On the eve of another NBA season here are my standings,
awards, and playoff predictions:
*Numbers next to certain teams are playoff seeds
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
1.
Toronto Raptors (4)
2.
New York Knicks (8)
3.
Brooklyn Nets
4.
Boston Celtics
5.
Philadelphia 76ers
Analysis: Not much to like about this division. Toronto is the only team that has a chance to
win 50 games. The Raptors have a nice athletic
core with Terrence Ross and Demar Derozan on the wings and a good point guard
in Kyle Lowry. It gets ugly fast
though. The Knicks were a mess last
season and if Derek Fisher struggles to implement the triangle offense in the
Big Apple it might not be any better. By
default, I think the Knicks sneak into the playoffs. Brooklyn’s attempt to contend for a
championship last season failed and they have an aging nucleus and don’t have
too many draft picks. Lionel Hollins
coming in as the head coach won’t help fix that. The Nets are in trouble. The Celtics are in the midst of a rebuild and
should look to trade Rajon Rondo to acquire more draft picks though watching
sixth overall pick Marcus Smart this season will be interesting. The Sixers are firing up the tank again and
will probably win fewer than the 19 games they won last season.
Southeast Division
1.
Washington Wizards (3)
2.
Miami Heat (5)
3.
Charlotte Hornets (6)
4.
Atlanta Hawks (7)
5.
Orlando Magic
Analysis: Washington is one of the best up-and-coming teams
in the NBA. With John Wall and Bradley
Beal anchoring the backcourt and the addition of Paul Pierce in the offseason,
the Wizards should win this division.
In the first year of the post-LeBron era, the Heat should be good enough
to make the playoffs, but Dwyane Wade’s health should be worth monitoring as well
as Chris Bosh’s production after he got a max contract over the summer and is
taking on a much larger role on offense.
The Hornets are another nice team on the rise and the addition of Lance
Stephenson should definitely get them back in the playoffs for the second
straight year. Atlanta is just okay and much like the Knicks sneak in by
default as I think there’s a big gap between Charlotte and Atlanta. Orlando is looking to add more pieces in the
draft and will struggle through their third season since the Dwight Howard
trade.
Central Division
1.) Chicago
Bulls (1)
2.) Cleveland
Cavaliers (2)
3.) Detroit
Pistons
4.) Indiana
Pacers
5.) Milwaukee
Bucks
Analysis: The Bulls are for real pending the health of a
certain point guard and former MVP out of Memphis. Derrick Rose needs to stay on the court but
if he can I think he can still play at a high level and contend for the MVP
award and Tom Thibodeau will of course have his team playing defense. Adding Pau Gasol should help them on the
offensive end. Cleveland will be so much
fun to watch. I think it’s awesome that LeBron went back home and I can already
imagine Kevin Love throwing outlet pass after outlet pass to him in
transition. Detroit could be a
borderline playoff team because I think there’s too much talent on that team
for them to be as bad as they were last year.
Indiana is in bad shape. They
lost Lance Stepehnson and Paul George may miss the entire season. They’ll be quite the offensively challenged
team. It will be hard for Milwaukee to
be much worse than last year with Jason Kidd on the sideline now and Rookie of
the Year favorite Jabari Parker providing lots of offense.
Western Conference
Southwest Division
1.) San
Antonio Spurs (1)
2.) Houston
Rockets (4)
3.) Dallas
Mavericks (6)
4.) Memphis
Grizzlies (8)
5.) New
Orleans Pelicans
Analysis: This is the best division in the NBA. San Antonio comes in as the defending champs
and until proven otherwise, I’ll put them as my top team in the West. Houston lost Chandler Parsons but Trevor
Ariza will help them defensively and knock down three-point shots like Parsons
did. Dallas got a lot better in the
offseason adding Jameer Nelson, Raymond Felton, Al-Farouq Aminu, Tyson
Chandler, and Chandler Parsons to a team that won 49 games a year ago. Memphis will still be rock solid on defense,
adding Vince Carter was a nice move, and Zach Randolph will still give them
reliable post offense. New Orleans has
some nice young players but it’s just hard to take anyone else in the West out
of the playoffs.
Northwest Division
1.) Oklahoma
City Thunder (3)
2.) Portland
Trail Blazers (7)
3.) Denver
Nuggets
4.) Minnesota
Timberwolves
5.) Utah
Jazz
Analysis: Oklahoma City will miss Kevin Durant enough early
on to slip back from second in the West last year to third this season but once
he gets back they’ll be a title contender.
Portland didn’t really do anything major in the offseason, and while
LaMarcus Aldridge is so much fun to watch I don’t know if they can earn
home-court advantage in the first round again.
Denver has some decent young players but that’s not enough to make the
playoffs in the West. Minnesota will be
really fun to watch with their young core but inexperience will keep them
around 30 wins this season. Utah is
continuing a rebuild, which I think may take some time. I’m not sure if Trey Burke and Dante Exum can
play together.
Pacific Division
1.) Los
Angeles Clippers (2)
2.) Golden
State Warriors (5)
3.) Phoenix
Suns
4.) Los
Angeles Lakers
5.) Sacramento
Kings
Analysis: The Clippers have a lot to prove this season after
a disappointing six-game exit in the second round of the playoffs against
Oklahoma City last year. Golden State
will still score a ton of points even though I’m still not sure why they fired
Mark Jackson. Phoenix is good, but not good enough to make the playoffs in the
West. I think Kobe has a nice year for
the Lakers, but he doesn’t have enough help.
Sacramento has one of the best centers in the game in Demarcus Cousins,
but he doesn’t have enough help either.
Selecting Nik Stauskas eighth overall over Noah Vonleh who could have
helped Cousins up front was a head scratcher.
Awards
MVP: LeBron James (Cleveland)
Coach of the Year: Dwane Casey (Toronto)
Defensive Player of the Year: Anthony Davis (New Orleans)
Sixth Man of the Year: Tristan Thompson (Cleveland)
Rookie of the Year: Nerlens Noel (Philadelphia)
Playoffs
Eastern Conference
First Round
1-Chicago over 8-New York in 5
2-Cleveland over 7-Atlanta in 4
3-Washington over 6-Charlotte in 6
4-Toronto over 5-Miami in 7
Second Round
1-Chicago over 4-Toronto in 6
2-Cleveland over 3-Washington in 6
Eastern Conference Finals
2-Cleveland over 1-Chicago in 6
Western Conference
First Round
1-San Antonio over 8-Memphis in 6
2-LA Clippers over 7-Portland in 6
3-Oklahoma City over 6-Dallas in 7
5-Golden State over 4-Houston in 7
Second Round
1-San Antonio over 5-Golden State in 6
2- LA Clippers over 3-Oklahoma City in 7
Western Conference Finals
2- LA Clippers over 1- San Antonio in 7
NBA Finals
Cleveland Cavaliers over Los Angeles Clippers in 7
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