Here is how I rank all 30 teams (by conference) with a BURNING QUESTION following each. I also have my award and playoff predictions at the bottom.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1. Boston Celtics: How well/many minutes will Gordon Hayward play following a season that lasted less than a quarter?
2. Toronto Raptors: Will the nuttiest fan base in the NBA do enough to keep Kawhi Leonard North of the Border?
3. Milwaukee Bucks: Will Giannis go from a superstar player to an all time great player starting this year?
4. Philadelphia 76ers: Can Joel Embiid play 65+ games at 35+ minutes per?
5. Washington Wizards: How does Dwight Howard fit into the offense?
6. Indiana Pacers: Can Victor Oladipo follow up a spectacular 2017-2018 season?
7. Miami Heat: Will the Heat land Jimmy Butler early enough to be a contender in the East?
8. Charlotte Hornets: Can a young core of Miles Bridges and Malik Monk make the Hornets relevant for the first time since their re-branding?
9. Detroit Pistons: How will Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond operate in the front court together over a full season?
10. Brooklyn Nets: Who will the Nets take with the first first round pick since 1964 (approximation)?
11. Chicago Bulls: Will this young, fun team gel the way the front office expects they will?
12. Orlando Magic: How many blocks will Mohamed Bamba average this year?
13. Cleveland Cavaliers: Can they make it five straight finals appearances? Kidding. With the departure of the GOAT, who will guide this new era of Cavs basketball?
14. New York Knicks: Will Porzingis even play this year? If so, when does he return?
15. Atlanta Hawks: How bad can they tank?
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1. Golden State Warriors: Is this the last year of Durant in Northern California?
2. Houston Rockets: With a better team around him, can James Harden take his game to another level?
3. Utah Jazz: Will they score enough to be an elite team in the West?
4. Los Angeles Lakers: What will LeBron do to galvanize a group of very young, very talented players? Also, will JaVale McGee score on his own basket?
5. Denver Nuggets: Will Nikola Jokic end the season as the best pure center in basketball?
6. Oklahoma City Thunder: Will the Thunder be middling enough to make PG13 regret his decision to stay?
7. New Orleans Pelicans: Outside of AD, who else on this team will lend support?
8. Minnesota Timberwolves: Will they give in and trade Butler for .75 on the dollar? (also, if they trade him, drop Minnesota to about 10 and move Portland and San Antonio up).
9. Portland Trailblazers: Will Damian Lillard still be in Portland after the trade deadline?
10. San Antonio Spurs: How will Popovich handle his toughest coaching season yet?
11. Los Angeles Clippers: Will crazy owner Steve Ballmer allow the Clips to do what they need to do to totally rebuild? Or are we looking at the West's version of the Knicks or Nets for the next decade?
12. Dallas Mavericks: Will Luka Doncic make the Hawks kick themselves for trading him on draft night? Will his mother appear in the SI Swimsuit issue?
13. Memphis Grizzlies: Will this team become the NBA's version of NyQuil?
14. Phoenix Suns: How long will it take for Deandre Ayton, the franchise's first ever #1 overall pick, to vault himself into the elite big man category?
15. Sacramento Kings: Can an insanely young roster turn heads?
PLAYOFF PREDICITIONS:
East:
Celtics over Hornets
Raptors over Heat
Bucks over Pacers
Sixers over Wizards
Celtics over Sixers
Bucks over Raptors
Celtics over Bucks
West:
Warriors over Timberwolves
Rockets over Pelicans
Jazz over Thunder
Lakers over Nuggets
Warriors over Lakers
Rockets over Jazz
Warriors over Rockets
2019 NBA FINALS
Warriors over Celtics in 6 -- 5 bags of vomit from Pedro
MVP: LeBron James
ROY: Deandre Ayton
DPOY: Kawhi Leonard
COY: Mike Budenholzer
