Now for the part that matters. Boston is scary, the Lebrons have proven that they know how to win in the playoffs, and teams like Philly and Orlando aren’t going to go softly into that good night. This is what earns the perennial Eastern Conference Contendors their paychecks, this is what makes my voice raw and the arms of my chair lumpy. Here we go.

If you think about it, it’s kinda nice to see a bunch of fans be somewhat realistic about their team’s chances…

Pistons are back and pissed off, and if they stay healthy they will destroy everyone, especially since amir johnson is going to be a much better version of kevin durant. oh and tayshaun for president 08′

I think Afflalo will be the surprise player of the season if he gets enough minutes. He’s got good defense, a decent shot, and looks to hable the ball pretty good for a rookie. Since we already have high hopes for Maxiell, Stuckey, and Amir it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if they do well.

Even though I don’t want Kobe here, it’s seems more logical for him to go here over the Bulls. Even if the Bulls get Kobe, they would have to trade so much talent to get him that they wouldn’t really improve.

I think Boston will tear it up with wins early on in the season, until one or more of Bostons big 3 either get tired or injured. They will make it to playoffs, but I don’t think they would get past the conference semi-finals. If the big 3 make it to the playoffs uninjured, they will be too exhausted to get very far in the playoffs.

Pistons 2nd, I predict we will make it to the finals this year. If it’s vs Suns, Mavs, or Rockets we win finals. If it’s Spurs, we lose.
Lets just hope someone knocks the Spurs out of the playoffs before they make it too far.

The Bull’s will be third in the east, behind us at second. We improved our roster much more than them over the summer. Even if they get Kobe, with how much they have to trade for him they would end up being as deep (lack of) as Kobe and the Lakers were before a trade.

Miami at 4th in east, will be dangerous once Wade comes back. Even then, either Wade or Shaq will likely get injured again before the regular season is over. If Miami stays healthy once Wade comes back they might sneak up to 3rd.

Cavs 5th, because they made no moves to improve the team, they’re actually probably worse without the 6′10″ flopper (Varejao) to give them the extra foul calls they desperately need. If Lebron or Ilgauskas gets injured they are going to crash and burn. You see their game yesterday against the Mavs? The Cavs looked terrible, Lebron made 2-11 field goals, Hughes made 2-13. I think the Cavs will have a hard time making the playoffs at all this year.

I am going to assume that conference and division rankings are based on standings at the end of the regular season …

Record: 50-32
Conference: 3rd (Behind Bulls and a team to be named later because I think it’ll be someone, but as to who, I frankly have no idea)
Division: 2nd

Stuckey pulls a Brandon Roy, and in spite of early-season injuries, contends for the ROY. Unlike Roy, he ultimate loses the race, to Al Thornton. When Thornton is presented the trophy by Stern, he promptly celebrates his accolade by swatting it into the fourth row of reporters. He shrugs, blames the incident on his instinct and competitive nature, and everyone forgives the faux pas by subsequently buying his jersey.

As for our much beloved Pistons, they learn to gel well down the stretch and save their best basketball for the end of the year, much like in ‘03-’04. They dispatch of the wretched East and find themselves once again, for the third time in 6 seasons, in the NBA Finals. Not picking a winner of that series until June though. Oh, and Nazr wins over some of his detractors with a solid (albeit far from awesome) season. And Flip learns how to utilize a bench, drastically reducing his usually inexplicable DNPs, thus cooling the hot seat beneath him a bit.

The season record goes under 50 wins because of a combination of youth and injuries. Billups finally gets injured half way through the season and Stuckey shares the point with Flip for a month. Sheed finally spends more time in the post on offense. Afflalo gets some of Delfino minutes from last year. Dyess gets a minor nick in the first half of the season and goes back to being the sixth man (and loves it). Amir doesn’t make that much of an impact until the playoffs, then gets 10&10 a game. Pistons beat Cleveland in Round 1, Chicago in Round 2, and Boston (from the cupcake side of the bracket) in Round 3. The Suns run for 336 straight minutes to beat the Pistons in 7.

Jarvis Hayes averages more points per game than Rasheed Wallace. Arron Afflalo plays regular minutes as part of the rotation. The Pistons go 21-20 the first half of the season, 27-14 the second half. The second half turnaround comes in part from the energy Rasheed provides in his new role as 6th man. Nazr and Max average a combined 14pts/14rebounds per game as part of new look frontcourt rotation. Tayshaun Prince becomes known as ‘The Railsplitter’ because of his resemblance to Abraham Lincoln (or if he keeps growing his hair, Afroham Lincoln).

Jason Maxiell earns 6th man of the year (sorry not nearly as thought out as Taco John!), but still I think its a realistic possibility. I think he could easily come close to averaging a double double if he gets 20 minutes a game…which with the team being tentative to get Amir in there as he’s still coming back from the ankle sprain, and Stuckey being out for a bit, the team will have to depend on Maxiell to bring energy off the bench. I think Maxiell will get off to a strong start.

Oh and Pistons over Rockets in 6.

Prediction:
Still trying to shed salary, the Suns trade Shawn Marion for Rasheed Wallace and Flip Murray. Marion tears through the Eastern Conference for a few weeks before making a meaningless offhand comment about how much credit he gets. Dumars, in a stroke of genius, sends Marion on a meaningless errand, then holds a meeting with the rest of the team who approve his plan. The Pistons, in a team-first move, abandon their team-first marketing and go out of their way to market The Matrix as a star, including teammates and coaches gushing over his performances. As he is introduced before Game 1 of the Finals to thunderous applause, Marion breaks down in tears before putting up the first quintuple double in Finals history (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks), setting the ton for a five-game victory over the Rockets.

Prediction: Tayshaun will discover that he is, in fact, a prince. He has been named heir sovereign of a small island nation in the Greater Antilles archipelago. He splits his time between dropping 3s on NBA teams and ruling his new nation with an iron fist. People love, and fear, him.