30 Teams in 30 Tweets: Vol. 3

What an off-season for the NBA! LeBron and "The Letter", a mega, mega TV rights deal, another Team USA gold, old faces in new places, pre-season injuries, 44-minute games and renewed hopes and expectations for every team in the league. Yet, while all of this has been great, the real reason for our excitement is that we are finally ready for the 2014-2015 tip-off this week!

Now, what would the few days before the dawn of a new season be without a Ball So Hard Sports "30 Teams in 30 Tweets" primer for our fans?! Sure, you can go to the "experts" out there (or Jalen Rose and his baseball bat if you just want to hear jibberish) for long-winded analysis, but like Sweet Brown says, "Ain't Nobody Got Time For That"! So, instead, we give the #BSHNation what they want: 30 Teams in 30 Tweets: Volume 3!

As always, read, enjoy, debate, criticize, whatever your little roundball-loving hearts desire. But know this: we hit 14 of 16 playoff teams last year. Now, some of the jade has stayed (we still love Doc and the other LA squad) and some has moved (Pierce to DC means the Wiz get far more love than Brooklyn now) and some is renewed (welcome back, Hornets!), but as always, the analysis is real!

Without further adieu, here we go. Your 140 character outlooks for everyone in the NBA. Tuesday will be a great beginning for the league's future and hopefully we'll look back in June as some really great predictions from here. Let's get to the tweets:

Atlanta Hawks:  Playoff constant. Could be as high as 4 seed. Still see low seed, 1^st round exit and Horford dealt.

Boston Celtics: Smart, Sully and Olynyk will be fun to watch. This team will scrap. Don’t discount an 8 seed, but 28-30 wins and a big summer sounds right.

Brooklyn Nets: Kidd leaving is a plus. Hollins will get max effort. Bottom half playoff team if healthy. Enjoy KG’s last ride.

Charlotte Hornets: Hornet Revival! Big Al and Born Ready will get this team into the playoffs again, where they might just make some noise.

Chicago Bulls: Can D-Rose stay healthy? If so, Gasol makes this team one of, if not THE favorite in the East. Big year for Noah.

Cleveland Cavaliers: The Letter stole the summer headlines. The Big 3 stole the preseason media coverage. Will LeBron bring a ring to Cleveland? Yes, but in ’16.

Dallas Mavericks: Parsons is a nice get. Nelson an underrated signing as well. Should keep this squad in the West 8, but not far into the playoffs.

Denver Nuggets: Can a team be TOO deep? We will find out this year. Nuggets have the talent to make playoffs and go deep. Manimal’s break out year!

Detroit Pistons:  Stan Van Gundy has his work cut out for him in the Motor City. Feels like a “reset button” year to get things in order. Sorry, fans.

Golden State Warriors: Pressure is on Klay. If they choose you over K-Love, you better help Steph and the crew get deep into the summer. They picked the wrong guy.

Houston Rockets: They failed to get their 3^rd star. Ariza will help. Look for a mid-year Rondo push. Still a piece or two away from cracking the elite teams.

Indiana Pacers: Feels like their window slammed shut. PG-13 missing the year means a long, long season in Indy. Could also mean Lottery status.

Los Angeles Clippers: The Clippers era of failure is gone. Ballmer and Rivers will win. This could be the year for the “other” LA team to raise a banner.

Los Angeles Lakers: Can Kobe be healthy again or has age finally caught up? We know it has with Nash. Randle can be good, but this team will struggle.

Memphis Grizzlies: RT from 2013: Made noise but fell short last year. Same old story. Guessing they drop a bit this year before making a charge down the road.

Miami Heat: This is D-Wade’s team. Unfortunately, this isn’t 2006. They’re still a playoff team, but the Heatles era is nothing but a memory now.

Milwaukee Bucks: Jabari will be great. Not sure why they wanted Kidd, but they are the Bucks. At least they have Mallory Edens!

Minnesota Timberwolves: Another year where MIN trades a star to create a Big 3 for someone else. Wiggins is a star in the making, but not yet. Rubio needs to shine.

New Orleans Pelicans: The Brow is a future MVP. This team is ready to make some noise. Could crack the playoffs this year, but if not bank on it in ‘16.

New York Knicks:  Jackson will eventually bring a title to the “Zen Garden” but will it be before Melo’s new deal expires? Doubtful. Growing Pains for D-Fish.

Oklahoma City Thunder: The Durant injury is crippling to this team. Have to have homecourt to beat SA or LAC. Westbrook will carry them but could be a lost year.

Orlando Magic: They are building something special in Florida with Oladipo and Gordon. That next lottery piece they get next year will help too.

