NBA Finals and Awards Projections

Standard
* – indicates playoffs
(R) – indicates rookie
# – indicates new to team
MVP – LeBron James – Heat
Rookie – Victor Oladipo – Magic
Coach – Doc Rivers – LA Clippers
Defensive Player – Marc Gasol – Grizzlies
Most Improved – John Wall – Wizards
Sixth Man – Jason Terry – Nets
Executive – Gary Sacks – LA Clippers
Playoffs
Eastern Conference Finals
Miami vs. Indiana
Heat in 6
Western Conference Finals
LA Clippers vs. Memphis
Clippers in 7
NBA Finals
Miami vs. LA Clippers
Heat in 6
Finals MVP: LeBron James
Eastern Conference
1. Miami Heat*
2. Indiana Pacers*
3. Brooklyn Nets*
4. Chicago Bulls*
5. New York Knicks*
6. Cleveland Cavaliers*
7. Washington Wizards*
8. Detroit Pistons*
9. Atlanta Hawks
10. Boston Celtics
11. Toronto Raptors
12. Charlotte Bobcats
13. Milwaukee Bucks
14. Orlando Magic
15. Philadelphia 76ers
Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City Thunder*
2. Los Angeles Clippers*
3. San Antonio Spurs*
4. Memphis Grizzlies*
5. Golden State Warriors*
6. Minnesota Timberwolves*
7. New Orleans Pelicans*
8. Houston Rockets*
9. Utah Jazz
10. Dallas Mavericks
11. Los Angeles Lakers
12. Denver Nuggets
13. Sacramento Kings
14. Portland Trail Blazers
15. Phoenix Suns

Atlantic Division

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1. Brooklyn Nets

An influx of new faces means a ‘must win’ season is ahead.
2. New York Knicks
Carmelo’s impending free agency aside, the Knicks are contenders.
3. Boston Celtics
With the old guard gone it’s time to build a new legacy.
4. Toronto Raptors
They have some nice pieces to build upon in a stacked division.
5. Philadelphia 76ers
They have clearly established a rebuilding model for the next 2 seasons.
Head Coach: Jason Kidd
Key Position: Point Guard – He wasn’t playing at his usual level and if the Nets are going to contend for a title this year they will need the elite Deron Williams to return.  Brining in Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce will help a lot, but this team is built around their point guard and he must play at a high level.
Key Acquisitions: F Kevin Garnett, F Andrei Kirilenko, F Paul Pierce, G Jason Terry
Key to Win the Finals: Wake point guard Deron Williams up.
Head Coach: Mike Woodson
Key Position: Shooting Guard – How much do the New York Knicks trust J.R. Smith?  We’ll find out this season as he was given an extension, but not one that he was looking for.  He is still on a relatively short leash, but the Knicks know that they will need his help to contend in a hotly contested Eastern Conference.
Key Acquisitions: F Andrea Bargnani, G Beno Udrih, F Metta World Peace
Key to Win the Finals: Help Carmelo Anthony.
Head Coach: Brad Stevens
Key Position: All – They’ll be looking to build through the draft in the next two years and with the recovery to Rajon Rondo’s knee going at a cautious pace the Celtics will be having a tryout stage this season.  New coach Brad Stevens can relate to this roster, but he will need the star in Rondo get on board as well.
Key Acquisitions: G MarShon Brooks, F Gerald Wallace
Key to Win the Finals: Have a healthy Rajon Rondo.
Head Coach: Dwane Casey
Key Position: Small Forward – It was a puzzling trade last season with Memphis to get Rudy Gay, but it makes sense now with the departure of Andrea Bargnani.  He was never going to live up to his billing as the number one overall pick and Gay is seen as a top tier forward who can excel as the ‘man’ so to speak for a franchise.
Key Acquisitions: G D.J. Augustin, F Tyler Hansbrough, F Steve Novak
Key to Win the Finals: Stay healthy.
Head Coach: Brett Brown
Key Position: Point Guard – All eyes would be on Nerlens Noel had the Sixers not announce that they would be keeping him out of this upcoming season while recovering from his knee surgery.  Now the focus turns to Michael Carter-Williams who is replacing a talented point guard in Jrue Holiday who was traded away for Noel on draft day.  How Carter-Williams adjusts to the NBA will be interesting to watch.
Key Acquisitions: C Nerlens Noel (Rookie), G Michael Carter-Williams (Rookie)
Key to Win the Finals: Not happening this year.

