The Upcoming NBA Year 08'

The NBA 2007-08 Season is heading into the new year. 2007 has already brought plenty of surprises and unexpected, hard to explain occurrences. Here's some thoughts on the new year for the NBA.

- Continued Celtics dominance - Barring an injury expect them to keep piling the wins on. The Big 3 are playing great as expected, and secondary guys like James Posey, Eddie House and Rajon Rondo add great depth right now. Of course, they've yet to play those tough West Coast teams (Spurs, Suns, Mavs). Once we see the Celtics knock off some of the Best of the West we can start calling them serious top contenders.

- Something's gotta give - Either the Bulls or Heat will likely go on a great run to get into a low spot for the East playoffs. If either team makes it to the 8 spot, the #1 team may have their hands full, even the Celtics. It's tough to say right now which team will do it. My preseason pick was the Bulls would make the Finals, and right now they just aren't getting it done.

- Blaze of Glory - Portland is one of the best stories in the NBA right now, as they are exceeding expectations. It'll be good to see the Blazers continue to be successful. Their win streak recently has been very impressive without the presence of Greg Oden. Brandon Roy is becoming a bona fide star in the league, and once Oden arrives that team will be lethal and most likely a dynasty. Portland fans should be in line for next year's season tickets already.

- MVP race - It's going to be a three way race. You've got 2 big men in Dwight Howard and KG. Then you've got Lebron James, my preseason pick. Whichever of these 3 makes a serious push should get it, but you'd have to favor the big men right now. Usually the award goes to the guy on the best team, and right now it's KG.

- Rookie Race - There's not much of one right now. Unless of course Durant becomes unable to play, but so far he's the clear front runner and leader for this year's ROY. Thank you goes out to Greg Oden.

- Isiah's job status - Doesn't look good for Coach Thomas in the New Year for New York. However, they may let him finish another disappointing season out before he gest the boot. The team continues to be quite the project and holds a lot of talent. But it's still lacking that certain something. Usually that means it's time for a coaching change (like the Bulls).

- A competitive All-Star game - Looking forward to another all-star game. This one comes from New Orleans, Louisiana. Also, KG has shifted sides, so now he won't be part of the dominating big men in the West (Yao, Duncan, etc). The East actually looks like favorites here, because you have Lebron, KG and D-Howard (3 MVP candidates) all on the East starting lineup. Should be fun to watch!

- A New NBA Champion? - It continues to look like 4 teams: Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavs. However, we saw how Lebron willed the Cavs into the Finals last year. There's guys capable of those types of performances that can emerge at any point.

Wishing all NBA Fans a happy New Year, and here's to an exciting remainder of the 2007-08 season!