ESPN the mag NBA projections (They love the Heat, but not the Lakers!)

[MJohnnyboy]

Just figured I would post this. I was surprised by how they ranked some of the teams in both conferences. I don't know if there's a link showing their full projections because I don't see them on ESPN.com and I think ESPN.com's projections were different from the the Magazine's projections. Anyway, from their calculations, ESPN the mag has predicted the following finishes:

Eastern Conference
1.Miami Heat
2.Atlanta Hawks
3.New York Knicks
4.Boston Celtics
5.Philadelphia 76ers
6.Chicago Bulls
7.Brooklyn Nets
8.Indiana Pacers
9.Toronto Raptors
10.Milwaukee Bucks
11.Cleveland Cavaliers
12.Detroit Pistons
13.Washington Wizards
14.Orlando magic
15.Charlotte Bobcats

Western Conference
1.Denver Nuggets
2.Oklahoma City Thunder
3.Minnesota Timberwolves
4.Los Angeles Lakers
5.San Antonio Spurs
6.Los Angeles Clippers
7.Utah Jazz
8.Memphis Grizzlies
9.Dallas Mavericks
10.New Orleans Hornets
11.Portland Trail Blazers
12.Sacramento Kings
13.Golden State Warriors
14.Phoenix Suns
15.Houston Rockets

Their finals prediction: Heat over Nuggets

Now, this is only based off of statistics that they measure themselves. Personally I think some of these predictions look a little bit outlandish (Hawks and Knicks better than the Celtics and the Nuggets better than the Lakers and the Thunder? Yeah no), but what do you think?

[MJohnnyboy]

Also they say the following statements are false:
1.Jeremy Lin was a flash in the pan.
2.NBA Olympians crash and burn
3.The Nets are Title Contenders
4.The Thunder fell behind in the off-season.
5.Rajon Rondo runs with the elite
6.Denver can win it all without a star
7.The Spurs are too old to contend

I think they're in for a surprise this year.

[Roy H.]

I'll eat my shoe in the Hawks, Nuggets, and Twolves all finish in the top three in their respective conferences.

[MJohnnyboy]

I'll eat my shoe in the Hawks, Nuggets, and Twolves all finish in the top three in their respective conferences.

The Hawks and the Timberwolves, yes, but the Nuggets would not surprise me if they did. Not saying they will but they've got the potential to do some damage.