Philadelphia 76ers: Year 2 of Tankapalooza. They’ve got some pieces and potential, but its going to be ugly this year. Lowest wins in history? Possible.

Phoenix Suns: Dead wrong about them last year. They’ll hang around the 8 seed again, but ultimately will fall short. Then big decisions in off-season.

Portland Trailblazers: Lillard has elevated himself to star status. Now he has to team with Aldridge to improve on last year. They just might.

Sacramento Kings: Cousins is going to be an All-Star. Rudy Gay will help. Interesting mix of a team trying to win now while rebuilding. Rondo’s new home?

San Antonio Spurs: The Champs can repeat. Kawhi is again the key. If healthy, look for this team to be playing in June one more time.

Toronto Raptors: Shocking that Ujiri has turned the Raps into Denver East. Very deep. Maybe too deep. Top 4 seed in the East.

Utah Jazz: While they won’t win many games, this team is going to be interesting to watch. Young and can grow together. How will Exum adjust to NBA?

Washington Wizards: The Wiz put the league on notice in last year’s playoffs. Now, with the Truth to guide the young guns, this could be THE team in the East.

Playoff Predictions:

Eastern Conference Playoff Teams: 1. Chicago 2. Cleveland 3. Washington 4. Toronto 5. Charlotte 6. Miami 7. Atlanta 8. Brooklyn

Western Conference Playoff Teams: 1. LA Clippers 2. San Antonio 3. Golden State 4. Oklahoma City 5. Houston 6. Portland 7. Denver 8. Dallas

Eastern Conference Finals: Chicago over Cleveland. Everyone will pick Cleveland to win the East or be in the ECF. I think Washington gives them all they can handle in the Semis and would give Chicago a run if they got a crack at a healthy Bulls squad, but they just won’t have the firepower. The Bulls, if healthy, go to the Finals. If they aren’t healthy, it wouldn’t shock me to see LeBron back in the Finals and Cleveland fans out of their minds.

Western Conference Finals: LA Clippers over San Antonio. This is going to be the year that the Clippers officially put their past behind them, in every facet of the franchise’s history. New owner, great coach, an MVP candidate in Blake…all of it adds up to taking the moniker of “LA’s Team” from the Lakers and heading to the Finals.

NBA Finals: Bulls over LA Clippers. This will be one hell of an NBA Finals if it happens. As a Celtics fan, I love that it would be the perfect Lakers nightmare: the Clippers and Pau Gasol both battling for an NBA title while they sit home! This would seem to be a 7 game slugfest, but I think in the end, the student will get the best of the teacher and Thibs’ boys will overcome Doc and the Clips. This Chicago team just has too much talent if they are healthy to be beaten this year.

Awards Predictions:

MVP: This feels like an easy LeBron win. You could also see Blake make a run if the Clips follow through as far as I have them going. D-Rose will have to be an MVP again for the Bulls to win it all. I really like Westbrook putting the team on his back while Durant is out as well, and the Brow is still a year away. With all of that said, I’m going with LeBron, Westbrook, Griffin, Rose in that order this year.

6th Man: Andre Iguodala. If GS makes him the 6^th man as rumored, this is his to lose. You could see Tristan Thompson make a run here with Cleveland as well.

Coach: Doc Rivers. He kept this team focused and competitive as well as anyone could have during the Sterling debacle. He will be rewarded for keeping them focused and going even further this year.

Rookie: Jabari Parker. He is the most pro-ready of the Wiggins/Parker debate. He’ll show why and win this award this year.

Defensive POY: Joakim Noah. He’s going to have to be a monster for the Bulls to make the Finals and win it all.

There you have it. Outlooks for all 30 teams, ranked playoff predictions and award projections for the 2014-2015 season. As always, let's hear it in the comments if you agree or disagree and we'd love to hear your predictions as well. Happy Hoops Season, everyone!

30 Teams In 30 Tweets: Vol. 2

On the eve of the 2013-2014 season, muddled by all the LeBron 3-peat, Melo-drama, D-Rose/Kobe returns and taking chatter, one major question remains: where is the 30 Teams in 30 Tweets column from Ball So Hard Sports?! Rest easy, kids, all of the projections, predictions and insanity are here and back in full force! This promises to be one of the most entertaining and competitive seasons in recent memory and what better way to lay out predictions than in our favorite 140-character, quick-hit style?

As mentioned last year, of course you can grab your in-depth, put you to sleep analysis of this season at all of those other sites (whom we love dearly and read as well), but in the land of social media dominance, the tweet-length predictions and outlooks for every team will be just what you need to be ready for the opening tip tomorrow.

