Articles
Writers

2008 NBA Season Review

A Follow Up of Suite101's NBA Basketball Predictions

© Phil Partington

Apr 18, 2008
A follow up to see how Suite101's basketball Feature Writer fared with his predictions on the 2007-2008 NBA season.

Here's a look at Suite101 basketball predictions made at the start of the 2007-2008 NBA season. Overall, the author didn't fare too poorly, but things didn't turn out completely as foreshadowed. Check out Suite101's 2007-2008 NBA Preview/Predictions.

Pacific Division Predicted Final Standings

  1. Phoenix Suns 60-22 (clinch playoffs) - Actual record: 55-27, second in division
  2. LA Lakers 44-38 (clinch playoffs) - Actual record: 57-25, first in division
  3. Golden State Warriors 38-44 - Actual record: 48-34, third in division
  4. Sacramento Kings 29-53 - Actual record: 38-44, fourth in division
  5. LA Clippers 26-56 - Actual record: 23-59, fifth in division

Assessment: Very few predicted that the Lakers would be as good as they were, and that Andrew Bynum would be as good as he was for the part of the season he played in. In addition, the Lakers got a big boost when they traded for star forward Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies for practically nothing.

The Warriors did much better than predicted, but they still didn't make the playoffs, because of some great seasons by other teams.

Midwest Division Predicted Final Standings

  1. Dallas Mavericks 62-20 (clinch playoffs) - Actual record: 51-31, fourth in division
  2. San Antonio Spurs 56-26 (clinch playoffs) - Actual record: 56-26, second in division
  3. Houston Rockets 49-33 (clinch playoffs) - Actual record: 55-27, third in division
  4. New Orleans Hornets 41-41 (clinch playoffs) - Actual record: 56-26, first in division
  5. Memphis Grizzlies 38-44 - Actual record: 22-60, first in division

Assessment: The New Orleans Hornets shocked everyone with a huge season. Many thought the author was going out on a limb here by predicting them to clinch a playoff spot, but it turns out they'd be much better than that! The author predicted the Spurs spot-on, but missed on the Mavericks and Grizzlies.

Northwest Division Predicted Final Standings

  1. Utah Jazz 54-28 (clinch playoffs) - Actual record: 54-28, first in division
  2. Denver Nuggets 51-31 (clinch playoffs) - Actual record: 50-32, second in division
  3. Portland Trail Blazers 31-51 - Actual record: 41-41, third in division
  4. Minnesota Timberwolves 26-56 - Actual record: 22-60, fourth in division
  5. Seattle Supersonics 24-58: Actual record: 20-62, fifth in division

Assessment: The author predicted the outcome of the Utah Jazz completely, and was fairly accurate for the rest of the division, as well.

Central Division Predicted Final Standings

  1. Detroit Pistons 54-28 (clinched playoffs) - Actual record: 59-23, first in division
  2. Chicago Bulls 51-31 (clinched playoffs) - Actual record: 33-49, fourth in division
  3. Cleveland Cavaliers 47-35 (clinched playoffs) - Actual record: 45-37, second in division
  4. Milwaukee Bucks 30-52 - Actual record: 26-56, fifth in division
  5. Indiana Pacers 23-59 - Actual record: 36-46, third in division

Assessment: The author really missed some picks in this division. The Bulls disappointed everyone with a lousy season and look to rebuild in the offseason. Though he got a lot of flack for predicting the Bucks to win only 30 games, they eventually under-cut that prediction by winning only 26 games.

Atlantic Division Predicted Final Standings

  1. Toronto Raptors 46-36 (clinched playoffs) - Actual record: 41-41, second in division
  2. Boston Celtics 46-36 (clinched playoffs) - Actual record: 66-16, first in division
  3. New Jersey Nets 44-38 (clinched playoffs) - Actual record: 34-48, fourth in division
  4. Philadelphia 76ers 34-48 - Actual record: 40-42, third in division
  5. New York Knicks 30-52 - Actual record: 23-59, fifth in division

Assessment: A lot of missed predictions here, the worst of which may be the Boston Celtics predictions. They dominated and won 20 more games than predicted here. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers were much better than most expected, mainly due to the great play of point guard Andre Miller, and the New Jersey Nets faltered without Jason Kidd.

