The NBA season is finally upon us! After one of the most exciting and dramatic seasons (and offseasons) in league history, the kings of the court are back. Of course the biggest news was Kevin Durant’s decision to join the Golden State Warriors. That has been discussed, debated and analyzed enough.
The NBA is a three-headed monster. The road to the NBA Championship is going to go through Golden State, Cleveland or San Antonio. If your favorite team doesn’t play in one of those cities, they’re in the consolation bracket. Deal with it. The Warriors are still the favorites, despite the 29-point shellacking at they at the hands of the Spurs on opening night.
Still, that doesn’t mean things are boring for the rest of the league. The NBA is filled with exciting superstars and unlike the No Fun League, the league knows how to embrace its stars and their personalities. That’s why NBA ratings are soaring. Look for the trend to continue during the 2016-17 season. Here are a few predictions on why this will be one of the most exciting seasons in recent history.
MVP is up for grabs
Stephen Curry is the reigning, defending, two-time NBA MVP. With the Durant addition, it will come as a surprise to no one that there’s no way ‘Chef’ will cook up a third straight MVP award. So who wins?
The names of LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and James Harden have been bandied about on sports talk shows and around water coolers across America. However, I think the MVP race will come down to two people: Kawhi Leonard and Damian Lillard.
Leonard was the runner up to Curry last year’s MVP voting. The 6-foot-7 small forward is dominant on the defensive end of the basketball, as evidenced by his back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year Awards. However, his offensive game has come around to the point where he’s now just as scary with the basketball in his hands.
Some write Leonard off as a system player, but so is Curry in a sense. As long as his system is a perfect fit for his game, it doesn’t matter. Expect Leonard’s offensive numbers to jump from 21.2 ppg last season to around 25 ppg.
Lillard’s inclusion may be a stretch to some, but not to the dynamic and ever-confident PG. Lillard boldly proclaimed his desire to be the league’s MVP. He backed up the talk by torching the Utah Jazz for 39 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists in the season opener.
From competing in a record five events in All-Star Weekend (2014), to helping his team return to the playoffs after losing LaMarcus Aldridge and three other starters (2015), to dropping a quality, full-length rap album in the offseason (something though to be impossible for NBA players), Lillard has proven no challenge is too great. When it comes to competitive drive and will-to-win, Lillard reminds me a lot of the recently retired Kobe Bryant.
Winner: Kawhi Leonard.
Lillard has a history of snubs and his first shot at MVP will prove no different. He may have a better season than Leonard stat-wise, but the Spurs will finish with a better record and push Leonard over the top. That may turn out to be bad news for the rest of the league in 2016-17, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Welcome to the playoffs
Several teams that watched the postseason from home last year will be trading in their playoff pajamas for postseason berths.
In the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets and Detroit Pistons will fall out of the playoffs to make way for the Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic and Milwaukee Bucks.
In Chicago, Dwayne Wade and Jimmy Butler will be enough to capture enough wins in the Windy City. Orlando has an interesting mix of young talent. The team sports four talented bigs in Serge Ibaka, Nicola Vucevic, Bizmack Biyombo and Aaron Gordon. Gordon is expected to play most of his minutes at the three this season. If he proves he can defend small forwards, the Magic will be a problem.
The Bucks are another team full of talented bigs. Giannis Antetokounmpo should make his first All-Star selection. He’ll be joined in the frontcourt by Jabari Parker and Greg Monroe. The Bucks’ chances were hurt significantly with the injury to Khris Middleton. However, expect coach Jason Kidd to give it a month or two to see if Monroe is able to reverse course from last season and gel with the team. If not, he’ll be moved for a shooter and the Bucks will edge out the Knicks for the 8th seed.
In the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies are out and the Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz are in.
Without Durant, Westbrook will go bezerk on stats, but his team will fall just short of the postseason. The Timberwolves young core of Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine is ready to make some noise. They have a new, disciplined coach in Tom Thibodeau who should carry them to the next level.
In Utah, Quin Snyder has assembled a nice young team and was able to add Joe Johnson, Boris Diaw and George Hill to provide some steady veteran leadership. If Gordon Hayward and Rudy Gobert can stay healthy for most of the season, the Jazz can rise as high as a #5 seed in the mighty West.
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