Early Predicted Standings (From Player Ratings)

Atlantic		W	L
BOSTON CELTICS		59	23
PHILADELPHIA76ERS		45	37
TORONTO RAPTORS		39	43
NEW JERSEY NETS		27	55
NEW YORK KNICKS		18	64
Central		W	L
DETROIT PISTONS		58	24
CLEVELANDCAVALIERS		50	32
INDIANA PACERS		39	43
CHICAGO BULLS		37	45
MILWAUKEE BUCKS		32	50
Southeast		W	L
ORLANDO MAGIC		44	38
WASHINGTONWIZARDS		39	43
MIAMI HEAT		36	46
ATLANTA HAWKS		34	48
CHARLOTTE BOBCATS		27	55
Northwest		W	L
UTAH JAZZ		56	26
DENVER NUGGETS		47	35
PORTLANDTRAILBLAZERS		40	42
MINNESOTATIMBERWOLVES		32	50
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER		27	55
Pacific		W	L
LOS ANGELES LAKERS		62	20
PHOENIX SUNS		48	34
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS		40	42
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS		39	43
SACRAMENTO KINGS		33	49
Southwest		W	L
HOUSTON ROCKETS		65	17
SAN ANTONIO SPURS		48	34
NEW ORLEANS HORNETS		45	37
DALLAS MAVERICKS		44	38
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES		18	64

Disclaimer: This simple projection assumes no injuries next season, as well as a 60%-30%-10% distribution of minutes between each team's starting 5, 2nd 5, and other players. Everyone knows these are naive projections; for instance, as talented as Houston is after the Artest deal, Yao and T-Mac's injury problems will keep them from winning 65 games... Still, it's not a bad system to be based entirely on a 0-10 player scouting method.

