NBA Preview With Chris Mannix
Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated joined the program to preview the NBA season which gets underway tonight. Scott asked Chris if the Eastern Conference is catching the West in terms of talent, and Mannix believes that there is still a gap. "Top to bottom the Western Conference is by far superior. I think the East has gotten a little better with Toronto, I think they'll improve more this year. Washington I think will be better as they continue to develop, but as you get down to the bottom 4 in the Eastern Conference, they're not a real threat to win the conference. Where as in the West, I think Doc Rivers said this recently, there is 8 teams who believe they can legitimately believe they can make the conference finals and probably 10 or 11 teams that consider themselves in the playoffs."
Jeremy believes that there are two top teams in the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Chicago Bulls, Chris agrees. "I think barring significant injury those two teams are on a collision course, now obviously we have no idea if Derrick Rose can make it through an entire season. Its been two years since he played one so we will be keeping an eye on that... Overall health wise I think he will be just fine and thats important for the Bulls."
With the acquisition of LeBron James and Kevin Love, Cleveland became the instant favorite to win the Eastern Conference. Scott asked if it will take a while for the Cavs to gel as a team. "I think they're gonna be good from that night. I think the regular season, they're going to win 60 plus games. They're going to be so dynamic."