for starters...

1.ai/denver-at first i was angry because i thought denver would be way too good after getting ai for next to nothing (thats right andre, i dont care how many dishes you get) . but after a little research, i have to agree with richard. i dont think they are a real threat, largely because melo is too soft. i mean, the addition of ai cannot, in my opinion, be overlooked or underestimated. he can still get 2 points pretty much whenever he wants to. and camby is no joke. but neither is sa. or phx (particularly, of course, if amare blows up. he claims to be playing at about 80% right now and he is consistently getting 20 and 10. what the f?!) anywho, i expect to see den make a late run and fall short against one of the 2 juggernauts.

2.yao/houston-it pains me to say it, mainly because i like playing devils advocate for patrick's precious rockets, but thanks to yao, the #1 center in the league (thats right, shaq gets no love from me. and until amare hulks out again, yao is too pretty to be ignored), i think the rockets have a real shot this year. of course, at this point, i have to throw in the tmac disclaimer, as i think he's a crucial part of a successful rockets team. unless, god forbid, they trade him for another monster 2guard that actually plays more than 35 games in a season( you need some ice for that burn, tmac?).

3.phx-to me, phx is the scariest team in the league. as a team, they score way too many points and shoot way too good of a %. i can never say enough about nash, but thats only the beginning. along with the best pointguard, they have potentially the strongest big man in the game. so that makes matrix (20ppg, 9 rpg) their 3rd best player?! holy moly. add that to leandro and raja, both of whom get 15+ ppg with above avg %s. if they dont win everything this year, im guessing it will be because they dont have a strong enough defensive presence. but they still scare me.

4.my spurs-its too easy to be a spurs fan, i know. they're too good. but i cant help it. i gotta respect the d. the only team w a better opp ppg is the rockets, and nobody has a better 3pt% than sa (of course, if brent barry and bruce bowen can keep up their insane accuracy all year remains to be seen). if the rest of the team is half as consistent as timmy, its a no brainer.

5.youngsters-props to dwade and brontosaurus. if either of em had a team, i would be concerned. but shaq's days are numbered. last year was a fluke. and who does dwight howard think he is? if he gets a team behind him, we may have a problem...

thats all i got for now