FreshPrinceOfTheBlog.com

I hate when the weather gets cold, because it’s so cold in the D (beware, the language is offensive). With the bitter cold weather that hits Detroit, comes NBA basketball, so I’m generally happy. This upcoming NBA season is going to be incredibly exciting, the off-season left us with many changes, especially in the Eastern Conference.

Shaq made it to Cleveland, “Agent 0″ made it back to the court, Turkoglu left Orlando and Vinsanity arrived and ‘Sheed left the ‘D for Beantown. The East is full of storylines and maybe better than they’ve been in decades, but how will it all play out?

I know the answers to all those questions (I’ll do better than last year, I promise), so read my predictions on the Eastern Conference tonight, and be prepared for tomorrow’s Western Conference, playoff and individual player award predictions.

Teams are listed in the order in which they will finish in the division, the number in parenthesis is their position in the conference.

Atlantic

1. (1) Boston Celtics

Without Kevin Garnett in last season’s playoffs, the Celtics didn’t get a legitimate chance to defend their title. This year they will, and they have Rasheed Wallace, Marquis Daniels and Shelden Williams to help them do that. They’re going to finish with the best record in the East, maybe the league.

2. (6) Philadelphia 76ers

The Elton Brand signing didn’t help them last year, but they were still solid. They nearly took out Orlando in the first round. They’ll be good and middle out in the East, but they won’t be as good without Andre Miller.

3. (10) Toronto Raptors

They added Hedo Turkoglu, a nice rookie in DeMar DeRozan and some quality role players. They’ll challenge for the eighth seed, but will more than likely fall short. The worries of Chris Bosh bolting Canada next year will more than likely drag this team down and Turkoglu won’t be as effective as he was in Orlando.

4. (14) New York Knicks

It’s unfortunate, but the Knicks will be more focused on trying to get LeBron James next summer than win games this season. At least Knicks fans can count on David Lee and Nate Robinson playing for contracts all season long, granted neither of them may be Knicks by next fall.

5. (15) New Jersey Nets

Devin Harris, Brook Lopez and Courtney Lee are some very young talented players. Give them some time to gel together and for guys like Chris Douglas-Roberts and Terrence Williams and they could be pretty good in a couple of years, but for right now, don’t expect much. They could be better than the Knicks, but they’re going to lose a lot of games this year.

Southeast

1. (3) Orlando Magic

Orlando is deeper than I can ever remember. The team has been overhauled after last season’s NBA Finals appearance. Will Vince Carter fit this team better than Hedo Turkoglu did? As important as the answer to that question may be, the most important question for this team is if Dwight Howard will improve on offense, he was miserable in the NBA Finals, yes, I said miserable. They’ll win the division, but I don’t think they’ll be making it back to the finals this year.

2. (4) Washington Wizards

This team could win 55 games, and I’m dead serious when I type that. When the injuries first started to hit this team, they were the number one seed in the East (back in early 2007). Since then, they cannot stay healthy and even when it seemed safe, Antawn Jamison (the team’s iron man) just hit the bench for around a month. If they stay healthy, they could be dangerous. They’re deep and Gilbert Arenas’ career is based on proving people wrong, so here’s his chance.

3. (8) Atlanta Hawks

We always hear how Mike Woodson may get fired, but I think he’s maxed out the potential of this team. Josh Smith played worse last year than he has in the past, Al Horford played worse in his second season and Mike Bibby keeps aging. Jamal Crawford could possibly be what they were looking for, but probably not. Other teams in the East have gotten better, and it appears that Joe Johnson just wants out.

4. (9) Miami Heat

The Heat need to find a way to keep Dwayne Wade, if they lose him, they’re in trouble, big trouble. The only two players this team really added are Carlos Arroyo and Quentin Richardson, and there is no way that Wade can carry them like he did last year. The East has improved.

5. (11) Charlotte Bobcats

Great coach, okay players. They’ll win 35 games tops this year, and that’s a long shot.

Central

1. (2) Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavaliers are hands down the best team in the Central Division and not one team is close to them. They won 66 games last season and added Shaquille O’Neal. If Delonte West doesn’t play a game this season and if Mo Williams doesn’t make the all-star team, it doesn’t matter. The Cavs will win at least 60 games this season.

2. (5) Detroit Pistons

I know what you’re going to say, “Of course he picks Detroit to be that high.” You’re right, it may be obvious, but I think I’ve been critical of them in the past, quite critical. Ben Wallace won’t average 12 rebounds per game, but his return will help this team. Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva aren’t known for their defense, but this team has some firepower. If rookie head coach John Kuester can manage Detroit’s talented backcourt and get the entire team to play some D, they should surprise some people.

3. (7) Chicago Bulls

Ben Gordon is pretty much the guy who hit all the big shots in Chicago. He’s gone. Derrick Rose is fantastic, John Salmons has game, and Loul Deng is overrated, but a quality player. They’ll be good, but they won’t climb the ladder that people may expect them to, they haven’t done that since 1998.

4. (12) Indiana Pacers

Mike Dunleavy is injured again, but Danny Granger is one of the best scorers in the league. They’ll be about the same as last year, but they’ll be fun to watch.

5. (13) Milwaukee Bucks

Health issues have haunted this team a bit the past few seasons. Michael Redd is great, but he has trouble staying on the court. It’ll be fun to watch Brandon Jennings, unless Scott Skiles treats him like he did Ramon Sessions.