There's not many "great" teams in the NBA.

These next five teams all have serious question marks as far as personnel, yet I think they could all make the playoffs and make a run in the playoffs.

This season is gonna be fun, but, outside of the top teams, it'll be about as predictable as Mike Tyson.

The Buffalo Wild Wings Division

15. Philadelphia 76ers
Philly is intriguing for a lot of reasons. The Sixers have athletes all over the place (Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, Lou Williams, etc.). They have size inside (Elton Brand, Samual Dalembert, Marreese Speights). But they don't have a point guard. Andre Miller, who played all 82 games in 2007-08 and 2008-09, left for Portland as a free agent, with the reins being handed to Williams (going into his 5th season at 22 years old). Williams in the last two seasons has missed just three games, but has never started a game in his career. His high in assists per game was 3.2 in 2007-08 and his best assist to turnover ratio was 2:1 that same season. Look for Iguoldala to share ballhandling duties with Williams. And expect rookie point guard Jrue Holiday (the only "true" point on Philly's roster), to get some time at the point, as well. If that pans out and Brand, who's played 37 games the last two seasons, stays healthy, Philly could make some noise in the playoffs.

14. Phoenix Suns
Phoenix will most likely sneak into the playoffs this season, but the run is over for this team. Reports I've read have the Suns going back to their run & gun style, which will be fun for the first 82, but, as has been proven in the past, that style won't translate to a championship, or even a trip past the first round. Phoenix's core now features a 37-year-old with bad ankles (Grant Hill), a 35-year-old with a bad back (Nash) and a 26-year-old coming off eye surgery (Stoudemire). That group also features former MSU star Jason Richardson and Barbosa, 28 and 26, respectively. Phoenix does have some young pieces that should contribute in second-year center Robin Lopez and 2009 lottery pick Earl Clark. The Suns have the pieces to have a solid season, but with the moves some other teams out west have made, I don't think Phoenix has enough in the tank to compete.

13. New Orleans Hornets
Chris Paul lost his Shawn Kemp when center Tyson Chandler was traded to Charlotte in exchange for Emeka Okafor. The move is actually an upgrade, as Okafor for his career has averaged 14 points a game to Chandler's 8.2, along with pulling down 10 boards a night - a slight bump from Chandler's 9. The move also helps out power forward David West, as Okafor is just a little more adept at playing away from the basket than Chandler. That frees up room for West, 21 points, 8.6 boards in 2008-09, to work. But the key to this team is Chris Paul. His numbers have gotten better every year. But this team needs to start going deep in the playoffs. Paul is a winner and if this team doesn't start winning big, trade rumors centering around Paul could begin to swirl.

12. Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks, in my opinion, reached their peak last season. The squad got to the second round of the playoffs before being swept by Cleveland. This is a team that has lots of talent and is good enought o be a playoff team every season, but it won't make any real noise in the playoffs. Taking Boston to seven games in the first round of the 2008 playoffs was good for the squad, as was getting out of the first round last season. But there are too many guys on this team (Marvin Williams, Josh Smith) who don't want to play a role.

11. Toronto Raptors
Acquiring small forward Hedo Turkoglu in the offseason was a solid move. With that, Toronto has basically become the (really) northern version of the Orlando Magic. The Raptors have Chris Bosh (22.7 ppg, 10 rpg in 2008-09) to play the role of Dwight Howard alongside Turkoglu, while Andrea Bargnani (15.4 points, 5.3 boards, 41 percent from 3, 83 percent from the line) will take on the role Rashard Lewis played in Orlando. Jose Calderon, in the second year of a 5-year, $45 million contract, will run the team - and is one of the underrated players in the league, in my opinion. Toronto has a wealth of bulk up front, including former Piston Amir Johnson, who I expect to contribute now that not a lot it expected of him. The Raptors backcourt depth leaves a lot to be desired. They need someone to play alongside Calderon and Jarrett Jack, who came over this summer from Indiana, isn't a starting two guard. Lottery pick DeMar DeRozan will get a chance to prove his wealth early.

Part V coming tomorrow

The more things change, the more that stay the same.

Look for the Lakers and Spurs to battle for the best record out west, while LeBron and Shaq will battle Boston's three-headed monster for the east crown.

Here is how I see each team finishing in each division.

(Bold denotes playoff team)

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division
Boston
Toronto
Philadelphia
New York
New Jersey

Central Division
Cleveland
Chicago
Detroit
Indiana
Milwaukee

Southeast Division
Orlando
Washington
Miami
Atlanta
Charlotte

Western Conference

Northwest Division
Denver
Portland
Utah
Oklahoma City
Minnesota

Southwest Division
San Antonio
Dallas
New Orleans
Houston
Memphis

Pacific Division
L.A. Lakers
Phoenix Suns
Los Angeles Clippers
Golden State Warriors
Sacramento Kings

You know those reality shows on VH1? They suck you in because they're fun to watch, but there really isn't anything to them.

You can throw these teams into that category for the upcoming NBA season.

The .99 cent menu at Wendy's Division

20. Golden State Warriors
The Warriors this offseason made the craziest man in the NBA - Stephen Jackson - its team captain. Since then, he has expressed that he wants to be traded, along with being suspended for conduct detrimental to the team. Shortly after that suspension was handed down, Jackson went on to score 22 points, grab 7 rebounds and play all 48 minutes of a preseason game last week. The Golden State Warriors, everybody!!!

19. Detroit Pistons
Last year, the Pistons could have taken Kansas point guard Mario Chalmers to pair in the backcourt with Rodney Stuckey. They took a guy with a sleep disorder. This offseason, Detroit was still in need of a point guard...the Pistons passed up on Jrue Holliday, Ty Lawson, Jeff Teague and Eric Maynor to select Gonzaga small forward Austin Daye - a poor man's Tayshaun Prince. Detroit also took two more small forwards in the second round, apparently hoping to become the Golden State of the Midwest. That or the Pistons are planning on dealing Prince at some point this season. Detroit also doesn't have a true center and are hoping Kwame Brown, in his 9th year, will become a solid starting center. The kids of Hot Air Balloon Guy have a better shot at being normal adults than Kwame Brown does of becoming a decent center.

18. Houston Rockets
Aaron Brooks. Brent Barry. Trevor Ariza. Luis Scola. David Andersen. Those names don't represent members of the cast of some TV movie about prison life. Those are the starters for Houston until Tracy McGrady returns in December from a knee injury. And based on his history, McGrady will play 12 games, aggravate a previous injury, and be out for the season. Either that, or he'll be traded since he's in the last year of his contract. Couple that with Yao Ming being out for the season with a foot injury, and the Rockets season will be about as successful as those people who appear on "Real World/Road Rules Challenge" after "Real World/Road Rules Challenge."

17. Washington Wizards
The Wizards traded away the pick that became Ricky Rubio for Mike Miller (career averages of 13.9 points and 5 rebounds/game) and Randy Foye (13 points/game). Rubio played Minnesota and decided not to come to the NBA, and Miller and Foye will add firepower to a group that includes Gilbert Arenas (coming off a knee injury), Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison. That group will be allowed to run with new coach Flip Saunders (.597 winning percentage in 13 years) and Washington could sneak into the playoffs if it learns to stop somebody. The Wizards finished 2008-09 24th in the league in points allowed with 103.

The National Coney Island Division

16. Miami Heat
Miami was middle of the pack both offensively (98.3 ppg-18th in the NBA) and defensively (98 ppg-12th) last season. The offensive numbers should improve, especially if Michael Beasley (13.9 points/game in his rookie season) can keep his head in the game. Having Jermaine O'Neal for a full season should keep the Heat's defense solid, too, but having Jermaine O'Neal healthy for more than 55 games in a season is about as likely as "Real Chance of Love" winning an Emmy.

Part IV coming tomorrow

That story about the kid who was supposedly stuck in a hot air balloon all day yesterday was insane.

We came to find out a lot about him and his family. The family - from Colorado - has appeared on the reality TV show "Wife Swap." They believe in aliens and named the kid Falcon. During an interview with CNN, the boy said "you told me to do this for the show." The parents home school their kids. And, from the looks of that balloon, they loved Jiffy Pop when they were younger.

I wouldn't trust that thing enough to step foot inside it even if there was a briefcase inside it with a million dollars in it.

I also wouldn't trust these teams to go very far this season.

The Hot N Ready Division

25. Indiana Pacers
I feel for Danny Granger. Granger is a fabulous player who's gotten better (scoring averages of 7.5, 13.9, 19.6 and 25.8 in each of his four years in the league) in each of his four seasons in the NBA. Granger has earned his $10,130,500 salary. But the rest of the team is junk. Three other highest-paid players on the squad are Troy Murphy ($11,047,619 in 2009-10), T.J. Ford ($8,500,000) and Mike Dunleavy ($9,780,992). Those three guys have played in a combined total of 16 playoff games - all by Ford in his time in Milwaukee and Toronto. Their starting center (7'2" Roy Hibbert) has shown signs of life this preseason, but things aren't looking up for the Pacers. As an aside, this team has more white guys who will play major roles than an episode of "Entourage."

24. New York Knicks
Hmmm...Derrick Rose, or Chris Duhon and Nate Robinson? I bet Mike D'Antoni wishes he took the Bulls job now. He probably cries every time Eddy Curry walks into practice. As a basketball coach, your prospects don't look so hot when you're starting center's butt is wider than the back of a '74 Eldorado.

23. Charlotte Bobcats
For the last couple years, I've had this idea of how the league could be better if six teams were contracted. The Bobcats are always at the top of that list. Charlotte isn't a good place for pro basketball. If it was, the Hornets would still be there. The Bobcats have some nice pieces (D.J. Augustin, Gerald Wallace, Gerald Henderson) and Tyson Chandler will add more of a defensive presence than Emeka Okafor (traded to New Orleans for Chandler) ever did. But those pieces don't mesh well. When you constantly have high draft picks, you get guys who don't necessarily know how to play a role. They just wanna "get theirs." Could you see three movies being made in the "Ocean's 11" series if Matt Damon and Don Cheadle walked on the set and turned into the Dudley Boyz on George Clooney and Brad Pitt.

The Sonic/Chik-Fil-A Division

22. Oklahoma City Thunder
OKC is a team on the come up. They have one of the five best scorers in the NBA in Kevin Durant (25.3 ppg, .476 field goals, .422 3-pt field goals in 2008-09). The Thunder also has a dynamic point guard in Russell Westbrook and a solid all-around player in Jeff Green. If things break right, Oklahoma City could sneak into the playoffs and serve as a sacrificial lamb for the Lakers or Spurs. Realistically, they'll be more fun to watch than those cop chase shows and miss the playoffs.

21. Los Angeles Clippers
Look at how scary good the Clips starting five is: Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Al Thornton, Blake Griffin, Chris Kaman. That's easily one of those most talented starting fives in the league. Want to see something even scarier? MIKE DUNLEAVY is their coach!!!! Dunleavy routinely does less with more with the greatest of ease. In 16 years as a coach, he's 592-688, good for a .463 winning percentage. In those 16 years, he's made seven playoff appearances. In six years in L.A., he's 194-298, with one playoff appearance. How he's still employed is beyond me. He must have pictures of Clippers owner Donald Sterling with a Jonas Brother or something.

Part III coming Monday

Aside from the free agent frenzy that took place right after players could sign with new teams, this has been a quiet NBA offseason.

Some big names (Shaq, Ron Artest, Vince Carter) have changed teams, while some guys who were thought to have been on the trade block (Tracy McGrady, Richard Hamilton, Amare Stoudemire) have stayed with their respective squads.

The draft came and went with no sure thing coming out off the 2009 class. Blake Griffin would be considered a sure thing had he been drafted by any team other than the Clippers. But I digress.

The officials went on strike, leading to replacement referees taking over for the preseason. The replacements are bad. "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" bad. A game between the Rockets and Celtics last week saw 75 fouls called and 102 free throw attempts.

All that aside, the start of the 2009-10 season is on the horizon and I oculdn't be any happier. It seems like eons ago that the Lakers (my favorite team) hoisted the Larry O'Brien trophy in Orlando.

Going into the season, the Lakers look poised to become repeat champions for the seventh time in team history.

But what about the rest of the league? Which teams can challenge L.A.? Which teams would stink on Xbox?

What follows is a countdown of teams in the league - from worst to first. How bad they'll be is "detailed" by the division they're placed in.

The Fried Bologna Sandwich Division

30. Sacramento Kings
Sacramento won just 17 games last season and finished the season with the worst record in the league. Francisco Garcia, who averaged a shade under 13 points a game in 65 games last season and signed a four-year, $23 million extension, had been expected to contribute and help get the team out of the NBA cellar. Kings fans will have to wait for that contribution. Garcia is out four months with a wrist injury because an exploding exercise ball. If that's not an omen, I don't know what is.

29. Milwaukee Bucks
Two-guard Michael Redd is coming off ACL surgery and has missed 96 games the last three seasons. When healthy, he's a scoring machine. The Bucks better hope Redd can channel his inner Pete Maravich and drop 65 a game because that's the only way they'll be able to compete. Milwaukee also went from having Ramon Sessions as its starting point guard to Luke Ridnour. That's like a guy going from chick who played Charlotte on "Sex and the City" to the one who played Samantha. Neither's that good, but it's obvious one's better than the other.

28. Memphis Grizzlies
You know those guys you play pick-up ball with who always get out on the court and go for theirs and can't grasp the "team" concept? Memphis has a team full of those, including "Me, Myself and I" Hall of Famer Allen Iverson. Sure, he's 34, but you mean to tell me a first-ballot Hall of Famer with a career scoring average of 27.1 ppg (5th all time) could only get a call from Memphis? That says a lot. Another "me first" guy Memphis picked up this summer is Zach Randolph. Randolph could be the best low-post player in the game, but he's certifiably insane. He could be the first player to get a "DNP-COMMITTED" in a box score. To add insult to injury, the Grizzlies play in the toughest division in the league, with Dallas, Houston, New Orleans and San Antonio. It's like they're taking a knife to a gunfight every night.

The White Castle/Telway/Comet Burger Division

27. Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves have promise. Minnesota has the best post player in the league under 25 in Al Jefferson. The Kelly Rowland to Jefferson's Beyonce is second-year power forward Kevin Love, who nearly averaged a double-double last season in 81 games. The T'Wolves picked up Sessions - a decent guard- from Milwaukee to man the point. But the team plays in what could be the second toughest division in the league: the Northwest, with Denver, Portland, Utah and Oklahoma City. Minny could look good at times and awful at others.

26. New Jersey Nets
Devin Harris (21.6 ppg, 6.9 apg in 69 games last season) is a superstar in the making and 2008 lottery pick Brook Lopez (13 points, 8 boards and 2 blocks a game) could form a solid inside-outside combo with Harris. But when Bobby Simmons ($11,242,666) is the highest paid player on your team you've got some serious issues. Could you imagine if Tito was the highest-paid Jackson? Me, either.

Part II coming tomorrow

Four seasons ago, the Phoenix Suns finished the season in the conference finals after losing, 4-2, to the Dallas Mavericks. That was the team's second-straight trip to the NBA final four, as Phoenix bowed out, 4-1, to eventual champion San Antonio in 2005.

The core of those teams featured Steve Nash (two-time MVP), All-stars Amar'e Stoudemire (Stoudemire missed 79 games in 2005-06) and Shawn Marion, defensive stopper/dead-eye shooter Raja Bell, super-sub Leandro Barbosa, Boris Diaw (Diaw spent time at all five positions during that run), Tim Thomas and Eddie House (both are guys who can get you 20-30 off the oak) and Kurt Thomas.

The Suns, who had a book, ":07 Seconds or Less," a publication chronicling the team's 2005-06 season written by longtime basketball writer Jack McCallum, written about them, didn't even make the playoffs last year. The west was tough last season and Stoudemire missed extended time with an eye injury, but for a team that features two of the greatest of all time at their respective positions (Nash and Shaquille O'Neal) to not make the playoffs is absurd.

The group featured in McCallum's book has since been broken up. Of that core, only Barbosa, Nash and Stoudemire remain. Phoenix may still be fun to watch, but the sun has set on the team's relevance.

Phoenix Suns
Phoenix's core now features a 37-year-old with bad ankles (Grant Hill), a 35-year-old with a bad back (Nash) and a 26-year-old coming off eye surgery (Stoudemire). That group also features former MSU star Jason Richardson and Barbosa, 28 and 26, respectively.

Phoenix does have some young pieces that should contribute in second-year center Robin Lopez and 2009 lottery pick Earl Clark.

The Suns have the pieces to have a solid season, but with the moves some other teams out west have made, I don't think Phoenix has enough in the tank to compete.

Nash's back problem would be a bigger issue if he relied on athleticism, which he doesn't. Last season, in 74 games, Nash shot .503 percent from the field, while pouring in 15.7 ppg and handing out 9.7 assists a night. Nash has the ability to make everyone around him better, but this group looks like someone just threw it together.

I also don't have faith in head coach Alvin Gentry, who coached in Detroit for parts of three seasons. This is Gentry's fourth coaching stint. He's taken one team to the playoffs - the Pistons in the lockout-shortened 1999 season. Gentry has a career record of 195-239 and has been fired mid-season twice. I've read that the Suns players love Gentry, but I don't see him putting them in the best position to win for an entire 82-game season.

I don't think Phoenix should look at dealing Nash or Stoudemire, but what Phoenix should do, assuming they don't make the playoffs this season, is draft an understudy for Nash. Phoenix has failed to develop a back up for the two-time MVP. Having one in tow would make for a smooth transition once Nash calls it quits. Next year's draft class doesn't have that great a crop of point guards, so looking at someone like Raymond Felton in free agency next summer would be a good move.

It would do Phoenix good to make some moves this season, as Stoudemire has an early termination option that kicks in next summer.

When you lose your team's superstar and best player, you're bound to go through a rough transitional period - especially when another top-tier talent can't stay healthy.

For those reason, I see the Houston Rockets, which finished 4th in the West last season, as one of the teams that have played well recently that will struggle through the 2009-10 season.

