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My very early predictions for the season:
West
1. Clippers (depth and Doc allow for excellent regular season)
2. Spurs (consumate pro organization, Leonard emerges as front line guy)
3. Rockets (very dangerous if perimeter guys all pan outParsons/Caspi/Garcia)
4. Grizzlies (still good, but transitioning a bit as ZBo ages)
5. OKC (will struggle without Westbrook, but experience helps young guys)
6. GSW (Most fun team to watch in the league)
7. New Orleans (Davis about to become a star, added lots of talent)
8. TWolves (Love and Rubio healthy for full season)
OKC vs. Spurs in West Finals, with OKC prevailing (Big 3 on a mission, and young guys contribute just enough to get past the Spurs)
East
1. Bulls (Thibs will drive this team hard - Rose back and Butler emerged)
2. Heat (biding time until playoffs)
3. Pacers (very solid team, can they be elite?)
4. Nets (who knows how this plays out)
5. Knicks (not enough horses to get into top 4)
6. Cleveland (youth matures and becomes playoff team)
7. Atlanta (solid group, bottom of East is poor)
8. Washington (best of the remaining mediocre to terrible East teams)
Bulls vs. Heat in East Finals, Bulls win (Heat just worn down after 3 seasons of deep runs)
OKC vs. Bulls, with Bulls edging them in 7 (OKC weakness in the middle and lack of depth is their undoing)
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