Early Team Depth Charts & Player Ratings

	BOSTON CELTICS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Rajon Rondo	8	Eddie House	6	Gabe Pruitt	4
SG	Ray Allen	8	Tony Allen	7	J.R. Giddens	6
SF	Paul Pierce	9	Brian Scalabrine	5	Bill Walker	5
PF	Kevin Garnett	9	Leon Powe	7
C	Kendrick Perkins	7	Glen Davis	6	Patrick O'Bryant	6
	NEW JERSEY NETS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Devin Harris	8	Keyon Dooling	5	Maurice Ager	4
SG	Vince Carter	8	Jarvis Hayes	5	Chris Douglas-Roberts	7
SF	Bobby Simmons	7	Trenton Hassell	5	Stromile Swift	5
PF	Yi Jianlian	5	Eduardo Najera	7	Ryan Anderson	6
C	Josh Boone	6	Brook Lopez	6	Sean Williams	7
	NEW YORK KNICKS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Chris Duhon	7	Stephon Marbury	6	Anthony Roberson	5
SG	Jamal Crawford	6	Nate Robinson	8	Mardy Collins	4
SF	Quentin Richardson	6	Danilo Gallinari	6	Jared Jeffries	6
PF	Zach Randolph	6	Wilson Chandler	6	Malik Rose	4
C	Eddy Curry	5	David Lee	8	Jerome James	3
	PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Andre Miller	8	Louis Williams	7	Royal Ivey	5
SG	Andre Iguodala	9	Willie Green	4
SF	Thaddeus Young	7	Kareem Rush	4
PF	Elton Brand	9	Reggie Evans	5	Shavlik Randolph	5
C	Samuel Dalembert	7	Marreese Speights	6	Theo Ratliff	6
	TORONTO RAPTORS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Jose Calderon	8	Roko Ukic	6	Will Solomon	4
SG	Anthony Parker	8	Hassan Adams	4
SF	Jamario Moon	8	Jason Kapono	5	Joey Graham	5
PF	Chris Bosh	9	Kris Humphries	4
C	Jermaine O'Neal	7	Andrea Bargnani	5	Nathan Jawai	5
	CHICAGO BULLS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Kirk Hinrich	7	Derrick Rose	8
SG	Ben Gordon	7	Larry Hughes	6	Thabo Sefolosha	6
SF	Luol Deng	8	Andres Nocioni	6	Demetris Nichols	4
PF	Drew Gooden	6	Tyrus Thomas	7	Cedric Simmons	4
C	Joakim Noah	7	Aaron Gray	6
	CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Mo Williams	8	Delonte West	6	Eric Snow	4
SG	Daniel Gibson	8	Wally Szczerbiak	6	Tarence Kinsey	5
SF	LeBron James	10	Sasha Pavlovic	5	Billy Thomas	4
PF	Ben Wallace	7	J.J. Hickson	6
C	Zydrunas Ilgauskas	7	Anderson Varejao	7	Lance Allred	4
	DETROIT PISTONS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Chauncey Billups	9	Rodney Stuckey	7	Will Bynum	4
SG	Richard Hamilton	8	Arron Afflalo	5
SF	Tayshaun Prince	8	Amir Johnson	8	Walter Sharpe	5
PF	Antonio McDyess	7	Jason Maxiell	7	Walter Herrmann	6
C	Rasheed Wallace	8	Kwame Brown	6	Cheick Samb	5
	INDIANA PACERS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	T.J. Ford	7	Jarrett Jack	6	Travis Diener	5
SG	Mike Dunleavy Jr.	8	Brandon Rush	5	Marquis Daniels	6
SF	Danny Granger	8	Shawne Williams	6	Stephen Graham	5
PF	Troy Murphy	7	Maceo Baston	6	Josh McRoberts	4
C	Jeff Foster	7	Rasho Nesterovic	6	Roy Hibbert	6
	MILWAUKEE BUCKS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Luke Ridnour	6	Ramon Sessions	6	Tyronn Lue	5
SG	Michael Redd	8	Charlie Bell	7	Damon Jones	6
SF	Richard Jefferson	7	Adrian Griffin	6	Awvee Storey	5
PF	Charlie Villanueva	6	Joe Alexander	5	LucRichardMbahaMoute	4
C	Andrew Bogut	8	Dan Gadzuric	6	Malik Allen	4
	ATLANTA HAWKS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Mike Bibby	7	Acie Law	5	Speedy Claxton	5
SG	Joe Johnson	8	Ronald Murray	5	Salim Stoudamire	4
SF	Marvin Williams	7	Maurice Evans	7	Jeremy Richardson	4
PF	Josh Smith	8	Solomon Jones	5	Othello Hunter	5
C	Al Horford	7	Zaza Pachulia	6	Randolph Morris	4
	CHARLOTTE BOBCATS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Raymond Felton	7	D.J. Augustin	5	Shannon Brown	4
SG	Jason Richardson	8	Matt Carroll	6	Kyle Weaver	5
SF	Gerald Wallace	8	Adam Morrison	5	Jared Dudley	7
PF	Emeka Okafor	7	Sean May	6	Jermareo Davidson	4
C	Nazr Mohammed	5	Ryan Hollins	6	Alexis Ajinca	4
	MIAMI HEAT
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Marcus Banks	5	Mario Chalmers	6	Chris Quinn	7
SG	Dwyane Wade	9	Daequan Cook	5	Bobby Jones	5
SF	Shawn Marion	8	James Jones	7	Yakhouba Diawara	5
PF	Michael Beasley	8	Stephane Lasme	6	David Padgett	5
C	Udonis Haslem	6	Mark Blount	5	Joel Anthony	5
	ORLANDO MAGIC
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Jameer Nelson	7	Anthony Johnson	6
SG	Mickael Pietrus	7	Keith Bogans	6	J.J. Redick	5
SF	Hedo Turkoglu	8	Courtney Lee	6
PF	Rashard Lewis	8	Tony Battie	4	Brian Cook	5
C	Dwight Howard	9	Adonal Foyle	6	Marcin Gortat	5
	WASHINGTON WIZARDS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Gilbert Arenas	9	Antonio Daniels	7
SG	DeShawn Stevenson	6	Nick Young	4
