NBA Predictions 2016-2017

Eastern Conference:

1.     Cleveland

2.     Boston

3.     Toronto

4.     Indiana

5.     Detroit

6.     Milwaukee

7.     Washington

8.     Atlanta

9.     Charlotte

10.   Philadelphia

11.   Chicago

12.   Miami

13.   New York

14.   Orlando

15.   Brooklyn

Playoffs:

•             Cleveland over Atlanta, Boston over Washington, Milwaukee over Toronto, Detroit over Indiana

•             Cleveland over Detroit, Milwaukee over Boston

•             Cleveland over Milwaukee

Western Conference:

1.     Golden State

2.     San Antonio

3.     Houston

4.     Minnesota

5.     Oklahoma City

6.     Utah

7.     Portland

8.     Memphis

9.     New Orleans

10.   LA Clippers

11.   Dallas   

12.   Denver

13.   Phoenix

14.   LA Lakers

15.   Sacramento

Playoffs:

•             Golden State over Memphis, San Antonio over Portland, Houston over Utah, Minnesota over OKC

•             Golden State over Minnesota, Houston over San Antonio

•             Golden State over Houston

More notes:

•             I was really high on Milwaukee and Minnesota last year.  I’m still betting high on both

•             The Clippers are the team I think are going to fall apart.  I wouldn’t be shocked if Paul or Griffin are traded at the deadline. 

•             The Western Division from 6-11 is a crapshoot- it really could go in any order.  Same with the Eastern Conference 4-9

•             Early guesses on the Lottery:  (1) Boston (via Brooklyn)  (2) LA Lakers (3) Miami

•             Top 4 guesses for the MVP:  (1)  Karl Anthony-Towns (2) James Harden (3) Paul George (4) Russell Westbrook.  No way anyone on Golden State wins, because they are likely to ‘only’ win 65 games. 

•             NBA Finals prediction:  Golden State upgraded from Harrison Barnes to Kevin Durant.  Let me say that again- the Warriors, who were four points away from winning the title, upgraded from Harrison Barnes to KEVIN DURANT.  But they also sacrificed their depth.  So that’s why they won’t win nearly as many games as they did last year. 

But just as importantly, the NBA West will take a step back this year.  The Spurs have lost Duncan, their heart and soul.  While I still think the Spurs will finish with 55 wins, I don’t see how they get better than last year.  The Clippers are (in my humble opinion) going to fall apart.  Minnesota WILL be a serious threat- but this year will be one step forward, not five steps forward.  For someone to stop Golden State, they’ll have to be worn out- and I think the path to get to the finals will be easier this year than last year.

We’re getting Cleveland-Golden State in the finals for the third year in a row.  Each team has won once.  Barring injuries, Golden State takes the rubber match in 6 games

Fixing the parties

Memo from a former member of the Vast-Right Wing Conspiracy...

To:  Reince Priebus, chairman of the RNC and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the DNC

Hi,

In a few weeks, the 2016 Presidential election will be over, and most likely, one of your two candidates will win.  The loser will gnash their teeth and the winner will feel they were justified in every action they took.

Wrong.  You both suck.

Forget that I don't agree with either of your policy decisions- the parties botched it.  You both somehow managed to nominate the one candidate that could lose to the other.  Really, you both should be ashamed that it came to this.

But I'm an engineer.  I look for solutions.  And here's my plan that I am offering to both of you to help you both out.  Because the day after the 2016 election, people will start jaunting for the 2020 election. And if you lay out the new rules now, you'll be prepared to prevent another debacle.

Here's the plan:

1)  Anyone running for the Presidential nomination under your party's banner- and any Vice-Presidential nominee- must release their tax returns of the last five years.  

Legally, no one is required to.  But legally, you're not required to let anyone run under the banner of your party.  So the tradeoff is, if they want the infrastructure you provide, they have to prove there's no hidden skeletons.

2)  Anyone running for the Presidential nomination under your party's banner- and any Vice-Presidential nominee- must release their health records from a qualified doctor.

3)  Part of me thinks that anyone who wants to run should be a registered member for at least five years.  On this one, I'm open to negotiation- parties need new ideas.  We'll mark this one down as a "maybe"

One alternative- anyone running must first help raise at least $X dollars for other party candidates.  This would eliminate anyone running just to raise their name recognition and only leave serious candidates to run.  Against, this one is negotiable.

4)  Debates.  Ideally, no debate should have more than 6 people at any one time.  Hopefully, with the first rules, we can reduce the total number of candidates.  6 candidates offer options.  17 candidates leads to confusion.

5)  Caucuses and Primaries.  I'm not that worried about caucuses vs. primaries, or open vs. closed.  Instead, bunch them up.  Put together groups of 6-8 states and have one group have all of their votes every two weeks.  So group 1 might be Iowa, New Hampshire, Oregon, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Florida.  Two weeks later, Illinois, Alabama, Montana, Utah, New Jersey, DC, and Maine all vote.

This rewards nominees who put together major organizations.  They are running for the office of the Presidency- it IS a major undertaking.  It should reward people who can put together offices that can handle multiple goals.

I think if you implemented these rules now, for 2020, you'd avoid a repeat of 2016

You're welcome.