This is probably going to be the highlight of the Sixers year but Carter-Williams was great. Heat looked old and tired. No legs in the 4th.

Betting wise that's a pretty good angle throughout the season...back to backs on the road, especially when the team is on a long 4-5 game road trip and they're coming off a couple wins in a row the first few games of the trip...they coast somewhat looking forward to getting back home.

This will happen a lot this year. Miami could care less if they are a #1 or #5 seed. They have won multiple elimination games the last few playoffs, I believe at least 1 game 6 on the road at Boston.

Now it's the Suns turn early on

Clevland is odd. They have a really high ceiling, but could also be really bad. If everyone stays healthy they can win 55 games.

I cant seem to find it now, but I read a yahoo article saying Orlando is already tanking. Someone had 18 at half then Vaughn sat him the entire 3rd quarter. LOL

Nicholson.

Cleveland cant win 55 games. No chance. None. Zero.

Thats not true at all. They are loaded with talent, they have more talent then a lot of teams. If everything breaks well.... Irving and Bynum healthy, #1 pick pans out... Waiters and Thompson continue to improve, they can contend. Whats your issue with them? I mean I see you still have teams like Atlanta and Memphis being competitve, I dont think either of those teams make the playoffs. We shall see.

They just aren't that good. Irving has yet to prove he can play a full season. Didn't his 1st year in college, didn't his first 2 years in the NBA. Quick name his backup?
Bynum is incredibly fat right now and cant play more than 10 mins a game. Varejao is also coming off an injury and is always hurt. Waiters is not ready for primetime. Bennett doesn't look like he is in shape either. Thompson, Gee, etc are decent role players but hardly bigtime players. Jack was a nice signing and will help. They were one of the worst defensive teams in the game last year and have hardly addressed that besides hiring Brown to coach and getting Varejao back. Listen they are certainly better than they have been but only elite teams can win 55 games and they aren't that. Maybe 44 if everything breaks right and that would be a huge 20 game improvement.

Memphis won 56 games last year and is the easily one of the top 3 teams in the NBA on the defensive end. They added Mike Miller, Koufas and Jamal Franklin who are all upgrades and didn't lose anyone of note. Cleveland is not even close to Memphis.

Atlanta isn't close to Memphis either but are a solid team.

OK. I think Clevland is safe for 50 wins, but everything depends on health. I think you know this. If Irving misses extended time, then no. I think Varejao eventually gets moved.... I think Bynum will play himself into shape, I like Waiters more then you. Who knows. Memphis is like Atlanta in the east, hell they are like Atlanta in the NFL.... Decent regular seassons and not even a little threat to make any noise when it actually matters.

Ill also add, they have built this up very quick to make it very attractive for Lebron. I thought for sure he was a lock to stay in Miami, but he knows Bosh is soft and Wade has a lot of knee issues. W/ all the young pieces they have and an actual real inside presence, I think they are now the favorite to land him next year.

Besides the consensus top-three of Heat, Pacers and Bulls ...for me the team with the high ceiling going forward is Detroit. I have the Cavs out of the top 8 in the East.

Cleveland is safe for 35 wins. A great year would be 42-44. They just aren't good enough defensively. When people talk or breakdown basketball they tend to only focus on offense despite the fact that 1/2 the time a team plays defense. Clevelands backcourt defense with Irving and Waiters on the floor is among the worst in the NBA. They ranked 27th in D last year and outside of Jack (who is not bad but isn't Tony Allen) and the return of Varejao why are they going to be much better?

Memphis has the best perimeter defender (Allen) and one of the best interior defenders (Gasol) in the league. Randolph, Conley, Prince, Ed Davis, Pondexter, Miller, Bayless, Koufas, Franklin. Not a lot of Steven A Smith stars but very good team that could use a perimeter shooter to really be a title threat

Yeah I'm sure LeBron is jonesing to play with Bynum and Waiters and Gee and get coached by Mike Brown again.

Bosh and Wade are hall of fame players.

Of course they are HOF Chuck, but Bosh is a HOF because of Wade and Lebron. Period. Wade, I have as a top 4 2 guard ever on his own, but age catches up and Lebron is going for 10.

You guys are on crack thinking Bosh is an HOF.

Philly 2-0 (lol)

Hes pretty much a lock because of Lebron.
He is a career 20 and 9 guy, he is a 50% shooter.
Playoffs 16 and 8.
Been to 3 finals, likely 4 with 3 wins after this year. His stats compare favorably. And I will argue his number will go up after this year when hes not with Lebron anymore. He also has 3 23-11 years

Bosh was an all star in Toronto almost every year.He went for 24-10 in his last season in Toronto. He sacrificed numbers to play in Miami.

Im not arguing this point, it does not change the fact that hes soft. Cupcake soft and moist.... Actually the only way Miami losses is if Indiana bodies them inside.
I was actually arguing for the point