GoCavs33

1. Los Angeles Lakers
Key Addition: Ron Artest
Key Loss: Trevor Ariza

The Good: Entering the offseason Laker’s fans where concerend as to whether or not they would see both Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom resign with the team.  Well the L.A front office made sure not to disappoint them, resigning Odom and bringing in Ron Artest to replace Ariza.  They took a team that won a championship the year before and upgraded it, you can’t get much better then that.

The Bad: The concerns about Artest’s character are starting to  fade, so I don’t see that affecting their chemistry too much.  It’s tough to point out any major flaw in the Laker’s roster or in any offseason moves they made.  As long as they can stay focused they’ll be at the top of the Western Conference for the third year straight.

2. Boston Celtics
Key Addition: Rasheed Wallace
Key Loss: None

The Good: Signing Sheed looks to be a move good right now, but there’s still a chance he busts and ends up being similar to what Marbury was the year before.  Either way, Boston was able to add a lot of depth to their frontcourt (also signed Shelden Williams), an area that was excessively weak in the postseason last year.

The Bad: When you have a lot of veterans on your roster health is always a problem, it was for Boston last year and it could be again this season. Garnett hasn’t been on the court since his season ending knee injury, but he’s expected to be ready for the start of camp.

3. Cleveland Cavaliers
Key Addition: Shaquille O’neal
Key Loss: None

The Good: Cleveland gave up basically nothing to get Shaq.  Offseason additions for the Cavs haven’t worked out exactly the way they wanted them to in the past, but there’s a good chance “The Big Witness” will meet the hype.  They also added some much needed backcourt size by signing Anthony Parker.

The Bad: The PF situation is a complete mess.  They resigned Anderson Varejao for much more then he deserved and they still have no one to play behind him.  Picking up a big man before the season starts is a must, and starting to get Big Z’s name involved in trades would also be a good idea.

4. Orlando Magic
Key Addition: Vince Carter
Key Loss: Hedo Turkoglu

The Good: I’ll admit I’m not to high on Vince Carter, but I can’t deny that trading for him was a good move.  Combine that with getting a fully healthy Nelson back, and their offense could be even better then it was last year.  They also added two young big men in Ryan Anderson and Brandon Bass.

The Bad: Rashard Lewis will be suspended for the first ten games of the season for violating the league’s drug policy.  That could cause them to get off to a slow start, but if they can put it aside and not let it be to much of a distraction it will only be a small bump in the road.  Losing Turkoglu may also prove to be a big loss.  There’s no one on Orlando’s roster that can do what he did for them last year.

5. San Antonio Spurs
Key Addition: Richard Jefferson
Key Loss: Bruce  Bowen

The Good: Through the draft, trading, and free agency San Antonio was able to improve their roster more then any of the teams in front of them.  Jefferson will add a lot of perimeter scoring to the starting lineup, while Blair and McDyess will play valuable minutes in a frontcourt that (outside of Duncan) was fairly weak last season.

The Bad: Health is already becoming a problem for the Spur’s this year.  Tony Parker went down with an ankle injury and was sidelined for a week or so.  Duncan was rested in a good amount of games last year and we can only expect that number to increase now that he’s a year older.  The good thing is if San Antonio can stay  moderately healthy, they’re the clear favorite for the number two spot in the West.

6. Denver Nuggets
Key Addition: None
Key Loss: Dahntay Jones

The Good: Denver was the only top team in the West not to make a major move, but they really didn’t need to with all the talent they have.  Carmelo will continue to get better and they’ll have Billups leading the way for the entire year.  They got a taste of the Western Conference Finals last year and they could possibly be on their way back.

The Bad: Losing Dahntay Jones, their best perimeter defender, definitely hurts.  It looks like the pressure will now be on Anthony to step his game up another level and start guarding elite scorers like Brandon Roy and Kobe Bryant for the entire game.  Their defense won’t be as bad as it was a couple of years ago, but I can’t see it matching last season’s level.

7. Portland Trail Blazers
Key Addition: Andre Miller
Key Loss: None

The Good: This offseason has been as good as any Blazer’s fan could have hoped for.  They added Andre Miller to make an elite offense even better and then gave their franchise player  Brandon Roy  a contract extension.  If everything goes well they should be able to host another playoff series in April.

The Bad: Portland’s frontcourt is the only thing that could hold them back from really competing for a top spot in the West.  Aldridge will get the job done, but they need Oden to step up and become a productive center every night.  Signing another PF would also help a lot.

