With the NBA Season finally just a week away and rosters shifting, stars emerging, and storylines unfolding, this season promises to deliver thrilling moments and unexpected twists. Whether you’re a die-hard fan or a casual observer, the excitement is in the air. In this preview, I’ll dive into the key teams to watch, breakout players to keep an eye on, and sleepers, contenders, and pretenders.

I’ll start things off with the Western Conference which is shaping up to be way more competitive than the east.

Western Conference

I’ll kick things off with the runners up last year, Dallas, any team with Luka and Kyrie is built to contend and coming off the finals loss last year, the Mavericks are going to be super motivated to get back there this year, their biggest move was adding a surely washed Klay Thompson to an already crowded backcourt, Klay will most likely come off the bench and maybe the change of scenery will help him get back to his old self. At the end of the day this is the same Mavericks team that we saw in the playoffs last year, Luka will be an MVP candidate again I think Dallas finishes middle of the pack in the west as I can’t pick them over the next few teams.

Minnesota is up next; they’ve been in the news a lot after they traded KAT to the Knicks for Divincenzo and Randle. I think Minnesota won that trade because of the way KAT was playing in the playoffs last year and DD off the bench is going to be deadly. My thoughts on KAT are subpar but I can’t ignore what a significant loss he is for the Wolves, he was a huge reason they got past Denver last year, the wolves were able to slow Jokic down by throwing three different Bigs at him to give him different looks and I can’t say that Randle fills in that role as he is more of a traditional 3 or 4 and not a 5. I can’t ignore the lineup and depth the Wolves could potentially have, with ANT, Conley, Mcdaniels, Gobert, Naz Reid, Randle, Divincenzo, and Dillingham the rookie from Kentucky. Minnesota should finish as a top 3 seed this season.

Now, the Denver Nuggets, 3 time MVP Nikola Jokic is the best player in the NBA and there’s really no debating it. Denver will attempt to get back on track after their second-round loss to Minnesota last year. It will be difficult with the loss of KCP in free agency who was such a huge part of their 2023 championship, I think losing him will be huge in the playoffs for Nuggets unless they can find another guy to fill in for him, I think it will be another season without a Finals appearance for Jokic and co. I think Denver will finish the regular season as the 1 or 2 seed in the west, but with other teams getting better and with the Nuggets not doing really anything to improve, I can’t see them coming out of the West.

My pick to win the west is the Oklahoma City Thunder, they were the 1 seed last year and I think they do it again this year. They added Caruso and Hartenstein, some veterans, to this young super talented team, which is what they were lacking last year. After getting a year of playoff experience OKC is primed to make a run this year, with SGA and Chet still yet to reach their peaks except a big year from both of them. I expect OKC to be right in the thick of contenders this year.

My Sleeper pick in the west in the Kings. The Derozan move went really under the radar and with Sabonis and Fox, Sacramento has the talent to win a playoff series or maybe two, I think they’ll finish with a 4,5, or 6 seed and make a good playoff run.

Before I get into the East I have to talk about the Lakers. Any team with Lebron and AD is going to compete, but I don’t think the Lakers stay healthy enough or get enough help from the supporting cast to win a playoff series.

Eastern Conference

Now its time for the east, you could argue the west is better, but I’d say the East is because of the heavy hitters at the top.

I’ll go into the Knicks first. I have my opinions on the KAT trade, I think it was bad for both teams, but I’m not going to get into that now. The Knicks added Mikal bridges and KAT, but I feel like they lost more important players, Divincenzo was a fantastic 6 man, Randle is a solid defender, and Hartenstein left in FA. Though they do have a healthy OG Anonoby to fill the Randle shoes, with Hart, Brunson, Anonoby, KAT, and Bridges the Knicks have one of the best starting fives in the league, and they have one of the best benches as well. Come playoff time I think the Knicks will be a different team than the regular season.

