Giannis for MVP? Celtics in the Finals? 10 NBA Predictions

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” And I’m not talking about Christmas.

October is the gift the sports gods have given us as a reward for waiting out those long summer months in which we have to endure nothing but baseball while we await the return of football and basketball. It is here, and it is glorious. We are currently at the time of year that every sports fan dreams about, we are in the heart of the football season, the MLB playoffs, the only exciting part of the baseball season, and now we have reached opening day of the NBA. Forget Christmas and New Year’s, THIS is the most wonderful time of the year.

In the past I gave you my predictions for the NBA Finals, college football and some NFL teams and players to keep your eye one. (I never did that for baseball because honestly who cares?) And now that the NBA is officially back I present to you my 10 Bold NBA Predictions.

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo will be the NBA MVP.

The Eastern Conference looked like the US in the 1800’s this off-season as several of the conference’s top players headed west. Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, Jimmy Butler and Paul Millsap are all recent All-Stars who left the East to join the Western Conference this summer. While the balance of power has certainly shifted to the Western conference, players who have remained in the East now find themselves in a position to shine. Giannis, better known as the Greek Freak, now finds himself in the spot light in the Eastern Conference. Behind Lebron James, Giannis is the second best small forward, and second best player in the Eastern Conference. Lebron will coast throughout most of the regular season while the Western conference will beat each other to a pulp, which clears a red carpet for Giannis to snatch the MVP award. In fact, the fifth year player got some high praise from Kevin Durant, who said, "His ceiling is probably — he could end up being the best player to ever play if he really wanted to. That's pretty scary to think about."

2. Russell Westbrook will not be an MVP Candidate.

Westbrook is coming off a record breaking season as he became the first player in the NBA to average a triple-double over the course of the season since Oscar Robertson did it in 1961-62. But Now Westbrook finds himself accompanied by 2 other superstars, which will be a change after playing on a team who boasted Steven Adams as the second best player. With the additions of Carmelo Anthony and Paul George, Westbrook will see a decrease in points and rebounds this season, and coming off of a season in which he averaged a triple-double, anything less will be difficult to earn Westbrook a second MVP.

3. Houston will be a 6 seed in the West.

Houston will be one of the most intriguing teams to watch this season with the addition of Chris Paul. While most will argue that the addition of Chris Paul will cause conflict between Paul and Rocket’s star James Harden, I would argue that it’s in fact the Rocket’s bench that will struggle throughout most of the season and cause the Rockets to fall to 6 in a competitive Western Conference. Last season the Rockets had one of the strongest benches in the NBA, with guys like Eric Gordon, Lou Williams, Sam Dekker and Patrick Beverly coming off the bench in key moments for Houston. Now Gordon is the only player left. The Rockets were able to add PJ Tucker and Luc Mbah a Moute, but the loss of key contributors will cause the Rockets to struggle.

4. Jazz will make the playoffs.

Everyone seems to be down on the Jazz despite coming off of the team’s first playoff series win since 2010. Those who feel that the Jazz will struggle this year do have a point. After all, the Jazz lost Gordon Hayward, Boris Diaw and George Hill, all guys who played major roles in Utah’s playoff run last year. But this is a new Jazz team, and it’s a team who has fully embraced its identity as a defensive powerhouse. The Jazz are never going to win games by scoring 130 points like the Golden State Warriors. What they will do is score 95 points while holding the opposing team to 90 points. So rather than go out and try to find a superstar who can put up 40 points per game, they went out and found players who can contribute on the defensive end and run an efficient offense. This off-season the Jazz were able to add Ricky Rubio, Jonas Jerebko, Thabo Sefolosha and Donovan Mitchell. It’s obvious the Jazz are going to stifle other teams with tremendous defense and score just enough to win games. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Jazz were the best defensive team in the league and score just enough to sneak into the playoffs.

