2015-16 NBA season preview and predictions

It’s that time of the year again; the new NBA season is upon us. It certainly looks to be an exciting one with the NBA’s superstars finally getting healthy again and a plethora of young stars beginning to blossom. Let’s take a look around the league to see what the 2015-16 season has in store.

Regular Season Predictions:

With just under three weeks in the books already, it’s extremely evident what teams are going to shine or falter this year. The Western Conference has been ravaged by the reigning world champion Golden State Warriors as they are off to another impeccable start (12-0). Teams like the Spurs (9-2) and the Mavericks (7-4) have been gaining ground in the recent weeks but the West has had an underwhelming start overall. The same can be said for the East, with teams like the Cavaliers (8-3), the Hawks (9-5) and the Bulls (8-3) rounding out the top of the conference. It’s unanimous who will lead the West this regular season. The Warriors are simply too hot coming off their glorious championship run and don’t look to be slowing down. As for the East, it’s tough to say. The Cavs are the favorites, of course, and my bet to lead the East, but a team like the Hawks can easily steal the top seed with a bit of luck. Meanwhile, the 76ers (0-12), the Pelicans (surprisingly 1-11) and the Nets (2-10) round out the bottom of the league, but we’ll see if they can rebound later in the year. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Pelicans made a resurgence later in the season as they have a young superstar in Anthony Davis ready to leap into MVP contention.

Finals Predictions:

The NBA is very seldom a league in which Cinderella teams make it to the Finals. Generally, the best teams play in the Eastern and Western Conference Finals–case closed. That being said, it is very reasonable to believe that a Finals rematch could be in the works this June. The Cavaliers and Warriors look to be even better than before this year, and very few teams can rival their pure starpower. The Spurs in the West are always a threat of course, especially after acquiring skilled power forward LaMarcus Aldridge in the offseason. But history has shown us that big-name acquisitions generally take time to gel with new teams in the NBA, so I wouldn’t be hopping on the bandwagon just yet. The East also offers a few interesting championship-worthy teams but with Lebron and the Cavs looking to be on a mission this year, the Hawks and Bulls (granted Derrick Rose can stay on the court and out of the hospital) most likely won’t be able to keep up. I predict the Cavaliers beat the Warriors 4-3 in the Finals this season..

Awards Predictions:

The MVP candidates are generally a huge bunch this early in the season. But, that’s generally. Steph Curry has this thing wrapped up, plain and simple. He’s averaging a superhuman 33.7 points as of now and his team is bound for greatness yet again this year. The Rookie of the Year award, however, is going to be a very close call this season. Logic would say Jahlil Okafor of the Philadelphia 76ers is the prime candidate, but unfortunately the 76ers are 0-12 and seem to be content with tanking. Meanwhile, Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves is subtly proving his worth as the #1 draft pick this year, averaging a little over 15 points and really playing well on defense. Towns is my pick for ROY. The 6th man of the year award also looks to be up in the air, but I think Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas will come out with it this season. He was snubbed last year and I think with the way he’s playing now (averaging 20 points off the bench) he won’t be snubbed again. Finally, the Defensive Player of the Year award is always a tricky one to call. But my money has to be on Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz. Last season he was moved into the starting lineup after the Jazz traded center Enes Kanter. His immediate impact on defense (averaged 2.3 blocks a game) turned the lackluster Jazz into one of the best defensive teams in the league (Utah held opponents to 94.8 points per 100 possessions, an impressive feat for a team recently in rebuilding mode). He’s already averaging 3.2 blocks a game so far this season, and it definitely looks sustainable.