Junk Food Nation, even though my Wizards don’t play until tomorrow night, THE 2014-2015 NBA SEASON IS OFFICIALLY HERE.  With three games tonight, the marquee matchup will be the champion San Antonio Spurs vs. The Dallas Mavericks – otherwise known as the two best teams in the Western Conference.

So add basketball now to the already existing sports mix of World Series, weekend football, and hockey. I love October.  And of course, this means it’s PREDICTION TIME.  I’m going to predict as I did last year (here), and just give the eight teams, in each Conference, that will make the playoffs in the seeding order that I think they’ll finish.

As a reminder of how the NBA playoffs work: “The team that has the best record in each of the three divisions in each conference is declared division champion. The three division champions, and another team in the conference with the best record, are seeded one through four by their records. This guarantees the division champions no worse than the fourth seed, and also guarantees the conference’s two best teams (by record) will be the top two seeds even if the second-best team doesn’t win its division. Of the remaining eleven conference teams, the four with the best records are seeded fifth through eighth based on their record.”

Let’s do this:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1. Chicago. I’ve only watched a little bit of pre-season, and Rose looks like A BEAST right now. He’s on a mission and the addition of Gasol is scary.  SCARY.  First place in the Central Division.

2. Cleveland. Yep, the second best record in the East will also come from the Central Division.  It was a tough call to put Chicago first, and Cleveland second, but I just had to give the edge to Chicago until I can see how Cleveland handles tough matchups like Dallas.  Second place in the Central Division.

3. WASHINGTON. OOOOOH YEAH WIZ NUTS. CAN YOU HEAR WHAT THE WIZ ARE COOKIN’? I am totally biased, but the Wiz are going to destroy this Southeast Division. Wall, Beal, The Truth and all their bench additions??  BBQ PIEROGI ALERT! First place in the Southeast Division.

4. Toronto. Oh Canada. I look at the Atlantic Division and I just think, “Gross” but I have to remember that Toronto BALLED OUT last season. Respect. First place in the Atlantic Division.

5. Atlanta. I was super scared of Atlanta in the playoffs last year, AND they get Al Horford back.  Seriously – Atlanta is one of those teams I ALWAYS FORGET is actually decent.  Second place in the Southeast Division.

6. Charlotte. Gulp – another Southeast team? Yep – They made it into the playoffs last year, added Lance Stephenson, changed their name back to the Hornets…these are all good things.  Not bad things. Third place in the Southeast Division.

7. Boston. STUNNA!  Everyone has Boston in a rebuilding year and one of the worst teams in the East, but I LOVE the addition of Marcus Smart and think the pieces they do have are actually REALLY talented!  Can they improve enough to add 15 wins to vault into playoff mode? I think they can. Second place in the Atlantic Division.

8. Brooklyn. The 8-seed was tough, because there’s still Miami out there, but when I look at both Brooklyn and Miami, I’m not super thrilled with either team. I went with Brooklyn because they are a TOUGH team, and Deron Williams is still a top 5 point guard in the game.  I’m hating on Miami. Third place Atlantic Division.

Quick notes: Will Jabari Parker make Milwaukee a contender?  Can you name three other players on the Bucks roster, at all??

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1. Clippers. I see them getting the most wins in the West simply because that Division is HORRIBLE.  It’s possible that the Lakers will be even worse than last year, if that is possible. First place in the Pacific Division.

2. San Antonio. I keep wanting to put them below Dallas, but I have no reason to – who do I trust more, an aging Tim Duncan or an aging Dirk Nowitzki? Plus, Kawhi Leonard and the rest of the gang are still there. First place in the Southwest Division.

3. Portland. That’s right, not OKC. I think Durant will be fine and OKC will make the playoffs, but that 1-2 months is going to be ROUGH.  Portland will keep banking wins while OKC flounders and the Thunder will never catch up. First place in the Northwest Division.

4. Golden State. The second best record overall in the West, to me, is between Golden State and OKC, who I think will rack up wins quickly once KD returns (just not enough to catch Portland). The uncertainty factor concerns me, re: KD, so I’m putting the safer GS bet here. Second place in the Pacific Division.

5. OKC. See #3 and #4. Second place in the Northwest Division.

6. Dallas. This is really all about the addition of Chandler Parsons, who the Rockets will regret losing. They took San Antonio to 7 games last postseason, and I think can improve over their 49 wins last season.  This is also a deadheat race for me between GS and OKC.  Essentially, I think these three teams finish one game apart. Second place Southwest Division.

7. Memphis.

8. New Orleans.

OUT: Houston – The last three spots were dedicated to the OTHER three teams in the Southwest Division. Memphis is just a good team – solid players all around, and while they are sort of boring to me, they are one of those teams everyone sleeps on and then ends up with 50 wins.  New Orleans I kept putting on the outside looking in, but I really think Anthony Davis is a stud and they are going to push tempo even more this year. I know people LOVE Houston, but I am going to put my foot down and say Dwight Howard and James Harden will not be enough. People forget how good Chandler Parsons was for them. Trevor A333za, while I love him, is not the same player.  This team is going to take a BIG step backwards, and that’s when Howard will start whining like he always does. The punk.

Quick notes: Vince Carter, on Memphis now?  On a 3-yr/$12 million deal???  Vinsanity is 37 y.o. and averaged 12 points last season, off the bench!  RESPECT.  Make that chedda.

MY PREDICTION FOR THE 2014 NBA CHAMPION: I guessed Cleveland last year. That was stupid.  But would it be stupid to pick them this year? Can LeBron put it together in one season?  I’m going to say YES, but that the West still wins. It’s a cop-out, but I’m just going to guess WEST CHAMPION over Cleveland.  

(Secret hope: LET’S GO WIZ!) I wanna hear YOUR comments about how you think the NBA season will go in the comments below. LET ME HEAR IT, BBALL FANS!

Today’s junk food: SAMU Thai Coconut Water!

Back in June, I video-reviewed SAMU Thai Coconut Water, one of the first companies that supported this blog waaaay back in the day.  They reached out to me again, stating that they loved the video and had since changed their can design AND added a No-Sugar-Added line:

OOOOOO ARTSY.  Anyways, SAMU Thai Coconut Water is still my favorite coconut water, and I was stoked to try their no sugar version too.  The cans now are thinner and taller, like big Red Bull cans:

I like SAMU Thai Coconut Water because, like most coconut waters, they market themselves as an on-the-go drink for adults and kids alike, but they also RECOMMENDED mixing their water with rum, vodka, tequila, or just as a chaser.  It’s so nice and sweet, I DEFINITELY see the application.

Here are the backs of the cans of SAMU Thai Coconut Water, so you can see the difference in ingredients – one has added cane sugar, one doesn’t.  I tried the No Sugar one, and I have to be honest, it’s still nice and sweet!  I liked both and will probably drink the No Sugar one more just because I can get the same flavor with just a bit less sugar.

Here’s my video review from last time, in case you missed it:

Back with a regular review tomorrow.  ENJOY OPENING NIGHT, JUNK FOOD NATION!

THE SAMU WEBSITE: http://getsamu.com/

PURCHASED AT: Sent to me

COST: You can buy it on Amazon here!

Thoughts? Please comment below or hit me up on Twitter @junkfoodguy or LIKE my Facebook Page and message me there. I also have Google+!! Let’s hang out.

Sincerely,

Junk Food Guy