Ty's 2019-2020 NBA Preview: Postseason and Awards
/Finishing up my 2019-20 NBA countdown and preview, I come to you today with my playoff picks, championship matchup, winner and award winners. The basketball preview stuff isn't totally done yet because I am doing my men's college basketball preview tomorrow. But today wraps up the NBA, for now.
I am going to start with the East because it is the JV of the NBA. Sorry to say, but the top 3 or 4 teams would make the playoffs in the West, but they would be hard pressed, and find it very tough, to be a top 4 seed. Anyway, I will give you my eight teams in descending order. Starting off I have the Raptors, Magic, Nets, Celtics, Heat, Pacers, Bucks and 76ers. You may see that and think I am too high on a few teams. I have the Pacers as a three seed, but I fully believe in them, and when Oladipo comes back, they will have the star player they crave. I have the Heat at 4, and that is solely due to Jimmy Butler. I also think they are going to pull off a good to great trade before the All Star break to pair with Butler. Conversely you may see the Celtics as a 5 seed, or the Raptors as a 7. Well, I do not believe in the Celtics, but they have the talent, in the East, to win 44 or 45 games and be in the playoffs. And the Raptors, if they stay together, will barely, barely make the playoffs. I do think Pascal Siakim is that good. When it comes down to the conference finals, I would be shocked, shocked I tell you, if it isn't Milwaukee and Philadelphia. They are, far and away, the best 2 teams in the East. They have the best 2 players in the East. They have the best coaches in the East. They are the best. Picking a winner of that series is tough for me, but I just don't think the Bucks have the guys that can shut down the 76ers humongous length and size and strength. Also, I fully, fully believe in an in shape Joel Embiid. I have the 76ers winning in 7 games. As far as a surprise or 2 that may happen, I think the Heat will sweep the Celtics, and then the Celtics will have a ton of offseason questions to answer, and I feel like the Magic will push the Pacers to 7 games in round one. Both teams play really good defense, and will frustrate one another to no end. But the Pacers will pull out a close game 7 at home.
Now to the Varsity of the NBA. The West is far, far better than the East. Some of the teams that will miss the playoffs could have 45 wins. Seriously. I think every team, except for the Suns and Grizzlies, and the Thunder if they trade everyone, has a legit shot at making the playoffs. This conference was tough for me, but I think I have it paired down to the 8 teams that will make it. Just like the East I will put the 8 teams in descending order. So, I have the Spurs, Lakers, Trailblazers, Warriors, Rockets, Jazz, Nuggets and Clippers. Again, I'm sure I have some teams too high and too low for some readers. I will never not put the Spurs in the playoffs as long as Greg Poppovich is their head coach. Also, Dejounte Murray is back. I said that the Lakers may have the best duo in the NBA in LeBron and AD, but I do not like the rest of that roster, at all. And what if LeBron gets hurt again, he is 35, and AD further hurts his thumb? What then for the Lakers? As far as teams I have high, I am all in on the Jazz. I loved their offseason, and they are one of, if not the, best defensive teams in the league. I am also a big time believer in the Nuggets. They have continuity, a super duper star player, the most depth in the league and good shooters off the bench. They are the real deal. As far as the West Finals, this was really tough. I am going with the Clippers, they sill have the best defense in the league, and I feel like they will play the Rockets. I think that the Russ and Harden pair up will work this season. And, as they are want to do, I think the Rockets will get beat, handily, by the Clippers. I wouldn't be all that surprised if it was a sweep to be honest. The Clippers are so good defensively, and they will be able to score almost as well as they will be able to stop teams from scoring.
That means I have the Clippers facing the 76ers in the Finals. This is what I want to happen. These are the 2 best defensive teams, they play throwback basketball with a touch of the modern game and they have the best overall rosters. I think it will be hard fought, gritty and even ugly at times, but I just can't go against Kawhi after what I saw 5 years ago when he lead the Spurs to the beat down of the Heat, and what I watched him do last year throughout the entirety of the playoffs. This is also probably the most talent he has ever played with in his basketball career. The Clippers are as good as advertised in my opinion. They will finally hang a banner in Staples for themselves.
As far as awards, the playoff MVP will once again be Kawhi Leonard. He is that dude. He has that killer instinct and he wants to beat every team in his way. For the regular season awards. The Rookie of the Year will be Zion Williamson. This rookie class is absolutely loaded, some rookies will put up ridiculous numbers and they will be a ton of fun to watch. This is the future. But Zion will be on a team fighting for the playoffs all season, and he is going to be the guy they run the offense through. He is also a solid defensive player. Most Improved player, and this is going to sound super weird, I'm going with Russell Westbrook. Like I said, I think the pairing with Harden will work, and Westbrook will put up his best shooting numbers of his career. He is going to eat on second units as well. Defensive Player of the Year is going to be, once again, Rudy Gobert. He is the best, and most formidable, rim protector in the game. He is an absolute stopper and no one is better than him at doing that, right now, in the NBA. Sixth Man of the Year, and they just need to permanently etch his name in this award, is Lou Williams. He is the best bench player in the league, he is liable to go off anytime he is on the floor and he is a great teammate. Lou Williams rules. Coach of the Year will be Doc Rivers. He probably should have won it last year, but they won't make that mistake this year. The Clippers are going to be really, really good, and Doc has already proven once that he can get the best out of star players. Finally the MVP. I mentioned yesterday, and today for that matter, how much I love Joel Embiid, and I think he is going to award that with an MVP trophy this year. He is in shape, he has stated that he wants this award, and also the DPOY award too, and how hungry he is coming into this season after last year's heart break. He is going to dominate the low post on both ends, and he is going to play the most games of his career this year. He is the modern Hakeem Olajuwon, and I feel like this is going to be one of what could be multiple MVP awards for him.
Okay, there is my full 2019-20 NBA preview and predictions. I'm so very excited for this season to start. We finally, finally have parity and I cannot wait to see all these new guys on new teams. I'm also very stoked to watch the rookies play. I cannot wait. Only 5 days now. Lets get to it.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.
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