Sooooooooo, after the World Series, I'm feeling pretty good. Sure, I'm sad that baseball is over, but you know what, my baseball season prediction back in March - Nationals defeating the Astros - has me feeling like some type of sports savant. So I'm riding the wave here and giving a quick prediction of the NBA Season. Oddly enough, I've never actually done this before, but here goes...
Eastern Conference Playoff Teams
1. Milwaukees Bucks (61-21)
2. Philadelphia 76'ers (58-24)
3. Boston Celtics (51-31)
4. Toronto Raptors (49-33)
5. Miami Heat (45-37)
6. Indiana Pacers (44-38)
7. Brooklyn Nets (42-40)
8. Detroit Pistons (40-42)
Western Conference Playoff Teams
1. Denver Nuggets (60-22)
2. Utah Jazz (59-23)
3. Los Angeles Clippers (57-25)
4. Portland Trailblazers (55-27)
5. Los Angeles Lakers (50-32)
6. Houston Rockets (49-33)
7. Dallas Mavericks (48-34)
8. Golden State Warriors (45-37)
Predictions and Guesses:
NBA Lottery Results
14. San Antonio Spurs
13. Orlando Magic
12. Atlanta Hawks
11. Sacramento Kings
10. Minnesota Timberwolves
9. New Orleans Pelicans
8. Oklahoma City Thunder
7. Memphis Grizzlies
6. Chicago Bulls
5. Washington Wizards
4. Phoenix Suns
3. New York Knicks
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
1. Charlotte Hornets
Breakout Stars: John Collins (Hawks)
Biggest Names to be Traded: Andre Iguodala (to Milwaukee Bucks)
Awards
All-Star Game MVP: Damian Lillard (Blazers)
Scoring Champion: Damian Lillard (Blazers)
Coach of the Year: Quin Snyder (Jazz)
Most Improved Player: Mitchell Robinson (Knicks)
Defensive Player of the Year: Rudy Golbert (Jazz)
Sixth Man of the Year: Spencer Dinwiddie (Nets)
Rookie of the Year: Ja Morant (Grizzlies)
Most Valuable Player: Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
Playoffs
Eastern Conference Finals: Bucks d. 76'ers
Western Conference Finals: Nuggets d L.akers
NBA Finals: Nuggets d. Bucks
NBA Finals MVP: Jamal Murray