What I’m most looking forward to…
I can’t wait to see what does anthony edwards look like after his first taste of playoff success and a summer to soak up the inspiration of playing alongside his heroes. As the only No. 1 overall pick remaining on the Wolves with the departure of Karl-Anthony Towns, the keys to the franchise are now his. He is primed for a real breakout season. CDL
LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry’s attempts to channel Tom Brady. While the trio is still playing at a high level with no hints of retirement, a new set of stars is emerging. Similar to Brady’s final seasons with Tampa Bay, LeBron, KD and Steph will challenge younger NBA stars to prove their dominance is over. AS
In the latter half of last season, the NBA seemed to shift from allowing ticker-tackle fouls to to let the players play more physically. Refs could swallow their whistles. I grew up in the 1990s era of basketball where final scores were sometimes in the 60s. And while we don’t need to go back to that, my hope is that the league will focus more on physical play and stop allowing guys like James Harden to trick refs into 10,000 foul calls per game. YES
Biggest offseason development…
The most hyped trade this summer was definitely the Cities / Julius Randle trade between New York and Minnesota, but personally I’m most interested in the first big trade the Knicks made this summer: acquiring Mikail Bridges from neighboring Brooklyn. Bridges is exactly what the Knicks have been missing, and they are now well positioned to give Boston a run for their money. CDL
Related: Life as a seven-foot NBA: ‘The downsides? Doors, beds and lack of tall women
New hope for the Knicks. Since 1973, Knicks fans have entered most seasons holding unreasonable expectations of winning the title. This season, that dream could be realized. With Jalen Brunson playing at an All-NBA level, the offseason additions of Bridges and Towns put the Knicks in prime position to dethrone the Celtics. AS
The most surprising were Paul George to Philly and Towns to New York. And while I’m more interested in the latter than the former there, which is the basketball nerd in me the most looking forward to seeing is the additions in Oklahoma City. Often, winning a championship means making the right moves on the sidelines and the Thunder getting Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein was a coup. YES
The surprise package will be…
This has already been talked about too much by fans to be a “surprise”, but the basketball viewing public, as a whole, has forgotten about the Memphis Grizzlies. And that’s a mistake, because Ja Morant is on a revenge tour, GG Jackson had a breakout season, and Dillon Brooks was replaced by the equally spiky but more mature Marcus Smart. Memphis will be a surefire playoff team. CDL
The Grizzlies and the return of Morant. It’s easy to forget that before Morant’s off-court mishaps and season-ending injuries, the Grizzlies were the No. 2 team in the West. If Morant returns to top form and steers clear of off-court shenanigans, the Grizzlies have enough to make a deep playoff run. AS
The Orlando Magic jump out to something like a 20-5 start and people will start to wonder if they are a title contender. And even though they ultimately won’t be, the team will be the darling of the NBA and become one of the most attractive destinations for potentially disgruntled stars like Giannis. YES
The LeBron James-Bronny James connection is…
Really, really cool, but causing a lot of overwhelming hand-wringing. The younger James will likely spend most (if not all) of his season in the G-League. This amount of buzz over a late second round pick is overwhelming. CDL
A moment to be cherished because it might not happen again. The rarity of a father-son duo in the NBA will make it a must-see event the first time it happens in the regular season. But the critics won’t be kind as Bronny endures his initial learning curve. AS
Beautiful, beautiful, historic. But in the end it doesn’t matter in terms of the ultimate goal. I hope Bronny is good. I hope he will have time to develop. Debating nepotism is pointless in this case: it just doesn’t matter that much when it comes to the actual games. However, if JJ Redick can turn Bronny into a player, that will be impressive. YES
One bold prediction…
Denver may have more problems than many think. They lost some important supporting cast members, and they add Russell Westbrook, who has a notoriously short honeymoon period. The rest of the West has improved around them, and it will take a herculean effort from Nikola Jokić to ensure they aren’t the worst they’ve been in years. CDL
The Lakers will struggle to make the playoffs. LeBron and Anthony Davis will continue to put up All-NBA numbers, but the Lakers will not beat the Warriors to the final playoff spot. The result will be Redick’s first season as head coach of the Lakers being his last – possibly he jokingly acknowledged. AS
Jimmy Butler will be traded. His time was just up. He’s known for bitter exits and the Heat don’t want to give him a giant lump sum of money when they start rebuilding and he’s approaching his late 30s. If and when they struggle this season, they will get phone calls and someone will be desperate enough to take Butler for a nice package. YES
MVP
NBA Awards voters tend to have a bit of a sadistic streak. That is, they like it when candidates have a tough road to MVP glory – a few close losses en route to victory are generally rewarded. Luka Doncicof those metrics and several others, are due. I guess he will finally get it this year. CDL
Anthony Edwards proved that he is ready to be the new face of the league after the Timberwolves’ Western Conference finals and his impressive play in the Paris Olympics with Team USA. Without Towns, Edwards’ offensive numbers will increase significantly as he carries the Wolves to a top-three seed in the West. Ant Man’s leap to superstardom will be undeniable in 2024-25. AS
Luka Doncic. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jayson Tatum will stake their claim, but it’s only a matter of time for the Slovenian. The Mavs should be great and Luka is the eye of their storm. SGA is a quieter player and Tatum is surrounded by a great team. So they will finish top-five, along with the Joker and Brunson. YES
Eastern Conference playoff teams
Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers. CDL
Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic, Miami Heat. AS
Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat. YES
Western Conference playoff teams
Oklahoma City Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors. CDL
Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, Golden State Warriors. AS
Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Lakers. YES
Eastern Conference Final
New York Knicks over Boston Celtics. CDL
Boston Celtics over New York Knicks. AS
New York Knicks over Boston Celtics. YES
Western Conference finals
Oklahoma City Thunder over Minnesota Timberwolves. CDL
Minnesota Timberwolves over Oklahoma City Thunder. AS
Oklahoma City Thunder over Dallas Mavericks. YES
NBA finals
New York Knicks 4-3 Oklahoma City Thunder. There is, admittedly, an element of speaking-into-existence to say that the New York Knicks will finally break through and win the championship, but they have newfound high-level talent and have retained their excellent core from last year. They have a lot of combined playoff experience, great offensive and defensive talent, and a good star in Jalen Brunson. The Thunder are awesome and will be great, which is why I have them coming out of a crowded West. But they are one year away from lifting the trophy. CDL
Boston Celtics 4-2 Minnesota Timberwolves. The NBA finals will have a conflict between Edwards’ Timberwolves and the Celtics led by Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Edwards is equipped with the skills and durability to make every second uncomfortable for the Celtics. But the Timberwolves will ultimately be outmatched by the Celtics’ depth and the star power of Tatum, Brown, Holiday and Porzingis. The Celtics will become the first back-to-back NBA champions since the Golden State Warriors. AS
Boston Celtics 4-3 Oklahoma City Thunder. The NBA is deep and loaded with talent this year. That means the regular season and playoffs will be slogs. But atop the Eastern and Western Conferences sit two teams with even more depth and talent. Boston and OKC are just a cut above. And while their rivals, the new-look Knicks and reigning Western Conference champion Mavericks, will push them, it won’t be enough. It will be a seven-game series all around, including in the finals. But Boston will win back-to-back. YES
