Ty Predicts the 2018 NBA Award Winners

As I promised yesterday, today I will be giving out my 2017-18 NBA regular season awards.

Now, for starters I am not going to do All NBA, All Rookie and All Defensive teams. That would be too much, and to be quite frank, I don't care about those teams. I know the players do, because of contract stuff, but I honestly could care less about it.

Also, I need to give a quick congratulations to Russell Westbrook for doing the unthinkable again. The fact that he went out and averaged a triple double for a second straight season is truly amazing. I know people call him a stat chaser and what not, but come on, 2 seasons averaging a triple double is something that will never, ever happen again. He is an otherworldly athlete and basketball player, and instead of always shitting on this guy, people need to start respecting what he is doing. He is an amazing talent that we are taking for granted right now. He will be so much more appreciated when he retires, but right now, respect what this man has done because it is wonderful. I only say this because he won't be winning any of my awards, but I had to shout him out because he is awesome. All kinds of props to Russell Westbrook. He is great.

Okay, now to the awards for the regular season. I'll start with the "lower" level awards and work my way up to MVP. So, the first award that I will be giving away is Sixth Man of the Year. There are not too many candidates for this award this year. Guys I thought about at first were Eric Gordon and Cavalier Rodney Hood. But, Gordon isn't doing what he did last year this year, and Hood has started more games than coming off the bench. I also tried to find a way to get Manu Ginobli in the conversation, but he just doesn't put up the numbers like he used to. When I actually thought about it though, the Sixth Man of the Year is Lou Williams. This dude is instant offense off the bench and every team he has been on, he does good things on offense when he comes in. Lou Williams is a shooter and nothing more, but the dude can fill it up. He is easily the winner of this award for the year. Hopefully next year he is on a team that he can help in the playoffs.

Lets move to Defensive Player of the Year next. When the season was at the midway point, I might have picked Kevin Durant. He was playing out of his mind on that end, but he got hurt and he was out of the race. Draymond Green was another possibility, what with him still being able to guard all 5 positions, and guard them well, but he also missed a myriad of games, thus pulling him out of the race for me. Anthony Davis was another possibility, but he has had to take some plays off on defense because he has done so much on offense since Boogie went out. No, when I actually got down to it, Rudy Gobert is the Defensive Player of the Year. You may say, he missed games too, but not as much as KD and Draymond. Also, when Gobert is out there, he is, by far, the best rim protector in the game. He is the key to what the Jazz want to do, and he is awesome. Gobert wins this award by a mile. We have three awards left to give out.

Next, Coach of the Year. This category is stacked. There are so many candidates. Guys like Gregg Poppovich come to mind. He has the Spurs back in the playoffs, and Kawhi Leonard only played 9 games all year. Nate McMillan has done a wonderful job of turning the Pacers into a legit threat. Brad Stevens is quickly climbing up the ladder as one of the best minds in basketball, and boy have the Celtics suffered crucial injuries too. Dwayne Casey finally got his team into the modern game, and the Raptors are the number one seed in the East. Hell, even Erik Spoelstra, with a garbage roster, has his team in the playoffs. But, when I really pored over it, how does Quinn Snyder not win this award? He lost his best player, he lost George Hill, Gobert missed time and he turned the keys to the offense over to a rookie. And, the Jazz won 45 plus games and are the 5 seed in the West. Snyder has bypassed any expectations I had when he became an NBA coach, and he has done a wonderful job. He is my Coach of the Year.

Rookie of the Year was a contest until recently. It was really down to 2 guys, Donovan Mitchell and Ben Simmons. I know that Dennis Smith Jr had some highlight dunks, Jayson Tatum is a key cog for the Celtics, Frank Ntilikina has been amazing on defense and Lonzo Ball has really come into his own. But, Mitchell and Simmons are clearly better than all these guys by a mile. I was pulling hard for Mitchell because of all the things he has done all year with the Jazz, but Ben Simmons, in this 16 game win streak for the 76ers, has grabbed this award and he is not letting it go. He has been, not just the best rookie, but one of the ten best players in the league right now. And for all the people who say he isn't a rookie, stop. This is his first year playing pro basketball. Sure, he was drafted last year, but he played zero minutes. This is, for all intents and purposes, his rookie year, and he will walk away, easily I might add, with the Rookie of the Year award.

