amera Stoudamire, they have a real chance to do so.

What I Said: "The Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards will finish 7th and 8th in the East"

What I Ment To Say: Ouch. This one hurts. After making the playoffs last year without Gilbert Arenas, I thought that the Wizards would be able to do it again, picking them to finish 8th. 55 games into the season, they have 11 wins, good for last place in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors, who started out looking like a contendor in the East, have fallen off, there are rumblings of moving Chris Bosh, and are currently second to last in the East. And to think I picked them to make it over the Atlanta Hawks.

What I Said: "The Portland Trailblazers will finish 3rd in the Western Conference"

What I Ment to Say: I knew what I picked the Trailblazers to finish 3rd, I was taking a chance. However, at the time of this post, the Blazers are currently 4th in the West, only 2 games out of 3rd. The Blazers have done it with surprisingly little help from Greg Oden, who has had a dissapoitning rookie campaign, averaging only 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 block per game. Brandon Roy has carried this team, and has emerged as one of the best players in the league. Roy is averaging 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assissts.

How I see the Second Half of the Season Playing Out:

Eastern Conference:

1. Cleveland

2. Boston

3. Orlando

4. Atlanta

5. Philadelphia

6. Miami

7. Detroit

8. New Jersey

Western Conference:

1. Los Angeles

2. Denver

3. Portland

4. San Antonio

5. New Orleans

6. Utah Jazz

7. Houston

8. Dallas

Eastern Conference Finals: Cleveland over Boston

Western Conference Finals: Los Angeles ove San Antonio

NBA Championship: Los Angeles over Cleveland