Central Division

Standard

1. Indiana Pacers
Added depth with a stacked starting five will strengthen them.
2. Chicago Bulls
A healthy Derrick Rose puts them back in contention.
3. Cleveland Cavaliers
A familiar head coach returns along with a winning formula.
4. Detroit Pistons
One free agent splash and trade positions them to win now.
5. Milwaukee Bucks
Their rebuilding to keep players that want to stay in Milwaukee.

Head Coach: Frank Vogel
Key Position: Small Forward – Paul George is clearly the best player on the team and a solid second is their center Roy Hibbert. However, Danny Granger was once the best player and he is still around albeit a bit banged up.  It will be interesting how the Pacers dole out the minutes with a healthy Granger available.
Key Acquisitions: F Luis Scola, G C.J. Watson
Key to Win the Finals: Defense wins championships.
Head Coach: Tom Thibodeau
Key Position: Point Guard – This is still the same team that fought and clawed their way through a season in which there were so many questions about when Derrick Rose would return.  He is back and fully recovered from a knee injury.  How far the Bulls go towards contending for a title rests on their talented point guard.
Key Acquisitions: G Mike Dunleavy
Key to Win the Finals: A fully healthy Derrick Rose.
Head Coach: Mike Brown
Key Position: Center – There is no doubt who is the face of this franchise, but if Andrew Bynum returns anywhere near his stats from 2011-12 then the Cavaliers will have gotten a steal in free agency giving him a 2-year incentive laden deal.  Time will tell if he’s motivated with a familiar head coach from that season.
Key Acquisitions: C Andrew Bynum, G Jarrett Jack
Key to Win the Finals: Establish an identity with Kyrie Irving as the face of the franchise.
Head Coach: Maurice Cheeks
Key Position: Small Forward – They made a splash by being the team to sign Josh Smith right from the beginning with hardly any competition.  Now that he’s on board it will be interesting to see how the rotation works with Kyle Singler and Jonas Jerebko seeing significant minutes last year.
Key Acquisitions: G Chauncey Billups, G Brandon Jennings, F Josh Smith
Key to Win the Finals: Follow the model of the Indiana Pacers.
Head Coach: Larry Drew
Key Position: Shooting Guard – Both Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings did not want to stay long term unless they were paid top dollar.  Milwaukee let Ellis go and traded away Jennings.  Signing O.J. Mayo is a bit of a reach, but for the Bucks it makes sense. They hope he and Brandon Knight can replace what Ellis and Jennings brought to the Bucks.
Key Acquisitions: F Caron Butler, G Brandon Knight, G O.J. Mayo, C Zaza Pachulia
Key to Win the Finals: Build a winner for many years.

Southeast Division

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1. Miami Heat
The favorites to win a third consecutive title in four straight Finals appearances.
2. Washington Wizards
A motivated John Wall should make them playoff contenders.
3. Atlanta Hawks
Some new faces at key positions, but a healthy Al Horford is pretty good.
4. Charlotte Bobcats
Signing Al Jefferson was nice, but the backcourt has a lot of questions.
5. Orlando Magic
They’re going in the right direction with drafting Victor Oladipo.

