I thought I would start of with something that amuses me, my NBA 2003-2004 preview and predictions. I thought it would funny to post it and realize how different things have turned this season. This season has had a few surprises, so I don't think my miscalculations are too different from other people's. Let's take a look:


Wes' NBA 2003-2004 Preview:



Atlantic Division


1. NJ-with the addition of Mourning they have a chance to actually improve, but that's all dependent on his health. They lack some scoring punch from the bench but they will be good enough to top the East again.

2. Philly-Finally, the Answer has some scoring help. With Big Dog redux(Antoine Carr had the name first) here, Philly should have little problem scoring points. And with Redux disappearing in the 4th, AI will be free to dominate(hog).

3. Boston-they traded a bunch of role players for some more role players, so nothing much is going to change. Expect the same performance as last year.

4. Orlando-Will the addition of Howard will pay big dividends? Next year. When Giricheck and Gooden fully blossom, it will shoot the Magic to the top of the division but for now they are just 4th.

5. Washington-talent alone, I love this team and they should easily make the playoffs. But can EJ get them to play as a team? That will be the key. But I think they will surprise a few people and make it interesting the last month of the season.

6. Miami-just based on the value they received compared to the value they jettisoned, they really did well. But can Pat Riley do much with this team? Not yet, give them a couple of years. If they can dump either BG or EJ, their future will look extremely bright.

7. NY-So let me get this straight. KVH couldn't handle the heat in Philly, so the Knicks decided to pick him up and let him handle the heat in the media capital of America. Not only will KVH shrivel up and die a slow agonizing death on the court, McDyess will not play this year, Houston will shy away from leadership and Spike Lee will see his worst nightmare come true, 'The Red Sox as World Series Champions'!




Central Division

1. Indiana-Carlisle will increase their win total by at least 8. If he can control Artest, the sky's the limit for this team.

2. Detroit-It will take a while for the Pistons to run on all cylinders but once they do the offence should improve significantly. Don't expect much from Milky this year.

3. NO-Hopefully Floyd knows how to handle a veteran team b/ the stuff he pulled in Chicago won't fly here. Barring that I see them repeating their performance from last year.

4. Toronto-Being a Raptor fan, I could easily write 10 paragraphs about them. But to keep it short and sweet, the new defensive philosophy will help them stay close in games but other than VC, I don't see where the offense is coming from on a consistent basis. If they solve that, then they might have a chance to sneak into the playoffs.

5. Milwaukee-If they break .500 it will be a successful season. Mason is a very good player, but can he carry a team? Not yet anyway. And we all know about TT. So close but no cigar.

6. Chicago-If I was a Bulls fan, I would be scared silly. This team has either the potential to sneak into the playoffs or end up worse than they were last year. I'm going with the latter. When you're veteran leadership is provided by three the biggest head cases in the L (Rose, Gill and Pippen), you're in trouble. Sorry Bulls fans, this is just NBA karma.

7. Cleveland-Everyone expects LJ2 to dominate and carry his team on his back. But no matter how great he is, he's still just a kid. A kid with a sub-par team, for now anyways, the future does look bright. But for this season, DM at the point is a decent idea, but he's not that smart and will make things worse. Just see what DW can do at the point and see what happens. Can they get any worse? But I think they'll end up putting LJ2 at the point.

8. Atlanta-This team is even worse than last year! Just play the young kids and play for the lottery.



Midwest Division

1. SA-I don't recall a defending champion in any sport significantly improving as much as the Spurs did this off-season. They're scary! The only thing that can derail them is if they get bored and I don't think Coach Pop will let that happen. I don't know what else to say. Scary?..

2. Dallas-I was never that good at arithmetic, but you don't need 6 SFs on one team. How they are going to find time for everyone to play is a mystery. And playing Dirk at the 4 all season will not be good for him. Expect the same as last year, good but not good enough.

3. Minny-So let me get this straight?.Garnett complains about a lack of support and Management complains about not enough cap room to acquire any players. But they sign an even larger contract extension for Garnett which eats up even more room? Am I not getting this? Well actually what I do get is that Garnett is a liar. All he does care about is the bling bling?. Why couldn't he just signed for about $17-$18 mil and then have plenty of room for Management to the acquire players to help them reach the next level. Why? Because he's greedy. So the next time Garnett complains about having not enough support to advance thru the playoffs, Kevin McHale should stuff Garnett's contract down his throat until he chokes on it. Maybe he will then get it?. Please excuse my rant, I'm now stepping off my soapbox. The rest of this column will be rant free.
(Yes I know Minny picked up Sprewell, Cassell and Olowakandi. But I enjoyed writing a negative paragraph)

4. Houston-Yao, Yao, Yao. Can you guess what this paragraph is about? No, Steve Francis. If VG can keep Francis happy by keeping him involved in the offense then I see the Rockets sneaking in the back door.

5. Memphis-Nothing to say. The most boring team in the league this year.

6. Denver-What a great young nucleus! It may take a couple of years but once the Nuggets make the playoffs they aren't leaving for a long time.

7. Utah-They should have a reality show based on Keon Clark's adjustment to Utah. Just hilarious. But sadly, so will the team be as well.





Pacific Division

1. Sactown-Now that CWebb isn't going to jail, they're should be any reason why they don't make it to the final four. Getting past San Antonio it will be hard but the acquisition of Brad Miller will help with the neutralization of Duncan. Yeah right!

2. Lakers-Where do I start? What's the main issue? Shaq getting in shape? Malone and Payton's health and durability? Phil Jackson? contract talks? Kobe? No, their ability to focus and shut everything out. If they can do that, they can possibly win it all. With all the potential distractions facing them, a quiet peaceful camp in Hawaii should be what they need. Look for a good season, but still not enough to overtake the Spurs.

3. Phoenix-Assuming AS doesn't suffer from a sophomore jinx; they will improve on last yearss record but still only end up out in the first round. Next year will be the year for them.

4. Seattle-This team is built for the regular season but without any inside help they won't do a thing in the playoffs. Familiar story with a lot of teams.

5. Portland-They should just change this team's uniform to jail stripes, with all the legal trouble this team has endured the past few years. And unfortunately things won't change for a while. Just out of the playoffs.

6. Golden State-They shipped off AJ to make room for MD which was very good. But not signing GA was very bad.

7. Clippers-What else can anyone say about the Clippers?



To summarize: It will be the Los Angeles Lakers and the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals.