This NBA regular season, like always, featured a lot of drama and exciting moments. Whether it was the stare down between Dwayne Wade and Lance Stephenson or Steve Blake hitting a game winning three versus the Rockets probably being the high point of the Lakers season (gosh, that'll bring a tear to your eye as a Lakers fan), this season wasn't short of excitement. With the playoffs starting Saturday the intensity will just heighten.
The Heat come into the playoffs with the targets on their backs trying to complete the three-peat and Kevin Durant will try to cement his claim as the best player in the league by winning his first title. The Pacers achieved their goal of clinching home court for when they play the Heat in the conference finals but the signs of fatigue they showed down the stretch and Paul George's "extra curriculars" off the court have made a rematch with the Heat look awfully shaky. There are many story lines going into these playoffs and in this article I will give some of my regular season award predictions along with some playoff predictions.
MVP: Kevin Durant
Coming into this season there was no debate that LeBron James was the best player in the world and he probably still is, but Durant has had a better season. Durant has always been second in his life whether it was ranked second in high school behind Greg Oden, being taken second in the draft behind Oden, or finishing second three times in the MVP voting behind LeBron. However, this year Durant will be number one. Durant has been a potent scorer once again this year, having a streak of 41 consecutive games scoring 25 points or more, surpassing Michael Jordan's record. Other than just leading the league in scoring again, Durant has improved his overall game by averaging more assists and rebounds this year. Without Russell Westbrook for a good chunk of the season, Durant had to carry the team through this stretch and this is when he emerged as the front-runner for MVP. Durant faced a lot of criticism last year for under performing without Westbrook in the playoffs but he silenced those critics with his play this year. Durant is only concerned about winning titles but he will have to be a little happy he finally finished first in something this year.
Runner Ups: LeBron James, Blake Griffin, Joakim Noah, Al Jefferson, Swaggy P (got to be at least top 10, right?)
LVP (Least Valuable Player): Josh Smith
This was a tough award to give out with so many worthy candidates but I feel like Smith has really earned it this year. In July, Smith signed a nice $54 million, four-year contract with the Pistons and it appeared that he would be able to help bring them back to the playoffs. However, the Pistons suffered another miserable season and couldn't manage to even get into the playoffs in the equally miserable Eastern Conference. Smith continues to think he's a perimeter shooter and continues to heave up three pointers. He shot a whopping 26 percent from three, which is the worst among qualifying players. According to Kirk Goldsberry, Smith at one point this earlier in the season was shooting 71 of 268 from outside of eight feet from the basket. Smith continuously frustrates people with his horrible shot selection and hasn't really fit in in Detroit since day one. It's not all of Smith's fault; Detroit stinks but he certainly hasn't been worth the investment.
Runner Ups: Steve Nash, Harrison Barnes, Larry Sanders, Andrew Bynum
Coach of the Year: Gregg Popovich
If this award were given to the best coach in the league each year Popovich would probably win every year. This has arguably been his best coaching job of his career. After the devastating loss in the Finals last year, a lot of teams probably would have rolled over, but not the Spurs. Regardless of injuries to Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker and others the Spurs have been able to keep the train pumping. Popovich was able to develop players like Patty Mills and Tiago Splitter to turn them into more of threats for the playoffs. The Spurs have become so good and it's just become so common that they're always over looked. They casually threw in a 19-game winning streak in this year annihilating opponents and Popovich probably could care less. He has this team rested and healthy and I believe they're primed for another run to the finals.
Runner Ups: Jeff Hornacek, Dwane Casey, Tom Thibodeau, Mike D’Antoni (haha, I needed a good laugh)
Most bizarre story line: Raymond Felton gun charges
Ever since Felton got arrested for gun charges on February 25 I have just been waiting to see what his suspension will be and he still hasn't been reprimanded. Am I the only one who realizes this? He threatened his wife with a gun, which wasn't properly registered, and he's still been playing. I don't know about everyone else out there but if I was matched up with Felton after hearing of this incident I think I'd let him go right by me every time. Who wants to piss off an ill-tempered person with a gun? Maybe this was all part of the Knicks plot to turn around their season; they know people will be scared of Felton and nobody would be willing to challenge him. Even though that’s most likely not true the fact Felton is still playing in the NBA has me scratching my head.
Runner Up: Paul George stripper incident and Catfish story
Other award winners:
Sixth Man: Markieff Morris
Most Improved Player: Goran Dragic
Rookie of the Year: Trey Burke
Worst Coaching Job: Mike Brown
Now that I got my regular season predictions out of the way I look towards the playoffs. The West is going to be an absolute slugfest every night. Every team would be a serious contender if it played in the East but whoever comes out of the West will certainly have earned it. Every possible matchup in this conference would be exciting and any of the bottom seeds are more than capable of pulling off some upsets.
Playoff Predictions:
Eastern Conference Finals: Heat over Pacers in 6
The Pacers will find a way to regain some of their mojo form earlier in the season but won't have enough to get by the Heat. The Heat still have LeBron which always gives them an advantage and I think the clutch shooting of Mario Chalmers, Ray Allen, and Shane Battier makes the difference in this series.
Western Conference Finals: Spurs over Thunder in 7
Durant will once again come up short in the playoffs as I think the Spurs are just playing too good right now. I don’t think the Thunder will have enough production from their role players and the Spurs will be able to slow down Durant enough on defense. Also the health of Russell Westbrook could end up playing a huge key in this series. The Spurs Big Four will advance to their sixth finals appearance and set up a rematch with the Heat.
Finals: Spurs over Heat in 6
If this rematch does happen it will definitely shatter TV ratings for any sporting event. The Spurs were on the brink last year of winning the title but a miracle Ray Allen three dashed their hopes. However, the acquisition of Marco Belinelli and the improved play of Patty Mills and Kawhi Leonard will make the difference in this series. After winning, Pop and Duncan will ride off into the sunset together and LeBron will be faced with a tough decision of whether to stay in South Beach or not.
The playoffs will definitely feature a lot of excitement and it all starts Saturday.
-Tyler Darwick
