Tuesday night, a new NBA season tips off with 3 games featuring the league’s biggest stars. TNT will feature a doubleheader with the Cavaliers and. Bulls in Chicago (7 PM CT), then the Pelicans visiting Golden State for the Warriors’ banner raising ceremony (9:30 PM CT). Also facing off will be the Pistons and the social media savvy Atlanta Hawks. Sure it will all be going on before the World Series, but that’s what sports bars are for with multiple monitor setups.
A new season means new storylines and intrigue that only the NBA can produce. The defending champion Warriors are very much the same team, built to score plenty and defend as well as anyone. The Spurs Big-3 (Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli, and Tony Parker) have one last ride (at least) in them with rising superstar Kawhi Leonard and newly added LaMarcus Aldridge. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving still rule the Eastern conference, but the Bulls are playing the Star Wars “rebel” role with a healthier Derrick Rose and new head coach Fred Hoiberg. Don’t forget Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have a new coach too…
There’s plenty of drama I could go on about and plan to cover for each team, but for now we’ll just make some predictions for who will be making the playoffs and who will be taking home hardware by the end of the 2015-16 season.
Eastern Conference Playoffs
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Chicago Bulls
- Washington Wizards
- Atlanta Hawks
- Toronto Raptors
- Boston Celtics
- Indiana Pacers
- Milwaukee Bucks
Eastern Conference Finals
1. Cleveland Cavaliers vs 2. Chicago Bulls
Western Conference
- San Antonio Spurs
- Golden State Warriors
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Houston Rockets
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Minnesota Timberwolves
Western Conference Finals
1. San Antonio Spurs vs. 3. Memphis Grizzlies
NBA Finals
Spurs vs. Bulls (Spurs in 6)
Most Valuable Player
Anthony Davis (NO)
Defensive Player of the Year
Tony Allen (MEM)
Rookie of the Year
Jahlil Okafor (PHI)
Coach of the Year
Billy Donovan (OKC)
Sixth Man of the Year
Taj Gibson (CHI)
Most Improved Player of the Year
Rudy Gobert (UTA)
ALL-NBA First Team
Stephen Curry (GS)
James Harden (HOU)
LeBron James (CLE)
Anthony Davis (NO)
Marc Gasol (MEM)
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