Southeast Division Predicted Final Standings

  1. Washington Wizards 45-37 (clinched playoffs) - Actual record: 43-39, second in division
  2. Orlando Magic 41-41 (clinched playoffs) - Actual record: 52-30, first in division
  3. Miami Heat 38-44 - Actual record: 15-67, fifth in division
  4. Charlotte Bobcats 38-44 - Actual record: 32-50, fourth in division
  5. Atlanta Hawks 34-48 - Actual record: 37-45, third in division

Assessment: Many, many misses here. It's amazing the Wizards did so well without Gilbert Arenas, but thanks to a breakout year by Hedo Turkoglu and the addition of Rashard Lewis, Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic had a terrific season. The Miami Heat were awful with the worst record in the NBA.

2007-2008 Predicted NBA Scoring Leaders

(Actual scoring average and league rank in parenthesis)

  1. Kobe Bryant - Lakers 33.4 (28.3, 2nd)
  2. Dwayne Wade - Heat 28.7 (24.6, N/A)
  3. LeBron James - Cavaliers 28.4 (30.0, 1st)
  4. Gilbert Arenas - Wizards 27.4 (19.4, N/A)
  5. Michael Redd - Bucks 27.3 (22.7, 8th)
  6. Carmelo Anthony - Nuggets 26.5 (25.7, 4th)
  7. Dirk Nowitzki - Mavericks 25.9 (23.6, 7th)
  8. Amare Stoudemire - Suns 24.4 (25.2, 5th)
  9. Yao Ming - Rockets 24.2 (22.0, N/A)
  10. Tracy McGrady - Rockets 24.1 (21.6, 14th)

2007-2008 Predicted NBA Rebounding Leaders

(Actual Rebounding average and league rank in parenthesis)

  1. Kevin Garnett - Celtics 12.9 (9.2, 17th)
  2. Dwight Howard - Magic 12.7 (14.2, 1st)
  3. Emeka Okafor - Bobcats 11.7 (10.7, 6th)
  4. Tyson Chandler - Hornets 11.6 (11.8, 3rd)
  5. Marcus Camby - Nuggets 11.4 (13.1, 2nd)

2007-2008 Predicted NBA Assist Leaders

(Actual Assist average and league rank in parenthesis)

  1. Steve Nash - Suns 11.0 (11.1, 2nd)
  2. Chris Paul - Hornets 9.3 (11.6, 1st)
  3. Deron Williams - Jazz 8.8 (10.5, 3rd)
  4. Jason Kidd - Nets 8.6 (10.1, 4th)
  5. Baron Davis - Warriors 8.3 (7.6, 6th)

2007-2008 Predicted NBA Breakout Players

  • Devin Harris - Mavericks/Nets 11.8 ppg, 4.9 apg - Actual: 14.8 ppg, 5.8 apg
  • Kendrick Perkins - Celtics 7.2 ppg, 9.2 rbpg - Actual: 7.0 ppg, 6.1 rbpg
  • Andrew Bynum - Lakers 9.5 ppg, 7.2 rbpg - Actual: 13.1 ppg, 10.2 rbpg, 2.1 bspg
  • Danny Granger - Pacers 16.1 ppg, 4.8 rbpg - Actual: 19.6 ppg, 6.1 rbpg
  • Andrew Bogut - Bucks 13.6 ppg, 9.2 rbpg - Actual: 14.4 ppg, 9.8 rbpg, 1.7 bspg
  • LaMarcus Aldridge - Trail Blazers 15.3 ppg, 7.2 rbpg - Actual: 17.8 ppg, 7.6 rbpg
  • Brandon Roy - Trail Blazers 20.8 ppg, 4.9 rbpg, 3.9 apg - Actual: 19.1 ppg, 4.7 rbpg, 5.8 apg
  • Robert Swift - Supersonics 12.1 ppg, 8.7 rbpg, 2.0 bspg - Actual: N/A (Injuries)
  • Andrea Bargnani - Raptors 14.9 ppg, 5.2 rbpg - Actual: 10.2 ppg, 3.7 rbpg

The copyright of the article 2008 NBA Season Review in NBA is owned by Phil Partington. Permission to republish 2008 NBA Season Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.




Post this Article to facebook Add this Article to del.icio.us! Digg this Article furl this Article Add this Article to Reddit Add this Article to Technorati Add this Article to Newsvine Add this Article to Windows Live Add this Article to Yahoo Add this Article to StumbleUpon Add this Article to BlinkLists Add this Article to Spurl Add this Article to Google Add this Article to Ask Add this Article to Squidoo




about us • Limelight Blog • freelance writing jobs • careers • press room • Site Map • Terms & Conditions • Privacy Policy