NBA 2012-2013 Preseason Predictions

Pre Season Picks (2012-2013)

EAST                              WEST
1. Miami Heat                 1. Oklahoma City Thunder
2. New York Knicks        2. LA Clippers
3. Boston Celtics              3. Denver Nuggets
4. Indiana Pacers              4. San Antonio Spurs
5. Philadelphia 76ers        5. LA Lakers
6. Chicago Bulls               6. Memphis Grizzlies
7. Brooklyn Nets              7. Utah Jazz
8. Atlanta Hawks              8, Dallas Mavericks
9. Milwalkee Bucks          9. Minnesota Timberwolves
10.Toronto Raptors          10.Golden State Warriors
11.Cleveland Cavaliers    11.New Orleans Hornets
12.Orlando Magic            12.Phoenix Suns
13.Washington Wizards    13.Houston Rockets
14.Detroit Pistons             14.Portland Trail Blazers
15.Charlotte Bobcats         15.Sacramento Kings

Eastern Conference Finals        Western Conference Finals
Miami Heat def. Boston Celtics    Oklahoma City Thunder def. LA Clippers
               
                                NBA Finals
          Miami Heat def. Oklahoma City Thunder   
           
            2013 NBA CHAMPIONS
                      MIAMI HEAT   

These were my preseason picks. I originally had slightly different choices for different spots, but after John Wall, Andrew Bynum, Danny Granger, and other players were injured, those changed. Obviously, many things have changed since the season started, including more injuries and a couple of teams playing worse than I might have thought they would. Amusingly, some of what has happened actually was in my original preseason picks. This year was very tough for me. It was hard to figure out who wouldnt be a decent team. The league is really deep and I didnt think there was going to be that one terrible team this year, barring injuries. I figured that there would be more teams closer to .500. The Western Conference was especially hard to figure out from 3-15 and I had a hard time separating some of the teams more than a game or 2. I wanted to put Memphis higher, but couldnt figure out who to put lower, so I went with this saying that the teams finishing in the 3-6 range would be close together. A similar thing can be said for the Eastern Conference as well. I didnt think the Celtics would finish too high in the regular season, but also didnt know where I would put them. I also thought Atlanta would be somewhere around the 5th or 6th seed, but didnt know who to drop. I felt like there was going to be a close range of games separating a lot of teams. Updated picks will come out during the All-Star break.