Finally, we have MVP. Much like Rookie of the Year, this is a 2 man race. There were times during the year that guys like LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMar DeRozan, Damian Lillard and even Russ got some love. But, all that petered out due to various reasons. And for the people that want to float out Joel Embiid, or any Warrior player, nope. Embiid will be one of the best players soon, but he is not an MVP yet, and the Warriors guys have all missed too much time throughout the year. The MVP is between LeBron James and James Harden. And, James Harden will finally take home his first MVP award. He has been absolutely amazing this year. The things he is doing on offense are so wonderful. He has worked so well with Chris Paul. The pick and roll with him and Clint Capela is nearly unstoppable. Harden has had a great year and he will get his much deserved MVP. James has put in a hell of a season though. He has put up amazing numbers too. He played all 82 games, something he has never done. He has carried a bad team with a bad coach all year long. He has taken over games against better competition recently. But, what separates him and Harden is the fact that the Cavs are the 4 seed in the East and the Rockets are the 1 in the West, and number one overall seed in all of the NBA. That is due, mainly, to

Harden. There you have it, my 2017-18 NBA regular season award winners.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on all the internet.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's 2017-2018 NBA Preview: Playoffs and Award Predictions

With the 2017-18 NBA season kicking off tonight, god am I excited, I have one final preseason piece for everyone. As I promised yesterday, today I have all of my predictions. This will include my playoff teams from each conference, plus the playoff teams if they went with the 16 best records, the conference finals, the NBA finals, and all the award winners, including finals MVP. Anyway, lets get to it.

First off, I want to do the playoff teams from each conference. I will write them in order, counting from 1-8. I'll start with the East because it is so much easier than the West. The East is a joke. It was so damn easy to pick the 8 teams. So, I have Cleveland, Boston, Washington, Milwaukee, Toronto, Miami, Charlotte and Detroit ever so slightly over the 76ers. I have no faith in Detroit, I believe they were in the 20's in my countdown, but they are a better bet for the playoffs, in my opinion, this year than Philadelphia. But, it doesn't really matter. It is going to be Cleveland going to the finals. They will face either Boston or Washington in the East finals, but do not count out Milwaukee. I really feel like Giannis Antentekoumpo can will this team to some playoff wins, and I would not be totally shocked if the Bucks make the East finals. But, again, Cleveland will win the East with relative ease. They may have gotten older, but they have a better roster than any other team in the East, and they still have LeBron James. All that dude does is go to finals, and sometimes win them.

As far as the West, the 4 teams at the top were easy, but then it gets really difficult. There are about 7 teams vying for the 4 final spots in the West. As far as the seeds go, I have Golden State, OKC, Houston, San Antonio, Denver, Minnesota, New Orleans and Portland. This leaves out Memphis and the Clippers. Both teams have the talent to get to the playoffs, but I see too many things getting in their way. Memphis has no one outside of Mike Conley Jr and Marc Gasol. The Clippers best players are bound to get hurt. Danilo Gallinari is already hurt. Blake Griffin will get hurt. Patrick Beverly is bound to miss time. It always happens to the Clippers, so I do not see that changing at all this year. And while I think the Utah Jazz will play great defense, and really push for a playoff spot, the West is too good and they will miss out barely. As frustrating as it is to write, the Warriors will easily get to the Finals for a fourth straight time. They may go undefeated again on their way back to the Finals. As far as their Western Conference Finals opponent, I have them facing OKC. I am not too sure why, maybe I just want the Thunder to face KD, but I feel like, once the Thunder's big three figure it out, they are going to be very, very good. Chris Paul and James Harden will choke, they always do. The Spurs do not have enough behind Kawhi and LaMarcus Aldridge to really push. And the four other teams, the Warriors would dominate.