Houston Rockets
The Rockets made it out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in 12 years this past spring. The team played admirably in its second round series with the eventual champion Lakers - despite losing center Yao Ming (career averages of 19.1 points and 9.3 rebounds/game) in game 3 of the series. Ming has since been diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his left foot - an injury that is career threatening for a man of his size. Yao will have surgery to repair the broken bone in his foot and has been ruled out for the entire 2009-10 season, leaving Houston with little-used (and little talented) David Andersen as its starting center.

Yao's injury allowed the Rockets to apply for the disabled player disabled player exception, an exception to the NBA salary cap that grants the injured player's team money to sign a free agent. The Rockets were granted the exception, and used about $5.7 million on free-agent Trevor Ariza. That's a solid move, but Ariza will be asked to do much more than he did as a Laker. He doesn't have the game's best player and one of its best big men to play off of now.

Another question mark is Tracy McGrady, who, like Hamilton, I expect to be traded at some point this season. McGrady has never led a team to a playoff series win in his 12-year career. The Rockets got out of the first round last season while McGrady nursed an injury and watched from the sidelines. Since arriving in Houston prior to the start of the 2004-05 season, McGrady has missed 113 games and played in an average of just 59 games a season. He is also in the last year of his deal and has a contract that's an astronomical $23,239,561. McGrady is also currently nursing a knee injury that will likely keep him sidelined until December.

Without Yao - and by making the assumption that McGrady will miss an extended period of time due to injury this season - the Rockets should look at getting McGrady off their books and look to 2010. Houston is in the toughest division in the league (the Southwest with Dallas, New Orleans and San Antonio), so even with T Mac, Houston will finish no higher than fourth in the division and will miss the playoffs. Why not get that huge, bad deal out of the way and pull a Celtics in 2006-07 and tank the season and get in the John Wall sweepstakes?

Part III coming soon

With teams looking to free up cap space to make a run at the prized players in the much-hyped 2010 NBA free agent class - LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and Joe Johnson are just five names that come to mind - there will surely be some squads looking to dump what they deem "bad" contracts to give them the flexibility to make a hard sell to some of those free agents.

With the league salary cap most likely taking a steep drop next season (some think it may drop form the current $57.7 million to around $50 million), teams will make moves to avoid paying the league Luxury Tax, as well.

A few of those teams have been consistent playoff teams this decade. But do to roster changes, injuries and/or finances, these teams will see a drop in wins this season in a bid to rebuild or shed cap space.

Detroit Pistons
Shortly after the start of the 2008-09 season, Detroit re-signed two-guard Rip Hamilton to a 3-year, $34 million deal that could keep him with the club through 2013. I don't see that happening, especially after Detroit this summer inked Bulls super-sub Ben Gordon to a 5-year, $55 million deal. A number of people believe Detroit will run a three-guard offense with Hamilton and Gordon running alongside third-year guard Rodney Stuckey. There's not enough balls to go around for those three guys.

All three are scoring guards - even though Detroit is making an effort to turn Stuckey into a point. Hamilton can play off the ball. So can Gordon to a lesser extent, but Stuckey will dominate the ball this season as the team looks to make him That Guy. And you don't pay someone coming off the bench $55 million.

Both Hamilton and Gordon for their career average around 15 shots a game and don't provide much else. That, in my opinion, leaves Hamilton as the odd man out as Gordon is just 26, while Hamilton is on the wrong side of 30. Just like Chauncey Billups was last season before he was dealt in what amounted to a salary dump. I don't know what Pistons President and GM Joe Dumars could get for Hamilton, but getting that contract off the books is looking like a good move. It's not a bad contract, which works in the favor of Dumars in trying to move it and in favor of the team who signs Rip, as his deal isn't that cumbersome to take on.

Dealing Rip, as I expect Detroit to do, would leave the Pistons with a core of Stuckey, Gordon, Tayshaun Prince and Charlie Villanueva (who signed with Gordon this offseason for just under $38 million). That's not a very imposing roster. Detroit sports icon Ben Wallace returned this season, but is waaaaaay past his prime. Starting center Kwame Brown, who has played solid ball so far this preseason, can't catch a cold, let alone a post entry pass. And Dumars drafted three players who play the same position. They may be able to play multiple positions, none of which is center or point guard.

The Pistons will, at times, be very fun to watch. You just won't be watching them past mid-April this season. I didn't think Detroit was a playoff team with Hamilton. Unless the Pistons get someone who can give you 17 points and 10 boards a night, they're definitely not playing in the second season.

Did I mention Kwame Brown is Detroit's starting center?

Part II coming soon

Seventy-seven.

Seventy-five.

Those aren't temperatures in southern California in November. Those are total fouls called by replacement officials in a couple of preseason NBA games this week. An agreement needs to be reached by the league and its officials and soon or else games will be so disjointed and long that viewers will think they're watching football.

