New season bold(ish) predictions

[tcheco]

With the season about to start, I always like to create an image of what I think will happen and compare at the end of the season, and see how little I understand about basketball lol, so I invite people here to do the same, so we can bash on each other later in the season(and also right now when people crap on our favorite teams)

I will start with a few:

Spurs will be terrible: I hate the Fox trade and extension, they have a trio of Guards that can't hit a three to save their lives, and what we will see in the season will be all three of the attacking the rim that will be clogged. Wemby will have to be on cleaning boards assignment and will have to average 25/13/5/3/3 all season for them to make the playoffs. Vassel and Barnes will need career years shooting from 3 to compensate, and teams will happily let them shoot. This is not me saying that Castle and Harper won't be good, but I dont believe they will be in the best position to develop.

Hawks are too shallow, will trade Young(and others) at deadline and tank the rest of the season: I love the potencial of this team as a whole, but having such a thin bench with KP, Jalen Johnson coming back from injury and having two NBA level backups in OO and Naw is not enough. Young will have 40 games with 10/28 for 30 points before they decide to trade him and KP. EDIT: Forgot that Hawks dont controll their picks, so they might trade Young for picks and prospects still. Same for KP

Nuggets will be on a mission:Cameron Johnson will be everything they hoped for, Braun will be the ultimate Hustle guy and decided playoff games by himself. Jonas will be a rebound and post scoring machine. THJ will average 40%3pt shooting off the bench. Jokic MVP and FMVP

Lakers start slow: Lebron will coast because of injuries first half of the season, hitting over 50% after the all start break only and end up with home court at 4th, will get knocked out by Nuggets. Ayton will feast during regular season 20/12 average, will go missing in the playoffs as most expect.

Portland will be the biggest risers: PDX will be on a row since day one, Jrue will lead the kids even though his stats won't show. Expect career years from everyone, Deni will be an All star, Camara all defense first team. Sharpe will get 20/5/5

Magic will be doing Magic: Bane will be a blessing for this team, he will get to 23/5/5, Tyus Jones will add 10/8 off the bench with 4/1 assist to TO ratio. Franz and Paolo will continue their improvements, but this team ceiling is on the health of Wendell Carter Jr. If healthy hitting the three, they can get to the finals.

Cavs will be good again, but seem to have hit their ceiling: team has incredible talent, but will fall short again before the finals. Perimeter defense will be their demise, while Mobley and Allen will be solid defense, Garland will suffer, Mitchell will be tired from being the main scorer, they move on from Garland for a better fit and value to pair with Mitchell.


That's enough from me, looking forward to hearing from you people

[jowglenn]

The Pacers will make the second round of the playoffs

[tcheco]

The Pacers will make the second round of the playoffs

Give me moooooore.
Who do you see carrying the load with Hali and Turner out? I like Furphy as a surprise contributor honestly

[jowglenn]

The Pacers will make the second round of the playoffs

Give me moooooore.
Who do you see carrying the load with Hali and Turner out? I like Furphy as a surprise contributor honestly

Mathurin will have his breakout season, lead the team in scoring. He will have a 50 point game. Siakam will put together another All-Star level season. Nembhard and Nesmith will continue their solid contributions. Jarace Walker and Johnny Furphy will step up and become consistent rotation guys. The center rotation won't be great but it will suffice.

[tcheco]

The Pacers will make the second round of the playoffs

Give me moooooore.
Who do you see carrying the load with Hali and Turner out? I like Furphy as a surprise contributor honestly

Mathurin will have his breakout season, lead the team in scoring. He will have a 50 point game. Siakam will put together another All-Star level season. Nembhard and Nesmith will continue their solid contributions. Jarace Walker and Johnny Furphy will step up and become consistent rotation guys. The center rotation won't be great but it will suffice.

Mathurin at the 2 is something i was looking forward to. Pascal is just reliable all the time.
Walker is the one I haven't seen enough, hope this is the year...

The center rotation though... tough, kiinda liked Isaiah Jackson, but coming back from injury, not much hope. Maybe Huff surprises

[Liam_Gallagher]

The Lakers make the Finals. Doncic wins MVP.

