NBA Season Preview

The NBA season is less than a week away and basketball fans are excited. They want to see what the defending champs will do and if Duncan can match Jordan with 6 rings. Lebron James has returned to Cleveland with much anticipation as well. This will be one of the most anticipated seasons in league history. So there is only one thing left to do, I must give my predictions for what will happen.
Here is my NBA Season Preview for the 2014-2015 season.

My Predicted Playoff Field
Eastern Conference
1 Chicago Bulls
2 Cleveland Cavaliers
3 Washington Wizards
4 Toronto Raptors
5 Miami Heat
6 Atlanta Hawks
7 Charlotte Bobcats
8 Boston Celtics

Western Conference
1 San Antonio Spurs
2 Dallas Mavericks
3 Los Angeles Clippers
4 Portland Trail Blazers
5 Golden State Warriors
6 Oklahoma City Thunder
7 Los Angeles Lakers
8 Houston Rockets

League MVP
Dirk Nowitzki

I think Dirk has one more teriffic run in him and I honestly think he and the Mavs are the biggest threat to a San Antonio repeat. KD is hurt to start the year and it will take LeBron some time to gel with his new teammates. That makes the race for MVP wide open. Do not be surprised if Kobe is a serious threat to the award. Stef Curry will also be a force in the race as will (gasp) Joakim Noah. John Wall will be a strong finisher in this race and Derrick Rose is another name to watch.

6th Man
Taj Gibson

Gibson is the best player off the bench for anybody. He will put up the best numbers, and his team could easily finish with the top record in the East. This guy will certainly contend for this award again if nothing else.

Coach of the Year
Brad Stevens

The Celtics 2nd year coach will get coach of the year for leading the young Celtics to the playoffs against expectations. Once the Brooklyn Nets fall apart again without their best player, Paul Pierce, the Celtics will fill a spot in the wide open East. This is something that is not widely predicted and being the biggest surprise should land Stevens in this spot as frontrunner for Coach of the Year.

Rookie of the Year
Jabari Parker

Parker IMO is the best rookie, in a good situation to succeed and therefore will have the biggest impact. This guy is going to be really good for a really long time.

5 Other Bold Predictions
1) Not only will Jabari Parker win rookie of the year, but he will also be an all-star
2) Milwaukee however with Jason Kidd as Head Coach will be a bottom 5 team
3) The closest race in the league will be between the Celtics and the Knicks for the final playoff spot in the East
4) Kobe finishes top 5 in scoring again
5) After the season a loud portion of Lebron's fans will claim that he needs more "help" and I will be able to add to this article

Conference Finals
Spurs over Mavs
Wizards over Heat

I forsee a Derrick Rose injury late in the year after the Bulls clinch the one seed. That injury opens it up for the 4/5 seed to possibly upset the 1 in the postseason. The veteran Heat take advantage and force the issue to get in. The Wizards ultimately end up being too much for the Heat.
The Spurs in Mavs are destined for another epic postseason clash. The only question is when that clash will happen in this postseason.

Who Wins It All?
San Antonio Spurs

Honestly, they are the best run team and the best team period. If these guys stay healthy, this thing really should not be that close. They are a fantastic team from top to bottom and as long as they got 21, I am not picking against these guys.

-Noland

Who Will Be The Wizards Coach?

Over at Wizards Extreme they recently did a piece on who the Wizards coach will be next season. This coaching piece is something that will be critical to the Wizards success next season. Due to their success towards the end of the season and the fact that he did decent with poor circumstances you would think Randy Wittman would get a shot. This article got me thinking though, what if he doesn't?

Would Sam Cassell be the next in line? I'd love for the former Nole to get a shot, but I doubt they go with him if they pass on Wittman. He may well be a candidate though down the road.

The post argues that the Wiz should bring in a college coach. I'm not sure that is the way to go, remember the last time that happened. The Wizards had one of the most successful coaches in college, Leonard Hamilton, and he didn't do so hot in Washington. I love Hamilton, he is great as a Nole, but he didn't cut it as a professional coach. If we looked to the college ranks, wouldn't he be at the top of the list again? Do we really want a repeat of that incident?

To me only two college type coaches make sense for the Wizards. These coaches are Brad Stevens of Butler and Gary Williams the former Maryland coach. Why these two? I chose these two because of their connection to Wizards basketball and because I think their coaching styles could translate to the pros. Brad Stevens is a two time national runner up who coached Shelvin Mack in college. He has a track record, is young, successful and is proven to help develop talent. His track record with Shelvin Mack could help give Mack his highest chance to succeed as a pro. Gary Williams is a legend of Maryland basketball. He has won a National Championship and made Maryland a powerhouse. I think the world of Williams as a coach. I doubt Williams would consider it, but wouldn't mind him coaching the Wizards one bit. It might lead to yet another return of Juan Dixon as well.

Of  course, the ideal college coach is Coach K, but does anyone think he is leaving Duke? If Krzyzewki doesn't leave Durham for the Lakers, he isn't leaving for the Wizards. I don't see it happening.

Therefore, I say go with Wittman, but am open to something new. What do you think the Wizards should do? Is there someone better than Randy?

-Noland