I’m writing this “preview” rather begrudgingly.
Why? It’s not that I dislike basketball at all – in fact, I rather enjoy watching hoops. It’s not that I’ve been too busy – I was actually on staycation last week, when the season started.
It’s the fact that the season started last week.
Any real fan knows that the opening of NBA season doesn’t matter at all. Other than the start of the MLB season, there’s no more useless time on a sport’s calendar.
Teams are still feeling each other out and adapting their rotations and sets for the first two months of the season.
Things don’t really pick up until Christmas. You could pay no attention to the NBA until the holidays and not really miss a thing.
With smart teams like the Spurs game planning to give their stars limited workloads and nights off throughout the regular season, it only emphasizes how little these games matter.
What the smart fan has come to realize is that it doesn’t matter how you start, it’s how you finish. Teams like the Raptors and Trail Blazers got out to amazing starts last season and neither made it out of the first round of the playoffs.
It’s why I don’t feel so bad about making predictions a week into the schedule.
As for our picks…
Atlantic Division: Boston Celtics
Central Division: Cleveland Cavaliers
Southeast Division: Miami Heat
Southwest Division: Houston Rockets
Pacific Division: Golden State Warriors
Northwest Division: Oklahoma City Thunder
Eastern final: Cavaliers over Heat
Western final: Spurs over Clippers
NBA Finals: Spurs over Cavaliers
MVP: James Harden, HOU
Rookie of the year: DeAngelo Russell, LAL
Defensive player of the year: Kawhi Leonard, SA
First overall pick: Philadelphia 76ers