NBA Today

Last night on TNT, Richard Jefferson came through with two late free throws to come back and keep Washington winless 87-85. The Nets are 4-1 and the Wizards are 0-5; Antawn Jamison had 24 and 9. The Bulls got their first win 97-93 over Detroit despite 36 and 9 from Rasheed Wallace. Tyrus Thomas scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Chicago. 4-1 Dallas got some revenge against 0-5 Golden State as six players hit double figures in a 120-115 win. Baron Davis scored 37 in the Warriors loss.

TV Schedule
Friday- Melo, AI and Denver go to DC to take on Gilbert Arenas and the winless Wizards 8pm ESPN. At 8:30, all of China will be watching as Yi battles Yao in Houston. LeBron and the Cavs go west to take on Kevin Martin and Sacramento 10:30pm ESPN.
Saturday- The Big 3 Battle goes down in New Jersey as Kidd, Carter, Jefferson and the Nets take on Pierce, Allen, Garnett and Boston at 7:30 on NBATV.
Sunday- Respect your veterans. Detroit goes to Seattle to battle Durant and the Sonics at 9pm on NBATV.
Monday- LeBron and Cleveland continue their west quest as they head to Denver against Melo and the Nuggets. 9pm NBATV.
Tuesday- Kobe and the Lakers head deep in the heart of Texas to take on Tim Duncan and the Spurs 8:30pm on NBATV.
Wednesday- Watch Kobe take on all the Texas teams as they go to Houston to battle Yao, T-Mac and the Rockets 9pm ESPN.
Thursday- The best in the west play on TNT as San Antonio plays Dallas at 8, followed by Nash and the Suns hosting the Bulls at 10:30.

News
-Nene will be out 6 weeks with a thumb injury. Amare will play tonight for Phoenix against Miami. Chris Webber could go to Cleveland. Yao-Yi ratings in China could be higher than the Super Bowl. Milwaukee sent 2nd round pick rookie Ramon Sessions down to Tulsa of the D-League.

NBA Predictions

My staff of analysts and i pick everything from the standings to the seeds, the winners, and the awards. Let's kick it.

The landscape of the East has definitely changed with the Big Three in Boston being the talk of hoopland. The Nets still have their 3 stars, and Toronto is a team on the rise. The Knicks added Zach Randolph to their frontcourt and the Sixers are rebuilding. The Cavs went to the Finals last year, and Chicago and Detroit are bigtime East contenders. The Bucks added Yi Jianlian to go with Bogut, Mason, Redd, and Williams, and O'Neal and Granger lead a young Pacers team. The Southeast could get interesting with Orlando adding Rashard Lewis to go along with Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson, and D-Wade leads Miami along with Shaq and Ricky Davis. The Hawks could finally get better with a good young core, and Charlotte added Jason Richardson to their lineup.
Kobe rumors continue to swirl in the West, but the Texas Triangle is making all the noise. The Spurs just locked Tim Duncan up for 2 more years, and Parker, Ginobili, Bowen, and the gang return to defend their crown. But the sexy, in vogue pick has been Houston. New coach Rick Adelman will have a healthy Yao & McGrady (for now) along with Battier and very promising rookie Luis Scola. And are people really sleeping on Dirk and the Mavs? The Hornets could be a dark horse with CP3 running it along with free agent signee Morris Peterson, and Peja, West, and Tyson Chandler manning the middle. Even Memphis with Mark Iavaroni boasts a healthy Pau Gasol along with new addition Darko, complimented by rising Rudy Gay, Mike Miller, and Mike Conley. The Pacific still goes through the PHX, as Nash, Amare, Marion and co are still together and ready to rip it up. The Warriors were feel good last year, and Baron Davis leads his group with a bunch of good, young players including rookie Brandon Wright and very promising Marco Belinelli. Kobe is still on the Lakers with the players he doesn't like; Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, and young Andrew Bynum. The Kings are in a rebuilding mode with Bibby out a while. But Kevin Martin leads this crew with Ron Artest and Brad Miller by his side. The Clips will be without Elton Brand for a while, and It'll be tough for them. The Northwest is a two team race. AI, Melo, Camby, and Nene lead a very underrated Nuggets team. Utah still has a great frontcourt in Boozer, AK, and Okur, and they have a bigtime point in Deron Williams. Seattle will be young and developing with Kevin Durant and vets like Wally Szcerbiak, Chris Wilcox, and more people who aren't that good. Portland will lose a lot, but will be fun doing it without Greg Oden. Brandon Roy is a stud, and LaMarcus Aldridge will have a huge breakout year. That leaves the young Wolves who will be without Randy Foye, and this is Al Jefferson's team.

