Real Sports Talk With E-$

I typically dedicate a couple of paragraphs of different sports every week in this column, but this week is different. The NBA season is unofficially officially back so I am going to give you the eight Eastern and Western Conference teams that I think are going to make the playoffs and why they are going to. All of these picks are based off of last year's rosters, and the rosters are obviously going to change as free agency starts up. With that said, here goes-

Eastern Conference

8.Washington Wizards- John Wall is entering his second year in the NBA, and Jordan Crawford and JaVale McGee should bring this team back to relevance.

7.New Jersey Nets- Deron Williams is a fantastic point guard, and Brook Lopez has developed into one of the best centers in the East.

6.Atlanta Hawks- The Hawks are stuck year in and year out between the 3 and 6 seeds. Josh Smith is a great power forward/center, and Al Horford and Jamal Crawford can take a game over at any point.

5.Boston Celtics- This team benefits the most in the NBA from the lockout, as this team has one of the oldest starting lineups in the league. Rajon Rondo's play will make or break this team.

4.Orlando Magic- Dwight Howard is the best center in the league, and Jameer Nelson is a great point guard. Will the bench show up this year for the Magic?

3.New York Knicks- Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire are a great 1-2 tandem, and Landry Fields was awesome his rookie year. The biggest question is how will Chauncey Billups play this year?

2.Chicago Bulls- Derrick Rose is awesome, and Luol Deng is an underrated forward. Carlos Boozer staying healthy is a huge key to this team's success.

1.Miami Heat- LeBron and D-Wade are too good to not be the number one team in the East. Chris Bosh has his moments, but the bench is going to make, or break, this team in the playoffs.

Western Conference

8.Golden State Warriors- Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis might be the best starting guard combination in the league, and David Lee should strive in his second year as a Warrior.

7.Denver Nuggets- The New York Knicks.... I mean Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, and Wilson Chandler should be able to work well with J.R. Smith, Ty Lawson, and Al Harrington.

6.Phoenix Suns- You have to figure that Steve Nash has at least one more run in him. Channing Frye will continue to shoot the three well, and Aaron Brooks should have a great year.

5.Memphis Grizzlies- O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay are an awesome combination, and Zach Randolph played extremely well in the playoffs. This team is going to contend for a division championship.

4.San Antonio Spurs- This team benefited the most from the lockout in the Western Conference, as Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker aren't getting any younger.

3. Dallas Mavericks- Dirk Nowitzki is still the NBA Finals MVP, and he had the best season of his career last year. The ageless Jason Kidd will have to keep playing like he is 23 years old.

2.Los Angeles Lakers- Kobe Bryant is still the man, but Andrew Bynum needs to step up and become the player he is expected to be.

1.Oklahoma City Thunder- Kevin Durant is easily one of the top three players in the league, and Russell Westbrook isn't too bad either. Watch for Serge Ibaka to really emerge.

In other irrelevant (though I find interesting) sports news:

-The Jacksonville Jaguars will be in Los Angeles within the next decade.

-The Houston Texans are screwed.

-If you haven't already seen it yet, go on theclockonline.com to see my interview with Doug Flutie. That dude is awesome.

-LSU is the best team in college football, and should play Alabama again in the National Championship.

-The New York Rangers are going to be a scary playoff team come April.

-Ndamukong Suh deserved a two game suspension. I don't disagree with him slamming the one dude's head on the ground, but you can't kick someone.

-Patrick Peterson, you are one hell of a punt returner.

-Best NFL game of the upcoming week? The Falcons traveling to Houston. How will the Texans play after playing with yet another quarterback?

Non-sports information of the week

-A lot of people do not know how to drive throughout New England.

-These last two weeks better go by fast.

-I don't get how it has been so warm so far this year, but we have had so much more snow this year so far compared to last year.

-Jones soda is awesome.

-I wonder if the police officer near Boyd realizes he is the cross guard for a bunch of college kids……

"Till next week I'm outta here…………