8. New Orleans Hornets

Key Addition: Emeka Okafor
Key Loss: Tyson Chandler

The Good: Injuries are what have held back the Hornets in the past, especially those to Tyson Chandler.  New Orleans was able to dish out the injury prone big man in return for Emeka Okafor, a consistent double double guy who will stay healthy for the entire year.  With injury problems hopefully out of the way they should be in store for a much better season then last year.

The Bad: A frontcourt of David West and Emeka Okafor is gravely undersized.  Okafor is a good defender, but they’ll still have trouble matching up against top tier big men.  They were able to get rid of their most injury prone player in Chandler, but staying healthy could still be a problem this year.  They’re not to deep so avoiding any injuries is a must.

9. Dallas Mavericks
Key Addition: Shawn Marion
Key Loss: None

The Good:Dallas got off to a hot start this offseason by adding Shawn Marion, Drew Gooden, and Tim Thomas to their roster.  Bringing in Marion will give them a versatile defender while Gooden and Thomas will add frontcourt depth, making Dallas’s frontcourt arguably the deepest in the league.

The Bad: No major flaws stick out when you look at Dallas’s roster.  There’s no question it’s one of the most talented in the West, but chemistry problems could come about.  Fitting all of their offseason additions into the rotation will be tough, especially since all three of them will be coming off the bench and two of them play the same position behind one of the top players in the league (Dirk).

10. Atlanta Hawks
Key Addition: Jamal Crawford
Key Loss: None

The Good: Atlanta was able to resign Mike Bibby and Marvin Williams to keep their talented core of players together.  Losing a player like Flip Murray hurts, but Jamal Crawford should do a nice job of taking over his role as 6th man.  The Hawks are the only team on this list that isn’t really considered a contender for a championship, but if everything goes they finish with a top four seed in the East and host a series come playoff time.

The Bad: It’s pretty obvious Mike Woodson’s coaching isn’t the best and that could be what holds Atlanta back from becoming a true contender.  There aren’t many holes in the Hawks roster, but adding another big man wouldn’t be a bad idea.

http://onlinesportsfanatic.com/?p=2785

Below are ten players I could see Cleveland drafting this year, in no particular order.  I'll be adding more soon I just wanted to start by throwing a couple of names out there.

SF: Omri Casspi : Europe

It's somewhat of a stretch to expect Casspi to fall all the way to the 30th pick, but if he does he's the perfect player to play behind James at the SF position.  He's got good size and athleticism with the ability to play inside or out.  The only downside is that even if he's picked in the first round he's probably going to play another year in Europe before playing in the NBA.

http://www.nbadraft.net/players/omr
i-casspi

PG: Darren Collison: UCLA

I've always liked Collison and he'll most likely be the best true PG available at 30.  He could definitely come in and make a bigger impact then Gibson and become a good back up point guard for Williams.  Collison is one of the quickest guards in this draft and after four years at UCLA, has proven he can run a team.

http://www.nbadraft.net/players/dar
ren-collison

SF: Sam Young: Pittsburgh

Another SF to back up Lebron that could be picked anywhere between 20 and 30.  He's an elite athlete but still has some problems offensively. 

http://www.nbadraft.net/players/sam
-young

SF: Austin Daye: Gonzaga

It wouldn't come as a surprise if Daye went back to school, but if he decides to stay I'd be happy to see him in Cavs uniform.  His height (6'10) makes up for some of his lack of size (192 pounds) but scouts still see strength as a major problem.  I still think Daye could end up being a good player backing up Lebron and guard the more skilled PFs when we need him to.

http://www.nbadraft.net/players/aus
tin-daye

PF: Taj Gibson: USC

Gibson could come off the bench and play a similar role to Joe Smith's this year.  He can knock down the mid range jump shot, rebound, and block shots.  I would be really happy getting Gibson with our first pick.  If we aren't able to sign a good free agent PF in the next few years, he could be a starter there in the future.  NBADRAFT.NET has Gibson going to Cleveland and their updated mock draft.

http://www.nbadraft.net/players/taj
-gibson

We’re less then 72 hours away from an NBA fan’s favorite time of the year, the finals, and anticipation is building up more then ever before.  The dream match up of Kobe vs Lebron is now out of question, but don’t let that stop you from tuning in.  This series will be just as good, or better, and will be featuring the true top two teams in the NBA.  Will Bryant earn his 4th championship ring and silence critics who claim he can’t win without Shaq , or will Dwight Howard and company steal the show?

Both teams accomplished the common goal of making it to the finals, but their paths weren’t exactly the same.  Los Angeles was the favorite throughout the entire playoffs, and even though their series against Houston went to seven games, there was never any huge doubt as to whether or not they’d still be playing in June.  With Orlando, there was a point where people weren’t sure if they would even make it out of the first round.  They were doubted during their entire run and it comes as a surprise to most people to see them still playing.

