NBA Eastern Conference Predictions

These will be your 2010 Eastern Conference Playoff Teams

1. Cleveland Cavaliers- The Cavs became the clear cut favorites in the East once they added Shaq in July. O'neal may not have that much left in the tank, but he definitely still has enough left to force defenses to respect the Cavs inside out game. Lebron is the reigning MVP and will once again have a fantastic regular season. The question is, will he be able to keep it up in the postseason?

2. Orlando Magic- The Eastern Conference champions return stronger with the addition of Vince Carter. Many were skeptical of the move seeing that Air Canada has never really been a part of a winner. The difference is that with the Magic Vince won't be asked to be more than a good role player. With Jameer Nelson distributing the rock and Dwight Howard down low, this team is poised to make another run.

3. Boston Celtics- When it is all said and done at the end of the year, do not be surprised to see the Celtics hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy at the Garden for the second time in two years. The reason I have them below the Magic is because I believe with a veteran team, you may see the Celtics do what the Spurs have done in recent years, that is coast through the regular season and really turn it up for the playoffs.

4. Philadelphia 76ers-The Sixers are the surprise team of the Eastern Conference. Although it may seem like Elton Brand has been around too long to still compete at a very high level, his only 30 and is certainly capable of having the MVP candidate season he had a few years ago in L.A. The X factor on this team though, is Lou Williams. Williams is entering his 5th year in the league but is still only 23 years old. He has improved ever year and we will distribute the ball well to playmakers like Brand and Iguodala.

5. Washington Wizards- The Bullets may be the hardest to predict team in the National Basketball Association this year. On paper they look like they could contend for a championship...that is if Agent Zero and the rest of the squad stays healthy, and that is an enormous if. Antawn Jamison is already hurt and Brendan Haywood's health is always a concern. I have them at five but I would not be shocked to see them as high as 1 or 2 or out of the playoffs.

6. Toronto Raptors-Chris Bosh may be the most under rated player in the league. Last year he quietly averaged over 20 points and 10 rebounds a game. The addition of Hedu Turkoglu gives the Raptors another scorer. Former number one pick Andrea Bargnani has become a big part of Toronto's future as he averaged a nice 15 points a game last season.

7. Atlanta Hawks- The Hawks have a nice core of Joe Johnson and Josh Smith, the problem is they still don't have quite enough firepower to be a great team. Jamal Crawford will be a nice addition but how much fun will he have playing in front of half full Phillips Arena. Oh, and never forget about ZAZA.

8. Miami Heat- Other than Dwayne Wade this Heat team leaves a lot to be desired. Every year in his career it seems like Jermaine O'neal is about to have a great year...until he gets hurt. Michael Beasley could still turn out to be a great player, but his off season personal problems may be an indication that he's not mentally ready to play on an extremely high level right now.

-JG

Monday Night First Half Reflections

Just some quick notes...NBA preview coming tomorrow.

*The Redskins are proving to the entire country that they are simply a bad team.

*All week an enormous deal was made about the play calling duties being switched from Jim Zorn to bingo volunteer Sherm Lewis, but when it really comes down to it, the discrepancy in play calling is not enough to make a big difference if the scheme is still the same.

*Although the Skins D did a good job of keeping the Eagles to FGs when the Eagles had great field position, giving up those two huge touchdown plays to Jackson is absolutely inexcusable.
*LeSean Mccoy better be ready to step up for Westbrook, who knows how long the head injury will keep him out.

*I want to know exactly what Jim Zorn is saying into that headset, if it is true that he has no influence on play calling at all.

*Maybe the biggest thing that we have learned in the first half is that the Eagles is for real. Last week they suffered an embarrassing loss to the woeful Jamarcus Russell lead Raiders. This week however, even though the argument can be made that the Redskins are not good, the Eagles are playing like a complete team. McNabb is on point and getting all kinds of time from a Philly 0-line that is manhandling the Skins D line on pass protection.

*Part of me is hoping for a Redskins comeback so I can see a good game, but the more realistic side of me is already looking ahead to a fun filled UFL Thursday! Oh yes.

JG

Fantasy Week Seven Studs and Duds

Overall Record: 18-18

Last Week: 3-3

Week 6 Studs:

Brian Westbrook- 6/50 rushing 9/91 receiving- Hit 

Jay Cutler- 27/43 300 yards 2 TD 2 Int- Hit

Ryan Grant- 24/90 rushing 3/17 receiving- Miss

Week 6 Duds:

Matt Cassel- 16/31 186 yards- Hit 

Donald Driver- 7/107- Miss

Cadillac Williams- 16/77 1 TD- Miss

Week 7 Studs:

Matt Ryan QB-ATL: Ryan is on the verge of becoming a great quarterback and he is having a very good season so far. This week he goes up against the Cowboys pass D that is 26th against the pass in the league. Ryan is going to have a 2-3 touchdown game with around 280 yards. He is a great start this week in fantasy. 