So we will have the inevitable Cleveland-Golden State finals for the fourth straight year. The funny thing too, even with my top 16 teams, which I will get to in a moment, I'd still have the Cavs and Warriors in the Finals. As far as just getting the top 16 teams in the playoffs, leaving the conferences and division winners and all that nonsense out, just flat out taking the 16 teams with the best records, I'd have, in order, Golden State, Boston, OKC, Houston, San Antonio, Cleveland, Washington, Denver, Minnesota, Milwaukee, Toronto, Miami, New Orleans, Portland, Utah and Charlotte. So, that gives 9 West teams and 7 East teams. I really struggled with figuring out who the 16th seed would have been. I went with Charlotte, but I really thought long and hard about the Clippers, again, I remembered their poor health and lack of any kind of solid guards, and Memphis, but I remembered they only have 2 great players, and a bunch of mediocre role players. But again, even with Cleveland being the team with the 6th best record, they would still face off with Golden State in the Finals. Both outcomes reveal the same result for me.

So, as far as the champ, it is the Warriors. They are going to easily win the Finals once again. They are too good and too loaded. They could even take some injuries to key guys, and they'd still walk to the title. The Warriors are too god damn good to be beaten. If they do not win the Finals I'd be shocked. They are that great. In fact, I think the Warriors will win 70 plus games during the season, and go undefeated in the playoffs and completely sweep their way to a title. The Warriors will be your 2018 NBA champs.

As far as award winners goes, lets start with the smaller ones first. For sixth man of the year, I'll go with Tristan Thompson. He has totally embraced his move to the bench, and I think he is going to be great off the bench for the Cavs. He is a perfect energy guy, and I think he will destroy second unit centers. I suppose 6th man of the year is probably the "smallest" award the NBA has. Now for the "big" ones. For coach of the year I have Jason Kidd. I love what the Bucks have going, and much to my surprise, a lot of that has to do with Kidd's direction. He has turned himself into a solid NBA coach, and with the way the Bucks are rising, I see Kidd getting another award to add to his trophy case. For rookie of the year I have Dennis Smith Jr. I love everything that Smith Jr has going for him. He is hyper athletic, he has great teammates, he will run the pick and roll to perfection with guys like Nerlens Noel and Dirk Nowitzki, and he is going to put up gaudy numbers because he will given the keys to the Mavericks offense. He is in an ideal situation for a rookie, and he has something to prove after "dropping" to 9th in the draft. For defensive player of the year I have Rudy Gobert. There is no better rim protector in the NBA, and he will be the best defender on one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. For Finals MVP I have Steph Curry finally getting his. He has won 2 regular season MVP's and 2 titles, but he hasn't gotten that Finals MVP yet. That changes this year. It is his turn after Andre Iguodala winning the first, and KD winning last year. And the final, and most important award, the regular season MVP, I have Kevin Durant. He is going to go off this year, and with a full season, a title and a finals MVP under his belt, he is going to win his second regular season MVP. I was going to go with LeBron, but I just feel like KD is going to tear the league apart this year. Hopefully this doesn't spell doom for him, seeing as David Johnson and Deondre Francois, my preseason NFL MVP and preseason Heisman winner, both went down with season ending injuries in week one of the NFL and college football seasons. I don't think anything bad will happen to KD though. He has suffered through enough injuries.

Anyway, I am so excited to watch the NBA kick off tonight. This is my favorite time of the year because now I have college football, the NFL and now, the NBA. There will always be some kind of sports event that I love on during almost every day of the week. What a great time to be a sports fan. Enjoy the NBA season everyone, and thanks for reading my preseason countdown and picks. I'm sure I'll have many pieces during and after the season, but this is how I see everything just a few hours before the actual season tips off. I cannot wait.

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's 2017-2018 NBA Preview: The Golden State Warriors

We've reached the final day of my 2017-18 NBA countdown. I'll give you my number 1 team today, along with all the reasons why they are the best team in the upcoming season. There will be one more preseason NBA piece, tomorrow, with all my postseason picks, award winners and the champ, spoiler alert, it is my number one team. But for today, I want to focus solely on my number one team. Are you ready for it?

It's the Golden State Warriors.

