6. The Rookies
Most experts are saying that this is going to be a weak rookie class and all signs, unfortunately, point to that being true. The top pick was Kyrie Irving out of Duke, and while he clearly has talent he didn't get to show much of it in an injury plagued year at Duke. Some people are expecting big things from Jimmer Fredette and Kemba Walker, but we already have a sports star that is beating all the odds to be a good player this year and neither of these guys is Tim Tebow. I'm not sure I would expect Jimmer to be any better than JJ Redick, his best case scenario is a rich mans Louis Williams. Kemba is tricky, but he just seems too small to be able to get his shot off in the pros. He was fading away seemingly every time I saw him shoot at UCONN and the NBA defense is going to be even better. I could see Kemba's best case scenario being a guy like Jamal Crawford, who can come in and score in bunches but won't be a starter on a good team.
7. RICKY RUBIO!
This is the guy that I'm going to be watching every chance I get this year. A lot of experts are down on him and think that he's too slow or not a good enough shooter, but I don't agree. I watched him hold his own against the US Olympic team when he was only 17, he's a player. His stats in Europe are constantly used to criticize him, but you have to remember how young he is and how the European game is much different stylistically compared to basketball in the states. The Wolves are going to surprise this year, with Rubio, Love, Derrick Williams, and Michael Beasley they are going to be, if nothing else, fun to watch.
8. Dirk Defends Crown
Last year at this time no one was predicting the Mavs to be the NBA champions, and certainly not without making a major trade. Well, they proved all the experts wrong and beat the Lakers and the Heat (public enemies 1 and 2) to win the first title for Dallas. The absolute best part of seeing Dallas win the championship was seeing Dirk finally shake the "soft" label that has dogged him for his entire career. It was ridiculous that he had that label in the first place but it's gone and he's turned into the German Terminator. Can he do it again though? He went to another planet for the playoffs last year, raising his game to a level that very few EVER have. What about Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Peja Stojakovic, and Jason Terry? They all played huge roles last year in the playoffs, but they are another year older. Will they re-sign Tyson Chandler? I don't want to say that the Mavs can't repeat, but if I'm a Dallas fan I bask in the glow of this championship because there probably won't be another one.
9. Social Media
Sure, Twitter and Facebook have been around for a few years and most of the players use them to chat with fans and post updates, but it's a bigger deal now than it has ever been. I can't be the only person who is almost giddy to see which player is the first one to start attacking another player through Twitter or which player posts an obscenity laden tirade on their Facebook page. Already this Fall we've seen players post opinions on the lockout that had to be taken down because they were detrimental to the Union's position, and I'm sure that this winter we'll get some that will have to be taken down under threat of fine from the league. I believe the reason Tommy Heinsohn doesn't have a twitter is because he'd owe the league too much money after complaining about the referees (not to mention 140 characters is simply not enough for him). My bet is on Demarcus Cousins being the first to publicly freak out on Twitter.....I mean first to have his account "hacked".
10. My Final Predictions:
MVP- So many candidates. The usual suspects, Lebron, DRose, Dwight Howard, and Kevin Durant are all players that I'd love to predict as the MVP of the league, but I just don't think it's going to be any of them. My pick for the MVP of the NBA this year is also a three figure acronym.....CP3. He's going to be traded to a team with talent, whether it's the Clippers, Knicks, or anyone else and he'll do his Steve Nash on steroids routine. MVP=Chris Paul
Rookie of the Year- As we discussed before, not a very strong field, but I'm going to go with Kyrie Irving. I'd love to give it to Derrick Williams, but he's not going to get as much of an opportunity as Kyrie. The Cavs are terrible and Kyrie Irving is going to be their best player, so he'll get the playing time and possessions to score points and dish assists. In the long run I think Derrick Williams will be the best player from this draft, but he'll miss out on this award.
ROY=Kyrie Irving
Comeback Player of the Year- I still have faith in Greg Oden. In the few games he's managed to play in his career, he's been on Dwight's level. If he can manage to stay healthy, and Brandon Roy stays healthy, the Blazers could surprise everyone.
Teams Movin' On Up- Clippers, Pacers, Nets, and Wizards will all make the playoffs this year.
Teams Movin' On Down- San Antonio, Boston (unfortunately), Phoenix, and Denver will all either fall out of the playoff picture or move down a few seeds.
NBA Champion- The big question, who's going to win the NBA title this season? It's a tricky question because of the lockout shortened regular season and the extra rest that every team has gotten. I decided that whichever team I chose had to hit certain checkpoints on my rubric for success. They had to be a team that wasn't trying to integrate a new player into a large role this season, had championship pedigree, benefitted from the extra rest time, and had an MVP candidate on their team who would definitely have been working hard the whole off season. I started to look at teams that had the talent to win a championship and they all failed in at least one of these categories. Only two teams hit every checkmark on the list, the Lakers and the Mavs. So as much as it hurts, I'm picking the Los Angeles Lakers as the NBA Champions this year. They already have a lineup that has played together for years and they've won two championships together. The most important piece of my picking them though is Kobe Bryant. He's had more rest this offseason than any year in the past four. He played in the NBA Finals in 2008, 2009, and 2010, while also playing in the olympics in 2008. In 2011 the Lakers lost in the second round, and with no olympics Kobe has had 7 months to rest and fix his knee. So hope for the Celtics but don't be surprised when the storyline at the end of the year is about Kobe Bryant regaining his throne.
Thanks for reading, and remember to favorite my page, leave a comment, follow me on twitter @JoshViola19, and take care, play fair.
-Josh
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