15 things to look for in 2015 from the NBA, Part 1

A little bit of fun for me this afternoon as I consider the first five of fifteen total things fans should be on the lookout for in the NBA as the calendar turns this evening as well as some wild predictions.

1. Your Eastern Conference playoff teams will be, in order: CHI, WAS, ATL, CLE, TOR, MIL, MIA, and DET
• Yes, Detroit who didn't expect having one of the worst beginnings to the season, who basically paid Josh Smith to go play basketball elsewhere, will make the playoffs. You could honestly throw Orlando, Boston, or Brooklyn in the spot as well I guess but I have faith that the Pistons will continue to improve. They're 3-0 since they cut Smith, beating a fight-to-the-last-second Indiana team, Cleveland, and a rebuilding Orlando squad. Okay, I get it. Let's wait until they hit the road against Western Conference teams but for now let's revel in the madness that is Josh Smith getting cut from a team that wins three straight games in less than a week after cutting him after only winning five games since the season began nearly two full months ago. 
2. Your Western Conference playoff teams will be, in order: MEM, HOU, GSW, DAL, LAC, POR, OKC, and SAS.
• I don't think Golden State can keep their pace up for the rest of the season. I'm afraid of them falling into what the Pacers a couple years ago, strong start, slow finish with panic trades that only made them worse in the playoffs. The West is so tough that I think teams one through five could easily be number one seeds. San Antonio has had a horrible start to the year, Blake is hitting jump shots but I wish he played inside more and looked to get fouled, Oklahoma City will be fine, and Portland may play spoiler a la last year with Houston. I'm placing a lot of faith on Houston to make Josh Smith work and be the scariest team defensively and offensively by the season's end.
3. First round playoff upset: MEM vs SAS.
• In 2011 I watched the Grizzlies (8) beat the Spurs (1) in the first round of the NBA playoffs. A couple years later and the Grizzlies had the best record between January 1st and December 31st, 2014, and best overall record when Marc Gasol was on the floor in the 13/14 season. This season? They've upgraded at SG and SF since that first round upset so I see Memphis facing San Antonio again with roles reversed and this year San Antonio will upset Memphis in a first round match-up. 
4. Charlotte will have swung for the fences and struck out by year's end. 
• I was really into Charlotte before the season began. I thought Lance Stephenson was a great fit, especially seeing as Gerald Henderson was the incumbent SG, and despite his ball-stopping on offense in Indiana. Big Al had a good year last year but was halted by injuries in the playoffs against Miami and now he's out for a month. They're 10-22 with games against Houston, Cleveland, Toronto, and New Orleans within their next six games. Alas, they're heading back to the lottery. 
5. New York will select Jahlil Okafor with the first overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. 
• The NBA is the NBA. Bad teams will always find a way to be rewarded for their ineptitude. Should Okafor go to the Knicks? Absolutely not. Fisher as your coach and Melo as your teammate? Talk about toxic. I'm being a terrible prisoner of the moment but I don't think Fisher is the type of coach who can raise up young talent to be exceptional talent. I feel like he can only coach teams that already have proven talent. But time will tell. It would just be soooo Knicks to get the number one pick this spring and somehow screw up his development. 
• At the same time I'd love to see Charlotte grab him as the heir to the C position once Big Al's contract is up in about two years. They only seem to be getting worse as the season progresses and Lance has been a dud for them thus far besides one buzzer beater in OT against the Hawks early in the season. 
• But who knows? I look at the worst teams in the league currently and each seem to have a big man in place already but when you have someone on the draft board heralded as the next Tim Duncan you just have to pull the trigger on him. I just simply do not wish to see Okafor's talent sent to NBA purgatory like....Philadelphia.