Without further adieu, here are the Ball So Hard Sports "30 Teams in 30 Tweets" for the 2013-2014 NBA season, followed by our NBA Playoffs and awards predictions as well. Enjoy and let us know whether you agree/disagree in the comments below.

2013-2014 NBA Previews:

Atlanta Hawks:  New season, same outlook, with or without J-Smoove. Bottom-half seed, 1st round exit. Welcome to Atlanta, where mediocre plays. 

Boston Celtics: Hate losing Pierce & KG but business is business. Love the Stevens hire. Don't rush Rondo, take your lumps. The pieces to rebuild are here.

Brooklyn Nets: Stay healthy, raise a banner. League's best starting 5, great bench, 2 hungry new leaders in Pierce & KG. One of the major contenders.

Charlotte Bobcats: They're getting there, slowly but surely. Big Al was a nice signing. Still a lottery team, but at least they seem like it isn't OK anymore.

Chicago Bulls: If D-Rose plays like he has in preseason, all is forgiven. Guys might start tearing ACL's just to come back this strong. Title/MVP possible.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Does Bynum play? Was Bennett #1 worthy? Is this Irving's audition to play with LeBron? A lot of questions, a year away from answers.

Dallas Mavericks: This team just feels like its fallen by the wayside. Window closed, locked and boarded. Time for Cuban to make a splash.

Denver Nuggets: Losing Iggy is a dagger. Needed to get better, took a step back AND traded Karl for a rookie Shaw on the bench. Middle of the pack at best.

Detroit Pistons:  Lots of new pieces in Motown. Jennings and Smith could make the team fun. Looking at a 7/8 seed and a 1st round sweep. Sound familiar, Josh?

Golden State Warriors: The chic pick to win the west. Iggy definitely puts them on the short list. If Curry's ankles are OK, expect big fun and bigger results. 

Houston Rockets: Is the Dwight drama over? Are they a player away? Is Harden OK with dropping back to 2nd fiddle? A year away from knowing, but promising.

Indiana Pacers: They answered the questions last year about being ready. Can they stay at this level and eventually push forward? George & Hibbert = yes.

Los Angeles Clippers: Can Doc work his magic with vets again? If so, they'll go from covering up the other LA team's banners to finally raising one of their own. 

Los Angeles Lakers: Which number is going to be higher: number of games Kobe misses or number of games the Lakers win? Gonna be a long year for the Lake Show.

Memphis Grizzlies: Made noise but fell short late last year. Same old story. Guessing they drop a bit this year before making a charge down the road.

Miami Heat: LeBron's last ride in South Beach or the title that cements his legacy & keeps him in MIA? Too many contenders, prepare for The Decision 2. 

Milwaukee Bucks: One of a handful of teams whose fans will be watching Kansas highlights more than their own team's. Lottery is a necessity for Bucks. 

Minnesota Timberwolves: Can they keep Love healthy and make a playoff run this year? Hopefully, otherwise it may be time to ship Kevin elsewhere.

New Orleans Pelicans: A year older. Tyreke is a nice add. Probably another year away but don't be surprised to see this team in a first-round matchup.

New York Knicks:  Officially NY's "other" team. MeloDrama will distract them all year. Bottom half of the bracket, 1st round exit, chaos when Melo leaves.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Will Westbrook rush back or take the D-Rose route? If he returns stronger like Derrick, this could be KD's turn to take the crown.

Orlando Magic: Enjoy Victor Oladipo, Magic fans. Then hope you can pair him with Wiggins next season. 

Philadelphia 76ers: Nice youth movement in Philly, even if it meant a step back. Stash Noel away, maybe win the lottery, be a major player in a few years. 

Phoenix Suns: Last year: at least they weren't the Bobcats. This year, before the first tip, it is safe to say that the Phoenix Suns are on the clock...

Portland Trailblazers: Do they keep Aldridge? They are a borderline playoff team either way. With a loaded draft & Lillard, a step away isn't a bad move long term.

Sacramento Kings: Sacramento won the battle to keep their Kings. Neither will win much else this year. The #1 pick would be nice karma and best case scenario.

San Antonio Spurs: Can they follow up last year's epic run with another? Kawhi needs to step up for it to happen. Never count Pop, Duncan & Parker out. 

Toronto Raptors: An intriguing squad this season. Ujiri is doing things right and should sneak into the playoffs. Will be fun to see if they make it.

Utah Jazz: Lottery seems inevitable but there's a young Thunder feel to their rebuild. You never know with bigs like theirs, but 2-3 years to be sure. 