[Bornstellar]

Your Hawks take makes zero sense considering the Spurs own their draft for the next 2 seasons, there is no reason for them to trade Young and try to tank games

Spurs being "terrible" is also a laughable take tbh. Can't hit a three to save their lives? I'll give you Castle, his shot really needs improvement. Fox is a career 33% shooter which is below average obviously but I'd hardly call this being unable to hit a three to save his life. And how can you even judge Harper yet, kid has not even played real NBA minutes to be claiming that he can't hit a three to save his life he's 2/4 from deep in his first 2 preseason games. Let him play a bit before you start labeling him a Ben Simmons level shooter

[BruttoNostra]

Spurs - top 3 in the West.
Clippers - play-in at best, then missing the postseason.
Orlando - top 2 seed in the East.
Bulls - top 6 in the East.

[FrodoBaggins]

Josh Giddey makes the All-Star team on the back of a near triple-double average and a +.500% record. 18-20 ppg, 8-10 rpg, 8-10 apg, 57-60% TS.

[MavsDirk41]

I think the Spurs will continue to improve and I think Wemby has an MVP type season if he can stay healthy. My guess is they battle for a play in spot this season. I would like to see them upgrade the 4 spot, Barnes is a nice veteran player but he is way past his prime.

I think Ayton shows some flashes but i dont think he cracks 60 wins played for the season. I dont see 20/12 either. More like 16/9 maybe.

I agree with your take on Young and Atlanta. Im not a big fan of their offseason and overall team. Porzingis cant stay healthy, i think they are a mediocre team.

[chilluminati]

Came in to make the same Hawks prediction. It might not be this deadline, it could be next offseason. But absolutely this feels like the last Trae Young season in ATL. Doesn't feel very bold though considering their roster decisions.

An actual bold prediction? Tobias Harris has a career year.

[Ball4life32]

Came in to make the same Hawks prediction. It might not be this deadline, it could be next offseason. But absolutely this feels like the last Trae Young season in ATL. Doesn't feel very bold though considering their roster decisions.

An actual bold prediction? Tobias Harris has a career year.

Heard that for years. But OP cleary doesn’t know hawks own a pick swap to spurs so there is 0% they tank and trade Trae. Laughable. And hawks own best of pelicans/bucks pick so they might get a premium pick anyway without tanking.

[PlatinumState]

Zion plays 70 games and the Pelicans win at least 50 games
Denver cruises to 60 wins
Wizards win more than 30 games
Lakers struggle all season and finish 9th or 10th
Jeremiah Fears wins ROY

[Ball4life32]

With the season about to start, I always like to create an image of what I think will happen and compare at the end of the season, and see how little I understand about basketball lol, so I invite people here to do the same, so we can bash on each other later in the season(and also right now when people crap on our favorite teams)

I will start with a few:

Spurs will be terrible: I hate the Fox trade and extension, they have a trio of Guards that can't hit a three to save their lives, and what we will see in the season will be all three of the attacking the rim that will be clogged. Wemby will have to be on cleaning boards assignment and will have to average 25/13/5/3/3 all season for them to make the playoffs. Vassel and Barnes will need career years shooting from 3 to compensate, and teams will happily let them shoot. This is not me saying that Castle and Harper won't be good, but I dont believe they will be in the best position to develop.

Hawks are too shallow, will trade Young(and others) at deadline and tank the rest of the season: I love the potencial of this team as a whole, but having such a thin bench with KP, Jalen Johnson coming back from injury and having two NBA level backups in OO and Naw is not enough. Young will have 40 games with 10/28 for 30 points before they decide to trade him and KP.

Nuggets will be on a mission:Cameron Johnson will be everything they hoped for, Braun will be the ultimate Hustle guy and decided playoff games by himself. Jonas will be a rebound and post scoring machine. THJ will average 40%3pt shooting off the bench. Jokic MVP and FMVP

Lakers start slow: Lebron will coast because of injuries first half of the season, hitting over 50% after the all start break only and end up with home court at 4th, will get knocked out by Nuggets. Ayton will feast during regular season 20/12 average, will go missing in the playoffs as most expect.