That's not the only big issue that's top of mind heading into the 2009-10 NBA season. There are a number of issues, players and teams hoop fans should watch out for.

Here are some teams on their way up heading into the new season.

Trending up

Portland Trailblazers
Had Greg Oden been able to give the Blazers anything in their first-round series with Houston last spring, Portland moves on to play - and scare - the Lakers in the second round.

The Blazers addressed some concerns this offseason that leads me to believe they may be ready for prime time. Portland added free agent point guard Andre Miller to its stable, who, at 33, will bring added stability to that roster. Miller, who put in 16 points a game and played all 82 last season, is a definite upgrade over Steve Blake, who performed admirably last season (11 points, 5 assists a night).

Adding Miller should take some of the stress away from superstar in the making Brandon Roy, which will allow Roy to freelance more on the offensive end. If Oden (19 ppg, 10.5 rpg in two preseason games) is able to be a compliment to LaMarcus Aldridge, who also broke out last season with 18.1 ppg and 7 boards a night, Portland could play deep into the playoffs. This team has length and depth that could pose problems for a lot of squads out west.

Chicago Bulls
Chris Paul, Jason Kidd and Mark Jackson were the last three point guards to win Rookie of the Year before Derrick Rose took the award last year. Each of those three court generals' stats took a solid jump in their second season, but none of them were on a team as athletic as Rose.

The Bulls played the defending champion Celtics tough in the best series of the 2009 playoffs - without their best player in Luol Deng, who has missed 52 games since the end of the 2006-07 season. If he's able to return to form (Deng averaged nearly 19 points and a shade over 7 rebounds in 2006-07), Deng and Rose could form one of the league's more dynamic wing tandems.

The scary thing about the Bulls is they don't have a lot of depth on the perimeter. If Deng goes down, who replaces that production? They do have the bodies to bang inside, though. The Bulls' roster lists nine players 6'9" and taller.

Toronto Raptors
Acquiring small forward Hedo Turkoglu in the offseason was a solid move. With that, Toronto has basically become the (really) northern version of the Orlando Magic.

The Raptors have Chris Bosh (22.7 ppg, 10 rpg in 2008-09) to play the role of Dwight Howard alongside Turkoglu, while Andrea Bargnani (15.4 points, 5.3 boards, 41 percent from 3, 83 percent from the line) will take on the role Rashard Lewis played in Orlando. Jose Calderon, in the second year of a 5-year, $45 million contract, will run the team - and is one of the underrated players in the league, in my opinion.

Like Chicago, Toronto has a wealth of bulk up front, including former Piston Amir Johnson, who I expect to contribute now that not a lot it expected of him. The Raptors backcourt depth leaves a lot to be desired. They need someone to play alongside Calderon and Jarrett Jack, who came over this summer from Indiana, isn't a starting two guard. Lottery pick DeMar DeRozan will get a chance to prove his wealth early.

Oklahoma City Thunder
This is my second-favorite team, behind the Lakers. My love for Kevin Durant is almost unhealthy. Russell Westbrook (15 points, 5 boards, 5 assists in his rookie campaign) is on his way to becoming one of the more dynamic guards in the league. And Jeff Green is rounding into one of the more versatile forwards in the association.

I really, really like this team's prospects. If the Thunder were a stock, I'd buy 1,000 shares.

The team's only drawback is that it doesn't have a veteran presence. Bruce Bowen, who I hate with a passion, retired over the summer. But he's that glue guy who guys feed off of. He doesn't put up numbers, but he plays great defense and has the ability to get under the skin of players on opposing teams. Had he signed with OKC, I would pick them to make the playoffs. That still may happen, but I can't see a team that's one of the youngest in the league (average age: 25) putting together extended winning streaks, which is what is needed to make the playoffs.

Oklahoma City's longest winning streak last season was three games. That brought them to 16-45. I can't see a team that features a player as dynamic as Durant having too many more less than stellar seasons.

Monday: Teams on the decline

Lats night, I stumbled upon the inaugural game in the United Football League.

The UFL is an upstart league headed by its commissioner, Michael Huyghue, a former NFL official. It has sufficient funding, a smart plan and (some) credibility. The head coaches of the four franchises in 2009 all are former NFL coaches: Jim Fassel (Las Vegas Locomotives), Dennis Green (California Red Woods), Ted Cottrell (New York Sentinels) and Jim Haslett (Florida Tuskers).

The league's rosters are made up mostly of also-rans, but there are some names football fans will recognize, such as Simeon Rice (New York) and J.P. Losman (Vegas). Locally, Lions fans will recognize David Kircus (Vegas) and Teddy Lehman (Vegas).

