With just over a week until the much anticipated 2014-15 NBA season gets underway (thank you Baby Jesus) it is the optimal time to bust out the crystal ball (or trash can) and make some predictions.
Will LeBron bring the Larry O’Brien Trophy to “The Land?” Will Duncan get ring number six? Who will win MVP? Rookie of the Year?
Here are my predictions for the 2014-15 season, including regular Eastern and Western Conference standings, postseason predictions, award predictions, and a few bonus predictions.
Eastern Conference Standings:
Cleveland 58-24
Chicago 54-28
Toronto 47-35
Washington 46-36
Charlotte 45-37
Miami 43-39
New York 41-41
Atlanta 41-41
Brooklyn 39-43
Indiana 36-46
Detroit 34-48
Orlando 31-51
Milwaukee 24-58
Boston 23-59
Philadelphia 16-66
Western Conference Standings:
LA Clippers 60-22
San Antonio 58-24
Dallas 54-28
Oklahoma City 53-29
Golden State 52-30
Houston 50-32
Portland 49-33
Memphis 47-35
Phoenix 45-37
New Orleans 42-40
Denver 40-42
LA Lakers 38-44
Minnesota 32-50
Sacramento 29-53
Utah 27-55
Award predictions:
MVP: Blake Griffin
DPOY: Joakim Noah
ROY: Andrew Wiggins
Sixth Man: Isiah Thomas
Most Improved: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Coach of the year: Doc Rivers
1st Team All-NBA:
Russell Westbrook
Steph Curry
LeBron James
Blake Griffin
Dwight Howard
2nd Team All-NBA:
Chris Paul
John Wall
Kevin Durant
Carmelo Anthony
Al Jefferson
3rd Team All-NBA:
Tony Parker
James Harden
Anthony Davis
LaMarcus Aldridge
Joakim Noah
Postseason Predictions:
Eastern Conference:
First round:
(1)Cleveland over (8) Atlanta 4-0
(4) Washington over (5) Charlotte 4-2
(3) Toronto over (6) Miami 4-3
(2) Chicago over (7) New York 4-1
Second round:
(1)Cleveland over (4) Washington in 6
(2)Chicago over (3) Toronto in 5
Eastern Conference Finals:
(1)Cleveland over (2) Chicago in 6
Western Conference:
First round:
(1)LA Clippers over (8) Memphis in 6
(4) OKC over (5) Golden State in 7
(3) Dallas over (6) Houston in 5
(2) San Antonio over (7) Portland in 6
Second round:
(1) LA Clippers over (4) OKC in 7
(2) San Antonio over (3) Dallas in 6
Western Conference Finals:
(1) LA Clippers over (2) San Antonio in 7
NBA Finals:
Cleveland over LA Clippers in 6
There you have it! Cleveland will have its first major professional sports championship in 50 years, the Clippers franchise will reach its first NBA Finals, Blake Griffin will continue his ascension up the NBA hierarchy and start to cement his legacy with an MVP award, Andrew Wiggins will flourish in his first season in Minnesota, Brooklyn will miss the postseason and Mikhail Prokhorov will sell the team (bonus prediction), and Kobe’s return will not be enough for a mediocre Lakers team to make the postseason in a loaded Western Conference.