Head Coach: Erik Spoelstra
Key Position: Shooting Guard – With the health questions of Dwayne Wade this position will be closely scrutinized.  Even when LeBron James is still at his best he needs to have Wade healthy and at his best if the Heat are to truly live up to their billing as a dynasty.
Key Acquisitions: F Michael Beasley, C Greg Oden
Key to Win the Finals: Keep LeBron happy.
Head Coach: Randy Wittman
Key Position: Point Guard – It was a rather disappointing start for the Wizards last year and the evidence was apparent that if John Wall is at his best the Wizards are a tough team to beat.  With the pieces Washington has in place around him this should be a good year in D.C.
Key Acquisitions: F Al Harrington, C Marcin Gortat
Key to Win the Finals: Forget the past and move forward.
Head Coach: Mike Budenholzer
Key Position: Point Guard – This has always been a question mark for Atlanta.  Jeff Teague is a solid point guard, but he doesn’t exactly light up the stat sheet on a nightly basis.  The Hawks hope their future lies with the German product Dennis Schroder.  
Key Acquisitions: F Elton Brand, F Paul Millsap
Key to Win the Finals: Start fresh with a few new faces.
Head Coach: Steve Clifford
Key Position: Frontcourt – There are a lot of big bodies now in Charlotte’s frontcourt.  The biggest being Al Jefferson and first round pick Cody Zeller.  If Bismack Biyombo can realize his defensive prowess with Jefferson and Zeller on board the Bobcats could finally have a strength on their roster.
Key Acquisitions: C Al Jefferson
Key to Win the Finals: Build a consistent winner.
Head Coach: Jacque Vaughn
Key Position: Center – Most didn’t expect that Orlando would find a replacement for Dwight Howard so quickly.  They just might have with the breakout season of Nikola Vucevic.  If he can continue to improve the Magic will be in a good position to build around him and Victor Oladipo.
Key Acquisitions: G Victor Oladipo (Rookie)
Key to Win the Finals: Keep your franchise players.

Pacific Division

Standard

1. Los Angeles Clippers
Doc Rivers was brought aboard to get the Clippers a championship.
2. Golden State Warriors
A good learning experience last year will help them win those tough games.
3. Los Angeles Lakers
How long Kobe’s absence will be has the Lakers season up in the air.
4. Sacramento Kings
If they can reign in DeMarcus Cousins the Kings will be sneaky good.
5. Phoenix Suns
A clear re-building project is underway in the desert.

Head Coach: Doc Rivers
Key Position: Power Forward – Blake Griffin has be a better all around player if the Clippers want to take that next step.  Doc Rivers should be able to do that since he has coached Kevin Garnett to a championship in Boston.  If Griffin becomes a dominant power forward the Clippers will be contenders for many years.
Key Acquisitions: G Darren Collison, F Jared Dudley, F Antawn Jamison, C Byron Mullens, G J.J. Redick
Key to Win the Finals: The time to win is now.
Head Coach: Mark Jackson
Key Position: Frontcourt – The Warriors lacked size against the Spurs in the playoffs last year and they hope to have improved that with a few additions to bolster their depth.  With the injury history of Andrew Bogut the Warriors hope they have elevated any worries here.
Key Acquisitions: G Andre Iguodala, F Jermaine O’Neal, F Marreese Speights
Key to Win the Finals: You have to play defense sometimes.
Head Coach: Mike D’Antoni
Key Position: Frontcourt – With a duo of Pau Gasol and Chris Kaman most teams would be satisfied with that, but considering that the Lakers had Dwight Howard last season this looks like a major downgrade.  It will be interesting to see how the Lakers make it work this year.
Key Acquisitions: G Jordan Farmar, G Wesley Johnson, C Chris Kaman, G Nick Young
Key to Win the Finals: The health of Kobe Bryant.
Head Coach: Michael Malone
Key Position: Center – When he isn’t an emotional recking ball DeMarcus Cousins is one of the best centers in the league.  If the Kings can control that emotion and with a new extension this should be a big year for Cousins and the Kings.
Key Acquisitions: F Carl Landry, G Greivis Vasquez
Key to Win the Finals: A permanent home will ease their stress.
Head Coach: Jeff Hornacek
Key Position: All – There were a few spots that needed to be re-done and the Suns did so in a big way.  Adding Eric Bledsoe is a good addition, but they’ll have to decide if he’s a point guard or a shooting guard with Goran Dragic entrenched at the point.  The rest is up for grabs with holdovers and youngsters.
Key Acquisitions: G Eric Bledsoe
Key to Win the Finals: Build for the future.