Recently, The Roar‘s expert Ryan O’Connell gave his NBA predictions for the 2015-16 season. Similar to the inner workings of an NBA franchise, now that the senior member of the group has gone first, the rookie can have his turn.
My season predictions will include a top eight for each conference.
NBA Champion: Oklahoma City Thunder (4-3 over the Cleveland Cavaliers)
This is the most frightening juggernaut I can remember seeing in a long time.
The league better baton down the hatches because that noise they can hear is the Thunder. It has been building on the horizon and now it’s ready to rain down.
This team is the deepest and most stacked of any team in the league. The rotation runs 10 deep with 12 capable players.
You want to play small ball, Golden State? We’ve got you covered. You want to go big, San Antonio? We’ve got that covered too. You want to run all game and jack threes, Houston? We can play that way too while we shut you down.
Former MVP Kevin Durant, now recovered from numerous foot injuries, appears dog hungry and with a major chip on his shoulder. There is no better scorer in the league when he is healthy and he will be out to remind some folks.
Add to that the single most unique force of nature on a basketball court, Russell Westbrook in attack mode, and this pair is ready to wreak havoc once again.
Serge Ibaka is looking to become just the second player in league history with 100 three-pointers and 100 blocks in the same season, Raef Lafrentz being the other.
Enes Kanter and Dion Waiters provide the required bench scoring to keep the machine rolling while Durant and Westbrook rest.
Mitch McGary is a dark horse pick for Most Improved player. Then they can roll out starting quality players like three-point bomber Anthony Morrow and back up point DJ Augustin.
There’s a touch of ‘everything has fallen into place’ about this team, similar to Golden State last season. This team is scary good and will win 60-65 games, even with a rookie head coach.
MVP: Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder)
I’m in alignment with many other scribes and fans. I see this as a two-horse race between Anthony Davis and Durant.
If the Thunder win the 60-65 games that looks inevitable and Durant comes all the way back to pre-foot injury scoring prowess, then this is an open and shut case. Davis will have a season for the ages and unfortunately just fall short again in a close MVP ballot.
Rounding out my top three is the high-flying Blake Griffin.
Chris Paul needs to take a step back. Griffin is the engine and heartbeat of this team now. He’s entering his prime, his game has become more rounded under Doc Rivers and he is now ready to lead.
Paul Pierce’s influence on Griffin will be noticeable. The Clippers should be in the 55-60 win range, which helps with the voters.
LeBron James has had his day as an MVP front runner. When you say things along the lines of “I don’t need to exert myself until later in the season” you don’t deserve this award.
Would Michael Jordan ever say something like that? No chance.
Defensive Player of the Year: Nerlens Noel (Philadelphia Sixers)
Ryan, fellow Roar member Pete and I had some good discussion about this particular young man.
I’m in the camp that says if you put up numbers that are rare historically or have never been done before, then you should garner more credits when it comes time for the media members to vote.
Don’t get me wrong here; defence is a category where raw numbers probably don’t mean that much. I understand that.
Raw stats are flawed but so are the wondrous stats that geeky analytics folk like to trot out like DBPM, DWS and DRtg, many of which are aligned with how a team performs defensively as much as how an individual performs.
I’m a simple bloke that likes it when history is made.
If Noel becomes the second player ever to average more than 2.5 steals and 2.5 blocks per game across an entire season (Hakeem Olajuwon in 1988-89 being the only person to do it) then he should win this award from the rabid defensive play of Draymond Green and 2014-15 winner Kawhi Leonard.
Anthony Davis and Andrew Bogut round out my top five.
Coach of the Year: Jason Kidd (Milwaukee Bucks)
Brad Stevens might just be able to squeeze 50-plus wins out of Boston this year; he’s that good a coach. If he does that, then he will bank a number of votes as Coach of the Year. But it won’t be enough.
The job Jason Kidd has already done in Milwaukee has been unbelievable.
Milwaukee won 15 games in 2013-14 under the guidance of Larry Drew. They looked disinterested, lost, boring, sad and pathetic on a nightly basis. With Jason Kidd at the helm they engineered a 26-game improvement, winning 41 games and making the playoffs as a true Cinderella story.
They are a team on the rise and it’s only good news when discussing Milwaukee nowadays.
There is the new arena, approved by the legislature before the required deadline, the new uniforms that social media went gaga over (myself included), a new alternate court design for special ‘Fear the Deer’ nights, and then the Bucks signed a new starting centre who goes by the moniker ‘Moose’, Greg Monroe.
I have Milwaukee climbing all the way to a top three seed in the East and winning 50-plus games. If that happens then Jason will be the Coach of the Year. Fear the Moose and Fear the Deer in 2016.