SF	Caron Butler	9	Dominic McGuire	4	Oleksiy Pecherov	4
PF	Antawn Jamison	8	Andray Blatche	6	JaVale McGee	5
C	Brendan Haywood	7	Etan Thomas	5	Darius Songaila	5
	DALLAS MAVERICKS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Jason Kidd	8	Jose Juan Barea	4	Keith McLeod	4
SG	Jason Terry	8	Eddie Jones	6	Antoine Wright	4
SF	Josh Howard	8	Jerry Stackhouse	5	Gerald Green	4
PF	Dirk Nowitzki	9	Brandon Bass	5	James Singleton	5
C	Erick Dampier	7	DeSagana Diop	7
	HOUSTON ROCKETS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Rafer Alston	7	Aaron Brooks	6	Sean Singletary	5
SG	Tracy McGrady	9	Luther Head	7	Steve Francis	6
SF	Shane Battier	8	Brent Barry	8	Patrick Ewing Jr.	4
PF	Ron Artest	9	Luis Scola	7	Mike Harris	4
C	Yao Ming	9	Chuck Hayes	8	Carl Landry	7
	MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Mike Conley	6	Kyle Lowry	7	Javaris Crittenton	4
SG	O.J. Mayo	6	Marko Jaric	6	Greg Buckner	5
SF	Rudy Gay	8	Antoine Walker	5
PF	Hakim Warrick	5	Darrell Arthur	4
C	Darko Milicic	6	Marc Gasol	4
	NEW ORLEANS HORNETS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Chris Paul	9	Mike James	6
SG	James Posey	8	Rasual Butler	6
SF	Peja Stojakovic	7	Morris Peterson	6
PF	David West	8	Julian Wright	7	Ryan Bowen	5
C	Tyson Chandler	7	Hilton Armstrong	4	Melvin Ely	4
	SAN ANTONIO SPURS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Tony Parker	8	Jacque Vaughn	4	George Hill	5
SG	Manu Ginobili	9	Roger Mason	6
SF	Bruce Bowen	7	Ime Udoka	6
PF	Tim Duncan	9	Matt Bonner	6	Anthony Tolliver	4
C	Fabricio Oberto	7	Kurt Thomas	7	Ian Mahinmi	5
	DENVER NUGGETS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Allen Iverson	9	Chucky Atkins	6	Anthony Carter	6
SG	J.R. Smith	8	Dahntay Jones	5
SF	Carmelo Anthony	9	Linas Kleiza	6	Sonny Weems	4
PF	Kenyon Martin	7	Renaldo Balkman	6	Chris Andersen	5
C	Nene	7	Steven Hunter	5
	MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Randy Foye	6	Sebastian Telfair	5
SG	Mike Miller	8	Rashad McCants	7	Brian Cardinal	5
SF	Corey Brewer	6	Rodney Carney	5	Craig Smith	6
PF	Kevin Love	7	Ryan Gomes	7	Mark Madsen	5
C	Al Jefferson	7	Jason Collins	5	Calvin Booth	5
	PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Steve Blake	6	Jerryd Bayless	6	Sergio Rodriguez	5
SG	Brandon Roy	9	Rudy Fernandez	7	Von Wafer	4
SF	Martell Webster	6	Travis Outlaw	7	Nicolas Batum	6
PF	LaMarcus Aldridge	8	Channing Frye	5	Ike Diogu	5
C	Greg Oden	7	Joel Przybilla	6	Raef LaFrentz	5
	OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Earl Watson	7	Russell Westbrook	6
SG	Kevin Durant	8	Damien Wilkins	6	Donyell Marshall	5
SF	Jeff Green	6	Desmond Mason	6	D.J. White	5
PF	Joe Smith	6	Nick Collison	6	Saer Sene	5
C	Chris Wilcox	6	Johan Petro	4	Robert Swift	4
	UTAH JAZZ
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Deron Williams	8	Ronnie Price	7	Brevin Knight	7
SG	Ronnie Brewer	8	Kyle Korver	7	Morris Almond	4
SF	Andrei Kirlenko	8	Matt Harpring	6	C.J. Miles	7
PF	Carlos Boozer	9	Paul Millsap	8	Kyrylo Fesenko	5
C	Mehmet Okur	7	Kosta Koufos	5	Jarron Collins	5
	GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Monta Ellis	8	Marcus D. Williams	4	C.J. Watson	5
SG	Stephen Jackson	7	Marco Belinelli	4	Anthony Morrow	5
SF	Corey Maggette	8	Kelenna Azubuike	6	Anthony Randolph	5
PF	Al Harrington	7	Brandan Wright	6	Richard Hendrix	6
C	Andris Biedrins	8	Ronny Turiaf	7	Kosta Perovic	4
	LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Baron Davis	9	Jason Williams	7	Jason Hart	5
SG	Cuttino Mobley	6	Eric Gordon	6	Mike Taylor	4
SF	Al Thornton	5	Ricky Davis	7
PF	Marcus Camby	8	Tim Thomas	7	Steve Novak	5
C	Chris Kaman	7	Brian Skinner	5	DeAndre Jordan	6
	LOS ANGELES LAKERS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Derek Fisher	7	Jordan Farmar	7	Coby Karl	6
SG	Kobe Bryant	10	Sasha Vujacic	7	Dwayne Mitchell	4
SF	Lamar Odom	8	Luke Walton	7	Trevor Ariza	7
PF	Pau Gasol	9	Vladimir Radmanovic	7
C	Andrew Bynum	8	Chris Mihm	5	D.J. Mbenga	5
	PHOENIX SUNS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Steve Nash	9	D.J. Strawberry	4
SG	Raja Bell	7	Leandro Barbosa	7
SF	Grant Hill	7	Matt Barnes	7	Alando Tucker	4
PF	Amare Stoudemire	9	Boris Diaw	7
C	Shaquille O'Neal	8	Robin Lopez	4
	SACRAMENTO KINGS
	STARTERS		KEY BENCH		MORE BENCH
PG	Bobby Jackson	6	Beno Udrih	5	Bobby Brown	4
SG	Kevin Martin	8	John Salmons	6	Quincy Douby	4
SF	Francisco Garcia	7	Donte Greene	6	Jason Thompson	5
PF	Mikki Moore	7	Spencer Hawes	5	Shareef Abdur-Rahim	5
C	Brad Miller	8	Kenny Thomas	5	Shelden Williams	4