Washington Wizards: It is time for John Wall to rise to the occasion. Playoffs or bust for WAS and they should do just enough to squeak in to a bottom 3 seed. 

Playoff Predictions:

Eastern Conference Playoff Teams: 1. Chicago 2. Brooklyn 3. Miami 4. Indiana 5. New York 6. Detroit 7. Washington 8. Atlanta 

Western Conference Playoff Teams: 1. LA Clippers 2. Oklahoma City 3. Golden State 4. San Antonio 5. Houston 6. Memphis 7. Denver 8. Portland

Eastern Conference Finals: Brooklyn over Chicago. After dethroning the Heat I'm the Conference Semis, Brooklyn will follow Boston's 2008 blueprint into the NBA Finals with KG and Pierce, leaving D-Rose just shy of a storybook comeback.

Western Conference Finals: LA Clippers over Golden St. I really wanted to pick the Warriors here. Love the Iggy signing and think they can go all the way, but probably 1 year away. With Kobe down & out for a year, this is the Clippers' time to make a run. 

NBA Finals: Brooklyn over LA Clippers. If you told me last October that Doc, KG and Paul Pierce would be in the Finals, I'd have been thrilled. Cut to a year later and they very well could be, but as opponents. Doc does wonders with a vet ball club and the Dynamic Duo knows they have 1 or 2 shots at another ring. I think they meet up with their old coach in June and reach their goal of retiring as champions.

Awards Predictions:

MVP: Derrick Rose. I've seen all I needed to this preseason. He's back. Sorry LeBron.

6th Man: Andrei Kirilenko. The only issue is if Jason Terry is really the BK 6th man.

Coach: Erik Spoelstra. The kid will get his due this year. After 2 titles, he will have to keep this team hungry and focused with all the "will he/won't he" LeBron distraction.

Rookie: Kelly Olynyk. A silver lining in this Celtics season. He'll have plenty of minutes and a chance to shine.

Defensive POY: LeBron. He wanted it last year. He'll make sure he gets it this year.

There you have it. Outlooks for all 30 teams, ranked playoff predictions and award projections for the 2013-2014 season. As always, let's hear it in the comments if you agree or disagree and we'd love to hear your predictions as well. Happy Hoops Season, everyone!

30 Teams in 30 Tweets

With Opening Night (finally) upon us, every player, coach, GM and fan base is optimistic about what the 2012-2013 season has in store for them. Unfortunately, about 80% of them shouldn't be. We know who the teams with a shot are and the rest are playing to be the last team David Stern puts on the clock to start an NBA Draft. Truthfully, I think we're all just happy to know there are 82 games on the schedule and we're back to a real season!

You can go just about anywhere and find a league preview, team-by-team previews and more. It is a great time of year for a basketball fan if you want to find a few good reads. Sheridan Hoops, Pro Basketball Talk and of course the big guys like ESPN and Yahoo! will give you everything you can possibly imagine to pour over for the upcoming season.

However, if you're like most of us and have evolved into having the attention span of a gnat, anything longer than Twitter's 140 characters (or about 40 and a pic if you're J.R. Smith) has lost you by the second page. So with that, here are 30 Teams in 30 Tweets. A quick, under 140 preview for every team in the NBA, followed by my 8 playoff teams for each conference, Conference Finals and Finals picks.

Enjoy. Debate. Criticize. Agree. It's your world, squirrels...comments below are always welcome!

2012-2013 NBA Previews:

Atlanta Hawks:  Perennial 5-8 seed. Not getting over the hump. Not now. Not ever. Poor Josh Smith.

Boston Celtics: #IAmACeltic and there is no shot of being unbiased here. Deep squad. Rondo's time. Health is key. Banner 18 goes up in June.

Brooklyn Nets: Everything is new again. City, arena, logo, colors, backcourt...Where's Brooklyn at? Sneaking in or a year away...falls on D-Will and Joe.

Charlotte Bobcats: Not sure Jordan in his prime could help them. Definitely can't from the front office. Only reason to watch this year is future star MKG.

Chicago Bulls: Everything hinges on how they do w/o D-Rose. Then seeing if he's all the way back. Gotta root for the kid, one of the few humble stars left.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Breakout year...Irving, yes. Cavs, not so much. But, a chance to set up for a key FA this summer. They'll want to play with him.

Dallas Mavericks: Is Mayo the answer in Big D? Doubtful. Feels like the window closed on this bunch. Expect a Cuban blockbuster for new blood at some point.

