The Full Blog Preview List and Superlatives

The NBA Blog Previews are done, and we're all ready to start the year. Here's a complete list of the team previews. Major, major kudos go out to Jeff at Celtics Blog for organizing this huge project. Collective action like this is one of the reasons I'm proud to run an NBA blog.

Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics (presented by Celticsstuff Live, Celtics Blog, and LOY's Palace) 48-34, 42-40, 40-42 respectively
New Jersey Nets (presented by Nets Daily) 51-31
New York Knicks (presented by Bench Renaldo) 41-41
Philadelphia 76ers (presented by Passion and Pride) 47-35
Toronto Raptors (presented by Hoops Addict) 42-40

Central Division

Chicago Bulls (presented by Blog a Bull) 55-27
Cleveland Cavaliers (presented by Yay! Sports) 58-24
Detroit Pistons (presented by Detroit Bad Boys and Need4Sheed) 55-27, 57-25
Indiana Pacers (presented by Donning Craig Sager's Suit) 43-39
Milwaukee Bucks (presented by 5 Point Bucks) 44-39

Southeast Division

Atlanta Hawks (presented by Impending Firestorm) 37-45
Charlotte Bobcats (presented by Bobcat Bonfire) 42-40
Miami Heat (presented by Crazy From the Heat) 54-28
Orlando Magic (presented by Believing in Magic) 45-37
Washington Wizards (presented by Some Wierdo) 50-32

Southwest Division

Dallas Mavericks (presented by Mavs Moneyball) 59-23
Houston Rockets (presented by Rockets Blast) 57-25
Memphis Grizzlies (presented by The Beale Street Beat) 45-37
New Orleans Hornets (presented by Hornets 24/7) 48-34
San Antonio Spurs (presented by Pounding the Rock) 58-24

Northwest Division

Denver Nuggets (presented by The Nugg Doctor) 51-31
Minnesota Timberwolves (presented by I Heart KG) 42-40
Portland Trailblazers (presented by True Hoop) 25-30 wins
Seattle Supersonics (presented by Sonics Central) 44-46 wins
Utah Jazz (presented by Lowpost.net) 43-39

Pacific Division

Golden State Warriors (presented by Lowpost.net and Golden State of Mind) 35-47, 41-41
Los Angeles Clippers (presented by Clips Nation) 52-30
Los Angeles Lakers (presented by Jones on the NBA, Forum Blue and Gold, and Showtime) 48-34, 49-33, and 49-33 respectively
Phoenix Suns (presented by Phoenix Suns Rising and Suns Gossip) 60-22, 82-0
Sacramento Kings (presented by Sactown Royalty) 50-32

All these previews were really great, but I can't help but hand out a few superlatives.

Most Valuable Preview: It's no secret that the NBA blogosphere looks up to Henry Abbott at True Hoop, and for anyone who read his Portland Trailblazers preview, it's easy to see why. Abbott's comprehensive and realistic preview shed new light into a team that many have misinterpreted over the years. Abbott's preview was among the longer ones, but it never felt like a bore. Blog A Bull's Chicago preview takes a distant second.

The Dick Vitale Award for Most Optimistic Preview: Wow, there are so many to choose from here. Passion and Pride confused many with his prediction of 47 wins for the Sixers, and Bobcat Bonfire's 42 win prediction prompted Detroit Bad Boys' Ian Cameron to say "If the Bobcats win 42 games next year, I'll buy Detroit Shock season tickets." In the end, Bench Renaldo takes the cake for predicting 41 wins for the New York Knicks. Somewhere, Larry Brown is poking his eyes out.

The Bill Walton Award for Most Pessimistic Preview: Honestly, no preview was overly pessimistic, hardly a suprise when you ask a bunch of team bloggers to preview their teams. If someone pointed a gun at my head, I'd probably say Crazy From the Heat's Miami preview takes this one. While Vivek predicts an improvement in wins, he goes into great length describing his worry that the Heat will become complacent after winnng a title.

The Charles Barkley Award for Most Entertaining Preview: So many to choose from again, but the clear answer has to be the joint Phoenix Suns preview by Phoenix Suns Rising and Suns Gossip. The two played off each other like Kornheiser and Wilbon, with Brian providing the hard analysis and Suns Gossip providing the commentary.

Most Creative Preview: Hands down, Jason Gurney at Lowpost.net takes this with his interactive Golden State Warriors preview. A distant second is the Utah Jazz preview.

Most Unique Preview: Tom over at SacTown Royalty takes this one for his 93 question preview of the Sacramento Kings to close things off. Talk about leaving nothing to be unanswered.

6th Man Award: This goes out to Skeets and Tas at The Basketball Jones and Howie at NBA Basketball and Other Unrelatedness for keeping up with the previews despite not writing one themselves. TBJ's podcasts were another great way to start the season, and Howie's doodles were an entertaining break from the hard coverage.

Rookie Previewer of the Month: I hope that I can say that I at least shared this award after only blogging for a month and a half. Also, big props to newcomers Donning Craig Sager's Suit, Clips Nation, The Beale Street Beat, and Bobcat Bonfire.

Coach Preview of the Month: Again, one last chance to give Jeff some mad props on this project. Like I said before, it makes me proud to run an NBA blog when I can work with other team bloggers to produce a collective project like this. This was all Jeff's creation, so he deserves a lot of credit for putting it all together.

With all the previews done, it's time to get the season started!

What was your favorite NBA Blog Preview?