As the NBA regular season begins over the Christmas holiday weekend, we provide a quick trip around the league to assess the strengths and weakness in the different divisions and offer our view as to who will win it all in June.
Eastern Conference
Atlantic – Philly coach Doug Collins will need his athletic but under battle-tested youth like Nikola Vecevic and Jrue Holiday to step up their development for a shot at the playoffs. Toronto has a new head coach (Dwane Casey) and his priority must be to improve a weak defense as their two highest-paid players, Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon, are more versed in the scoring-side of the game. A heavy load has just been bestowed on New Jersey guard Deron Williams now that center Brooke Lopez is out with a broken foot. In a shortened season filled with plenty of back-to-back scheduling, the Celtics are going to need more productive minutes off the bench to support the wily but aging trio of Paul Pierce (34), Kevin Garnett (35) and Ray Allen (36). The Knicks are looking good adding Tyson Chandler, Baron Davis and Mike Bibby to a strong nucleus of Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. 
Excitement should abound in Madison Square Garden with real opportunity for going deep into the playoffs. New York will make it interesting but look for Boston to take the Atlantic.
Central - Detroit has a new coach in Lawrence Frank, but little in the engine to move the Pistons forward to glory. And in Cleveland there are too many holes for the Cavs to make any inroads this year. If the Bucks can keep their steady defensive play going, look for a return of a healthy shooter Andrew Bogut to bring some nightly scoring punch along with Stephen Jackson. The arrival of former All-Star David West catapults the Pacers’ playoffs hopes as point guard Darren Collison and local George Hill should continue to develop into solid performers. Derrick Rose, the youngest MVP in NBA history and only getting better will have a healthy Carlos Boozer and veteran Richard Hamilton to help out in the City of Big Shoulders. Though the gap should narrow (Chicago won this division by 25 games), look for the Bulls to easily take the central again.
Southeast- The will be no wizardry coming out of the capitol this year. But youngsters like guard John Wall and center JaVale McGee certainly offer promise down the road. The strength of the Bobcats will be the ability of Coach Silas to get his unit to work in a more cohesive manner with no real standouts, though Corey Maggette should bring some veteran leadership on the floor in Charlotte. Down in Atlanta, the Hawks have added scoring punch to Al Horford, Josh Smith and company in declining veterans Tracy McGrady, Jerry Stackhouse and Vladimir Radmanovic, but the key will be at point where Jeff Teague can help while Kirk Hinrich mends from shoulder surgery. 
Things will be unpredictable in Orlando until Dwight Howard’s situation is resolved, does the Big Man say goodbye? In any event with Jameer Nelson, Hedo Turkoglu and J.J. Redick expect to see the Magic in the playoffs. However, in the end look for LeBron James to use that extra motivation from last year’s disappointment and increased aggressiveness to fire the Heat into the Finals again. Bosh, Wade and company are on a mission to seize the crown with King LeBron.
Eastern Conference Finals Prediction
Miami Heat over Chicago Bulls
Western Conference
Northwest – Though Utah coach Tyrone Corbin will be relieved of much of the draining drama surrounding the exit of Jerry Sloan, a franchise mainstay since 1988, his roster isn’t scaring prominent playoff contenders this year. Despite a loss of weapons like Carmelo Anthony and several players including Kenyon Martin locked down until after the new year by signing agreements to play in China look for coach George Karl to rally his troops and succeed despite low expectations. Rising from the frigid tundra of Minnesota, the Timberwolves could start a fire in the division playoff race under new coach Rick Adelman and a promising core of roster additions to Kevin Love like Jose Barea, Brad Miller and Derrick Williams. With Brandon Roy gone, and Greg Oden floundering in a injury-ravaged career, look for Portland to contend primarily through the performances of LaMarcus Aldridge and new teammate Jamal Crawford. This division title however, is really Oklahoma’s to lose…and they won’t. 
Not with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook leading the charge of a young squad coming of age and a slimmed down Kendrick Perkins providing them with a rugged low-post defender. The motivation from a disappointing finish against Dallas in the Western Conference finals drives them to greater success this year.
Southwest – New Rockets coach Kevin McHale loses Yao Ming and Brad Miller as well as Pau Gasol in a trade nixed by Commissioner Stern. The shining light in Houston will be Luis Scola. Not enough to fuel a trip to the playoffs however. Memphis had a surprise run to the Western Semis last year and there’s no reason they should not reach the playoffs this year with a core of Mike Conley, Rudy Gay and the resigning of under publicized talent Marc Gasol at center. Gaining draft picks but losing Chris Paul and David West does not bode well for playoff hopes in New Orleans at least for this year. Like the Celtics, the Spurs are getting old and this tightened regular season schedule doesn’t figure to play into their strength, still with Duncan, Ginobili and Parker, San Antonio has won more games than any other NBA team over the past decade and knows what it takes to play at a high level. Look for them to make some noise in the playoffs. The defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks will definitely experience one thing first-hand this year, that it will be even harder to stay at the top than to get there in the first place. Losing Tyson Chandler and Jose Barea will not help, but the multi-talented Lamar Odom brings some quality game from Los Angeles and it would not be a surprise to see the Mavs back in The Finals next June.
Pacific – The Sacramento Kings, with a sketchy roster at best, certainly will not benefit from the constant distraction of where they will call home. They will likely remain in the Golden State, but it could be in Anaheim. The Warriors, with new coach Mark Jackson, are hoping journeyman center Kwame Brown, can finally show the potential that has only rarely flashed since his early high-expectation days as a Laker. That would greatly aid the proven scoring abilities of Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis. Like Boston and San Antonio, Phoenix rest its playoff hopes on aging veterans. Can Grant Hill and Steve Nash take some infused energy from dynamic guard Shannon Brown to reach the playoffs? No.
With the acquisition of Chris Paul, the Clippers have certainly made things exciting in Los Angeles for those long-suffering fans. Add in veterans Caron Butler and Chauncey Billups to go with impressive center DeAndre Jordan and this franchise is poised for some glory days based on the new Lob City tandem of Paul to Blake Griffith. 
Kobe Bryant, despite some recent wrist ligament damage is still the king of SoCal basketball and though the loss of Odom will be felt, the Lakers should have enough, particularly if Bynum stays healthy and Pau Gasol continues his great consistent play, to take the division. Troy Murphy, Josh McRoberts and Jason Kapono are brought in to help spread the defense with their perimeter shooting. You know new coach Mike Brown will make sure this team defends, but how deep they go in the playoffs really depends on roster changes to the weakened bench.
Western Conference Finals Prediction
Oklahoma City over Dallas Mavericks
NBA Finals Prediction
Miami Heat defeat Oklahoma City Thunder