Billy Donovan (Oklahoma) will be runner-up with Brad Stevens (Boston) third.
Rookie of the Year: Jahlil Okafor
This may be the easy pick but it is the right one.
Okafor will be the centre of the offensive universe in Philly. His usage rate in the preseason was around 33 per cent, which would have ranked top eight last season. While preseason stats can be irrelevant, this one is a definite sign of the style of play Philly will employ this season.
Post and elbow touches will be on the menu all day and night for Okafor.
He will go close if not exceed his freshman numbers at Duke of 17 points and nine rebounds per game. That would be enough to win this award rather handily over Minnesota rookie Karl Anthony Towns and the Charlotte dancer Frank Kaminsky.
Indiana centre Myles Turner is also one to watch and should poll well while Milwaukee’s Rashad Vaughn will surprise many.
Most Improved Player: Tim Hardaway Jr
I tentatively had Dante Exum pencilled in for this award after his first summer league game. The improvement in a few short months was tangible. Exum was aggressive with ball in hand, unafraid of the defence and looked ready to dominate his opponent at every opportunity.
This was not going to be the same player in year two. Alas, Dante will have to wait to win this award in 2016-17 instead.
Hardaway, the son of one of my all-time favourites, never found his niche in New York. Playing alongside a ball dominant scorer and franchise figurehead Carmelo Anthony was not easy for him.
Things will be different in Atlanta.
With the move of DeMarre Carroll to Toronto, there is an opportunity here for Hardaway to get big minutes in a style of play better suited to his game and with a team that traded the 19th pick in the draft to get him on board.
It’s been noted by Hardaway that critical comments from Zen Master Phil Jackson will be used as extra motivation this year. He shouldn’t need any extra motivation.
Playing with a selfless Hawks team that won 60 games in 2014-15, one that espouses playing the right way at all costs, should be all the motivation he needs to improve.
The Hawks have already picked up his fourth year option which is a great sign for the young man.
Rodney Hood (Utah) will be runner-up, with Marcus Smart (Boston) third. Derrick Williams (New York) will also feature strongly in the voting.
Sixth Man of the Year: Tristan Thompson (Cleveland Cavs)
A certain somebody needs to start making repayments on the enormous faith shown to him by the organisation after holding out before signing a massive five-year deal for $82 million just before the season tipped off.
A good start would be playing your way into winning this award.
Thompson proved in the playoffs and especially the finals that he has the tools to be a one-man wrecking crew on the boards, particularly the offensive end of the court.
Playing mostly against second units will make his job easier and he could average a double-double this season.
While this award typically goes to a ruthless gunner like Jamal Crawford or Lou Williams, Tristian will win with Enes Kanter runner-up and Patty Mills third.
Eastern Conference Top Eight
1. Cleveland Cavs
2. Chicago Bulls
3. Milwaukee Bucks
4. Atlanta Hawks
5. Miami Heat
6. Boston Celtics
7. Washington Wizards
8. Toronto Raptors
Western Conference Top Eight
1. Oklahoma City Thunder
2. Golden State Warriors
3. San Antonio Spurs
4. LA Clippers
5. Houston Rockets
6. New Orleans Pelicans
7. Memphis Grizzlies
8. Phoenix Suns
Eight random thoughts for 2015-16
1. Randy Wittman will be the first coach fired.
2. Steph Curry will break the threes-made record making over 300 for the year.
3. Klay Thompson will average 25 points per game.
4. Kevin Love returns to his 20-10 days as a feature of the Cav offence.
5. Derrick Rose will play 72-plus games.
6. All Star game MVP will be Anthony Davis.
7. Chicago trades Taj Gibson before the trade deadline.
8. Andrew Bogut will be All-NBA third team.
Build your own ultimate team! Pick your key players and take a shot at big cash prizes every day with Draftstars. For great odds on NBA games every day head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
As much as fans of the other franchises hate to admit it, there is magic in the NBA air when the New York Knicks…
Corey Williams is being remembered as a one-of-a-kind NBL figure after the former MVP and outspoken commentator lost his fight with cancer. A New…
Sadly, on Thursday the owners of WNBL club the Melbourne Boomers handed back their license which has been transferred to a Geelong-based consortium. The…
The Timberwolves as a franchise have never even made the Finals, but this season's roster has the size and the scoring to trouble the other remaining teams.
The Lakers’ decision to fire coach Darvin Ham just days after their first-round exit is merely the beginning of what will be a flurry…
If people can lose their job, and clubs can face massive payouts, due to the behaviour of coaches, it will drastically change the way sporting teams in Australia will be run.
