I finished my 10 day NBA preseason countdown yesterday, so today, I will give you my finals prediction, award predictions and some surprises, be they good or bad, that I think will happen this upcoming season.

Let's start with the finals.

I don't see how this is not part three of Cavs-Warriors. They are both the superior teams in their respective conferences. They have no real challengers. Some will say the Cavs will be pushed by the Raptors, Celtics or Pacers. The Raptors are perpetual underachievers. The Celtics don't have a super star, ball dominant, get you the tough points when you need them type of guy. The Pacers have no one that can defend both LeBron and Kyrie Irving. The Cavs are just so much better than any team in the East. The Warriors have no one, and I mean no one, that should slow them down one bit. They have the 3 of the 4 best players in the league in their starting five. They have scorers and playmakers all over the floor. As far as the Spurs being a threat, Kawhi Leonard can only guard one of those guys. The Clippers can't stop a pick and roll to save their lives, and the Warriors own them. OKC lost KD, and Westbrook will not be able to beat them alone, even though he will certainly try. The Trailblazers are just not on their level. The Warriors have such an easy path, it's ridiculous.

As stated, we will have a third straight rematch. The Warriors should win this title in no less than 5 games. LeBron will get one, he always does, but the Warriors are absolutely stacked, and anything less than a title would be deemed a disappointment. They will try and talk down the high expectations, but with a team like this, they should be huge, huge favorites.

As far as MVP goes, I mean, LeBron should probably win every year, but he won't this season, unless he wants to. All he has to do is try and play hard every night, and he could walk away with it. But, he has a ton of mileage on his legs, so I don't think he will play as many games this year that would be needed to win the MVP. As far as other contenders, Steph and KD and Klay will all cancel each other out. Those three on the same team will be lethal, but none will separate themselves as MVP. James Harden will score a ton, but he will play no defense, so that will not get him many votes. Russell Westbrook may put up ridiculous numbers, but he will play out of control a lot, shoot too many shots and that will cost him the MVP. He will be fun to watch, but I bet very infuriating at times as well. All these guys are great, but I think that Kawhi Leonard will take the next step and win the MVP this year. The Spurs are now his team, I think he will take that next step offensively and he is the best defender in the league. It may sound crazy, but I think Kawhi is going to become that superstar that we all expect him to be.

Coach of the year is going to go to Tom Thibodeau, unless the T'Wolves fall flat on their faces. Everyone has already penciled him in, so the award is his to lose. The T'Wolves have looked really good in the preseason, and if they finish above .500, he is a shoe in for the award.

I think Kawhi Leonard will double down and not only win the MVP, but also defensive player of the year. As I have said too much the past two days, he is the best defender, hands down, in the NBA. There is no equal.

Rookie of the year is going to go to Kris Dunn. He will usurp Ricky Rubio as the starter in Minnesota, and he looks ready to play right now. I do like Buddy Hield, he will score a ton, Joel Embiid, he has looked unstoppable in preseason and Brandon Ingram will get looks, but he is too skinny and needs to toughen up. But, Dunn will pass all these guys and play important minutes on a team that could possibly push for the playoffs, and he will play well.

As far as some surprises, I think OKC will struggle, but still get in the playoffs. Losing a player like KD is going to hurt a hell of a lot more than they are letting on. Westbrook will play like a man on fire, but he needs help from guys that haven't had this much on their plates in their NBA careers. The Celtics will be the third best team in the East. A lot of people have them as the surefire 2 seed, behind the Cavs, but I think the Pacers will snatch that 2 seed from them. The Pacers have scoring all over the floor, and with Nate McMillan as their new head coach, they will run up and down the court and score tons of points, while playing high level defense. The dunk contest won't be as good as last year, but it is starting to become must watch TV for NBA fans again. The dunk contest was in the toilet for almost a decade, but last year was one of, if not the, best dunk contests ever. I also love that Vince Carter is saying that he might enter this year. I'd love that.

And one last thing, the NBA is so watered down, I would suggest to everyone out there, only watch the Cavs, Spurs and Warriors, as well as your team. There is no point, if you are not a fan of either of these teams, to watch a midseason game between the Nets and Hornets. Neither of those teams will make any difference in the final outcome, so who cares. There are only 3 really good teams, then the rest. Get ready for a third straight rematch, and a lot of the same stuff we have seen for the last few years.

That's it for the NBA. Thanks for reading, and tomorrow, I will have my NCAA men's basketball preview. I will also have my "Eric Andre Show" and "Bar Rescue" recaps next week for everyone, I have just been hyper focused on basketball, since the season is right around the corner. It's very exciting.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The NBA may be watered down, but Ty believes in drinking plenty of water. Make sure you get the good stuff. The Warriors would be like the Fiji of bottled water. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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