NBA Predictions

Well, it's finally here.

The 2008-09 NBA Season kicked off last night with three games - and the premiere of 2007 No. 1 pick Greg Oden.

Of course, Oden didn't make it through the first half of the game as he injured his foot sometime during the first quarter - I am hoping he is not doomed to be on the injured list his entire career.

Anyway, basketball is my favorite sport, but much like football it can be a crapshoot when selecting the various winners. Almost every year a team comes of out of nowhere to make the playoffs, and sometimes even makes a run. And every year, teams suffer through injuries and/or make terrible trades.

So, take all of this with a grain of sand - but here are my predictions for the season.

Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division: Boston Celtics
Central Division: Cleveland Cavaliers
Southeast Division: Orlando Magic
Other Playoff Teams: Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, New Jersey Nets.
Champion: Orlando Magic
Western Conference
Northwest Conference: Utah Jazz
Pacific Conference: L.A. Lakers
Southwest Conference: New Orleans Hornets
Other Playoff Teams: Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trail Blazers.
Champion: New Orleans Hornets
NBA Champion: New Orleans Hornets

Individual Awards
MVP: LeBron James
6th Man: Rodney Stuckey
Rookie: Michael Beasley
Coach: Byron Scott
Defensive Player: Ron Artest
All NBA
First Team
Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Amare Stoudemire, Chris Paul
Second Team
Tim Duncan, Deron Williams, Dwight Howard, Dirk Nowitzki, Brandon Roy
Third Team
Paul Pierce, Yao Ming, Chris Bosh, Tony Parker, Kevin Martin

There you have my predictions - they are in stone. They will not come to fruition.

Enjoy the season - or if you're a baseball fan, wait two weeks because Spring Training is about to start.