The Bucks, with a full offseason of practice and an offseason of recovery for Dame, the Bucks will be back to themselves this year, as long as they stay healthy which probably won’t happen. Giannis and Dames chemistry can’t be worse than last year and with Lopez and Middleton healthy I think Milwaukee makes a push and finally wins a playoff series for the first time since 2022. I think their ceiling is an ECF appearance.

Moving on the Philadelphia 76ers, adding Paul George was massive for them, Maxey is going to continue to develop, if the injury report stays empty they are going to have a big year. They have had a lot of criticism about not getting past the second round of the playoffs in a long time, I think this is the best chance they have to get there since 2019, but it all depends on who they matchup with, dodging Boston is huge for them as the Celtics have been a thorn in their side forever. Joel Embiid will be an MVP candidate again and it

should be a good year for Philly. I think they’ll take some time to gel which will bump their win total down.

The more middle of the pack teams who could make a run are the Magic, Heat, Cavs, and Pacers. I really like Orlando this year, they’re like the Thunder but worse, a young team and they added KCP which I think propels them to a 5 seed maybe a 4, and Wagner and Paolo are only going to get better from here. The Heat are always going to be in the playoffs, Jimmy Butler in important games is like Michael Jordan, and Eric Spoelstra is a top 5 coach in the league, so its hard to say they won’t make the playoffs or challenge a top team. The Cavs are bringing back the same team as last year, I don’t think they’ll be the 4 seed again but they’ll still be a decent team, with Mitchell, Garland, and Mobley, and Allen all healthy they should be able to compete with the top teams. Finally, the Pacers made the ECF last year and they are bringing back the same team with everyone getting healthy. They will be a tough team to beat after Haliburton and Co got a year of playoff experience under their belts.

Any finally the Champs, the Eastern Conference went into a frenzy this offseason after seeing the Celtics bring home Banner 18, after all the moves made, I don’t think any of it will matter in the end, In my completely unbiased opinion, the Celtics will run the east again and make it back to the finals. Joe Mazzulla has made it clear that the work isn’t finished and they are hungry for more. Jayson Tatum has said multiple times that the fans, the league, and the media said they had an easy run last year and they want another more than anything else.

Playoff Predictions.

East

1.Celtics

2. Knicks

3. Bucks

4.76ers

5. Pacers

6. Magic

7. Heat

8. Cavs

West

1. Thunder

2. Nuggets

3. Timberwolves

4. Kings

5. Mavericks

6. Suns

7. Clippers

8. Lakers

Conference Finals

ECF. Celtics over Bucks in 5. The Knicks lack of a true defensive Big will be the difference if they come up against the Bucks in the playoffs, they won’t be able to stop Giannis and the Bucks down the Knicks in 7. The Celtics run through the Cavs and 76ers as they sweep Cleveland and beat Philly in 5. The Celtics are to deep and to good for the Bucks as Boston runs through the East again and make it back to the Finals.

WCF. Thunder over Nuggets in 7. In a classic series the Nuggets fall short of the finals again and OKC takes them down and gets to the Finals for the first time since 2012. The Thunder beat Lebron’s Lakers in a 6 game battle and then beat the Kings as they beat them in 5. Denver beats the Clippers and Wolves but the lack of depth keeps them out of the finals.

NBA Finals

The Celtics will run it back beating the Thunder in 5. There will be no championship hangover, the media disrespect and the discredit from last year serves as extra motivation as they win again, Jayson Tatum wins finals MVP and silences the doubters for good, and perhaps the beginning of a dynasty is forming in Boston?

Award Predictions

MVP Shai Gilgeous Alexander G OKC Thunder

DPOY Victor Wembenyama C San Antonio Spurs

6MOY Payton Pritchard G Boston Celtics

COTY Jamahl Mosley Orlando Magic

The season starts Tuesday October 22nd with a doubleheader on TNT with the Knicks and Celtics at 7:30 at TD Garden and the Lakers visiting the T-Wolves at 10.