5. Memphis, Denver and Portland will miss the playoffs.

I have already explained that the Western Conference is going to be a blood bath and that means that some teams are going to be KO’d from the playoffs. Memphis, Denver and Portland are going to be the unfortunate teams that find themselves on the outside looking in when the NBA Playoffs begin at the end of the season. Memphis lost key contributors Vince Carter, Tony Allen and Zach Randolph, and Chandler Parsons can’t seem to stay healthy. Portland can never seem to get off to a good start at the beginning of the season which will end up hurting them this season. And Denver, although they look good on paper, has a glaring need at the point guard position, and in this day and age of the NBA is the most important position. So as I see it, this is how the West will turn out:

1. Golden State Warriors

2. San Antonio Spurs

3. Oklahoma City Thunder

4. Los Angeles Clippers

5. Minnesota Timberwolves

6. Houston Rockets

7. New Orleans Pelicans

8. Utah Jazz

6. Boston will win the East.

Boston finished first in the Eastern Conference last year and after a hectic off-season the Celtics only got better. The Celtics were able to add Gordon Hayward, Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum and Marcus Morris. Yes, they lost Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Kelly Olynyk and Isaiah Thomas, but I’d take the former over the latter any day. Add that to the coaching of Brad Stevens and the Celtics are a real threat in the Eastern Conference. Yes, the Cavs will win the East but Lebron will coast throughout most of the season in order to save his energy for the playoffs and Isaiah Thomas won’t return till around Christmas. With the state of the Eastern Conference, Boston should be able to easily walk away with the number-one seed in the East.

7. Kyle Kuzma will win ROY.

Kyle Kuzma will face an uphill battle for the rookie of the year award, especially considering he will be playing in the shadow of Lonzo Ball all season. But then again, Malcom Brogdon had to fight off the shadow cast by Joel Embiid last season in order to win the ROY award last season. Kuzma has shown over the course of the NBA Summer League and Preseason that he should have been a top 10 pick. Kuzma averaged 17.3 points per game during the preseason, 7 more than Lonzo Ball. Expect Kuzma to play a big role for the Lakers this season and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him walk away with the ROY award at the end of the year.

8. Thunder lose round one.

The Thunder will be exciting to watch. The Thunder will put up big numbers. The Thunder will be fueled by three All-Stars. The Thunder will lose in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. All of these statements will be proven true by the end of the season. The Thunder will be one of the most exciting teams to watch this season as Melo, Paul George and Westbrook will be flying all over the court as they try to win a Championship, but will inevitably fall short. The Thunder will have all the talent in the world but I seriously question the chemistry the three All-Stars will have, and come playoff time teams with poor chemistry struggle. The Thunder will be no exception. Melo, George and Westbrook all love to shoot the ball, and when the lights are bright they all want to shine. And the lights are never brighter than they are in the Playoffs. Expect to see the Thunder struggle in the playoffs and fall to what I expect to be the Houston Rockets.

9. Warriors win the NBA Finals.

Ok, so this isn’t a very bold prediction. Everyone knows that the Warriors are going to win the NBA Finals. Despite all the moves that were made during the off-season. There is not a single team that poses a serious threat to the Warriors, and barring any serious injury to Steph Curry or Kevin Durant, the Warriors are going to win the franchise’s third championship in four years.

10. Lebron takes his talents to South Beach.

Perhaps the most exciting storyline throughout the year will be what Lebron will do once his contract ends after this season. The most popular theory is that he will head to LA and suit up for the Lakers next season. But it won’t be Newport Beach that Lebron will find himself at, but it will be South Beach. That’s right, Lebron is going to head back to Miami after this season. There are a few factors as to why this will happen. First, Dwyane Wade will retire as a member of the Miami Heat, and after a full season of playing with Wade in Cleveland Lebron will want to continue playing with his best friend and they will do so in Miami. Second, Lebron wants to win. Lebron doesn’t want to go to a team where they will lose in the first round each year and if he goes to the Lakers that’s exactly what will happen. The Lakers, even with Lebron, are never going to beat the Golden State Warriors. So rather than head west, Lebron will head south to Miami where he can remain in the Eastern Conference and compete for championships. Third, Lebron is a smart guy. Lebron is smart enough to know that leaving Cleveland and joining a third different franchise in search of a championship will forever tarnish his legacy. If Lebron decides to join the Lakers he would be entering Shaq territory, one of the best players of all time who spent the tail end of their careers chasing rings. But playing for two teams is acceptable in the NBA, even Michael Jordan played for two different teams. So don’t be surprised if Lebron leaves with Wade to Miami to compete in the East while still only playing for two franchises. It would all work out perfectly for Lebron.