It's embarrassing enough when you go to give someone a pound and they put out their hand, or vice versa, but not too many people can play it off as smoothly as Phil. Kobe didn't even notice Phil's attempt but Phil quickly saved face with the ol' knuckles to the cheek move (@ 0:16).
Here's my quick NBA preview as far as where I see the teams finishing at the end of the regular season by conference:
Western Conference
1. Los Angeles Lakers- No surprise here, the Championship is theirs to lose this year
2. San Antonio Spurs- This of course is assuming Duncan, Parker and Ginobili can stay healthy, but if they do they have a great bench to be a threat deep in the playoffs
3. Denver Nuggets- Great playoff run last year, it'll be interesting to see if George Karl can keep the team focused and on the same page to make a similar run again this year.
4. Portland Trailblazers- I still can't figure out the Andre Miller signing or giving LaMarcus Aldridge such a huge contract extension, but the Blazers have all the talent to be an elite team in the West this year.
5. Dallas Mavericks- Adding Shawn Marion adds some athleticism to the Mavs and an additional alley-oop target for Jason Kidd.
6. Utah Jazz- Pretty much the same team as last year but they'll start the season without Kyle Korver, but look for Deron Williams to have an MVP-worthy year.
7. Houston Rockets- To quote Cam'Ron, "No Yao Ming....no T-Mac" and while I don't see the trio of Ariza/Battier/Scola leading them to a top spot they're still good enough to make the playoffs while possibly getting McGrady back in time to add another offensive threat.
8. Phoenix Suns- Without Shaq to slow the offense down look for the Suns to return to their old ways of high-scoring, fast-paced basketball with a healthy Amare Stoudemire, though how long that will last remains a question.
9. New Orleans Hornets- They have a great PG in Chris Paul and a defensive stopper in the middle in Emeka Okafor, but I'm just not sold on this team making the playoffs.
10. Oklahoma City Thunder- They still might be one more year away from being a legitimately respected team but I like them to make major improvements this year on the back of potential scoring champion (and MVP candidate) Kevin Durant.
11. Los Angeles Clippers- Would've liked to put them higher but with Blake out I expect them to play like the same Clippers that just missed 20 wins last year.
12. Golden State Warriors- They'll be fun to watch with Anthony Randolph and Stephen Curry but will end up as a lottery team.
13. Memphis Grizzlies- On paper the potential lineup of OJ Mayo, AI, Rudy Gay, Z-Bo and Marc Gasol with Hasheem Thabeet coming off the bench looks good, but then again this is the same team who gave away Pau Gasol for practically nothing only to trade for Zach Randolph and pay him the same money.
14. Minnesota Timberwolves- I like Kevin Love and Al Jefferson at the 4 and 5 but I'm not sold on anybody else although rookie Jonny Flynn should have a big first year.
15. Sacramento Kings- They were bad last year and they'll be bad again this year, but they have some young, talented players to build around.
Eastern Conference
1. Orlando Magic- Adding Matt Barnes, Brandon Bass and Vince Carter make losing Hedo Turkoglu a non-issue, not to mention Dwight Howard got his first taste of the finals and is hungry for more.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers- Is LeBron staying or leaving? Either way look for him to continue to dominate the league and lead the Cavs to a deep playoff run.
3. Boston Celtics- Rasheed Wallace is 35, Ray Allen is 34, KG is 33 and Paul Pierce is 32. Yes they're still talented enough to beat up on most of the league but how much will they have left in the tank when they go up against the other elite teams? Plus they'll be without Glen "Big Gay Baby" Davis for at least 8 weeks to start the season.
4. Atlanta Hawks- They added another scored in Jamal Crawford and a big man in Joe Smith but there's still a large gap between the Hawks and the top 3 teams in the conference.
5. Chicago Bulls- After a tough loss to the Celtics in a series they very well could've won, look for the Bulls and Derrick Rose to build on that experience and get revenge should they meet the Celtics again in the playoffs.
6. Miami Heat- In what could be his last season in Miami, Dwyane Wade is going to need another solid season from Jermaine O'Neal (unlikely I know) and Mike Beasley to step it up, assuming he's first figured out his personal issues.
7. Philadelphia 76ers- After 2 horrendous seasons in Philly Elton Brand is due to break that trend and put up solid numbers for a team that is still young but extremely talented and fast.
8. Washington Wizards- IF...IF their core of Arenas, Butler and Jamison can have one healthy season together they can make some major noise come playoffs time.
9. Toronto Raptors- Bosh may be gone by midseason if they start slow and Turkoglu could get exposed defensively without Dwight Howard behind him, but rookie DeMar DeRozan should be able to help them fight for the 8 spot, that is if Bosh is still around by then.
10. Detroit Pistons- When your centers are Kwame Brown, Chris Wilcox and Ben Wallace it's hard to have high expectations, not to mention your biggest free agent signing, Ben Gordon, plays the same position as Ronald Hamilton who had issues last season with his minutes.
11. Indiana Pacers- They missed the playoffs by only 3 games last year and kept the team pretty much intact. Expect another monster season from Danny Granger.
12. New Jersey Nets- It's kind of depressing when the biggest story regarding your team on the eve of the season opener is a Russian billionaire.
13. Charlotte Bobcats- The team that should've signed AI (in need of a scorer and Larry Brown coached Iverson in Philly) didn't and can look forward to another lottery pick.
14. Milwaukee Bucks- Even with Michael Redd returning the Bucks are still going to be bad, although the development of rookie Brandon Jennings offers something for fans to look forward to.
15. New York Knicks- It seems like a lot of Knicks fans are already dismissing the season and looking forward to next summer's free agency....at least they have the Yanks to root for.
JaffeJu
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