Here we go! The 2024-25 NBA season kicks off on Tuesday.
There are a million stories headed into the season. Will Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the Celtics repeat? Can this be the start of a Thunder dynasty? Will Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard bounce back? Will Ja Morant come back just as he did before the injury? Is this still LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant’s league? Or do Victor Wembanyama, Anthony Edwards, and the company have other plans?
The questions are endless. Here is how I think the regular season will pan out.
NBA Standings and Playoff Predictions
Controversial Predictions in the West
Why do I have the Mavericks so low? I can already hear the complaints. “They won the West last year and added Klay Thompson. How can they be worse?”
My answer to that is simple: they won 50 games last season and got super hot at the end of the year. Yes, they made some important moves at the deadline, but I do not see this corps outside of Luka Doncic being able to continue the run they were on. People do not realize how big of a disaster a three-guard lineup of Luka Doncic, Klay Thompson, and Kyrie Irving will be on defense. Derek Lively was great leading up to the finals last year, but he will not be able to cover for them every single time. It is going to take some minutes staggering, and I do not think it will work out.
On a more positive note, I think the Grizzlies will shock the world this year. I love myself a good redemption story, so I am rooting for Ja Morant to come back to the All-NBA-caliber player he is. In addition to his superstar play, I think that Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. are going to fall back into their roles perfectly to complement Morant’s player at an elite level. Furthermore, Marcus Smart has played in and won a ton of playoff series.
HANG TIME ON 💯, @JaMorant 🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/H3toI8O5p7
— NBA (@NBA) October 19, 2024
The Grizzlies are a younger team that lacks playoff experience, so he will be an awesome leader. I am also rooting for Zach Edey to prove a lot of his haters wrong. Lastly, I am predicting Taylor Jenkins to make the most out of each of his players. Between his coaching style and their talent, they can be a top-two seed in the West.
Controversial Predictions in the East
I did predict two teams in the East to do much better than people expect. Those teams are the Charlotte Hornets and the Detroit Pistons.
The Hornets played awful last year, but everything went wrong. Their star, LaMelo Ball, was out for most of the season, their bench pieces were disappointing, and the locker room was tired of their coach. I think that with Ball being healthy and Brandon Miller developing, they can make the Play-In Tournament. I also cannot stress enough how much I believe in their new head coach, Charles Lee. His players and co-coaches have only said great things about him.
For the Pistons, they have a couple of things going for them. First of all, it seemed like the players and fans hated Monty Williams last year. I did not think he was terrible, but those who watch the team more than me say otherwise. This is mostly because Jaden Ivey was not getting a ton of playing time until the end of the season.
I am a fan of JB Bickerstaff, and he has a history of making the most of his young teams. Also, Cade Cunnigham playing more games this year will be huge for the franchise. Lastly, Tobias Harris is home. Sure, he is not the player he once was, but his veteran leadership is what this team needs now. Between Bickerstaff changing a few things up, Cunningham and Ivey developing, and Harris being the leader, this team could double in win total.
Ron’s preseason tape… regular season debut up next 🔥 pic.twitter.com/lzwwmD8BfH
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) October 20, 2024
NBA Playoff Predictions
Western Conference Finals: Thunder over Grizzlies in 7
Both of these teams are stacked, and they have a ton of fun matchups. Mark Daigneault versus Taylor Jenkins, Morant versus Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren versus Jaren Jackson Jr., and great benches going at it. Essentially, what this series will come down to is shot creation on offense. Both of these teams will have elite defenses, but I think one team has a clear advantage on offense.
In 2023, the Grizzlies were 11th in offense, and last year, the Thunder were third. I think the Grizzlies will be much better on offense than they have been in years past, but I don’t think they can reach the Thunder’s level yet.
Eastern Conference Finals: Celtics over Bucks in 6
This would be the fourth time in eight years these two teams match up in the playoffs. Both of these teams have a ton of respect for each other, and everything would be left on the court. I think the Bucks would have the best player in the series, but the Celtics might have every other advantage. They had the significantly better defense last year, mainly because they were missing Jrue Holiday so much. However, there is a chance that both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez have bounce-back seasons, turning Milwaukee’s defense into an elite unit again.
With this being said, unless we get the NBA Bubble version of Damian Lillard or his 2021 playoff version, it will be tough to keep up with the Celtics. Even with Giannis and Dame playing great, give me the Celtics’ team chemistry and depth over the Bucks.
Successful open scrimmage. pic.twitter.com/Q6b0mNDjg1
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) October 20, 2024
NBA Finals Breakdown
Celtics vs. Thunder
I don’t think people realize how filthy the Thunder are going to be this season. They took away their worst starter and replaced him with Alex Caruso, one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. They also added a super solid defending center in Isaiah Hartenstein. The fact that they can now have Holmgren play that “roamer” role on defense is going to be huge. Lastly, this is Gilgeous-Alexander’s first year entering the season as a consensus top-five player, so it will be fun to see him play with these expectations. I have them winning just under 60 games because Hartenstein will be out for the first five to six weeks, but this will not affect my NBA Finals predictions.
As for the Celtics, they did not make a ton of upgrades to their roster, and there was not much for them to do. The only things they need to worry about this season are making sure they get Kristaps Porzingis healthy before the playoffs, load manage Al Horford, and let the Js cook. There are other concerns with making sure everyone stays healthy and adding some new plays to the playbook, but as long as everyone is healthy, this will be a tough team to beat again.
Celtics Players in ESPN’s Top 100 Players List:
5. Jayson Tatum
14. Jaylen Brown
36. Jrue Holiday
39. Derrick White
45. Kristaps Porzingis
96. Al Horford pic.twitter.com/sBO4I9k7Dc— Ian Inangelo (@iinangelo) October 17, 2024
NBA Champion Prediction: Boston Celtics
As far as it goes for the matchup between the two, they were the only teams to finish in the top four in both offensive and defensive net rating. Thus, it will be a bloodbath of two elite teams who play well on both sides of the ball.
One thing is for sure: there will be a ton of switches on defense for both sides. It is nearly impossible to predict from here on out, but come playoff time, give me the team with the championship experience — the team whose two superstars are hungrier than ever despite winning a championship less than four months ago.
Conclusion
This is going to be one wild season. Stay glued to Prime Time Sports Talk for exclusive NBA coverage and analysis.
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