To break down this series I’ll be answering all the biggest questions surrounding it and throwing my prediction in at the end.

How would the return of Jameer Nelson affect the Magic’s chances of winning?:

Getting Jameer back would give the Magic a better chance of winning. He was their leading scorer before he got injured and was on his way to the All-Star game.  The point guard match up between the Lakers and Magic is basically a push right now but if Nelson were to return it would become an edge for Orlando.

If he does return he won’t be 100 percent and his numbers won’t be anywhere near what they were in the regular season.  He would still be a good back up for Alston and could give his team a much needed energy boost in game one.

What starting lineup will be most effective for the Lakers?:

Orlando was able to beat the Cavs by taking advantage of their mismatches and they  have a chance to do the same thing in this series.  The Lakers are going to have trouble matching up with Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, and Dwight Howard so be prepared for their starting lineup to look a little different then in past series.

Los Angeles could start off with their usual lineup and bring Odom off the bench, but Pau Gasol will have trouble guarding Lewis and they can’t afford to let Orlando get an early lead.  If they start Odom at power forward Gasol will then have to guard Howard which could end up being an even bigger mis match then Lewis.  All in all, Gasol is going to be the problem and the Lakers are going to have to find a way to stop Orlando while keeping him on the floor.

I could see Fisher, Bryant, Ariza, Odom, and Gasol being an effective group for the Lakers.  Gasol will have trouble with Howard inside but when you’re playing the Magic you have to pick your poison and that’s the match up the Lakers will have to live with.

Who is the X-Factor in the series?:

So many players will play a huge role in this series, but I see Lamar Odom being the X-Factor.  Odom is going to have to play major minutes to negate any of Orlando’s mismatches.  Lewis killed the Cavs when he had a slower big man on him and he will be able to do the same thing this series if Pau Gasol is ever stuck playing him.  Odom matches up perfect with Lewis and should do a good job covering him and taking away that matchup that was so key for the Magic in the past.  On offense his rebounding will be needed to create second chance opportunities.  He’ll have to stay aggressive and take advantage of Lewis or Turkoglu’s defense.

What’s the key individual matchup in the series?:

The key match up in this series is between Rafer Alston and Derek Fisher. Both have been inconsistent throughout the playoffs but that has to change in the Finals. When Alston has been able to score in double figures this postseason the Magic almost always win, but when he is limited it often results in a loss. Fisher has yet to get his offense going since the first round and  could struggle defensively against a guard like Alston. The Lakers need him to be effective on both sides of the ball every game.   Overall, there’s a good chance that who ever wins the point guard battle will win this series.

What does Orlando need to do to win?:

Dwight Howard is going to need to carry his team this series.  If Pau Gasol is going to play him Dwight has to dominate offensively and defensively.  If he can get going in the post like he did last series everything opens up for Orlando and they become an opposing defense’s worst nightmare.  But the biggest key for Howard is actually staying in the game.  He can’t afford to get in foul trouble and with Kobe taking the ball at him that’s going to be tough to do.

Orlando played with the right mind set last series and that’s also going to be important against the Lakers.  If they get down early they have to keep fighting like they did in the Eastern Conference Finals.  Their three point shooting can bring them back in any game.

What does Los Angeles need to do to win?:

The Lakers first priority has to be defense because if you let this Orlando offense get going you’re in trouble.  Pau Gasol has to work hard to stop Dwight Howard, and his teammates need to give some good help.  Odom will be the biggest key on defense because when ever he’s in he’ll be playing Turkoglu or Lewis and that lineup should do a good job of stopping the Magic.

The Cavs’ bench completely disappeared in their series against Orlando and that can’t happen to L.A.  They have a deep bench with players like Odom, Vujacic, Farmar, Walton, and Brown who can all make a big impact on a game.  If Orlando’s bench is able to out score them they’ll be in big trouble.

Who will win the series and in how many games?:

I see the Lakers winning in six.  They have a defense that’s capable of stopping Orlando from doing what got them this far, they have home court advantage, and they have Kobe Bryant.  That’’s just to much for Orlando to overcome in this series.  They’ll put up a fight and Dwight Howard will have a lot of big games,  but that won’t be enough.  No need to worry though Magic fans, your team will be back here plenty of times.

To see the article on onlinesportsfanatic.com, click here.

Big Boards: (All updates will be posted on my blog)
50 Player Big Board (May 10th)

Position Rankings:

PG
SG
SF
PF
C (Coming Soon)

Team Previews:

Coming after position rankings are completed

Full Mock Draft:

Coming Soon

Attention: If you want a trade to become official it has to be posted on this blog.  Having the trades announced on this blog lets me keep track of things a lot easier. 

