Average Joe's NBA Midseason Review

If you recall, I made my projections for the NBA playoffs in October. Let's see how I did.

Predicted:
Eastern Conference: 1)Miami vs 8)Washington. 2)Boston vs 7)New York. 3) Orlando vs 6) Milwaukee. 4) Chicago vs 5) Atlanta. Bubble teams: Cleveland, Indiana, Philadelphia

Western Conference: 1) Los Angeles vs 8) Phoenix. 2) Dallas vs 7) San Antonio. 3) OK City vs 6) Denver. 4) Utah vs. 5) Portland. Bubble Teams: Houston, New Orleans, Memphis

Currently:
Eastern Conference: 1)Boston vs 8)Charlotte. 2)Miami vs 7)Philadelphia. 3)Chicago vs 6)New York. 4)Atlanta vs 5)Orlando. First 3 out: Indiana, Milwaukee, Detroit

Western Conference: 1)San Antonio vs 8)Portland. 2)Los Angeles vs 7)Utah. 3)Dallas vs 6) Denver. 4)OK City vs 5) New Orleans. First 3 out: Memphis, Phoenix, Houston

Currently, only Denver is seeded at the same position they were predicted as. But regardless, I didn't do too shabby (in my opinion, anyway). In the East, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, and New York each jumped up one spot, while Miami dropped one and Orlando dropped 2. I didn't even consider Charlotte at the beginning, largely due to the way they got swept right out of the 2010 playoffs. And Philadelphia's youth is performing better than I expected, and are currently set up to challenge Miami in round 1.

Indiana currently sits 9th after a 5 game skid, but there is still time left to get back in the mix. Milwaukee is underperforming, and is mildy inconsistent. They have had 11 different players start at least 7 games, and through 44 games, only John Salmons and Andrew Bogut have started more than 25 games for the team (each with 37). I thought John Wall would be a spark for Washington to make some type of playoff run, but they haven't really done anything. And Cleveland...ugh. Poor Cleveland: 15 different players have started a game. I admit, I had some confidence. Wishful thinking, I suppose.

Out West, I was pretty accurate. Everyone dropped a spot or two while San Antonio leap-frogged everyone into 1st place. New Orleans has put together a nice season, and a nice 9 game winning streak, to get to the 5th seed. They have been extremely healthy, knock on wood, with the starters playing all but 4 games combined.

Ultimately, all the teams I chose preseason are still in the hunt, as Phoenix has joined Memphis and Houston on the outside looking in. Phoenix has had a tough go at it, but should enjoy some success with Vince Carter joining the squad. Memphis has a frontcourt that can compete with a majority of the teams in the NBA, with Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, and Marc Gasol. Their lack of a dominant frontcourt, however, may be the reason they miss the playoffs this spring.

All-Star Starters announced. I voted several times, and I essentially agree on each choice. My arguments would be with point guard, in both leagues. Steve Nash is having a very nice year in Phoenix. On the other hand, CP3 is playing well, and is on a contending team. Rajon Rondo, as we all know, is a game-changing player, and is still improving! But he did miss some time, and isn't a scorer like Rose, who currently sits in 7th in the league in points per game. Yao, out for the season, was also chosen for the team. To be perfectly honest, there really wasn't much to choose from on the ballot; it was a very weak field for centers. I am not at all surprised Yao's popularity got him the nod. Expect Dirk, or maybe Kevin Love, to take the starting role.

Cool. Hope to see at least 3 C's on the bench. That will be a topic of discussion. Also coming soon: Fantasy Baseball preview by Burga and Average Joe.