Ty's 2018-2019 NBA Preview: Postseason and Awards

Now that we are officially in the NBA season, it tipped off last night, I come with you today with my post season and awards predictions. This is all subject to change, and I will do a mid season report, just like I do with the NFL, and NCAA football and basketball, which I will have a monster NCAA men's basketball preview tomorrow, but for now, this is what I think will happen.

The one thing that will 99 percent stay the same, the Warriors will win the title. Unless something catastrophic happens, like all 4 of their main starters would need to go down for me to change my mind. The Warriors are so far ahead of everyone else, and until they lose some key guys, they will continue to be the best.

Anyway, I may have a few surprises in there, and I have a sort of left field prediction for my rookie of the year. Okay, lets get to the postseason.

As far as the 8 teams from the East, in descending order from 8-1 I have the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers. I know the Celtics destroyed the 76ers last night, but it was the first of 82 games. People need to calm down. Also, I think the Cavs will sneak in to the playoffs, this year. The teams around them, the Pistons, Knicks and maybe Nets have far too many question marks. As far as the East Finals go, I have the 76ers playing the Raptors, and I am going to go with the Raptors. Everyone else seems to be picking the Celtics, so I want to zig. I also think the Bucks have a real shot, especially with how much better Giannis keeps getting, to make it all the way to the Finals from the 4 seed. I wouldn't be shocked if they made a run. But, the Raptors had the second best record in the NBA last season, they unfortunately ran into the LeBron buzz saw and got swept. They then acquired Kawhi, and he is, as much as I like DeMar DeRozan, a much better overall player, and he is out to prove that he is still a top 3-5 player in the league. They also lost no one else except for DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl, which, so what. The Raptors will finally break though and own the East for one year, and then Kawhi will leave.

As far as the West, and the West is much, much, much better than the East, so much so I feel like the 8 seed could have as many as 45-47 wins. And from what I have seen other writers do, I have no caveat with the Timberwolves. I think they miss out with or without Jimmy Butler. That whole thing is a total mess. So, from 8-1 I have, the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, LA Lakers, New Orleans Pelicans, OKC Thunder, Utah Jazz, Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors. That means I am leaving out former main stays like the Trail Blazers and Clippers. I think the Blazers season will go one of 2 ways. They will win 45 games and miss out, or they will break up that back court and rebuild. I don't buy the Clippers at all as a playoff team. Tobias Harris, while he is a very good basketball player, he is not a star. And after that they have young guys or brittle vets. They might be .500, but they will not be in the playoffs. In fact I think, with 2 exceptions in the West, the Kings and my newfound favorite team, the Suns, will all have anywhere from 35- 60 wins. I think teams like the Mavericks and Grizzlies, 2 non playoff teams, can get to 38 wins. The West is loaded. And as long as Greg Poppovich is coaching the Spurs, I will forever put them in the playoffs. I flirted with leaving the Lakers out, but LeBron is the second greatest player ever, Brandon Ingram is going to make a huge leap and I think Luke Walton is a good coach. They will find their way to 47-50 wins and a 6 seed. But, in the end, the Warriors will beat whoever they face in the West Finals. I think they have a real shot at going undefeated in the playoffs, especially of Boogie is back and he buys in. I do not think it will be a rematch of last year's West Finals though. I LOVE the Jazz, and I think they are going to make the biggest jump. I have them as the 3, but I wouldn't be surprised if they get the 2, or if the Warriors play loose all regular season, the 1. Donovan Mitchell is a star, Rudy Gobert is the defensive anchor they need, and, I'm still shocked every time I write this, Quinn Snyder is a hell of an NBA coach. They have the goods. But it won't matter. The Warriors will sweep them in the West Finals.

That means we will have one new team, the Raptors, facing the Warriors, who will be in their 4th straight finals. And as great a defensive player Kawhi is, he can only guard one guy, and that will lead to another Warriors sweep and another Warriors title. The Warriors are just too god damn good. They are the Death Star.

As far as awards and other weird stuff I want to point out, lets start small. I said I'd have a surprise at Rookie of the Year, a minor surprise, and that pick for me is Collin Sexton. It is no secret that I love this kid. I know that Luka Doncic gets most of the love, and many GM's and players voted Deandre Ayton as the winner. But, I think Collin Sexton, once he supplants George Hill as the starting point guard, will be the main reason the Cavs make the playoffs. It won't be because of Kevin Love or JR Smith or anyone else on that roster, it will be Collin Sexton. That dude is built for greatness.

Defensive Player of the Year is Rudy Gobert. I know it is boring to pick the same guy over and over again, but I think he has surpassed Kawhi as the best overall defender in the league. He is an amazing rim protector, and he can switch onto guards. He is awesome.

Sixth Man of the Year is always a guess for me. I never really know who is going to be a 6th man on the good teams, so again, I'm going to go with an old staple and pick Lou Williams. He will find his way on a playoff team, he will be their best option off the bench and he will fill up the stat sheet. He is this generation's Jamal Crawford.

My Coach of the Year, and I think this might finally happen after picking him 2 years in a row, especially if his team makes the jump I think they will, I have Quinn Snyder. He has proven he can coach the hell out of an NBA team.

And for MVP I'm going with Giannis. It was between him and Anthony Davis for me, and I think Giannis will push him team a bit further in the playoffs, he will have the city of Milwaukee praising him, he will put up monster stats and I think he will lead the league in scoring. Giannis is the man.

As far as some off the wall stuff, first off, I think my pick of the Jazz playing in the West Finals is kind of out there. I also think that Steph will finally win a much deserved Finals MVP. I think the Suns will be a horrible team, but they will be one of the most fun teams to watch. They have so much young talent and they will try to put on a show. I think the Blazers will be the biggest disappointment in the NBA, which will lead to Damian Lillard being traded. I think people are very much overrating the Lakers right now. I heard someone say they would be a 55 win team and I laughed out loud. I also think their roster will look drastically different after 40 games. I wouldn't be shocked if both Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma are on different teams after the All Star break. This whole Jimmy Butler thing is going to blow up in his face and Tom Thibodeau's face. Butler is on the other side of his prime, and he is oft injured. If I were a perennial playoff team I would not give him a max deal. That's what he wants, but I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. If he wants that he will end up on a team like the Knicks, Nets or Clippers. I also do not think Thibs will be the coach after Butler gets traded. He has been a disaster since he took that job, especially as a GM, and they will cut ties. I hope Kristaps Porzingis does not come back until he is 100 percent healthy because the NBA needs him in a big market. I think this rookie class is going to be a ton of fun to watch. And I think the faces of the league will start to shift to younger guys. Right now this is LeBron and Steph and KD's league, as it should be. But, I think people will start talking about Anthony Davis, Giannis and Donovan Mitchell as the new guys that will take over the league.

Okay, that does it for my 2018-19 NBA season preview. Please leave comments as to why I was wrong in my countdown, or why I was wrong with my post season picks. Or, let me know if you agree with me. The NBA is back. Time to celebrate and them watch the Warriors win again.

Ty