10pts. Questions about this upcoming NBA season.

Question

1. Artest: will he blow it or will he resurrected his image and turn into and great teammate?

2. Lakers Celtics: will their be a re-match? Will this be the new east west rivalry?

3. Rookie of the Year: will Oden come in a snatch it away from Rose, Beasley... or will there be a surprise Rookie of the Year? Mayo, Love, Bayless?

4. MVP: Repeat for Kobe or is there a new MVP?

5. Bottom of west: who's coming in (clips haha... sorry didn't mean to laugh... that was mean) and whos leaving (nuggets?). East: who the biggest mover (philly?) and the biggest step back (detroit)?

let me know yer thoughts, and anything you're looking forward to.

thanks.

Answer 1

1. Artest is in the last year of his contract so he will be on good behavior because when he becomes a free agent he will want to get a better deal. He also wants to gel with Tracy and Yao in Houston so he wants to make a good impression there too.

2. It'll be interesting to see these teams during their regular season matchups. I can't tell for sure if there will be a rematch because of free agents and trades moving players around. This is one of the latest east-west rivalries though.

3. Greg Oden will give Beasley and Rose some tough competition (don't forget he was a number 1 pick). I think it will come down to OJ Mayo, Michael Beasley, or Greg Oden.

4. Kobe was good for it last year. There were a lot of men in the running for the award last year so it may be close this year as well. Not sure if there will be a repeat or not.

5. I think Memphis will be in the cellar this year. Other teams probably are Oklahoma City and Sacramento. Minnesota and Denver will creep out but only by a few games. Clippers will be a .500 team.  I think New Jersey will move back into the playoffs this year and Atlanta will move way down after losing Childress. Philly made the playoffs last year so they really don't have to move up really high.

Answer 2

1. Artest. His image has gradually improved in his past seasons with the Kings. I think Artest, under a winning Houston team, will be a happy one. I think he'll be a good teammate. In the same way players, like Pau Gasol on LA replenished their popularity under a winning team, I think Artest will be next.

2. Lakers-Celtics. Maybe, maybe not. There's a good chance that one of those teams will get upset, like from the Spurs, or LeBron. Yes, though, this classic rivarly will be revived.

3. ROY.  I think it will be OJ Mayo. Out of all the rookies, he's shown the most potential, in the Vegas Summer League. He will flourish under the star-less Grizzlies team, in the same way Durant flourished under the weak Seattle team.

4. As much as I hate him, Kobe will repeat. He now as a full season with Pau Gasol, which probably means a better record, which means MVP.

5. Wolves, Clips, OKC, Memphis are last. Nuggets and Mavs are out. Both teams are declining, while other teams, that didn't make the playoffs last year, are emerging. Philly, with Brand has a chance to be last years Magic, or Hornets. Biggest step back, is Cleveland? I can't really think of any, but LeBron might be distracted by New York.

Answer 3

1.  Artest will not blow it.  As he stated in his interviews, he wasn't a "problem" in Sacramento.  He helped to breath a little life in that franchise when he initially got there.  If it weren't for the great play of Salmons and Garcia last season, Artest would still be in Sacramento.  I think his focus is on winning and nothing else.

2.  This is no rivalry.  The powers that be may WANT it to be a rivalry but there is no bad blood between any of those players.  If anything, Kobe may want to stick it to Pierce for his "I'm better than Kobe" statements this summer but as a team, there is NO rivalry.

3.  Oden will have every opportunity to take it and he will.  He will be given the chance to start right away and I'm sure he will have an impact.  Beasley on the other hand will have to fight for playing time between Marion and Haslem (unless a trade happens).  That could hurt his chances.  I would be SHOCKED if Rose gets it.  I am a Bulls fan but most PG's don't come out the gate making noise.  It took Deron Williams at least a year.  And we're still waiting for Mike Conley and Acie Law to make an impact.

4.  MVP:  I'm thinking either Lebron or maybe Chris Paul.  Kobe will not get it again.  

5.  SW:  Houston is going to be down right scary with T-Mac, Artest and Yao.  I'm totally looking forward to that union!  And if Aaron Brooks turn out to be a gem, they will give the Hornets and Spurs a run for their money in that division.

NW:  If I was Iverson I would be pissed that I didn't opt out.  They traded Camby for nothing and the team is no better.  They should at least trade him to a winning organization so that he could have a chance!  He gave his ALL last season.

Pacific:  The Clippers made a lot of noise and they should definitely make the playoffs.  Having J-Dub backup Baron was a good move.  Drafting Eric Gordon was also a good move.  Grabbing Camby was a great move.  And Al Thornton should have a breakout year.  Good things happening to the "other" LA team!

Atlantic:  The Nets will regret trading Richard Jefferson for Yi Jianlian.  AND they lost Krstic to the Russian league!  But Philly made a great move aquiring Brand and Toronto did a good job pairing Bosh up with J. O'Neal.

Central:  NO team in this division made a significant move!!!!  BORING........  Still got time though....

SE:  This division did the "predictable" re-signing of their major free agents.  Boring....

Answer 4

1. Artest will be fine in Houston

2. Too early to tell.  West have Hornets and now Rockets and we can't ignore Dallas, Suns, and Spurs.  Any of these team can win the West.

3. ROY will probably go to Mayo because he'll have the most opportunity to play and will end up with better numbers because of it.