Players are in the order they were drafted.  If you want your actual lineup to be displayed you'll need to PM me it on a different thread or post it on this blog. 

GoTarHeels1 [Southern Ballers]
Tyler Hansborough (North Carolina)
Toney Douglas (FSU)
James Johnson (Wake Forest)
Jeff Pendergraph (Arizona State)
Wayne Ellington (UNC)

Curtis Jerrells (Baylor)
Samardo Samuels (Louisville)
Ed Davis (UNC)
Daniel Hackett (USC)
To be announced (   )

trespac [Trespac's Triple Threat]
Blake Griffin (Oklahoma)
Tyrese Rice (Boston College)
Wesley Matthews (Marquette)
Tasmin Mitchell (LSU)
Michael Washington (Arkansas)

JaJuan Johnson (Purdue)
Deonta Vaughn (Cincinnati)
Raymar Morgan (Michigan State)
Robert Vaden (UAB)
Alonzo Gee (Alabama)

rockr259 [Salt City Playboys]
DeJaun Blair (Pittsburgh)
Patrick Patterson (Kentucky)
Jon Scheyer (Duke)
Robert Dozier (Memphis)
A.J Price (UCONN)


Kyle McLarney (Notre Dame)
Taylor Rochestie (Washington State)
Ben Woodside (North Dakota State)
Rick Jackson (Syracuse)
Solomon Alabi (Florida State)
 
Badgers Ballers [Playground Warriors]
James Harden (Arizona State)
Earl Clark (Louisville)
Sheron Collins (Kansas)
AJ Ogilvy (Vanderbilt)
DeMarre Carrol (Missouri)

Demar Derozan (Southern California)
Manny Harris (Michigan)
Luke Babbit (Nevada)
Chris Wright (Dayton)
Derrick Brown (Xavier)

mcgradykid134 [HHH]
Greivis Vasquez (Maryland)
Nick Calathes (Florida)
Hasheem Thabeet (Connecticut)
Kenneth Faried (Morehead State)
Chase Budinger (Arizona)

Jermaine Taylor (UCF)
Paul Harris (Syracuse)
DaJuan Summers (Georgetown)
Wayne Chism (Tennessee)
Dar Tucker (Depaul)

Sandman [Team Sandman]
Terrence Williams (Lousiville)
Sam Young (Pittsburgh)
Jack McClinton (Miami FL)
Jeremy Pargo (Gonzaga)
Dante Cunningham (Villanova)

Artsiom Parakhouski (Radford)
Arinze Onuaku (Syracuse)
Jerome Jordan (Tulsa)
Corey Fisher (Villanova)
Marcus Ginyard (UNC)

gonzagafan62 [Arizona Lizards]
Ty Lawson
Willie Warren
Matt Bouldin
Dior Lowhorn
Josh Heytvelt

BE: Dionte Christmas
BE: Kwamian Mitchell
BE: Chief Kickingstallionsims
BE: DeSean Butler
BE: Dominic James

(Extra):

Tony Gaffney (UMASS) 

Cameron Crazy [The Man Eating Devils]
PG Kalin Lucas
SG Manny Harris
SF Marcus Thornton
PF Taj Gibson
C John Brockman

PG Orlando Mendez-Valdez
SG Lester Hudson
SF Danny Green
C Mac Koshwal
Devan Downey (South Carolina)

BucFan40 [Eckerd College Tritons]
PG - Eric Maynor (VCU)
SG - Chavis Holmes (VMI)
SF - Stephen Curry (Davidson)
PF - Austin Daye (Gonzaga)
C - John Bryant (Santa Clara)

PG - SG - Travis Holmes (VMI)
SF - Theo Robertson (California)
PF - Alex Tyus (Florida)
C - Dexter Pittman (Texas)

TheSkins8 [The Bus Drivers]
PG- Patrick Mills
SG- Tyreke Evans
SF- James Anderson
PF- Amhad Nivins
C- Luke Harangody


F-Kyle Singler
G- AJ Abrams
F- Marqus Blakely
G- Nic Wise
F- Larry Sanders

Dcb12233 [Unarmed but very deadly]
PG- Jeff Teague
SG- Gerald Henderson
SF- A.D. Vassallo
PF- Jeff Adrien
C- Trevor Booker

Gani Lawal F/C(possibly)
Jerome Raneal G
Gordon Hayward G/F
AJ Slaughter G/F
Dwayne Collins F

GoCavs33 [Ocean State Basketball]
Jordan Hill (Arizona)
Jerel McNeal (Marquette)
Tyler Smith (Tennessee)
Darren Collison (UCLA)
Craig Brackins (Iowa State)

