1. Boston Celtics (18-2) 2. LA Lakers (15-2) 3. Orlando Magic (14-5) 4. Cleveland Cavaliers (15-3) 5. Denver Nuggets (13-6) 6. Portland Trailblazers (14-6) 7. New Orleans Hornets (10-6) 8. Houston Rockets (12-7) 9. Utah Jazz (12-8) 10. Detroit Pistons (11-6) Notes: The Celtics are still the team to beat, the Lakers have closed the gap considerably. Would make for a great finals. The Cavaliers sport a great record, still need to see them beating quality teams. Jury still out on how good they are. The Nuggets are 12-3 with Chauncey Billups. Kudos to the GM of the Nuggets for such a stupendous trade. The Trailblazers are a team to be reckoned with, as Oden is progressing quickly. The Pistons are a meager 7-6 with Allen Iverson in the lineup. Look for that to change in the coming weeks.
Good list. What is the Hornets deal? I think we'll see the Jazz start moving up that board now that they are getting healthy.
I think the Hornets, Mavs, Jazz, Rockets and Spurs will all be back. Maybe not as strong as last season, but they should all make the playoffs. I think the Suns might very well be the odd team out in the West.
The Hornets problem = they weren't that good last year. So now with the bulls-eye on their backs, they can't win with Chris Paul alone anymore. and this couldn't an Izzy list without the usual having the Hornets ahead of Houston, even though the Rockets bitch-smacked them head-to-head and have a better record. just picking.
