Who Are The NBA Franchises To Look Out For In 2011

Now that most of the dust has settled with the NBA free agency, it is safer to make predictions on who will be the most successful teams next year. Clearly the biggest winner is the Miami Heat, but there are other teams who have won big this offseason.

Here is a look at my predictions of the best teams in the NBA for the upcoming 2011 season.

When talking about the best overall teams in the league next season, the favorite is still the Los Angeles Lakers. If the defending back to back champions bring back the whole team, then they are in good shape to dominate in the Western Conference. They better hope that Derek Fisher does not end up signing with the Miami Heat.

It will not be easy for the Lakers, however. The Miami Heat have assembled a dream team that this writer has a feeling will have some more pieces added before all is said and done. Miami will be a team to beat for the foreseeable future and may suck the fun out of professional basketball in the process.

Besides the Heat next year, another Eastern Conference team that won out is the Bulls organization. Carlos Boozer is one of the best power forwards in the league and fits perfectly with this team. He will join Derek Rose and Joakim Noah to form quite the competitive team.

The other major contender in the Eastern Conference will likely be the Orlando Magic. They have had very successful seasons the past two years and return all of their important pieces. When Jameer Nelson is healthy the Magic are a serious force to reckon with.

The Oklahoma City Thunder is likely ready to make a splash. They were the #8 seed in the West last year and took the Lakers to 7 games. They will likely be much better this year.

The Portland Trailblazers will also be a very competitive team. Brnadon Roy is a winner and if all goes well, we might actually see a full season from Greg Oden this year.

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