Legend:

10	-	All-time great talent level
9	-	Superstar caliber talent
8	-	Borderline star talent
7	-	Average to above-average talent
6	-	Mediocre to average talent
5	-	Well-below-average talent
4	-	Replacement-level talent
3	-	Sub-replacement-level talent

Josh Childress

Vital Info
Height: 6'8"
Weight: 210 lbs.
Position: Guard-Forward
Born: 6/20/1983
College: Stanford
Drafted: 2004 - 1st Round, 6th Overall

Player Type: Lanky, versatile 2-way guard-forward
Strengths: Childress is an insanely efficient offensive player -- his offensive ratings over his 4-year NBA career have been: 113.0 in '05, 121.3 in '06, 118.8 in '07, and 126.5 in '08. These numbers are driven by Childress' monster shooting percentages; in 2008 he shot 57.1% from the floor and had a 64.7 TS%, and his career TS% is 59.9%. Basically, Childress is a fantastic finisher inside, a very good offensive rebounder for a wing, he's adept at drawing fouls and making FTs, and he has a talent for getting easy buckets in transition. You can say that his great percentages are the result of taking nothing but easy shots, but he's constantly getting himself into position to take (and make) those easy baskets. Defensively, Childress has long arms and can be disruptive on the wing.
Weaknesses: The flip-side to Childress' great efficiency is that he can't really create shots with any regularity. His handle and floor game aren't very good, his jumper is weak with bad form, and he rarely takes shots from outside the paint, so he's a limited offensive player in that regard. He's also rail-thin and can't defend stronger players, especially inside. Because of these drawbacks, Childress will never be more than a highly-efficient NBA role player.
Favorite shot: Anything inside.

Edit: Childress eventually signed a surprising contract with Olympiakos of the Greek league, spurning the Hawks and the NBA in the process. What does this mean for American basketball? Well, it certainly shows that foreign leagues are willing to shell out major cash to compete with the NBA... but we're not looking at a WHA situation just yet. Restricted free agents like Childress can try to leverage foreign offers into better NBA deals, but I would imagine few U.S.-born players would actually be willing to pull the trigger on a similar move overseas. Childress may be an early pioneer here, but I'm willing to bet he's the exception, not the rule -- the money difference just isn't big enough to convince the typical NBAer to leave the premier league in the world for a little extra cash. Until a foreign club actually offers Kobe or LeBron $50 million/year (and they actually accept), I'm not convinced the exodus is going to involve anyone other than marginal players who would have been lucky to find a roster spot in the United States.

Josh Smith

Vital Info
Height: 6'9"
Weight: 225 lbs.
Position: Forward
Born: 12/5/1985
College: n/a
Drafted: 2004 - 1st Round, 17th Overall

Player Type: High-flying dunk machine who also shines on D
Strengths: Smith is one of the NBA's finest athletes, and this allows him to be a major factor on defense and in transition. Smith has always been an amazing shot-blocker, but in '07-08 he also ramped up his defense in the team concept, which made him one of the league's top overall defensive players. He's a good defensive rebounder as well, and has the quickness to pick up his share of steals. Smith's superior quickness is also one of his primary offensive assets, as he likes to use speed and athleticism to beat his man to the basket in transition or to finish inside on drives. He isn't a bad passer, either.
Weaknesses: The rest of Smith's offensive game is still lacking. He doesn't shoot jumpers effectively at all, and he doesn't handle the ball especially well, either. His jump shot is so poor, in fact, that he only bettered a 35.5 FG% from two areas: straight-on 3-pointers (of which he took just 16) and the immediate basket area. While Smith can create shots with sheer athleticism, they aren't always the highest-percentage looks, and he can be played off of and forced into taking long Js. Smith is also a mediocre offensive rebounder for a man with his athleticism.
Favorite shot: Jaw-dropping jam in transition.