I know, shocking right? Who would have predicted that me, along with EVERY other NBA writer, would have picked this real life cheat code to be my/their preseason number 1 team. The Warriors literally have it all. In actuality, they are like teams 1-10 for me. That is how far ahead of the rest of the NBA they are. It is kind of a drag in a way because there is no real uncertainty. That is one of the things that makes sports so great, the drama. But the Warriors have erased all of that. I should say, an injury can, and does happen, see the Packers and Aaron Rodgers yesterday, more on that later this week. But, if everyone stays healthy, how does this team not win 68-72 games during the regular season and roll through the playoffs and finals once again? They are completely stacked. They have the three best shooters in the game right now, and the best shooter ever. Steph Curry is amazing. He can hit from anywhere on the floor. Literally ANYWHERE. His range knows no limits. And he is so deadly accurate. I've never seen a guy that can stop on a dime in transition, pull up from 4 or 5 feet beyond three, and I expect it to go in. He is truly the most gifted shooter ever. He is also not terrible on defense anymore. He doesn't have to be hidden that much. He is also just as good, if not better, than Kyrie as far as ball handling goes. Curry is great.

Then there is Kevin Durant. There was no reason for him to go there last year. He was already on a great team, but he wanted a ring, he chased it, and he got it. I don't want to hear bull shit excuses like, he didn't like playing with Russ, or he wanted a change of scenery, or he wanted to go somewhere that moved the ball around. All of that is just excuses for him chasing rings. But you know what, I am over that now. He got what he wanted, but he also earned it last year. He was the best player during the finals for the Warriors last year. He gave them the added shooting that they wanted, not needed. He is also an incredibly long and athletic defender. He is a great finisher at the rim, and he can be unselfish if he wants to. So, people need to quit making excuses for why KD joined the Warriors, and just accept that he is a front runner who also happens to be awesome at basketball.

Then we have Klay Thompson, the kind of forgotten man on this team. Klay is an amazing shooter, who when he gets hot, he cannot be cooled off. He can score 60 any given night. He is an amazing catch and shoot player. He is also a better defender than he is at offense. He played incredible defense on Kyrie the last three years. The common fan may not have noticed, what with Kyrie going for almost 30 every night, but Klay made him work extra hard for those points. The dude is as lock down as they get, with Kawhi being the only better defender in the NBA. Klay is extremely important to this team's success.

Draymond Green has turned himself into an exceptional basketball player. I always disliked him in college, he was a Michigan State player, but I respected the hell out of his game. He was a nuisance, and that is meant as a compliment. I never understood why he lasted until the second round, and I thought the Warriors got a steal when they drafted him. And, as we all see now, they got the steal of a lifetime. Draymond is an amazing Swiss army knife player. He can defend all 5 positions. I didn't think it was possible, but he can. I've watched him do it in a single game. He is so excellent at making the right decision nearly every time on defense. It is a thing of wonder to watch. He has turned himself into a quality offensive player too. He can go inside on smaller guys and take the bigger guys out of the paint. He even has a respectable three point shot now. Like I said before, I may not like him, but I respect his game, and how much better he has gotten every year.

Most will say that is "all the Warriors have", which is more than enough to beat every team in the NBA. I'd take those 4 to play any team's best 5 and still win. But, they have good to great players that fit into their positions with the team perfectly. Zaza Pachulia may be a big uncoordinated oaf, but he brings toughness and rebounding to this team, a skill they need. I will go to my grave thinking his closeout on Kawhi was dirty, but he does all the dirty work this team needs. Same thing goes for David West, except he has a bit of an offensive game. West is big, tough and can stretch defenders out to the free throw line. Javal McGee has turned himself an awesome energy guy. He is so much of a better fit in that role than a guy like Anderson Varejo was 2 years ago. McGee has always been extremely talented, and now, he is in a perfect situation for his skills. Patrick McCaw got some real good playoff experience last year, and I only see him getting better from here on out. He is going to be a great second unit guy for the Warriors who will only further their lead on the rest of the NBA. Shaun Livingston is such a good second unit point guard. He is so much taller and better than the guys he faces too. He has carved out a very nice career for someone that people thought was done after his brutal injury. He has accepted his NBA role to perfection. Same thing can be said for Andre Iguodala. He was once a guy that was "the guy" on a very good 76ers team. Then he came to Golden State, was relegated to being a sixth man, accepted that, and became an even better NBA player. He is the third best defender on a team filled with great defenders. He can also score from everywhere on the floor. He could have taken more money from a ton of different teams this offseason, but he knows where to go to get his rings. I am so impressed by a player like Iguodala. He is great. I am a big, big fan of the Warriors signing Nick Young. He may be brash, arrogant and cocky, but the dude can score. He will go to this team, think he is the best shooter out there, and it will work because he will be a second unit/instant offense player in Golden State. The coaching staff will use him to perfection because they know how to put players on their roster in the best positions to show their talents. The Warriors also absolutely fleeced the Bulls by trading them cash for Jordan Bell. Jordan Bell is the PERFECT player for this team. He is a young, energetic, rebounding and shot blocking rookie that doesn't really care about scoring. He is the younger version of Draymond Green.

