[BrandonLaz]

Who does everyone have as their favorite to win next season. I for one think if the Lakers are by some miracle able to resign Ariza and Odom then they are the team to beat yet again. The odds of them getting both of them to stay is small though and they are both very important pieces to the puzzle. You also never know if D-fish is going to be around or Phil for another year so they have a lot of question marks. I think the only other contenders are Nuggets, Celtics, Magic, and Cavs (If they get O'Neal in a trade). It will be a pretty crazzy offseason to see what unfolds.

[lakerboy]

lakers will 3peat right frostno?

[The_Kid]

I'd have to say the Lakers. If they find a way to sign Odom and Ariza AND get a shooter off the bench, then they'll be fine.

The Celtics are just getting older, the Nuggets might have a shot, and the Magic should continue to improve. I think the Blazers are a team to watch out for as well. The Cavs need to do something to help Lebron too if they want to get to the Finals next year.

[Domestic]

Next year either Lakers or Nuggets emerge with the Title. I don't see any Eastern Conference Team winning a Championship in the next three or four years.

[BrandonLaz]

Next year either Lakers or Nuggets emerge with the Title. I don't see any Eastern Conference Team winning a Championship in the next three or four years.

That is what we where all saying after the Lakers 3 peat last time and then Detroit came in and shocked the world.

[RoagBettor]

Lakers, assuming they stay healthy and sign Odom and Ariza

[haserfauld]

i could see the celtics do it if kg is healthy. They probably would have taken out orlando, cleveland, and given the lakers a serious run for their money if they'd been healthy.

keep in mind i'm from LA

[cmerunoveru]

Get on the lakers early, yes they will make some changes but the core, lamar, bynum and gasol, along with ariza and kobe will be there. Best bench in BB and hopefully we get to see Lakers and clev like we should of gotten this year. Than would of been a very good series.

[seaborneq]

Kobe versus Lebron, Finally.

[OB 2138]

I love how everyone forgets about Houston.

[NBA Hero]

lakers - west. barring injury. it seems their team are the fittest except for denver which i will not trust until they reach the finals with their line up or beat LA

cavs vs bos - this will give their ratings a huge boost. cavs has a lot of opportunity to revamp and improve with a lot of expired contracts. bos had improved a lot due to KG's injury.

[NBA Hero]

Not me OB, I'm calling Hou vs Cle (wit Shaq) early...

I may be wrong but Hou played great vs LA and if they get a healthy T-Mac or a return for dealing McGrady and/or a couple of decent off-season pickups, they can contend in the west.

Aaron Brooks looks like the next A.I. and Scola and crew all play well as a TEAM

hous is a nice team with real passion for the game but with injuries every year. Yao's foot will never totally heal with his committments to china. no way they will even reach the finals with yao in the team, just a waste of salary space.

[Bill Dozer]

If nothing changed, have to go with the Lakers again. Maybe Bynum can stay on the floor and be a factor. Everyone in LA is still peppy.

There should be a lot of moves before tip off. The whole Suns starting 5 could be on different rosters.

A lot of teams are one Billups away from being contenders. How about the Hawks?

[sweetjones55]

LA vs Cleveland (if they get shaq)

[jjgold]

Cleve still will be a heavy favorite, it is too early to speculate who will be on what teams.

[Wilforth]

OKC

[Wilforth]

Oklahoma City that's hilarious... but whatever Good team does the best signing free agents and getting some good trades will be the favorite.

OKC was a hilarious post from me, but I certainly expect them to do better next season. The Trailblazers may surprise everyone next season. I don't see the Lakers retaining the title.

[NBA Hero]

roy has been improving a lot, and also learning to take over games. defense needs improving though,even aldridge develop a sweet jumper in a short time. such a shame they wasted their pick with oden. they should have pushed for a trade instead and monetary relief.

okc will have a hard time improving their line up without taking huge contracts, and they need someone to establish a goal for the team. they are dilly dalying with desicions like the trade for chandler ( which i personally dont think will benefit them) and wtf, letting go of smith? for nothing. they will not reach even a single playoff if they try to outscore every team without a complementing defense. get an assistant coach to work their butt of learning how to defend in the off season.

[Madukwe]

Cavs

[Madukwe]

anyone think shaq will be traded to the cavs?

[Madukwe]

and would shaq even make a difference?

i'm sure he would twitter a lot about it

[BrandonLaz]

and would shaq even make a difference?

i'm sure he would twitter a lot about it

Shaq clears up space down low so he would thrive in Cleveland you better believe that Lebron would get a ton more scoring chances down low with Shaq boxing out like he did for Wade and Kobe. Sure he isn't the dominate force he used to be, but he will still help any team especially teams with strong a great SG or SF.

[X-Rated]

I agree about Houston making it to the finals next season. From all the playoffs teams that Lakers faced, Houston was the hardest opponent taking them to game 7. With McGrady, Yao, and Artest healthy, Houston's big three will make the Rockets very hard to beat. I think if McGrady stops acting like wussy, Houston might have a chance to beat Lakers.

Not me OB, I'm calling Hou vs Cle (wit Shaq) early...

I may be wrong but Hou played great vs LA and if they get a healthy T-Mac or a return for dealing McGrady and/or a couple of decent off-season pickups, they can contend in the west.

Aaron Brooks looks like the next A.I. and Scola and crew all play well as a TEAM