Joseph Addai RB-IND: It is usually very questionable to start a running back in the Colts offense but this week it is not. Colts face the Rams, so you know the Colts are going to score, a lot. The Colts will have put this game out of reach pretty early, so look for Addai to see a good amount of carries in this, and against a poor run D he should have a good week. 

Wes Welker WR-NE: WW is coming off a HUGE game last week against the lowly Titans, and this week he is going to follow that performance up well. The Bucs give up a lot of passing TD's and Wes is clearly Brady's go to guy right now. So Wes is going to have at least 1 TD in this one, probably 2. 

Week 7 Duds:

Jake Delhomme QB-CAR: Jake has struggled a lot this year, and this game is going to be much of the same. Too many interceptions have really cost Delhomme and the Panthers this year. The Bills have been great against the Pass also, they did hold Cleveland to 2 completions one game. So if you have to start Delhomme this week, I am sorry. 

Reggie Bush RB-NO: Reggie Bush is becoming hard to start. As exciting as he can be to watch he is just not producing right now in the NFL. Mike Bell and Pierre Thomas would both be better starts the Reginald. Bush has been a bust so far, and it might be time for fantasy owners to give up on him. I have him in one league and am just about done with him.

Terrell Owens WR-BUF: T.O. is having one of the most disappointing seasons ever so far this year. The poor play of the Bills has not helped him much, but he has done nothing to help his own cause. This guy can not even muster up a decent game anymore. And with the

 news that Ryan Fitzpatrick is starting again this week it makes T.O. a sure dud. Do not start him this week, or any week untill we see something from him. 

MH

Houston's Finest Week Seven Picks

Overall Record: 59-31

Last Week: 9-5

Green Bay-Cleveland: Green Bay- Is it possible for the Packers D to have two shutouts in a row?

San Francisco-Houston: Houston- Which Texan team shows up today, the 0-3 Texans or the 3-0 Texans?

San Diego-Kansas City: San Diego- Is this game actually a lot closer matchup then people think?

Indianapolis-St. Louis: Indianapolis- Can Peyton Manning and the Colts score 100 points in this game?

New England-Tampa Bay: New England- Can Tom Brady and the Patriots score more than 100 points in this game?

Minnesota-Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh- How long can Brett really go without making costly mistakes?

Buffalo-Carolina: Carolina- Will T.O. ever decided to catch more than 5 passes in a game?

New York Jets-Oakland: New York- The Raiders win last week was a fluke, Right?

Chicago-Cincinnati: Chicago- Is this the game where Cincinnati comes back to earth?

Atlanta-Dallas: Atlanta- How pissed is Jerry Jones going to be when the Boys lose another game in their new giant stadium?

New Orleans-Miami: Miami- Why am I making this pick?

Arizona-New York Giants: New York- Can the G-Men bounce back from that embarrassing lose last weekend to the Saints?

 

Philadelphia-Washington: Philadelphia- How crazy is it going to be Washington actually wins this game?

MH

The most wonderful time of the year?

Ah October, the leaves begin to change color, the air changes from humid to crisp, and it is the best sports month of them all.

There are many great times of the year for sports such as early June when the NBA and NHL finals come on every night. Or the end of summer when football is just beginning and golf and tennis are playing their last major. But when it is all said and done, no month is as great for sports fans as October.

The month kicks off with the wrapping of up of the baseball regular seaon, which this year featured a great story of the Twins remarkable comeback. Around the same time the NHL drops the puck for the first time. We are now entering the home stretch of the month, which is no doubt the best time of the month. The NFL season gets to the point where the elite teams assert themselves, and division races begin to get interesting. In college football, the BCS standings first come out and there are multiple great games every weekend. The NHL continues to roll on with teams finding their grooves. The conference championship series in baseball are on every night On top of all this in about a week the NBA regular season will begin which marks the only time all year that all four major sports are going on at the same time. There really is no dull day in the sports world in the month of October so for now, I'm going to enjoy the heck out of the rest of the month.

JG

Houston's Finest Week Six Picks

Overall Record: 50-26

Last Week: 8-6

Houston-Cincinnati: Houston- Houston is coming off of a very poor coached game. Gary Kubiak needs to prove something, and a win against Cincy would be huge for his appeal to the fan base and ownership. This will be a shootout that comes down to the wire. 

Detroit-Green Bay: Green Bay- Green Bay is the far better team here and I look for their offense to over power the Lions in every way. Also this game is in Green Bay, so there is no way they are losing to the Lions. 