SOS' Picks (conference seed in parenthesis)
Atlantic
Boston (1)
Toronto (6)
New Jersey (7)
New York
Philadelphia
Central
Chicago (2)
Detroit (3)
Cleveland (5)
Milwaukee
Indiana
Southeast
Orlando (4)
Miami (8)
Washington
Atlanta
Charlotte

West
Pacific
Phoenix (1)
Golden State
Lakers
Sacramento
Clippers
Southwest
Dallas (2)
San Antonio (3)
Houston (5)
New Orleans (7)
Memphis (8)
Northwest
Denver (4)
Utah (6)
Portland
Seattle
Minnesota

Playoffs
East
Boston over Miami, Chicago over New Jersey, Toronto over Detroit, Cleveland over Orlando
West
Phoenix over Memphis, Dallas over New Orleans, San Antonio over Utah, Houston over Denver
East
Boston over Cleveland, Chicago over Toronto
West
Houston over Phoenix, San Antonio over Dallas
Semis
Boston over Chicago, San Antonio over Houston
Finals
San Antonio over Boston

Awards
MVP-Steve Nash, PHX
Defensive Player- Kevin Garnett, BOS
Coach- Mark Iavaroni, MEM
6th man- Manu Ginobili, SA
Most Improved- Luol Deng, CHI
Rookie- Kevin Durant, SEA
Rookie Non Durant- Marco Belinelli, GS

Cameron Berns
atlantic - boston, new jersey, toronto, new york, philadelphia.
central- detroit, chicago, clevland, indiana, milwaulkee.
southeast- orlando, washington, atlanta, miami, charlotte
southwest- Dallas houston san antonio memphis new orleans
northwest- denver, utah, portland, seattle, minesota
pacific- suns, warriors, lakers, clippers, sacramento
East
1.Boston
2. Detroit
3. chicago
4. orlando
5. new jersey
6. cleveland
7. washington
8. toronto
east champion- Boston
West
1. Phoenix
2. Dallas
3. Houston
4. Denver
5. San Antonio
6. . Warriors
7. Utah
8.Memphis
west champion- Phoenix Suns over Celtics in 7
Awards
MVP- Garnett, BOS
dpoy- Marcus Camby
COACH-rick adelman, HOU
6th- al harrington, GS
improved- josh smith, ATL
roy- durant
roy- luis scola, HOU

NBA Today

Scores, news, and notes today in the NBA.

The NBA Europe tour went to Spain yesterday, and Darko Milicic had 13 points and 7 rebounds as Memphis defeated MMT Estudiantes. Real Madrid pulled off a 104-103 upset of the Raptors, despite 23 and 7 from Andrea Bargnani. At a silent Madison Square Garden, the Knicks routed Macabi Tel Aviv, as New York had 7 players in double figures. There was no reaction to Isiah Thomas, though that should change during the regular season. Houston hammered Greek power Panathinaikos as Yao scored 21 and grabbed 8 boards. Atlanta edged Charlotte 109-104 as Joe Johnson led all scorers with 25. Detroit and Cleveland went to OT, but the Pistons came away with the 96-90 win despite 17 from LeBron James. Phoenix won at Sacramento 110-99 as disgruntled Shawn Marion scored 18, and new Sun Grant Hill scored 17. Kevin Martin and Quincy Douby led the Kings with 17 each. The Warriors beat the Lakers 119-106 as former D-Leaguer Kelenna Azubuike scored 22.

-Lakers owner Jerry Buss is now open to offers for Kobe Bryant. It would've been better if he admitted this before, because it's now unlikely that teams will make deals until December at the earliest.
-Wizards Center and Syracuse alum Etan Thomas underwent open heart surgery in Minnesota and should be OK. Meanwhile, Washington might look for a big man such as PJ Brown, but Coach Eddie Jordan says that he's satisfied with his frontcourt according to the Washington Post.
-According to all New York papers, it will be tough for Allen Houston to make the Knicks roster. He starts his comeback today.
-This is a make or break year for Carlos Delfino, according to the Detroit Free Press.