NBA Mid-Season Report
If the NBA season were to end today, this is what the playoff picture would look like:
Luckily it doesn't and we the fans get around 25 more games per team to determine the final outcome of the regular season.
As for me and my pre-season predictions, I'm holding my own. A few surprises so far this season that I don't think a lot of people saw happening. I think the most apparent surprise league-wide has to be the lack of success by the Houston Rockets. How does a team go from the Western Conference Finals, including a miraculous comeback win against the LA Clippers in the previous round, to now out of the playoffs and ready to ship Dwight Howard? That is nearly unexplainable, but my 2 cents is that maybe wherever Dwight Howard goes, trouble comes along. To dove tail off negative surprises this season, the Milwaukee Bucks have to be up there. After making the playoffs last year and acquiring Greg Monroe this off-season, I think many people thought the Bucks were going jump up a level into that 4-6 range for playoff seeding. That is not the case, and now there are rumors about trading Monroe and MCW. I personally thought they would make the playoffs again as a 7 or 8 seed, but they seem to have lost their magic this season.
Pleasant surprises to me are the success of the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, and Portland Trail Blazers. I had Boston on the playoff bubble, but not making it in. As of now they sit as the #3 seed and Isiah Thomas made his first all-star game. Congrats! The Mavericks, who got just abused this off-season have bounced back incredibly strong, including a win against the Warriors. I did not having them making the playoffs and am still hesitant to say they'll make it with how competitive the last 4 seeds in the West are. As for Portland, they lost their entire starting line-up except Lillard, yet they sit in the #7 spot. With the starting line-up departure, C.J. McCollum has stepped up his game and is becoming a nice wing-man and second option for Lillard and the Blazers.
Warriors winning 72 or more:
The Warriors will return from the All-Star Game break on a 6 game road trip, including a 2 game streak against west-coast opponents (Portland & LA Clippers) then fly across the country to face Atlanta, both Florida teams, and then finish at OKC all within 1 week (4 games). They get a 2 day break as they return home for a small stint in rematches against the Hawks and Thunder before driving down to LA for a JV "scrimmage" against the Lakers. After their play date with the Lakers, they have a 6 game home stand, where they will win all 6 games. After this home stand, they have 15 remaining games: including 3 against the San Antonio Spurs (2 road, 1 home). Looking at their remaining schedule as a whole, I predict they lose 4 more games total: 3 very competitive games, where all players play, and 1 due to rest. That puts them at 74-8 and becoming the best regular season team record wise in history. Teams I think they will lose to: Thunder at OKC, Spurs at SA, Grizzlies in Memphis, and one random game due to rest.
Cavs Firing David Blatt:
This was one of the most unnecessary moves I've ever seen take place in the NBA. A coach with the best record in their conference, which had just brought his one man team to the NBA Finals, only to lose to one of the best teams to ever play. Even a non-basketball minded person could tell you that is an odd move. It makes LeBron and the whole Cleveland organization look incredibly shallow and heartless. The bottom line in the NBA for coaches is to win championships. I highly doubt that firing Blatt and hiring Lue will make that happen for Cleveland, putting them back to where they were last year.
MVP Rankings:
Steph Curry
Lebron James
Kawhi Leonard
Kevin Durant
Russell Westbrook
Chris Paul
James Harden
Paul George
Rookie of the Year:
Towns
Porzingis
Eastern Conference Playoffs
1. Cleveland Cavaliers
2. Toronto Raptors
3. Atlanta Hawks
4. Chicago Bulls
5. Miami Heat
6. Boston Celtics
7. Indiana Pacers
8. Charlotte Hornets
Western Conference:
The top is pretty much set, besides maybe some flip-flopping between the Clippers and Grizzlies depending how the return of Blake Griffin goes and if Memphis can keep up the pace. The bottom 3 (6-8) is a little tougher to determine. Houston is playing terrible and I don't know what they are going to do about Dwight Howard, but at the end of the day they won't be going past the first round of the playoffs if they make it in. Portland is going to bow out. I just can't see them keeping pace with the other 3 with such a young nucleus and very little experience. The Mavs are a solid pick to make the playoffs and could even give the higher seed they face a scare i.e. the Thunder, Clippers, or Spurs. I really want the Jazz to make the playoffs. They are young and have one of the best defenses in the NBA, especially when Rudy Gobert is in. Like I said in my pre-season predictions, I think it will come down to San Antonio and Golden State and although I said the Spurs would beat Golden State, it's looking more clear every day that the Warriors are going to go back-to-back (Drake Voice).
Eastern Conference:
There is no question the East goes through Cleveland. I think they will have a little bit more of a fight in the ECF compared to last year's sweep of the Atlanta Hawks, but nonetheless they will represent the East in the NBA Finals. As for teams getting in, the 5-8 seed is so hard to determine that by the end of the season, a team like Detroit or the Wizards could very well, turn things around and be the #5 or #6 seed at the end of the season. I had an extremely hard time leaving the Wiz out of the playoffs, but with a below .500 record and being 3-7 of their last 10, I don't trust them to turn it around unless they make some trades like the Pistons are doing.
NBA Champions:
Even though I said the Cavaliers were going to be the NBA Champions at the end of this season, I cannot see them beating Golden State or San Antonio is a 7 game series. That being said, I think the Western Conference Finals will be equivalent to the NBA Finals. I truly did not think the Warriors were going to be as good as they are, but it would be dumb to say they aren't going to repeat. I think they will beat Cleveland again 4-2.