Portland will be the biggest risers: PDX will be on a row since day one, Jrue will lead the kids even though his stats won't show. Expect career years from everyone, Deni will be an All star, Camara all defense first team. Sharpe will get 20/5/5

Magic will be doing Magic: Bane will be a blessing for this team, he will get to 23/5/5, Tyus Jones will add 10/8 off the bench with 4/1 assist to TO ratio. Franz and Paolo will continue their improvements, but this team ceiling is on the health of Wendell Carter Jr. If healthy hitting the three, they can get to the finals.

Cavs will be good again, but seem to have hit their ceiling: team has incredible talent, but will fall short again before the finals. Perimeter defense will be their demise, while Mobley and Allen will be solid defense, Garland will suffer, Mitchell will be tired from being the main scorer, they move on from Garland for a better fit and value to pair with Mitchell.


That's enough from me, looking forward to hearing from you people

Hawks are not tanking for the spurs plus they already have pelicans/bucks pick which could be premium. Also hawks have Mo gueye(defensive monster) and I could see Kennard making an impact. Depth is not bad.

[jowglenn]

Trailblazers will surprise a lot of people - they'll be this season's Rockets - young guys showing big improvements (Avdija, Sharpe, Camara, Clingan) with a few savvy vets (Holiday mainly) who help steady the ship and put out a winning product. They'll be a top 5 seed.

Timberwolves will implode badly and be a play-in team.

[Blame Rasho]

I absolutely hate the spacing for the Spurs guards. I would not be surprised if one of them gets traded. I dislike the extension given to Fox. 2 out of the 3 need to be a good shooters in order for them to be a playoff team.

[Blame Rasho]

I absolutely hate the spacing for the Spurs guards. I would not be surprised if one of them gets traded. I dislike the extension given to Fox. 2 out of the 3 need to be a good shooters in order for them to be a playoff team.

[tcheco]

Your Hawks take makes zero sense considering the Spurs own their draft for the next 2 seasons, there is no reason for them to trade Young and try to tank games

Spurs being "terrible" is also a laughable take tbh. Can't hit a three to save their lives? I'll give you Castle, his shot really needs improvement. Fox is a career 33% shooter which is below average obviously but I'd hardly call this being unable to hit a three to save his life. And how can you even judge Harper yet, kid has not even played real NBA minutes to be claiming that he can't hit a three to save his life he's 2/4 from deep in his first 2 preseason games. Let him play a bit before you start labeling him a Ben Simmons level shooter

Forgot about Hawks picks swap, that's on me

I wouldn't call laughable the take, I will give you "harsh" though, and I mean this as a Spurs fan. Fox as a 33% career for a PG at a max contract is terrible honestly, considering his defense is not remarkable. Castle I do believe can improve, and of course I'm being hiperbolic with Harper shooting 33% from deep in college, where he faced worse defenses(of course this doesnt mean 100% he will be bad in the nba at that), but I'm worried that these two won't get space to improve if the team as a whole lacks three point shooting.

I do hope I'm wrong and all of them improve and I'm once again reminded that I'm terrible at evaluating Bastketball.

[tcheco]

Came in to make the same Hawks prediction. It might not be this deadline, it could be next offseason. But absolutely this feels like the last Trae Young season in ATL. Doesn't feel very bold though considering their roster decisions.

An actual bold prediction? Tobias Harris has a career year.

Heard that for years. But OP cleary doesn’t know hawks own a pick swap to spurs so there is 0% they tank and trade Trae. Laughable. And hawks own best of pelicans/bucks pick so they might get a premium pick anyway without tanking.

Can't a guy forget about a swap once? Give me some slack, trying to generate conversation
At the same time, could see a team trading a decent package for Young if made sense for them, not centered around picks, to avoid the chance of losing Young for free if they feel like he is leaving this offseason for free.

[JXL]

Warriors are top 3 in the West, Steph averages 27/4/7 on 48/41/91 and get top 5 MVP consideration at age 37.

Also, the Hornets make the playoffs. LaMelo stays healthy and changes his game to make his teammates better, Kalbrenner gets votes for ROY, and Brandon Miller becomes the #1 option, averages 23/5/6 on 46/37/88 and wins Most Improved Player.