4.  It's hard to predict MVP but my guess is that it'll go to CP3 if he can have another monster year.

5.  Bottom of the West and East will probably be same teams as last year or team that was near the bottom last year.

Answer 5

1. I think he will turn into a great teammate because he is playing with other stars.

2. I don't think so. I think Detroit will beat the Celtics.

3. Oden because of his impact on the defensive end. O.J. won't get it because he plays for a horrible team.

4. I'd say either Kobe or Lebron. I wouldn't be suprised if Kobe gets it again because the Lakers will probably end up with the best record in the NBA as long as Bynum is healthy.

5. Memphis at the bottom or the Wolves. I'd say Philly got a lot better. Bigges step back the Celtics because of losing Posey.

Answer 6

The 2008-2009 NBA season...

1) Ron Artest has been a Jekyll-and-Hyde type of player, so I'll never know what mood he's in. He hasn't made a lot of friends during his stop in Chicago, Indiana, and even Sacramento, but he produce when the teams needs him the most. He got off on the wrong foot again with Yao but let just say that he's happy not being in Sacramento. He might not make any friends in Houston but he might be their solution to get the Rockets out of the first round.

2) In terms of the NBA Finals, I honestly don't know but it's gonna be fun watching them play on the greatest day of the year, Christmas. Beyond that it's anyone guess.

3) I'm very high on Michael Beasley but I gotta go with the Mayo (and hold the mustard too). Guards has dominated the last three season in ROTY (I count Durant as a Guard too). Mayo is going to get a lot of playing time in Memphis this season and Rudy g*y need some help now that Mike Miller is a T'Wolves.

4) I hate to say this but Chris Paul is the unanimous choice for MVP. Kobe is going to defend his MVP status this season but Paul just been getting better and better.

5) Western Conference: I do see the Warriors and Blazers to join the party after their improvement this off season. I just don't envision the Nuggets and the Mavericks (yes, the Mavericks) making it again this year with the West getting stronger, possibly the Suns not making it either.

5A) Eastern Conference: The Sixers (Elton Brand) and Bucks (Richard Jefferson, Scott Skiles) looks like the biggest mover this off season. Cleveland and Orlando are the teams that took a step back.

Answer 7

1) he's in the last year of his contract so he will try to be on his best behavior. Artest knows that if he stays out of trouble, more teams will want him, which will result in a bigger contract.

2) the Celtics-Lakers rematch is on Christmas Day. i'm looking forward to that game.

3) i think Oden will win Rookie of the Year, but i wouldn't be surprised if Michael Beasley wins it.

4) Chris Paul is very likely to win MVP next year.

5) Portland Trailblazers, Philadelphia 76ers

Answer 8

1. He actually has a chance at making the play-offs and maybe winning something, so he is on his best behavior so he dosn't get suspended for his team.

2. No, it will be the rockets and the Raptors, remember the rockets didn't have Yao for a lot of the season las year, thus not getting a high seed in play offs, and failing at utahs court, and the raptors have jermaine Oneal, chris bosh an jason kapono

3. Rose, in a team that actually has a play off chance he will shine.

4. Tracy McGrady, he is going to really do some damage with the rockets and maybe make it out of first round.

5. In the west the blazers are coming up, they were 41-41 last year, thats not bad at all and now greg odem is coming, and the Suns are falling of with there aging center and no chemestry and little buzz in the off season. In the east the Bulls are coming on cuz they cut the c**p and got derrick rose, and the hawks are falling of cuz jos childress, a big part of there team in sixth man went to eaurope and mike bibby can't do it alone.

Answer 9

yes he'll blow it.

h**l yeah they better re-match

oden

mvp... paul

clips will suck dallas will barely make it

philly will rule. detroit will be in the lottery,

Answer 10

1. Artest: will he blow it or will he resurrected his image and turn into and great teammate?

A: artest will resurrect his image and turn into a great teammate and normal citizen. i believe he knows this rockets team can do so damage in the west and he aint about to throw that all in the toilet.

2. Lakers Celtics: will their be a re-match? Will this be the new east west rivalry?

A: yes i believe they will meet again in the finals, with a different outcome this time.

3. Rookie of the Year: will Oden come in a snatch it away from Rose, Beasley... or will there be a surprise Rookie of the Year? Mayo, Love, Bayless?

A: i would love to say anthony randolph but i think it will be OJ Mayo.

4. MVP: Repeat for Kobe or is there a new MVP?

A: i think this years MVP will be either Chris Paul or LeBron James

5. Bottom of west: who's coming in (clips haha... sorry didn't mean to laugh... that was mean) and whos leaving (nuggets?). East: who the biggest mover (philly?) and the biggest step back (detroit)?

A: for the west, you definitely have to think the blazers are coming in. and i do believe the nuggets and mavs will slip a little. especially the nuggets because they werent a good defensive team last year and they just lost their 2 best defenders in najera and camby.

i dont think detroit took a step backwards but i do think philly took a step forward. getting brand is huge, but they may lose iguodala as a direct result, which prevents philly from becoming an elite team. i also like what toronto did. they added JO who when healthy can be a monster and it takes pressure off bosh. plus all they lost was ford which was fine since calderon is better.

im looking forward to seeing how my favorite team, the warriors do this season especially without baron. it will interesting to see how monta plays pg and how the new additions will help. i like what they did in the off season even if it meant overpaying maggette and turiaf. i also cant wait to see how much belinelli and wright improved and how much playing time randolph and hnedrix will get since nelly said he will play the rookies more this year because last year he relied too heavily on the starters and thats what killed them in the end, they were just gassed and out of energy. maybe without baron, theyre a lottery team, or maybe the players will kick it up a notch and know they have to have better ball movement since they dont have baron. in any event, i believe they made the right choice in letting baron go and it looks like the warriors have a promising future with biedrins, ellis, randolph, and wright. all of whom are under 22 years old.