St. Louis-Jacksonville: Jacksonville- After being 100% embarrassed last weekend by the Hawks I still think the Jags are going to win. That is how bad the Rams are. The Rams have a serious chance of going 0-16. 

Baltimore-Minnesota: Minnesota- This game being in Minnesota is a huge reason why I'm going with the Vikes in this one. Also though Flacco could have a very rough game going against the tremendous rush of the Vikings and combine that with the crowd noise and that equals disaster for Flacco and the Ravens. 

New York Giants-New Orleans: New York- Eli wants to shine against the team that his dad shined on. The Giants can apply the sort of pressure needed to hinder Drew Brees's game. This one will be a great game though.

Cleveland-Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh- The Browns completed 2 passes last week, and won. That is insane. To bad for the Browns the Steelers are a little better then the Bills...

Carolina-Tampa Bay: Carolina- Tampa Bay along with St. Louis is a real legitimate 0-16 threat. I am just waiting for Josh Freeman to get in there. Carolina is looking to bounce back from their 0-3 start, lucky for them they got to play the Skins and now the Bucs.

Kansas City-Washington: Washington- If this game were in Kansas City I would be picking the Chiefs, but in Washington the fans will not let this team lose. The players and coaches must step up for this game, because if they lose this one at home then heads will be falling in Washington.

Philadelphia-Oakland: Philadelphia- Raiders are just terrible, Jamarcus Russell will not win another game as a quarterback in the NFL.

Arizona-Seattle: Seattle- Seattle just embarrassed a Jaguar team that was on a little bit of a roll, with Hasselback back at QB this team is a good team. Arizona has looked very average so far this season, so the 12th man will carry the Hawks to cruise to victory in this one. 

Tennessee-New England- The Patriots are not losing to a team that has not one a game yet. 

Buffalo-New York Jets: New York- The Bills held the Browns passing attack to a total of 2 completions and 24 yards, that is amazing. What is more amazing is that they lost. 

Chicago-Atlanta: Chicago- This should be a fun one to watch on Sunday Night, two very good quarterbacks and running backs going head to head against one another. I think the Bears D will be able to do enough to win this game, along with a solid performance from Cutler. 

Denver-San Diego: San Diego- I am now more of a believer in the Broncos, but still I could not pick them to win this one. In San Diego I think the Bolts are going to come out strong since they know how big this game is for there division standings later in the year. 

MH

Fantasy Week Six Studs and Duds

Overall Record: 15-15

Last Week: 2-4

Week 5 Studs:

Brandon Jacobs- 21/67- Miss

Jake Delhomme- 16/25 181 yards 1 TD 1 INT- Miss

Chad Ochocinco- 7/94 1 Fumble- Miss

Week 5 Duds: 

Joe Flacco- 22/31 186 Yards 1 TD 2 INT- Hit

Steven Jackson- 21/84 1 Fumble- Hit

Matt Ryan- 22/32 329 Yard 2 TD 1 INT- Miss

Week 6 Studs:

Brian Westbrook RB-PHI: Westbrook is going against Oakland and he has had a avery poor start to the season so far. But with him and McNabb back at full strength I see a big day for both of these guys. Oakland has the second worst run D in the league giving up 161 per game, so that should result well for Westbrook. 

Ryan Grant RB-GB: Although the Lions are not that bad anymore their defense is still pretty damn bad. Grant has struggled his last couple of games but he is due to breakthrough and this is the game to do it. Grant being a receiving threat as well will help his cause in a pass heavy offense. 

Jay Cutler QB-CHI: Cutler after a shaky opening game in the CHI has really turned his game around. Going against Atlanta should help him also, they have only the 22nd ranked pass D in the NFL. Cutler also has some solid receiving options emerging that will help his cause. 

Week 6 Duds:

Matt Cassel QB-KC: As bad as the Skins are they have a great pass D only allowing around 177 yards per game. Cassel is coming of his best game of the season against the Boys but this game will not be as easy for him. He will be constantly pressured and other than Dwayne Bowe does not have much to help his cause.

 

Donald Driver WR-GB: Greg Jennings has officially filed a complaint, he wants the ball more, and I see him getting the ball more. This means Drivers numbers may go down a bit. The

 Pack also will be trying to run the ball more so against the Lions then they normally do. 

Cadillac Williams RB-TB: Even with Cadillac going against the Panthers run D which is 30th in the NFL he is not going to post the numbers fantasy owners want from him. This Panthers Run D is not all that bad at all, they have a great group of Linebackers and Jon Beason has been a great leader early on in his career and he is going to rally this group, and they will smolder the Bucs offense. 

MH