Look, it is no secret that the Warriors are easily the best team in the NBA. They should, and will, win the title again. And probably every year that this core stays together. They are too good. As I said before, it is a drag because it takes out the suspense. But, more power to them for stacking the deck. If you have the money, go out and get the best players. Why wouldn't you want to win every year? It is fun to be on top. But, while I appreciate their excellence, I'm still a bit bummed. They will continue to win and win again. These other teams, the Rockets, Thunder, Cavs, Celtics, any team that has tried to go out and sign or trade for big stars, it doesn't matter. None of the other 29 teams in the NBA are one tenth as good as the Warriors.

There you have it, my 2017-18 NBA countdown. Come back tomorrow for all my predictions.

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's 2017-2018 NBA Preview: Celtics, Spurs, Cavs

Day 9 of my NBA countdown.

At number 4 I have the Boston Celtics. First and foremost, I believe that the Celtics might be the most overrated team in all of the NBA. But they are playing great in the preseason you say. They traded for Kyrie Irving and signed Gordon Hayward you say. They have a great coach you say. All of that is good and well, and I clearly think they will be a good team, I have them at fourth overall, but I do not buy the hype that they will dethrone the Cavs and beat the Warriors. First off, Kyrie is an otherworldly scorer. I have never seen someone in my generation that can slip and dive through cracks and spin the ball off the backboard perfectly and score almost every time. If his shot gets blocked, I am surprised. He is also a decent outside shooter. Kyrie is a wizard with the ball too. He is one of the best ball handlers I have ever watched. His offense is not debatable. Where he struggles is defense. He doesn't seem to care about that side of the ball. He will try from time to time, but I feel like he is always looking to see what he can do on offense. He is always thinking ahead, but not always in the best way. Kyrie will do wonderful things during the regular season, but come playoff time, he will learn the harsh reality of not playing with LeBron. I have a very hot take on the other "big" free agent signing the Celtics had this offseason. I do not think Gordon Hayward is a top 20 player in the NBA. He is good, but a guy to build a franchise around, no way. Joe Johnson was better in the playoffs last year than Hayward. Same thing for Gobert. George Hill going out hurt them more than if Hayward had gotten hurt. Hayward couldn't do anything against the Warriors. Dante Exum looked better at times than Hayward did. Hayward is a fine 4th or 5th option, but a franchise leader, no. I'm excited for guys like Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown finally getting a chance to start. Brown is an explosive athlete who will only get better with the extended playing time. Smart is an awesome defender, he lost weight this offseason and he appears to have found his college stroke from three. Al Horford is a fine forward. Nothing more nothing less. Marcus Morris is a solid player, but I'd much rather have Avery Bradley, who they traded for Morris. Bradley is a better shooter and defender. Aron Baynes does nothing to move the needle for me. He is big, a decent rebounder and an okay defender, but he hasn't been that good since he left San Antonio. Jayson Tatum appears to be a legit scorer, but I look at him like I do Kyle Kuzma. I want to see Tatum do it against the best the NBA has to offer before I anoint him the next great scorer in the league. Terry Rozier is a very good instant offense guy and he has earned his shot at 20 plus minutes a game. I do really like the Semi Ojelaye pick. That dude is big and strong and can shoot. Much like the hype that the Lakers and 76ers are getting, I say temper the expectations with the Celtics. They will be a very good regular season team, but they have 4 new starters and it will take awhile before they mesh. Also, we will finally get to see how good of a coach Brad Stevens truly is. He now has super star players, so lets see how he handles the egos.

