Look for 08-09 to truly be a breakout year for Brandon Roy.  After undergoing successful off season knee surgery he will be ready for the start of the regular season.  The Blazers made a great off season signing by acquiring Rudy Sanchez, the prolific shooter from Spain who kept them close in the gold medal game against Team USA.  Greg Oden's rehab went great and he is ready to come back for the start of the regular season as well.  With all this great talent surrounding him look for Roy to truly make a name for himself in the highly competitive Western conference.  Look for the Blazers to snag a number 7 or 8 spot and possibly even make some noise in the first round.  Roy averaged 19 ppg, 5 rebounds and six assists per game last year.  With guys like Lamarcus Aldridge and Travis Outlaw returning as well, Roy has a good supporting cast which should allow him to emerge as one of the elite shooting guards out in the league.

  In 2008 one thing was clear.  Defense wins championships.  While we were all enamored with the tight Western Conference race all year, an east coast team actually won the championship.  The West might have the most star power, but the Celtics proved that you need old fashioned defensive slides and phyicality down low to win the ring.

  Nevertheless, the eastern conference is much improved this year.  With young teams like Orlando and Atlanta now having more playoff experience, this could be a race for the ages.  Even the 76ers took Detroit to six games.  The Hawks almost shocked the world by taking the Celts to seven games.  Orlando and Atlanta will definitely stay near the top of the East throughout the regular season.  Philly will again struggle to make the playoffs, Elton Brand just isn't enough to get them over the hump.

The Wizards will be mediocre at best again.  Look for about 40-45 wins and a number 6 or 7 slot in the Playoffs.  Sound familiar?

The Pistons seem content with the two rings they won earlier this decade, Chauncy and Rip in the back court is getting stale.  Another good season for them ending in a second round upset to a young Hawks or Magic team.

  Notice you saw no Celtics in the Olympics, so those over 30 knees got some great rest this summer.  However will that be enough? Especially with Ray Allen's known history of being injury prone and everyone in the east gunning for them.  Look for a Celtics-Cavs Conference Finals matchup this year.  Give the edge to Lebron after the Cavs pick up a big name (possibly Iverson or Dwight Howard) before the All Star break.

Well, lets all get ready to watch the Redskins stink it up for the next month or so before we finally get some NBA preseason action!

A bold prediction for the Wizards upcoming season.  Gilbert Arenas returns and looks good for a while.  Hopefully he won't reinjure his knee.  If he doesn't, he'll make it back to the all star game, even though D'wayne Wade will drop 40 on him every time they play Miami.  Once again the Wizards will see the Cavaliers in the first, second, or third round of the playoffs.  Lebron James will once again have his way with their mattador style defense.  Cavs beat em in a close series though 4 games to 3, and we're left with another summer of big free agent names like Ron Artest going to the Rockets instead of the Wizards.  Oh yeah, and we'll get a shitty draft pick and select some guy from the Ukraine who won't even be able to play in the NBA for like 2 years.  Nonetheless.  Go Wizards!