Games will be played every day of the week except Sunday (smart move). Teams will each play six games in the league's regular season and its championship game is slated to be played the weekend after Thanksgiving.

The league will use most of the same rules the NFL does, with a few exceptions: Among the different rules, both teams will be given at least one possession in overtime, after which sudden-death rules will apply; the Tuck Rule has been eliminated; quarterbacks under duress can ground the ball inside or outside the pocket without penalty; players will be given more leeway on touchdown celebrations; and "tasteful" group celebrations will be allowed.

Those are welcome changes, and after reading about the league over the summer, I became intrigued.

I settled in to watch the league's first game (pitting California against Vegas in Vegas) and jotted notes down of what transpired.

-I'd like to congratulate my 11-year-old sister on gaining gameful employment as designer of UFL team unis. I guess being colorblind was a requirement. Those things are louder than a sports talk radio show host. The Red Woods' unis are white and lime green. When I think football, lime green is the first color that comes to mind. It screams tough.
-Denny "They are who we THOUGHT they were" Green was asked by a sideline reporter about the Las Vegas team and its game plan. "We know they commit to the run," he said. How does he know?!? It's the first game?
-Kordell Stewart is a sideline reporter. Was Jake Plummer not available?
-The refs wear red polos on the field. Sweet.
-Something cool: interviews right after scores.
-The stadium the game was played in had a capacity of 40,000. About 14,000 showed up. I wonder how many guys were walking up the strip and got handed a ticket from a UFL street team member and became disappointed when they realized it wasn't a card for a brothel.
-Color commentator Doug Flutie calls Lehman a "leader." So was David Koresh.
-The NFL has Bud and Miller as advertisers. When the first commercial break happened, I half expected to see an Olde English commercial.
-A GetUFL.com commercial comes on advertising league and team apparel. Yep. I gotta get me some of that Tuskers gear.
-What's a Tusker?
-You can't escape Brett Favre. That stupid Wrangler commercial made the air before the end of the first quarter. Since the quality of play in this league is exactly the opposite of that in the NFL, shouldn't the commercials be, too? Let's see, Favre is one of the best QBs ever. So a commercial at the opposite end of the spectrum should star, say, Ryan Leaf...pushing Bayer or extra strength Advil.
-If you haven't noticed by my lack of comments on the actual game, the quality of play isn't very high. Losman hit Kircus between the numbers for what should have been a big gain but Kircus couldn't haul in the pass. Yea, I'm shocked, too.

Vegas wound up winning, 30-20, behind Losman's 2 TD passes. I found that out on SportsCenter because I couldn't watch anymore after the 1st quarter. I think I watched more of Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami than I did that game.

I think it's safe to say I won't be setting any reminders for UFL games.

I'm friends with a lot of Michigan fans.

Most of the time, they're not that bad (I'm being nice), but some of them have been unbearable the last couple days.

They talk about how State fans are hanging their hats on beating Michigan in OT last weekend and how that win "makes State's season."

Although I know they're just responding in the way a jilted lover would, that statement isn't entirely false.

We needed that win Saturday. Starting 1-4, 0-2 in the Big Ten, would have been catastrophic. An already reeling fan base would have jumped off the ledge. But that win could have come against anyone and it still would have been a big deal.

I don't care if it had come against the Monroe School for Paraplegics, State (2-3, 1-1) had to have that win. Sure, in the process we beat Michigan in back-to-back years for the first time since before "Good Times" was on the air, but that was minor - to me, at least. Hopefully it breathed some life back into the roster. And with the way the schedule's set up, MSU should be able to build on the win.

State travels to Champagne to take on Illinois this weekend. The Illini is 1-3, 0-2 in conference, and coming off two demoralizing losses to the class of the Big Ten (Ohio State and Penn State, respectively). It's gotten so bad that Illinois coach Ron Zook Monday announced he's benching senior quarterback Juice Williams (1 TD, 4 picks this season) in favor of junior Eddie McGee, who started in the team's lone win this season over Illinois State Sept. 12. If that doesn't scream PANIC, I don't know what does. In the team's three losses, Illinois has been outscored 102-26. State should win this game. Now watch McGee come out and go 26/34 for 417 yards and 4 TDs.

MSU welcomes Northwestern to East Lansing Oct. 17. Neither MSU or NW has done anything impressive this season,but I'll take MSU's one semi-big win over Michigan over all of the Wildcats' victories (vs. Towson and Eastern Michigan and at Purdue). MSU was able to go to Evanston last year, when Northwestern had a much better team, and beat the Wilcats, 37-20, despite being dominated statistically. Northwestern lost it's top three receivers from a year ago, its top running back and starting quarterback all to graduation.