At number 3 I have the San Antonio Spurs. I know, they are old and hurt and don't have anyone besides Kawhi Leonard. Well, that was good for 61 wins last year. I'm done counting this team out. They have the best coach in all of the NBA history. Yeah, I said it. And they have Kawhi. Kawhi Leonard is an amazing basketball player. The things he does on defense are downright amazing, and he has turned himself into a great offensive player. He is a guy you can rely on now. LaMarcus Aldridge has been a disaster since signing there. That much is true. But, he had a conversation with Poppovich, and by all accounts they aired everything out. Maybe this will help Aldridge accept his role on this team and he will play better. We will see. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli are ancient in NBA terms, but Ginobli came up big in the playoffs last year, and Parker can still run the offense pretty well. Patty Mills is a very underrated, very good basketball player. He plays the way the Spurs play, and it is a thing of beauty. Pau Gasol is back, and while he was a bit down last year, I think he could have a much better season this year. He is no Tim Duncan, no one is, but if he can replicate some of his numbers, he will be worth every penny. Danny Green is a very good three point shooter and a great defender. I love Dejounte Murray. He is long and lean and athletic. He is so wiry and he is a great future replacement for Parker in a year or 2. They signed Rudy Gay. I'm kind of blah on this signing. But, if/when he comes back, I think he will be a decent addition. He can still score, and with some coaching from a great staff, I see Gay fully buying in. Kyle Anderson has been biding his time, and now, I think he is ready to take that next step to being a 20 minute a night guy for this team. The Spurs never have the biggest names, Kawhi being the lone exception, but as I said at the top, I'm done saying that this team is done. Poppovich is the best NBA coach ever, and as long as he is there, the Spurs will be in my top 5.

The final team for today, coming in at number 2, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Sorry LeBron, but you will finish second once again. But, LeBron is the best player in the game. Whatever team he is on, they will be either number 2 or 3 on my list. LeBron has more than lived up to the hype when he was drafted and he is just an incredible basketball player, and an even better person. LeBron James is all around amazing. The Cavs did lose Kyrie, and they replaced him with Derrick Rose. Yikes. Rose is not the player he once was. I'm curious to see how he reacts to playing with a guy like LeBron. Rose has always been "the guy", but not anymore. I know that, the Cavs know that and most of the media knows that, but I do not think Derrick Rose does yet. Dwayne Wade is back with his buddy, and he is one of the best 2 guards ever, but he is old, often injured and only plays about 50-60 games a year. He has also been a non factor in the playoffs the past couple years. They traded Kyrie for Isaish Thomas and Jae Crowder. Thomas is a great, great scorer, but he is an awful defender and he is hurt and will miss a ton of time this year. I am a big Jae Crowder fan. He has turned himself into a very quality NBA player. He can hit the open three and he is immediately the Cavs best defender. Kevin Love is going to be playing the 5, but I feel like Love is half the player he used to be. He shoots from outside way, way too much and he isn't the great rebounder he was in Minnesota. He will help stretch the floor, but other than that, what does he do? Tristan Thompson is now the sixth man, and he seems to be taking it in stride. I think this will be great for him because he will be able to come in, grab boards, hustle and get put backs. This is an ideal fit for him. JR Smith has ben pushed to the bench, and he isn't happy and I totally agree with him. Right now in their careers, I'd rather have JR Smith on the floor in crunch time that Wade. I never thought I'd ever say that, but I honestly feel that way. Smith has made a ton of clutch shots lately for this team, and being pushed to the bench so Wade can start next to LeBron is pretty crummy. Kyle Korver and Iman Shumpert are of no consequence to this team. Korver was horrendous in the Finals last year, and Shumpert was even worse. The Cavs drank the Jeff Green kool aid, and I would be shocked if he is still getting minutes halfway into the season. I'd be more shocked if he were still on the Cavs by midseason. Richard Jefferson is there, but he is more known for his podcast now than as a player. Same thing for Channing Frye. And why did they sign Jose Calderon? Don't they already have enough guards? The Cavs are great because LeBron is a once in a lifetime player. They will be able to easily coast through the East, and even though they got older this offseason, they will walk to the Finals, only to get beaten by my, and almost everyone else's number 1 team, which you will have to wait until Monday for.

