Oh, The NBA is Starting!

Disclaimer: Out of the 4 major sports, the National Basketball Association is the league I follow the least. I will not fraudulently try to paint myself as an NBA guru. To make my point perfectly clear, you all should be told that my favorite basketball player of all time is Salim Stoudamire. Before I do the quick standings/playoff predictions, I'm going to challenge myself with a little game...

My favorite team has been and always will be the New York Knicks. As I sit here now, I have not looked at ESPN or anyone else's NBA preview yet. I am going to try to name the starting roster and bench players for these Knicks...we'll see how I do.

G- Nate Robinson
G- Chris Duhon
F- David Lee
F- Jared Jeffries
C- Eddy Curry
Bench: Darko Milicik, Danillo Galinari...uh. Yeah

That's all I had. Fast forward 4 minutes. After carefully inspecting ESPN's projected depth chart for the Knickerbockers...well, I didn't do so hot. I had Duhon and Jeffries correct, and David Lee kind of correct, because he actually plays Center. Eddy Curry was the fourth Center on the depth chart...presumable because he tried to eat a toaster.

The other starters are Al Harrington (really shoulda knew that one) and Wilson Chandler at guard. Nate is behind Duhon. Darko and Danillo are indeed on the bench, but I missed reserves such as Larry Hughes, Toney Douglas, and newcomer Jordan Hill.

Ok? So it's all out in the open. This 'preview' is simply for fun purposes. It was demanded by few (only Terrence Regan) but will hopefully be enjoyed my many. So here it is, the Reilly Sports Blog's 2009-2010 NBA Preview! Use your imagination on this one.

East

Atlantic Division
1. Boston Celtics (1)
2. Toronto Raptors (4)
3. New York Knicks (8)
4. Philadephia 76ers
5. New Jersey Nets

Central Division
1. Cleveland Cavs (2)
2. Detroit Pistons (6)
3. Chicago Bulls (7)
4. Indiana Pacers
5. Milwaukee Buccaneers

Southeast Division
1. Orlando Magic (3)
2. Atlanta Hawks (5)
3. Washington Wizards
4. Miami Heat
5. Charlotte Bobcats

West

Southwest Division
1. Dallas Mavericks (3)
2. San Antonio Spurs (4)
3. New Orleans Hornets (6)
4. Houston Rockets
5. Memphis Grizzlies

Northwest Division
1. Portland Trailblazers (2)
2. Denver Nuggets (5)
3. Oklahoma City Thunder
4. Utah Jazz
5. Minnesota Timberwolves

Pacific Division
1. Los Angeles Lakers (1)
2. Los Angeles Clippers (7)
3. Phoenix Suns (8)
4. Golden State Warriors
5. Sacramento Kings

PLAYOFFS
Rd. 1
Celtics over Knicks
Cavs over Bulls
Pistons over Magic
Hawks over Raptors

Rd. 2
Celtics over Pistons
Cavs over Hawks

East Final
Cavs over Celtics

Rd. 1
Lakers over Suns
Trailblazers over Clippers
Hornets over Mavericks
Spurs over Nuggets

Rd. 2
Lakers over Hornets
Trailblazers over Spurs

West Final
Trailblazers over Lakers

NBA Finals
Trailblazers over Cavs in 5

**I know the Milwaukee franchise is indeed the Bucks, not the Buccaneers. Just wanted to see if anyone would glance over that and be astonished about how little I know about basketball. I'm not that bad.