Matthew Adams
Managing Editor
As the NBA preseason begins, uncertainty going into the regular season is warranted. Right now, the NBA is in an odd place with multiple players who have infinite potential to be greats.
Victor Wenbanyamma, Chet Holmgren, and Bol Bol are all players who have an insanely wide wingspan, 7 feet tall, and can do almost anything a 6’3 point guard can do and more.
These are all players I see averaging at the very least a double-double with 15 to 20 points. Holmgren and Bol will be on the bench but Wenbenyamma will be a starter for the Spurs.
With Wenbenyama being a starter, the Rookie of the Year conversation has a precise winner, but being that tall and lanky is synonymous with injury. To prevent this from happening, Wenbanyamma has put on 15 to 20 lbs, which will have an impact on his playing style and injury proneness.
Rookie of the Year is always a tough conversation for the league because it’s a singular award awarded to the best-performing rookie.
The NBA is stacked with multiple teams that have playoff potential. Teams such as the Sacramento Kings or the Warriors have a chance to go back.
Last season, the Kings and the Warriors were both solid teams that had great playoff runs. The only thing that the Kings have to work on when it comes to playing in the playoffs is consistency and crashing the board.
The Kings haven’t made any significant improvements to the center position which is worrisome due to the fact that one of the main reasons they lost the series against the Warriors was rebounds.
Kevon Looney was able to destroy the Kings with his rebounds by having a couple of 20-rebound games that would ultimately be one of the reasons the Kings lost. The Warriors have not made many changes to their roster besides disposing of Jordan Poole and sending him to the Wizards. They also resigned Draymond Green.
Granted, he did have a bad playoff performance but he was one of the main reasons they won the 2022 Finals so a sense of loyalty should be there from the Warriors front office.
The West is a conference stacked with playoff potential but the Eastern Conference is equally yoked with teams that have stacked lineups.
Teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Boston Celtics have all the pieces to make a Finals run. Especially Boston with their newest addition at the point guard position in Jrue Holiday, who has been a solid “three-and-D” guard for every team he’s played for.
Holiday should add well to a roster of high-scoring players. I also think this was the perfect replacement for Boston due to the fact that Marcus Smart, 2021 Defensive Player of the Year, played a huge role in them going to the playoffs.
Even though he won’t be with Giannis Antenokoumpo and Khris Middleton, he will still have Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who are superstars in both the regular season and post-season.
With Holiday coming to the team, the three-point percentage should go up and the defensive rating should go up as well.
The many awards that are presented to players at the end of the year can be a surprise to many but I believe this year should have some clear winners.
My end of the predictions include: MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player Award, and the Sixth Man of the Year. The MVP will go to Lebron James.
The Defensive Player of the Year will be Holiday. Which would cement himself as a superstar “three and D” point guard.
The Most Improved will go to Derrick Rose and so will the sixth man. This would be great comeback story that would be amazing to see.
This season will be full of surprises that will make for a great NBA watching experience.