Come back next week to see who it is, if you haven't already figured it out.

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's 2017-2018 NBA Preview: Wizards, Bucks, Rockets, Thunder

On to day 8 of my NBA countdown.

Coming in at number 8 I have the Washington Wizards. The Wizards are a lot like the Raptors,  I like the Wizards back court way more. John Wall is one of the best point guards in the league. The dude can flat out fly. He is so quick with the ball in the open floor. He is an explosive dunker. He has kind of gotten himself a jump shot. He is a very good defender. I love everything about John Wall's game. I also love that the Wizards front office finally realized how great he is and gave him that enormous contract. Bradley Beal, when healthy, is a great scorer. He finally played, for him, a full regular season, and he was great in the playoffs. He is the perfect compliment to a player like John Wall. He doesn't need the ball all the time, and he can hit some open shots. He got so much better last season. His health is the biggest factor when determining how he will look, but if he can play as many games this year as he did last year, he is going to be an All Star. I'm a fan of Otto Porter Jr. He was looking like he was going to be a bust, but he turned all that around last year. He really showed he was worth the third pick when they took him, and his game got so much better. He is a very good open shooter and an okay enough defender. Marcin Gortat is there for the toughness he brings. He isn't a scorer, but he can rebound, play defense and he will put fear into opponents with some hard fouls. Kelly Oubre is turning out to be an okay player. He is kind of figuring it out, and he is the best bench player the Wizards have. Markieff Morris, just like his brother Marcus, is a pretty decent NBA player. Markieff can hit open shots, he plays defense and he brings it every night. What the Wizards lack, and what will be their downfall in the playoffs, they have no real depth behind Oubre. Ian Mahinmi is a waste of a contract. He was horrendous last year, hurt all the time and in the preseason, just look at how he got dunked on the other night. Tim Frazier was their "big" free agent, but he hasn't really done anything in the pros yet. Jodie Meeks is there, but his best days are way behind him. Mike Scott came over as a free agent too, but so what. The Wizards rely solely on their starting 5. Now, I love their starting 5, but they need some help on the bench, especially come playoff time. If they can get some real bench players, they could make some noise in the East. But, as I see them now, they are a 50 win regular season team and a first or second round out in the playoffs.

At number 7, and I am going way, way out on a limb for this team, I have the Milwaukee Bucks. First off, they have Giannis Antentekoumpo. He is amazing. He is freakishly athletic. He is so long. He has bulked up. He is a highlight reel every night. Once this kid gets a jumper, and he will, there will be no stopping him. He is next. He will be a perennial all star and always in the MVP conversation. Antentekoumpo is amazing. After Antentekoumpo, it gets kind of murky, but it is also filled with players that play within their limitations. Jabari Parker looked great last year until he got hurt, again. If he can stay healthy for 60 games or so, he and Giannis make up for a great tandem of forwards. Parker is an excellent scorer and a great floor runner. Malcolm Brogdon was a great surprise. Now, we get to see if last year was for real or a fluke. I like to think he is going to be a decent NBA player, so lets hope he continues to get better. Thon Maker showed some flashes last year, and he should frighten opponents if/when he starts to figure it all out. He is built like Giannis, only a bit thinner and not as polished yet. Khris Middleton is an underrated scorer. He, mush like Parker, gets hurt too often, but when he is in there, he gets buckets. He is good for anywhere between 18-22 points a night. Matthew Dellavedova stinks. Luckily for the Bucks, they can now rely on Brogdon and Middleton. If all Greg Monroe did was rebound and play defense, he'd be one of my favorite players. But sometimes he tries to do too much offensively. He is such a good rebounder and a good enough defender, that is all he should do. John Henson is a pretty decent vet. He is tall, can shoot and plays a little defense here and there. Tony Snell has gotten so much better since he was traded to the Bucks from Chicago. He is doing all the little things that help playoff teams continue to stay in the playoffs. I think DJ Wilson is a great fit with this team. He won't be asked to do too much, and he can team up with a guy like Maker on the second team and they can use their length and ability to stretch the floor to scorch other second units. The Bucks have one super star and a bunch of role players. In the East that is more than enough to challenge for a top 4 seed. This team will go as Giannis goes, and by all indications, that is up.