Denver Nuggets: Best front office going. Turning AAA & Harrington into Iggy amazing. Paired with the Melo haul, Nuggets primed to sneak past the favorites.

Detroit Pistons:  The only hope for the Pistons this year is for the NHL lockout to end and the Red Wings to get on the ice, burying them from the back page.

Golden State Warriors: This team is less stable than Steph Curry's ankles. Huge rookie class, deep bench but are they for real or was their last 10 of '12 a sign?

Houston Rockets: Lin & the Beard. Sounds like a bad reality show. Love Harden, but is he ready to start and carry the load? Houston, you may have a problem.

Indiana Pacers: The chic sleeper pic. Young, athletic, showed promise vs. Heat. Are they ready for the leap or are they the next Atlanta? We'll know soon.

Los Angeles Clippers: Still LA's "other" team. Even with big moves, they still get overshadowed by Lake Show. Bottom half playoff team is best bet for CP3's crew.

Los Angeles Lakers: Adding Nash & Superman: 2011 Heat or NBA's real "Dream Team"? There will be bumps in the road, but if smooth by April, tough to bet against.

Memphis Grizzlies: Starting to feel like Hawks West in Memphis. Always around, occasionally make some noise, but never beating the big boys come summer.

Miami Heat: Are they the '92 Bulls or '94 Rockets? LBJ wants MJ's dynasty. Haters hope it was a lockout-shortened asterisk. Tough to see less than ECF.

Milwaukee Bucks: Jennings/Ellis will be on SportsCenter's Top 10 more than the win column. Will be a fun team to watch if you don't care if they win or not.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Would have been a big sleeper if Rubio was healthy. Feels like a bridge year. Best case is sneaking into the lottery for 1 more piece.

New Orleans Hornets: Big rookie haul. Nice to keep Gordon too. Have to like everything about where this team is going. Sneaky 8 seed? Maybe. Probably 2 yrs. out.

New York Knicks:  Big city expectations on Melo & Amare. They aren't better than the East's best. Means a lot of witty headlines bashing them in NY this year.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Trading Harden could be a disaster. Chemistry is key. Ask the C's about Perk. Still a safe bet for WCF. Title if pieces gel with KD & RW.

Orlando Magic: The only thing this team should hope to win this year is the lottery. Somehow I bet they'll mess that up too.

Philadelphia 76ers: Swooping in on Bynum huge, if healthy. They were already set to make the leap, this could be what does it. Collins has them believing.

Phoenix Suns: No Nash, no trade rumors, no real reason to follow this team. Hey, at least you're not the Bobcats!

Portland Trailblazers: Lillard will be a star. Aldridge is solid. Batum got overpaid. Looks like back to the lottery for this group. Which may not be a bad thing.

Sacramento Kings: Cousins busts out this year. Only highlight besides announcing the move to Seattle, where they'll instantly care more than Kings fans do.

San Antonio Spurs: Always there. Will be the same this year. Big season for Kawhi Leonard as he takes the torch from the Spurs big three on this playoff run.

Toronto Raptors: Probably the first team out in the East playoff picture. A lot of good 2-way players. DeRozan in a contract year will be a guy to watch.

Utah Jazz: Utah is BIG. But, Coach Corbin says its Mo Williams' team. Wait, what? If he's conducting, this is a Jazz tune that isn't worth a listen.

Washington Wizards: Is Beal a star or a bust? I'm going with bust. Wall injury to start is a killer. Long season ahead in DC. They can defend, but not enough.

Playoff Predictions:

Eastern Conference Playoff Teams: Atlanta, Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, Indiana, Miami, New York, Philadelphia. I thought about Cleveland, Milwaukee and Toronto here, but I can't see them supplanting NY, Brooklyn and Atlanta this season.

Western Conference Playoff Teams: Dallas, Denver, Houston, LA Clippers, LA Lakers, Memphis, Oklahoma City, San Antonio. I really want to put New Orleans and Minnesota here over Memphis and Dallas, but I think it is a year early.

Eastern Conference Finals: Celtics over Heat. Bradley alone puts them over last season. Jet, Lee and Bradley will be more than Wade and Ray's worn out bodies can handle in June.

Western Conference Finals: Thunder over Nuggets. Upsetting the Lakers will be where Denver's dream season ends. Unless a huge chemistry problem develops, KD and Westbrook are just too good not to return to the Finals.

NBA Finals: Celtics over Thunder. Yes, I'm a homer. Yes, I'm taking age and experience over youth and talent. Don't like it...start your own blog!

There you have it: 30 Teams in 30 Tweets. Best of luck to your team and most importantly to an NBA season for the ages!