
As the NBA season approaches the postseason, there are so many wild story lines happening. So, no better time to look back at my preseason predictions to see what I got right and wrong. Spoiler alert, I did not get much right.
But to be fair, few could have predicted the Sacramento Kings being awesome. Or Kevin Durant getting traded to Phoenix. The Wemby sweepstakes were not as obvious as anticipated. More teams seem to really care about the play in. And many things have aligned to make scoring at an all time high.
Will things return to the norm once we enter the playoffs? Or will the unexpected continue to happen?
Here is a review of my preseason predictions followed with how I am doing.
Eastern Conference
- Milwaukee Bucks (current 1)
- Philadelphia 76ers (current 3)
- Boston Celtics (current 2)
- Toronto Raptors (current 9)
- Atlanta Hawks (current 8)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (current 4)
- Miami Heat (current 7)
- Brooklyn Nets (current 6)
- Chicago Bulls (current 10)
- Detroit Pistons (current 15)
- New York Knicks (current 5)
- Charlotte Hornets (current 14)
- Washington Wizards (current 11)
- Indiana Pacers (current 12)
- Orlando Magic (current 13)
I still only have one correct. The Miami Heat at number seven. I don’t think I am going to get many more as the East is almost settled into the final seedings. Still feel pretty dumb over my homer pick of Toronto coming fourth and the Atlanta Hawks ending up fifth.
Western Conference
- Memphis Grizzlies (current 2)
- LA Clippers (current 5)
- Golden State Warriors (current 6)
- Denver Nuggets (current 1)
- Dallas Mavericks (current 11)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (current 8)
- Phoenix Suns (current 4)
- New Orleans Pelicans (current 7)
- Portland Trail Blazers (current 13)
- LA Lakers (current 19)
- Sacramento Kings (current 3)
- Houston Rockets (current 15)
- San Antonio Spurs (current 14)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (current 10)
- Utah Jazz (current 12)
The crazy Western Conference is just that. At this point I have zero correct. But with so much still to be decided that could change quick. The top three are pretty much locked in with the Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings getting ready for the playoffs. Four through 12 is about as wild as you could have with a few weeks to go. Kevin Durant is back from injury so I think that gives the Phoenix Suns the edge for the four spot. But after that, it could finish in several different orders.
Other Predictions
How did I do on my wild and not so wild predictions?
- Memphis will have the best record in the Western Conference despite missing JJJ for part of the season. (False)
- Brooklyn will once again self implode and struggle to stay in the playoff mix. (This one is bang on)
- Jamal Murray is going to be top 20 in scoring. (False, currently 42nd)
- Shai will be traded by Christmas. (False)
- The Lakers will trade Anthony Davis. (False)
- Gary Trent Jr. will lead the NBA in steals. (False, he is currently sixth)
- James Harden WON’T quit on his team this year. (True, so far)
- Luka will win MVP although looking at my first point, it kind of has to be Ja? Nope sticking with Luka. (False)
- Sacramento will almost make the playoffs. But once again disappoint. (False)
- Trae Young will lead the league in scoring. (False, he is currently 11th)
- LeBron will finally look average and instead focus on his Pickleball investment. (Waaay off. False)
- Scottie Barnes will average a triple double. (False, however he is averaging 15.5 PPG, 6.8 REB and 4.8 AST)
- Utah will win nine games. Yep that’s it. (Wow, way off. False. They have 36 currently.)
- Kyrie WILL get vaccinated. But not for reasons that make sense. (I don’t believe he ever did)
- Nick Nurse will launch a podcast. (False)
- Deandre Ayton will in fact smile again. (False, at least from what I have seen)
I feel like I wasn’t far off on some and items like Shai getting traded was just wishful thinking as a Raptors fan. I am 100% still hoping Toronto gets into the play in game. I am also talking myself into them making some noise against the top seeds. But that is just silly.
If I had to make a bet on the final four teams I would say Bucks-Celtics and Nuggets-Clippers.
What do you think?