Mr. Predicto Revisited

If there's anything I love more than making wild predictions, it's patting myself on the back when I turn out to be right. So now that the NBA season over, it's time to take a look back at my preseason predictions and see how I did.

* "I think Dwyane Wade will win rookie of the year. He, not Carmelo, was the best college player last year and his 6'5'' body is NBA-ready...The Heat have a lot of young talent that will flourish now that Pat Riley's iron fist is no longer holding the team back."

Did I tell you about Dwyane Wade? Did I TELL you? While I was a bit overly optimistic with the Rookie-of-the-Year prediction I knew this guy was destined for greatness. Ever since I saw him torch Kentucky in the '03 Elite Eight, I was convinced he could be mentioned in the same sentence as LeBron and Carmelo. After Miami got off to an 0-7 start, I was worried that my prediction about the Heat's success were way off. But sure enough, Wade kicked into another gear at the end of the season and Heat wound up with the fourth seed.

* "Whenever I think about Keith Van Horn being on the Knicks, the first words that come to my head are invariably "unmitigated" and "disaster".

Well, given that Van Horn barely lasted half a season in New York, I think it's safe to say that I was prophetic.

* "The door is open for Paul Pierce to absolutely blow up this season. The Truth will be the MVP of every fantasy basketball league in the nation."

I was wrong on this one. I really like Pierce as a player, so it was disheartening to see him sulk his way through the season. He was surrounded with a terrible supporting cast, but despite (and because of) this, he should have been able to average at least 25 points a game.

* "Brad Miller is the most overrated player in the league...Anyone who thinks the Kings improved with this acquisition is kidding themselves."

Sometimes when you step to the plate, you whiff spectacularly. I'm eating major crow, as Miller was spectacular this year. If he'd had arrived a year or two earlier, the Kings would have a title already.

* "Orlando will make a strong playoff run now tha McGrady has some frontcourt help in Juwan Howard."

Ouch. Reading that one is like a punch to the gut.

* "Sacramento is the one headed for a fall. The Kings are never healthy- it's always some kind of nagging ailment or freak injury keeping them from being at full strength."

Last year it was Webber. This year, Bobby Jackson's injury did them in. The Kings really need to fire their team doctor.

* "The Mavs are no better or worse than last year. Even though they're adding Walker and Jamison, that offense get any more efficient than it already was."

You can stockpile as many shooters as you want but as soon as you run into a decent defense, you're finished. And the Mavs were done in by Sacramento, who's not even known for lockdown D.

* "The new-look team I'm most interested in seeing is the Timberwolves. Kevin Garnett was already on the verge of an MVP season...I'm predicting that the T-Wolves will finally get out of the first round."

I was right about the T-Wolves but looking back, I wasn't exactly Nostradamous. It was pretty obvious that Garnett was ready to blow up and that the new talent in Minnesota would push them to round two.

* "The Lakers have star power, but I just don't think that team can come together for a title run in one season."

Thankyou! Thankyou! Please hold your applause everyone. Somehow I just knew that this plan wouldn't work. Champions are more than just talent on a roster sheet. Most NBA champs have won with star power, but every titleist needs role players.

* "In basketball more than in any other sport, the team with the best player wins the crown. And Tim Duncan still wears black and silver."

Well, it's safe to say that Detroit proved all of us wrong.