Levance Fields (Pittsburgh)
Jeremy Hazell (Seton Hall)
Robbie Hummel (Purdue)
Goran Suton (Michigan State)
Jerome Dyson (Connecticut)

BostonBay44 [STAS3]
Jodie Meeks (Kentucky)
Johnny Flynn (Syracuse)
Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi State)
Cole Aldrich (Kansas)
Damion Jones (Texas)

Scottie Reynolds (Villanova)
Stefon Jackson (UTEP)
Talor Battle (Penn State)
Luke Nevill (Utah)
Omar Samhan (Saint Mary's)

Hall of Fame 2 [Already Won]
Malcolm Delaney (Virginia Tech)
Jeff Allen (Virginia Tech)
Evan Turner (Ohio State)
Eric Devendorf (Syracuse)

Al Faroqu Aminu (Wake Forest)
Kemba Walker (Connecticut)
B.J. Mullens (Ohio State)
Jrue Holliday (UCLA)
Chris Lowe (UMASS)

Trading Period (March 25th until April 1st):

The trading period will last a week and each team is granted three trades.  Once trades are agreed on and announced the trade becomes official and can't be canceled.  Trading is only allowed during trading periods so make sure to get your trades done during this week. 

Add/Drop Period (April 2nd and April 3rd)

The add/drop period allows people to drop excess or unneeded players and replace their spots with anyone who wasn't drafted.  Rosters must be exactly 10 players.  The add drop will go in reverse order of the draft so I (GoCavs33) will make the first transactions.  Each person will have eight hours to make their add drop but we left two days open just in case.

First Set of Games (the games were selected using a random number generator)

Games will last three days (a total of 72 hours) and ten votes have to be submitted for a game to become official.

Remember when voting on a match up you should take into account the game plans and rosters and give an honest opinion on which team you think would win.  The votes should contain at least four reasons you voted for that team and the more in depth the vote is the better.  Votes that appear to have come only off rosters or lack material won't be counted.  The contest is supposed to be as fair as possible so keep all bias out of your votes.

All the teams were divided into conferences.  Each team will play three teams from their conference during the first set of games.  After conference play is over the teams will be broken down into divisions (division page coming later).

Conference A

1. Sandman (1-0)
2. miamiheat03 (1-0)
3. Cameron Crazy(0-1)
4. Hall of Fame 2(0-1)
5. Trespac (0-1)
6. DCB (1-0)
7. mcgradykid134

Conference B

1. DavidAbernathe (0-1)
2. BucFan40 (0-1)
3. The Skins8(1-0)
4. Badgers Ballers
5. GoCavs33 (1-0)
6. rockr259 (1-0)
7. gonzagafan (0-1)

Game 1 BostonBay44 vs Hall of Fame 2 (April 4th through April 6th)
Game 1 The Skins8 vs BucFan40 (April 4th through April 6th)
Game 2 Cameron Crazy vs Sandman (April 7th through April 9th)
Game 2 GoCavs33 vs GoTarHeels (April 7th through April 9th)
Game 3 Trespac vs Wade MVP (April 10th through April 12th)
Game 3 Gonzagafan vs rockr259 (April 10th through April 12th)
Game 4 mcgradykid vs Badgers Ballers (April 13nd through April 15th)

Game 4 The Skins 8 vs rockr259 (April 13th through April 15th)
Game 5 Sandman vs Hall of Fame 2 (April 16th through April 18th)
Game 5 Badgers Ballers vs BucFan40 (April 16th through April 18th)
Game 6 BostonBay44 vs Cameron Crazy (April 19th through April 21st)
Game 6 Gonzagafan vs GoCavs33 (April 19th through April 21st)
Game 7 mcgradykid vs Wade4MVP (April 22nd through April 24th )
Game 7 GoTarHeels1 vs trespac (April 23rd through April 25th)

Game 8 Sandman vs BostonBay44 (April 26th through April 28th)
Game 8 Gonzagafan vs BucFan40 (April 26th through April 28th)
Game 9 mcgradykid vs trespac (April 29th through May 1st)
Game 9 The Skins 8 vs GoTarHeels1 (April 29th through May 1st)
Game 10 Hall of Fame 2 vs Wade4MVP (May 2nd through May 4th)
Game 10 GoCavs33 vs Badgers Ballers (May 2nd through May 4th)
Game 11 rockr259 vs Cameron Crazy (May 5th through May 7th)

The schedule for the second set of action will come out sometime between games 10 through 20.  If you have any questions about the rules of the contest or the schedule shown above leave a comment on this blog.