Joe Johnson

Vital Info
Height: 6'8"
Weight: 225 lbs.
Position: Shooting Guard
Born: 6/29/1981
College: Arkansas
Drafted: 2001 - 1st Round, 10th Overall

Player Type: Durable 2-way guard who can create off the bounce
Strengths: Johnson emerged on the national stage during the playoffs, when he took over late in Game 4 of the Hawks' surprising series with Boston, showcasing the game he's been honing for the past 3 years in Atlanta. Johnson's best trait is his versatility -- he commands some of the finer skills of a point guard, including good court vision and ballhandling, but he's also 6-8 with solid strength and athleticism, to go along with a nice shooting stroke. He can knock down threes and midrange jumpers in both catch-and-shoot situations and off the dribble, and can shoot over smaller guards in the post. Defensively, Johnson is very good because he can match up with a variety of player types on the perimeter, although the Hawks don't ask him to man up on the opponent's best scorer very often.
Weaknesses: Johnson is a legitimate superstar who does a number of things well, but he's not without his flaws. He has a slow first step, so he doesn't penetrate (and, consequently, get to the line) as much as some other comparable scorers. Because of this, more of his 2-pointers were jumpers than ever, he shot just 45% on twos, and his shooting efficiency wasn't as high as it had been in recent years. Also, Johnson doesn't chip in a lot in non-scoring areas like rebounding, steals, or shot-blocking.
Favorite shot: Pull-up jumper off the screen-and-roll.

Quick Hits: Charlotte Bobcats

• Derek Anderson has quietly stuck around well into his thirties after starting his career as a first-ish option on the Cavs, Clippers, and Spurs. After a decent season with Charlotte in 2007, he was plagued by injuries again in 2008 and saw a lot of DNPs upon returning from the IL. When healthy, he's still a decent veteran who can swing between SG and PG, but his shooting evaporated last year and he's really starting to show his age.
• A second-round pick in 2007, Jermareo Davidson shot (and missed) too many jumpers for a 6-10 PF, and he got lit up defensively. He plays with energy -- he can block shots and rebound a little -- but he's too thin for the post at either end and his shot needs work. Some NBDL action would help.
• Longtime vet Othella Harrington spent the early part of the season rehabbing after offseason knee surgery, and for the second straight year he never really cracked Charlotte's rotation. When he did get some game action, his shot deserted him, and it looks like he's probably headed for retirement.

Adam Morrison

Vital Info
Height: 6'8"
Weight: 205 lbs.
Position: Forward
Born: 7/19/1984
College: Gonzaga
Drafted: 2006 - 1st round, 3rd overall

Player Type: One-dimensional scorer
Strengths: As a rookie in 2007, Morrison showed he could create plenty of shots -- they weren't good shots, mind you, but shots nonetheless. He is a good shooter (not a great one, certainly not worthy of the Larry Bird/Dirk Nowitzki comparisons that were thrown at him in college), and will almost certainly improve on those horrid rookie shooting numbers with better shot selection. He is a solid ballhandler and passer, and he takes decent care of the ball. The overall package isn't as bad as the results were in his first NBA season.
Weaknesses: Morrison simply isn't an NBA-caliber athlete, and that really hampers his ability to make use of some of his basketball skills. He can shoot, but he can't really create high-percentage looks. He can handle the rock, but he doesn't have the burst or quickness to beat anybody off the dribble. He has decent size, but he can't rebound or block shots. He's generally an intelligent player, but he can't guard a soul. In other words, he's not suited to be an alpha dog at this level, and Charlotte would be advised to stop using him in that manner and just let him be a 2nd or 3rd option. And then there's the matter of the knee injury which cost him all of 2007-08... Since he wasn't reliant on speed or quickness beforehand, it probably won't hurt his game as much as it would other players, but it was just another setback for a guy who really couldn't afford one.
Favorite shot: Low-percentage fadeaway with a defender all over him.