NBA Predictions 2014-2015

Eastern Conference:
1. Cleveland
2. Toronto
3. Miami
4. Chicago
5. Indiana
6. Charlotte
7. Brooklyn
8. Washington
===========
9. Detroit
10. New York
11. Atlanta
12. Orlando
13. Milwaukee
14. Boston
15. Philadelphia


Western Conference:1. San Antonio
2. LA Clippers
3. Oklahoma City
4. Golden State
5. Dallas
6. Phoenix
7. Portland
8. Minnesota
=============
9. Memphis
10. New Orleans
11. Houston
12. Denver
13. LA Lakers
14. Sacramento
15. Utah

More notes:
• My surprise team of the year- Minnesota. Very young, very athletic- I could see Wiggins as the rookie of the year and Bennett as the most Improved player of the year. In a loaded Western Conference, I think they make the playoffs
• Houston- last year I thought they’d gel and be real contenders. I’m no longer a believer. Harden+Howard+ role players no longer seems like a good combination, especially in this era of three point shooters.
• But damn, the West is Loaded. The #10 team here could contend for a top three spot in the East.
• While the Eastern Conference is better this year than last year, it’s not because the top teams are great- it’s that the mediocre teams are taking a few steps forward
• I’m not a believer in Washington. I think they overplayed their starters, don’t have any bench, and got lucky with health last year.
• I have no idea how Chicago, Miami, or Indiana will do. I could see any of the three challenging for the top spot in the East; I could see any of the three collapsing completely.
• Complete wild guesses on the lottery: 1) Utah 2) Philadelphia 3) Denver. They will vote to ‘flatten’ the lottery, but it won’t begin until 2016
• In the Western Conference, I will keep picking San Antonio until they prove me wrong. And in the Eastern Conference, I think the Cavs are more talented and healthier than any other team in the conference. And in the finals…
• Damn. Last year was the single most frustrating year I have ever experienced as a sports fan. Watching a team you expected to take a step forward just fall apart and become a disaster was painful. I have been a longtime Mike Brown fan, but he was the wrong coach for this team. It was ugly.
• And then, karma payback. The Cavs won the lottery. They went in a completely different direction with the new coach, and picked someone with a worldwide reputation for being an offensive genius. They didn’t panic and drafted the person I thought was the best player. I was thrilled long before LeBron came back. And then he came back- something I never thought would happen.
• I’m a Cleveland sports fan. I’ve come to dread the worst. Right now, I’m terrified how something that seems to be put together so perfectly could fall apart. But everything seems set up so perfectly. On paper, this works… San Antonio is a year older. Cleveland is younger than Miami, deeper, and hungrier. The Cleveland Cavaliers end the Curse and win the NBA Championship in six games.

(Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be hiding under the bed))

Top 10- Epic Rap Battles

Next Month, Epic Rap Battles returns to Youtube.  Nice Peter and Epic Lloyd have had three seasons of mixing rap battles with celebrities, and they've been consistently hysterical.  I thought I'd put up my ten favorites of the first three seasons:

(Some cursing)