10 Bold Predictions Entering The 2017–18 NBA Season

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The Unprofessionals

5 min readOct 17, 2017

If I told you 12 months ago that Russell Westbrook would average a triple-double, a 20-year old named Devin Booker would drop 70 points in a game, a team would go 30–11 in the second half of the season and miss the playoffs, and Chris Paul, Paul George, Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward and Jimmy Butler would all be spending their final year with their team, you would probably call me crazy.

But here we are.

This offseason was the most unpredictable and entertaining of all time, and hopefully it can be followed up by an equally chaotic regular season.

#10: The Timberwolves Undergo Heavy Struggles

The talent on Minnesota’s roster is undeniable. But here are the concerning factors that will lead to them underachieving: they don’t have any great shooters, they only have one great defender, and only two quality players on their bench. The pairing is Jimmy Butler and Andrew Wiggins makes floor spacing a major concern, and adding Taj Gibson to the mix makes things much worse. Jeff Teague is a fine player, but isn’t great at anything. And as good as Karl Anthony-Towns is, he is still a very bad rim protecter. Talent alone will get them into the playoffs, but they will likely be there as a much lower seed than anyone expected.

#9: The Denver Nuggets Win 50 Games

Denver has everything you could ask for in a team- except for reliable point guard play. Nikola Jokic is a star, Paul Millsap is a perfect fit and a great sidekick, and their perimeter depth is very impressive. With players like Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Will Barton, Wilson Chandler and Juan Hernangomez, this team can go 12 or 13 players deep in the rotation if they chose to. And their ceiling gets exceedingly higher if…

#8: Eric Bledsoe Is Traded To Denver For Emmanuel Mudiay And Draft Picks

Denver is going to exceed everyone’s expectations early on this season, and when they do, they will be in the market for help at their weakest position- and Bledsoe should be on the block considering Phoenix’s hopes of tanking for a top draft pick.

#7: The Bulls Win Less Than 15 Games

Jerian Grant. Justin Holiday. Paul Zipser. Nikola Mirotic. Robin Lopez. These are names that don’t exactly scream success, and unfortunately for the people of Chicago, it is the projected starting five for the Bulls this season, at least until Zach Lavine comes back. And even when he does, his playstyle contributes much more to SportsCenter than it does the win column. This team is horrible, and with Mirotic and Lopez likely shopped on the trade market, it will only get worse.

#6: Kyrie Irving Will Win The Scoring Title

This offseason, many of the league’s best scorers got new teammates that will take away a good amount of their touches- Russell Westbrook now has Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, James Harden will share a backcourt with Chris Paul, and Karl Anthony-Towns will play with Jimmy Butler. But the one elite scorer who will be getting more touches, more shots is Kyrie Irving- and given his excellent shooting and all-time great finishing ability, he has a very good chance to make a run at the scoring title under Brad Stevens in a much better offense than any he has ever played in before.

#5: Isaiah Thomas Provides Zero Value For The Cavaliers

The timetable for IT’s return has continued to be pushed back, and the Cavaliers are now cautiously optimistic that he will come back just before the All-Star Break. But the apparent severity of an injury that Thomas opted to ignore surgery for is very concerning. And this won’t end when he steps on the court for the first time in a Cavaliers uniform- he could very well have his production drop off mightily due to nagging pain, especially if they rush him back.

#4: The Houston Rockets Win 60 Games

There may only be one ball, but it won’t matter for the Chris Paul-James Harden duo in the Houston backcourt. First off, Mika D’Antoni is the perfect coach for this partnership, as he knows how to get his ball-handlers in the best position to succeed. When you have doubts about this team, realize this: the Houston Rockets will have Hall of Fame-level point guard play at all times during every game.

#3: The Brooklyn Nets Are The Best Team In New York

This is less of an endorsement of the Nets than it is a condemnation of the Knicks and their horribly constructed roster. They have bad shooting, bad perimeter defense, bad scoring, bad passing, bad coaching, and a lot of old players on bad contracts. While their lack of talent on the roster will be good for Fantasy Basketball owners of Kristaps Porzingis, it will be very bad for actual fans of the Knicks.

#2: The Utah Jazz Comfortably Make The Playoffs

Their top scorer may be gone, but the Utah Jazz will be just fine, thanks in large part to the historically great rim protection of Rudy Gobert, and the elite coaching from Quin Snyder. But they will need scoring now that Gordon Hayward is gone. Their path to replacing his scoring is by having many contributors on the wing- most notably, Rodney Hood, Joe Ingles, Alec Burks, and Donovan Mitchell. The good news is, all of them will be ready to step up and take on a bigger role.

#1: The Golden State Warriors Will Go 16–0 In The Playoffs

While the Warriors are overwhelming favorites to win the title, the more interesting question may be if they can go undefeated in the postseason. They came close last season, being just a Cavaliers three-point barrage in game three away from doing so. But this year, with an improved Golden State bench and added question marks in Cleveland, it seems like the perfect storm for the Golden State Warriors.