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How awesome would it be if neither the Lakers or the Heat make it to the finals ;-)

Lakers will make it, Heat wont

West Number 1 Seed- Los Angeles Lakers - The team to beat right now. Back to back World Champions. Top team in the west. New additions of Steve Blake and Matt Barnes give them team another veteran PG and lock down defender in Barnes.

East Number 1 Seed- As tough as it is to say this, I believe that this will infact be the Miami Heat. They look good on paper, and I am sure will look good on the floor. It is undeniable that they will win games.. It's the playoffs that count tough.

NBA Finals- Los Angeles Vs. Boston. Still the top two teams in the league. I believe the veteran Celtics can take the Heat in an Eastern Conference Finals. Lakers win.

MVP- With LeBron being on an all-star team, I doubt he nor the other 2 of the big 3 will be in any conversation for MVP. Kevin Durant is definately going to win it.

Rookie of the Year- Well, seeing that Blake Griffin is not a rookie, he won't win it. John Wall, possibly. But I think that if not Wall, either Evan Turner or Demarcus Cousins. But for now, I will say John Wall win's Rookie of the Year.

Toughest Division- Agreed on the Southeast.

WEST # 1 SEED:L.A. Lakers:How can you argue with that, the race will be for the 2 seed between Okl. City , San Antonio, Denver and of course Utah who by the way will be better than last year.

EAST # 1 SEED:As much as I hate to say it the Miami All-Star Heat winning the east finals over the Magic in 5 games.

N.B.A. FINALS:Miami over the Lakers in 6.

MVP:The future best player in the league Kevin Durant

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:Demarcus Cousins

SURPRISE TEAMS:Sacramento,Washington,

TOUGHEST DIVISION:Southwest,Northwest

I thought that Griffin was going to be placed as a rookie since he did not play a game last year?

he is going to be, the other guy didn't know what he was talking about.

I almost agree 100% with you KingdomCome:

West Number 1 Seed - Los Angeles Lakers - Not only have they been the best team in the NBA for the last two seasons, they managed to build upon that and become even stronger this offseason. Clearly one of the best run franchises out there. Adding Steve Blake as a backup for Derek Fisher was a solid move to strengthen what was their weakest link last season. Signing Matt Barnes, a proven defensive stopper, also gives them one of the best perimeter defenses out there (Kobe, Barnes, Artest), adding to an already scary inside defense.

East Number 1 Seed - Boston Celtics - I might be being a bit hopeful here as I'm a Celtics fan, but I honestly like their moves during this Summer. The Celtics main weakness since KG's injury has clearly been the paint: rebounds and points inside. Thankfully for them, Perkins showed a lot of improvement over the last year, and helped fill this need. Now that he's injured, something had to be done. They got two former all-star centers with different skills that complement each other very well. Jermaine won't have the burden of having to be his team's provider inside the paint. You can say what you want about Shaq, but even at his age he's an imposing presence inside, both defensively and offensively. When that guy wins his position below the rim and goes for the dunk, there's not much you can do, even at 38. Plus, both will share minutes, so I'm expecting them to be in good condition when the Playoffs start.
I didn't like them losing Tony Allen, a good defensive player that knows how to attack the basket. I expect they'll still sign a swingman before the season starts (any truth to the Rudy Fernandez rumors?).

NBA Finals - Los Angeles vs Boston - For the reasons stated above. I seriously doubt these Heat will be able to reach the finals on their first season together (although it has been done before), specially when they have to face one of the best playoff teams around: the Celtics.

MVP - Kevin Durant - No contest. Lebron, playing alongside Wade and Bosh will hurt his numbers. Kobe is finally showing signs of slowing down (slightly), so I reckon this is going to be Durant's season.

Rookie of the Year - Blake Griffin or John Wall. Griffin could benefit from the fact he spent one year learning what awaits him on the NBA. It will all come down to how well he recovers from the injury and whether he'll stay fit. Wall has the momentum going for him, he's a valid contender.
I would be extremely surprised to see Cousins name in the mix. One of the biggest wastes of potential we've seen in the NBA lately.

Hardest Conference - Southeast - Again, totally agree with you. Honorable mention to Northwest, possibly Southwest.

I'm really looking forward for this season!

I don't think the celtics will take the #1 seed in the east and they won't need to. I am a Celtics fan and I know getting the one seed isn't as important to them as winning the championship. Towards the end of the season they will slow down and rest Allen, Pierce, KG, and probably Shaq and others. The Heat should take the number one east seed, but the Celtics could upset them in the playoffs.
I have Lakers in the west for the same reasons, except I don't think steve Blake was an upgrade from Jordan Farmar.
Finals, Lakers vs. Celtics, I could see the Heat or Magic in the finals easily for the east, or the Thunder, Mavericks, or Spurs for the west to, but to me a finals rematch seems likely.
MVP Kevin Durant, the best player not on a stacked team.
Rookie of the year, Evan Turner or Blake Griffin. I think Turner has an NBA ready game and will put up nice numbers in Philadelphia. Griffin knows what awaits and is very skilled, but needs to improve his defense. I think John Wall will be better then both Griffin and Turner later in their career, but as for their first year its got to be Turner or Griffin.
Southeast is easily hardest division, 2 top 5 teams, 4 playoff teams, 1 rebuilding team that has John Wall and could upset a good team here and there. Northwest will be good with 4 playoffs teams and one trying to rebuild team, but they don't have any top 5 teams. Southwest has 2 playoff teams, 2 potential playoff teams, and one other mediocre team, so i give them 3rd best division. Pacific has 2 playoff teams including perhaps the best team. Atlantic has 1 playoff team, 2 perhaps playoff teams and 2 teams that are hoping to get 30 wins. Central has one team that fell apart, 2 perhaps playoff teams and two trying to rebuild but failing teams.

I hear you, and think you have a point on that "no need to be number 1" argument. They've done it last season, and I reckon they'll pass on that late season push, letting the veterans get some rest. Still, I doubt they'll want to repeat that fourth place. Home court advantage could have saved them some stamina last playoffs.

Do you seriously think Blake isn't an upgrade from Farmar? I liked him on the Clippers, let's see how Farmar does on the Nets.

you know what would be a surprise finals game that would still be awesome???

Bulls vs Thunder! 2 rising stars and future of the nba players in rose and durant! and it is 2 of the youngest teams in the nba with the most optimistic fans! too bad it probly wont happen though heheh

I don't know about Chicago, specially since Boozer got injured again.
It's possible, but we have to remember the competition on the East is very fierce this year. Orlando, Miami, hell: even Milwaukee will give teams an hard time.

But yes, I definitively agree with you on Oklahoma. We saw the trouble they caused to the Lakers last season. They basically are the same team one year older, so we could perfectly see Durant lead them to the Finals.

I wouldn't mind a Final like that. One of NBA's greatest qualities is the ability to give the fans something new and unexpected!