It's almost a certainty that Dwyane Wade's Heat will square off against the defending Champion Spurs in the finals. (Source: AP)

Remarkably the most hyped and talked about story entering the new season is about the NBA's new dress code, which enforces players to ditch the retro jerseys, chains, ice, Lugz and anything else associated with the world of hip-hop and instead opt for a more business-like apparel of suits and sports coats. David Stern's logic is that players come to the games to work so they should look the part entering the arena and addressing the media during press conferences. Many players like Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan and Stephen Jackson have already voiced their displeasure with the league mandated fashion statement. Knicks PG Stephon Marbury has offered to buy custom-made Joseph Abboud suits for all his teammates in an attempt to help them maintain a fashionable look. Who knows, maybe the players will even be able to set off new fashion trends all across schools and neighbourhoods. Instead of donning retro jerseys to press conferences maybe players will sport retro suits - powder blue, wide labels and ruffles.

	Simple Plan and the Toronto Raptors have something in common (Source: MTV)

It's unfortunate that the majority of casual Canadian sports fans' interest in the NBA lives and dies with the performance of the Toronto Raptors, particularly when the team is so bad. Attaching that kind of patronage and attachment to one team to decide your league-wide interest is the equivalent of holding Simple Plan accountable for one's interest in music. The Raptors do have a few nice building blocks with Chris Bosh and Joey Graham in place but the talent level after that is thin. Just imagine if Rob Babcock actually thought through his actions logically. He would have been able to parlay Vince Carter into a much better return and he could have drafted Danny Granger and Joey Graham/Hakim Warrick instead of getting Charlie Villenueva who plays the same position as the team's best player.

The NBA has a minor league system? Lost a little in the NBA's new collective agreement is the increased role of the NBA Developmental League (NBDL). NBA clubs will now be able to send down first and second year players to the minors to pick up playing time and further their development. NBA teams will share roster space with three to four other clubs on eight NBDL rosters. Players can be sent down as many as three times and no NBA club can have more than two players in the minors at the same time. Looks like Rafael Arrajuo will have an opportunity to play a lot this season although maybe not for the team he envisioned.

Thanks to the Phoenix Suns without a doubt the best thing about last season was the return of up-tempo and entertaining basketball. In the process of all the fun, Steve Nash was named MVP and Amare Stoudemire made a statement to the entire league that he was ready to dominate. Unfortunately plans to enjoy the Suns high-flying style this season have been quashed by news that Stoudemire has to undergo microfracture surgery on his knee or for the lay people, he has to get a hole drilled in his knee. The speculation is that Amare might be able to return to the lineup in 4 months time but when you take a second and consider the list of players who have previously had this procedure done you may disagree with Amare's timetable for return. Jamal Mashburn, Penny Hardaway, and Allan Houston all had the procedure done and Mash and Houston are out of the league and Penny is just holding on. Chris Webber had the procedure done and he's become a shell of his former self. And the most recent player to go through the procedure was the Blazers PF Zach Randolph. It's yet to be seen how well Randolph will play, but if the Blazers malcontent is able to return, then be rest assured that a more dedicated, more athletic and better-conditioned Amare will return in full glory.

Oklahoma City Hornets: Due to devastation of Hurricane Katrina the New Orleans Hornets have been forced to evacuate to Oklahoma City for the entire year. Surprisingly Oklahoma has supported and embraced their new club in very quick fashion. In a relatively short period the Hornets were able to sell over 9,500 season tickets and Hornets officials are expecting that the team may average between 17,000 and 18,000 fans a game.

Predictions:

MVP: LeBron James - This will be the year when LeBron finally leads his Cavs to the playoffs and in doing so officially takes over the mantle as best player in the game.

Rookie of the Year: Deron Williams - Chris Paul is a nice candidate but with the Hornets trading away Magloire, Paul loses that big presence to dish to. Williams has the better lineup surrounding him, he'll be able to feed Carlos Boozer and will be a nice compliment to Andrei Kirolenko. After toying with the idea of proclaiming Carlos Arroyo as the rightful heir to John Stockton's throne the Jazz have finally found their man in Deron Williams.

	Carmelo and the Nuggets are poised for a big year. (Source: Getty Images)

Breakthrough team: Denver Nuggets - I normally like to select a non-playoff team in this spot but when an 8th seed from last season has the potential to become a 2 seed this year I would classify that as a breakthrough. First and foremost Carmelo Anthony can't have a worse season than he had last season. He's off to a good start with a strong off-season and pre-season; he's lost the extra weight he packed on for his sophomore season, he had a scandal free off-season, and there's no Olympic hangover dogging him this time. And don't forget under head coach George Karl who was brought in mid-season last year Carmelo flourished after some initial butting of heads. With a full season of Karl at the helm, a renewed and energized 'Melo returning, a healthy Voshon Lenard and a big front court of Kenyon Martin, Marcus Camby and Nene back, Denver has the potential to play bridesmaid to the Spurs in the Western Conference.

Final: Miami Heat over San Antonio Spurs - At times, the NBA can be as predictable as the events in an episode of 'The Simpsons'. In The Simpsons the predictability comes from being guaranteed to hear tires squealing whenever someone suddenly leaves a room or being assured that any inanimate object has the ability to suddenly blow-up. In the NBA the predictability is that the finals match-up is virtually assured in the pre-season. Last year it was San Antonio and Detroit, this year Miami simply supplants Detroit in the East. Barring a major catastrophe San Antonio will represent the Western Conference with little challenge from other teams. Just consider that the Spurs have brought back their entire group including Duncan, Parker, Ginobili and augmented them with Michael Finley, Ginoboli's Argentinean teammate Fabricio Oberto, and Nick Van Exel. As for the Heat they've augmented the stellar tandem of Wade and Shaq with Jason Williams, Antoine Walker, Gary Payton, and James Posey. When you consider how far Wade and Shaq carried the team with little support last year; winning one more game and claiming the Eastern Conference crown should be a natural step forward. This match-up is 90% assured. The Spurs will no doubt be there but 10% of me can see the Indiana Pacers sneaking up and upending both the Heat and the Pistons. The Pacers wisely drafted Granger, have Ron Artest back as well as a healthy Jermaine O'Neal. Plus the Pacers were able to sign Lithuanian star Sarunas Jasikevicius something NBA clubs have been trying to do for years. If the name doesn't sound familiar Jasikevicius was the dude who torched the US Olympic team in Greece by putting on a shooting clinic.