The Omnibus

Issue date: 11/4/04 Section: Sports

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We are in the midst of a great part of the year for sports. Baseball has just wrapped up with one of the most improbable World Series runs in the history of the game. College football is heating up with talks of the BCS, and how bad it is, resurfacing once again. The NFL playoff races are taking shape and it is that time of year when the contenders are separated from the pretenders. With all this merriment taking place, there is yet another major sports season starting up this week. The NBA, or as those in the know would call it, 'The Association," opened its regular season this week.

With the NBA starting play, I thought I would grace you with my predictions for the NBA season. I will not give you all the teams that will make the playoffs because, let's face it - everyone and their mom makes the NBA playoffs. I am only going to give you the essentials - which team will win each division, conference and ultimately the Holy Grail of basketball - the Larry O'Brien trophy, the NBA championship.

I will start with what some say is the inferior league, the Eastern Conference. In the past the West has dominated the East, but I think this year will be different. Top teams in the East will be the Detroit Pistons, the defending NBA Champions, and the Indiana Pacers. The Miami Heat has built a team that can both compete in the East and win the NBA Championship.

In the East I see the Pistons and the Pacers battling it out for the Central Division title, but in the end I have to give it to the defending champs.

The other two divisions will be just as close - not because there are a lot of great teams, but because of the mediocrity. I will have to give the New York Knicks the nod in the Atlantic Division. The backcourt duo of Stephon Marbury, a healthy Allan Houston and Jamal Crawford will be too much for other teams in the division to overcome. The Knicks will not compete for the NBA title, but they will be good enough to win the Atlantic.

In the Southeast Division the favorite among "experts" is the Heat who picked up big man Shaquille O'Neal. However, I am going to go out on a limb and pick the Orlando Magic to win the Southeast. Despite losing superstar Tracy McGrady, the Magic gained three starters - Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato - from a playoff team in the Houston Rockets. Those three, plus former number one overall pick Dwight Howard will be enough to get this team to a division championship.

The Western Conference will look much the same as it did last year. In the Northwest Division, I see NBA MVP Kevin Garnett "KG" and the Minnesota Timberwolves repeating as champions. The Denver Nuggets, with Carmelo Anthony and new acquisition Kenyon Martin, are well on their way to contending for the division. In the end however, the Timberwolves will prove to be too much.

The Pacific Division is another division up for grabs. I could see both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings winning. However, I am going to have to give the nod to the Lakers. The Lakers now know that this is Kobe Bryant's team, and in the trade for Shaq, the Lakers acquired three starters from the Heat. I also believe Kareem Rush will prove to be one of the better sixth men in "The Association."

The Southwest Division will be a hard fought division, but in the end, I think the San Antonio Spurs will edge out Houston for the title. While the Rockets picked up McGrady, the league's scoring champion, to compliment seven-foot monster center Yao Ming, the Spurs still have the iceman, Tim Duncan, and their shooting improved with the addition of Brent Barry.

The playoffs will be full of new and old faces, but I think the experienced teams will persevere. I see the Pacers dethroning the Pistons in seven games. Indiana is the only team I see beating the champs.

In the West, I will pick the Spurs over the Timberwolves. Duncan will prove too much for KG and crew and will lead his team to yet another NBA Finals appearance.

In the NBA finals I think the experience and poise of the Spurs will be the end of the Pacers. Duncan will again be the finals MVP and the Spurs will have won three NBA titles in seven years and will be well on their way to becoming the new Lakers.

As the NBA season begins, a lot of scores will be settled. Who's better - Carmelo or Lebron? Can the East finally make the West its daddy and win two championships in a row? And finally, maybe we will hear the end of the third grade mud-slinging contest between Shaq and Kobe.

No matter who your team is, well except for the Los Angeles Clippers, the new year means hope for a miracle run at the championship. Enjoy the season.

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