At number 6 I have the Houston Rockets. The Rockets got better this offseason. I'm still not too sure of how Chris Paul and James Harden will coexist happily, but they got better. Paul is one of the best point guards ever. He is so good at running an offense, and I think he will be fine in Houston. James Harden was a revelation last year. He looked so good. Hopefully that is the guy the Rockets get this year, and not the guy from 2 seasons ago. I am a big Clint Capela fan. He is an excellent rim runner and I love his tenacity on defense, which this team needs since they are not that good on that end. Eric Gordon was healthy all last year and he won Sixth Man of the Year. He was a great bench scorer and a knock down three point shooter. If he stays healthy, expect more of that this year. Same with Ryan Anderson, except he isn't as good as Gordon, and the Rockets want to trade him. Nene is still a good NBA player. When he went down in the playoffs last year, the Rockets missed his toughness and inside presence. He needs to be in this lineup for this team to succeed. The other guy the Rockets got this offseason, PJ Tucker, will bring some added toughness along with Nene. I still am not too sure how he fits, but he is a consummate pro, and the guy will do the dirty work with a smile. Every contender needs a player like that. Trevor Ariza is still there and he is still another three point threat. His defense has tailed off, but the dude can still shoot. I like Tairk Black on this team. This was another move to make this team tougher. They got pushed around a bit last year, but with Black, Tucker and Nene, that won't happen as much. Luc M'Bah A Moute is gone from the Clippers, and I think he will have much more fun playing with this group of guys. The Rockets are going to be a good to great regular season team. You don't add Chris Paul and get worse. But, both Paul and Harden have been the ultimate playoff chokers. Will that change this year? In the hyper competitive West? We will have to wait and see.

My final team for today, coming in at number 5, is the OKC Thunder. Tell me another team that had a better offseason? I'll wait. Cant think of one? That's because the Thunder got Paul George and Carmelo Anthony and offloaded Victor Oladipo's contract and traded away three players that they couldn't play in the playoffs last year. Oh yeah, Russell Westbrook is still there too. I mean, Westbrook, George and Carmelo, that is one hell of a big three. Paul George, while not KD, is a perfect fit next to Russ. He doesn't always need the ball, can score when open and attack the rim, is one of the best defenders in the league, and he is in a contract year. He is going to be awesome this year. Carmelo, if he plays like Olympic Carmelo, will get so many open looks he won't know what to do with himself. This is one of the best places he could have been traded to. Russ will have to taper down his work load, something I think he will be fine with, but don't expect him to not go 100 percent every night. He will continue to play his ass off and the Thunder will benefit from that. Now, it will take a little bit of time for these three to figure it all out, but when they do, watch out. The Thunder also have Andre Roberson. Yes he is a horrendous shooter, but give all of his shots to Anthony or George, and let him focus on what he does best, play defense. He and George will be able to lockdown legit back courts by themselves this season. I love this pairing. Steven Adams is going to be able to rebound and kick all year long. He is a guy that doesn't care about stats, and on this team, that is perfect. The thing that should worry Thunder fans, they do not have a great bench. It is okay, but not great. Alex Abrines is a fine player, but he still needs time to develop. Their draft pick, Terrance Ferguson, who knows. In his tapes he looked great, but when you talk to some people that scouted him, they say he comes and goes sometimes. I do love the idea of Patrick Paterson as their sixth man. He is a real good all around player and they got him on a great contract. He is their best bench player. Jerami Grant, while hyper athletic, I just don't see him as a great talent. Raymond Felton, he is too old and only getting slower. Semaji Christon and Josh Huestis are more likely to be in the G League when the season starts. Same with Dakari Johnson. There is no denying how much better and how surprising the Thunder got this offseason. You don't add two great players and not expect to get better. As I have said, it may take 15-20 games, but when the Thunder's new big three figure it out, they are going to be awesome. I could honestly see them push for the 2 seed in the West.

That's it for today, come back tomorrow when I am back to just three teams.

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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