Follow me on twitter @jpsweets and @basketballguy61 and make sure to like my Facebook page Basketball Guy JP
As for me and my pre-season predictions, I'm holding my own. A few surprises so far this season that I don't think a lot of people saw happening. I think the most apparent surprise league-wide has to be the lack of success by the Houston Rockets. How does a team go from the Western Conference Finals, including a miraculous comeback win against the LA Clippers in the previous round, to now out of the playoffs and ready to ship Dwight Howard? That is nearly unexplainable, but my 2 cents is that maybe wherever Dwight Howard goes, trouble comes along. To dove tail off negative surprises this season, the Milwaukee Bucks have to be up there. After making the playoffs last year and acquiring Greg Monroe this off-season, I think many people thought the Bucks were going jump up a level into that 4-6 range for playoff seeding. That is not the case, and now there are rumors about trading Monroe and MCW. I personally thought they would make the playoffs again as a 7 or 8 seed, but they seem to have lost their magic this season.
Pleasant surprises to me are the success of the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, and Portland Trail Blazers. I had Boston on the playoff bubble, but not making it in. As of now they sit as the #3 seed and Isiah Thomas made his first all-star game. Congrats! The Mavericks, who got just abused this off-season have bounced back incredibly strong, including a win against the Warriors. I did not having them making the playoffs and am still hesitant to say they'll make it with how competitive the last 4 seeds in the West are. As for Portland, they lost their entire starting line-up except Lillard, yet they sit in the #7 spot. With the starting line-up departure, C.J. McCollum has stepped up his game and is becoming a nice wing-man and second option for Lillard and the Blazers.
Warriors winning 72 or more:
The Warriors will return from the All-Star Game break on a 6 game road trip, including a 2 game streak against west-coast opponents (Portland & LA Clippers) then fly across the country to face Atlanta, both Florida teams, and then finish at OKC all within 1 week (4 games). They get a 2 day break as they return home for a small stint in rematches against the Hawks and Thunder before driving down to LA for a JV "scrimmage" against the Lakers. After their play date with the Lakers, they have a 6 game home stand, where they will win all 6 games. After this home stand, they have 15 remaining games: including 3 against the San Antonio Spurs (2 road, 1 home). Looking at their remaining schedule as a whole, I predict they lose 4 more games total: 3 very competitive games, where all players play, and 1 due to rest. That puts them at 74-8 and becoming the best regular season team record wise in history. Teams I think they will lose to: Thunder at OKC, Spurs at SA, Grizzlies in Memphis, and one random game due to rest.
Cavs Firing David Blatt:
This was one of the most unnecessary moves I've ever seen take place in the NBA. A coach with the best record in their conference, which had just brought his one man team to the NBA Finals, only to lose to one of the best teams to ever play. Even a non-basketball minded person could tell you that is an odd move. It makes LeBron and the whole Cleveland organization look incredibly shallow and heartless. The bottom line in the NBA for coaches is to win championships. I highly doubt that firing Blatt and hiring Lue will make that happen for Cleveland, putting them back to where they were last year.
MVP Rankings:
Steph Curry
Lebron James
Kawhi Leonard
Kevin Durant
Russell Westbrook
Chris Paul
James Harden
Paul George
Rookie of the Year:
Towns
Porzingis
PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS
Western Conference Playoffs
1. Golden State Warriors
2. San Antonio Spurs
3. Oklahoma City Thunder
4. Los Angeles Clippers
5. Memphis Grizzlies
6. Dallas Mavericks
7. Houston Rockets
8. Utah Jazz
1. Cleveland Cavaliers
2. Toronto Raptors
3. Atlanta Hawks
4. Chicago Bulls
5. Miami Heat
6. Boston Celtics
7. Indiana Pacers
8. Charlotte Hornets
Western Conference:
The top is pretty much set, besides maybe some flip-flopping between the Clippers and Grizzlies depending how the return of Blake Griffin goes and if Memphis can keep up the pace. The bottom 3 (6-8) is a little tougher to determine. Houston is playing terrible and I don't know what they are going to do about Dwight Howard, but at the end of the day they won't be going past the first round of the playoffs if they make it in. Portland is going to bow out. I just can't see them keeping pace with the other 3 with such a young nucleus and very little experience. The Mavs are a solid pick to make the playoffs and could even give the higher seed they face a scare i.e. the Thunder, Clippers, or Spurs. I really want the Jazz to make the playoffs. They are young and have one of the best defenses in the NBA, especially when Rudy Gobert is in. Like I said in my pre-season predictions, I think it will come down to San Antonio and Golden State and although I said the Spurs would beat Golden State, it's looking more clear every day that the Warriors are going to go back-to-back (Drake Voice).
Eastern Conference:
There is no question the East goes through Cleveland. I think they will have a little bit more of a fight in the ECF compared to last year's sweep of the Atlanta Hawks, but nonetheless they will represent the East in the NBA Finals. As for teams getting in, the 5-8 seed is so hard to determine that by the end of the season, a team like Detroit or the Wizards could very well, turn things around and be the #5 or #6 seed at the end of the season. I had an extremely hard time leaving the Wiz out of the playoffs, but with a below .500 record and being 3-7 of their last 10, I don't trust them to turn it around unless they make some trades like the Pistons are doing.
NBA Champions:
Even though I said the Cavaliers were going to be the NBA Champions at the end of this season, I cannot see them beating Golden State or San Antonio is a 7 game series. That being said, I think the Western Conference Finals will be equivalent to the NBA Finals. I truly did not think the Warriors were going to be as good as they are, but it would be dumb to say they aren't going to repeat. I think they will beat Cleveland again 4-2.
Follow me on twitter @jpsweets and @basketballguy61 and make sure to like my Facebook page Basketball Guy JP