State SHOULD in theory be able to come out on top here, as well, bringing MSU's mark on the season to 4-3, 3-1 in the Big Ten before undefeated Iowa (vs. Michigan Oct. 10, at Wisconsin Oct. 17) comes calling Oct. 24 for a night game. However, the last two times the Wildcats have come to East Lansing, Northwestern is 2-0 and has scored 97 points to MSU's 55. That includes a 49-14, Joe Jackson-esque whooping at Homecoming in 2005. The only reason fans even stayed at that game past halftime was to see if they won the 50/50.

So, yea, winning the UM game might have made MSU's season. We won't know that for a couple months, though.

I had this thing in college with our athletic teams where before every big game, I would walk around telling everybody, "We're gonna lose. I have a bad feeling about this."

My friends caught on quickly, recognizing it was a form of reverse psychology or a "hope for the best, prepare for the worst" approach.

That was easy with MSU's hoops team. The basketball team has been like Halle Berry: consistently good with a couple of hiccups (Catwoman/The 2006 season). The football squad on the other hand has been like Fergie. You think there's something there sometimes, but more often than not, you have a "meh" reaction.

Maybe that's the approach I was taking about a month ago when I predicted MSU to finish 7-5 and play in the Insight Bowl. Everyone and their mother had picked State to finish 9-3 or 10-2 and challenge for the Big Ten crown. I knew better.

I'll admit: I was wrong about the quarterback play. I thought Kirk Cousins OR Keith Nichol would struggle with being "The Man." Cousins (60.6 completion percentage, 7 TDs, 2 picks) has played well this season. Nichol has not. Nichol has 5 TD tosses and 2 interceptions. Two of those scores came in mop-up duty after last week's debacle in Wisconsin had already been decided.

I was right about the possibility of a lack of a running game. Through a quarter of the season, as a team, MSU is averaging 117.8 yards/game. That's good for 10th in the Big Ten. The team's longest run of the season, a whopping 25-yard scamper, belongs to Nichol. To top things off, we have three rushing touchdowns. That'd make sense if we were Texas Tech, but this is the Big Ten. You can't win if you can't run the ball.

I had no idea the defense would be this bad, though. Outside of Greg Jones (second in the FBS with 52 tackles, 4.5 TFL) no one on the defensive side of the ball has played well. Take away State's lone win vs. Montana State and the defense is giving up about 33 points/game. State's opponents are 12-12 in the Red Zone and converting nearly half their third-down plays. The team can't come up with a set 11, shuffling defensive backs and lineman in and out of the lineup.

That's what worries me most about the Michigan game. UM leads the Big Ten in scoring (37.5 ppg) and rush offense (240.3 yards/game, good for 8th in the country). Why does that scare me? State can't tackle. The guys on defense probably whiff on the dummies in practice. When a team has as many guys who are capable of making big plays with their feet as Michigan does, that doesn't bode well, especially if you CAN'T TACKLE.

Tomorrow's game is tailor-made for a UM blowout. The forecast is calling for 52 and rainy. Tate Forcier, AKA The Father, Son AND Holy Ghost, who's nursing an injured shoulder, may not have to make more than 10 throws for Michigan to win. Handing the ball off to Carlos Brown or Brandon Minor 35-40 times could do the trick. Remember that stat I threw out about MSU's long rush for the season? It wasn't even for a score. None of State's long rushes have been for scores. Michigan has three runs of more than 30 yards (31, 43 and 90 yards) that have directly resulted in six points.

State's strength is it's passing game (320.8 yards/game so far. UM's weakness has been its secondary (Michigan has given up 243.8 passing yards/game so far this season). Big plays through the air could help in canceling out UM's big plays on the ground. But it's a little tough to throw in a downpour (think State's 17-3 win over Florida Atlantic last season or The Game That Shall Not Be Named from 2006 where Jehuu Caulcrick had 111 yards on 7 carries partway through the third quarter and touched the pill once the rest of the way).

State should be fired up this week. Any chance of a special season has gone down the drain, but 2-3, 1-1 looks a lot better next to your name than 1-4, 0-2. But MSU should have been fired up last week after the way it let the Notre Dame game literally slip through its hands. Instead, the team came out flat and played Tila Tequila to Wisconsin's Shawne Merriman.

With all those variables in mind, I can't pick State to win tomorrow. I'll get up at 5:45 tomorrow morning, load up my car, and head up to East Lansing to have fun with friends. But I'll probably sit on my hands and keep my mouth shut during the game. If MSU comes out thinking its season is on the line - it is - then the team should go hard for 60 minutes and come up with a win.

I just don't see it happening, though.

UM-34
MSU-20

I will now pour hot wax into my eye sockets.