Preview of the 2004-2005 NBA season

Here are their big stories for the upcoming new season:

• Kobe Bryant found guilty of rape. The Lakers are forced to “lean” on Kobe’s manhood and end up with their worst record in 10 years
• Mark Cuban surprises the world by giving away the Dallas Mavericks on his show, The Benefactor! Although the show was canceled before this episode aired, the transfer of ownership is legal and binding.
• Vince Carter traded the Knicks! Unfortunately, the trade had to be called off after Vince failed medically. After years of speculation, doctors confirm that Carter does not have a heart.

Ok, those may not work, but here are a few that we think will:

• SHAQ catches the Latino Heat in Miami as the city has playoff fever
• James may be king, but it’s Carmelo who finds playoff gold for the second year in a row
• Vince Carter traded the Knicks! The team then loses 15 straight and is out of playoff contention when Vince’s heart is questioned.

This year’s focus won’t be on the top 2 picks in the draft, but on (arguably) the top 2 players in the league. Expect Kobe and Shaq to dominate the national headlines, as each will set out to prove they weren’t the cause of the Lakers’ collapse in the Finals against the Nets. It is common knowledge that during stretches of the last 2 seasons, when either Kobe or Shaq went down with an “injury”, the Lakers earned more with Kobe OUT of the lineup, than when Shaq was out. the lineup. Much more, as this graphic from http://www.82games.com will illustrate.

Over/Under Divisions for Shaq-Kobe

Player	Situation	Off48	Def48	Net48	W	L
Shaq	with Kobe	104.0 	93.5 	+10.5 	45 	10
Shaq	w/out Kobe	95.0 	91.2 	+3.8 	34 	29
Kobe	with Shaq	104.0 	93.5 	+10.5 	45 	10
Kobe	w/out Shaq	94.7 	99.3 	-4.6 	22 	36

Looking ahead, though, none of that matters as both players start this season surrounded by a new starting 4.

Shaquille and Miami aside, the next biggest story will be how 5 of the 8 East playoff teams can be under .500. We expect quality basketball to be hard to come by in the East. His other two best teams will be Detroit and Indiana. We expect Isiah Thomas to make things interesting in New York, Lebron James to shine in Cleveland and Toronto to be Charlotte’s No. 2 rival (after New Orleans) as they battle to stay out of the basement.

The sun may be setting in the west, but we feel this team is on the rise and ready to take the next step. The Kings, Timberwolves, Lakers and Spurs will be hard-pressed to keep them out of the top 4 this year. With the possible exception of Seattle, every team should be fun to watch this year.

Here are our predictions for this season’s final standings.

Eastern Conference

Atlantic

Boston Celts

New York Knicks

philadelphia 76ers

New Jersey Nets

toronto raptors

Central

detroit pistons

Indiana Pacers

milwaukee dollars

cleveland cavaliers

Chicago Bulls

Southeast

Miami Heat

orlando magic

washington wizards

atlanta falcons

charlotte bobcats

Western Conference

south west

San Antonio Spurs

houston rockets

memphis grizzlies

Dallas Mavericks

New Orleans Hornets

Northwest

denver nuggets

minnesota timber wolves

utah jazz

Portland Pioneers

Seattle Jetsons

Peaceful

phoenix suns

Sacramento Kings

Los Angeles Lakers

golden state warriors

Los Angeles Clippers