Region

Why They Might Be Good: Never afraid to utilize the latest motivational techniques, GM Jerry West has become an expert hypnotist. "I made [veteran guard] Eddie Jones think he's 22, I made [second-year forward] Hakim Warrick think he can hit from 17 feet, and I made [rookie guard] Kyle Lowrey think he's a chicken. Plus the Grizzles lead the NBA in both adjectives (Rudy Gay, Stromile Swift) and nouns (Brian Cardinal, Alexander Johnson).

Why They Might Be Good: Attitudinal off-guard Kobe Bryant has made a promise to Lakers fans: "We're going back to the Finals. How? By me taking zero shots a game. If I get my teammates involved—teammates like [streaky guard] Sasha Vujacic, [streaky guard] Maurice Evans, and [streaky guard] Jimmy Jackson—there's no stopping us."

Mark Prior knows you've heard it before. But this time, he wants you to hear it earlier than ever.

The early success of the Bears has some fans in such a frenzy they're changing their name to "Lovie" after the team's head coach, Lovie Smith. It doesn't seem to matter, male or female, everybody is switching their given birth names.

The 2006 Chicago Bulls are not designed for fast-paced, end-to-end action. Now their home court won't be, either.

Why They Might Be Good: It's still difficult to accept the fact that last season—when they were healthy—these perpetual doormats sported one of the most reliable starting lineups in the league, led by rock Elton Brand. But as solid as they were in '06, they shored up their roster with the signings of professionally-diagnosed depressive forward Vin Baker and hilariously named center Boniface Ndong.

Why They Might Be Good: They won't. They'll be mediocre. They were .500 last year, they'll be .500 this year, and the year after that, and the year after that. In 2010, flexible second year forward Danny Granger will fully mature, and the Pacers will chalk up a record of 42-40. The year after, Granger will get hurt, and we're talking 40-42.