NBA 2021-22 season PREDICTIONS
SportsBeat!
Written by Aaron Cantin
The 2021-22 NBA season is upon us and it's time to get out the crystal ball and look ahead to what the 75th Anniversary season will have in store. Firstly, congratulations to the Milwaukee Bucks. Now that's over, let's hope I never have to say that again.
The schedule is back in its proper place. Teams are playing 82 games again. COVID guidelines have been softened for the majority of the league, thanks to vaccinations. The NBA is once again a global event with the Toronto Raptors returning to Canada. This should be easy to predict and honestly, on paper, picking a champion and a Finals matchup doesn’t seem all that difficult this time around. I’m prepared to eat my words. Here are my 2021-22 NBA predictions.
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MVP
Luka Doncic +400
Giannis Antetokounmpo +650
Joel Embiid +700
Kevin Durant +700
Stephen Curry +700
Damian Lillard +1200
Nikola Jokic +1500
LeBron James +1600
James Harden +1800
Devin Booker +2000
Pick: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Now second in NBA MVP odds, betting on Giannis doesn’t give you the best odds compared to some other players, but he’s got a great chance to win the award considering he will be on one of the best teams in the league, in the weaker Eastern Conference, after earning the respect and admiration of the league in winning the NBA championship. Should he bring home the hardware, Antetokounmpo would become just the 10th player to win three MVPs. And to think, he doesn’t turn 27 until December. Many people are overlooking LeBron James and that is a cardinal sin. I expect James to have one of the best seasons of his career just to prove people wrong.
Rookie of the Year
Jalen Green +250 Cade Cunningham +325
Jalen Suggs +800
Evan Mobley +1200
Scottie Barnes +1200
Davion Mitchell +1200
Chris Duarte +1200
Josh Giddey +1600
Alperen Sengun +1800
James Bouknight +2500
Pick: Jalen Green
Green shouldn’t have much trouble adjusting to the NBA after playing a bunch of games in the G League last season and should be able to step into a Houston lineup completely lacking in scoring talent. A versatile player who can play multiple positions, Green should be afforded plenty of playing time and scoring opportunity in Houston. If he can indeed adjust quickly to the NBA game, he should be one of the favourites in Rookie of the Year odds as the season moves along.
Sixth Man of the Year
Jordan Clarkson +550
Tyler Herro +1000
Joe Ingles +1200
Derrick Rose +1200
Patty Mills +1200
Kevin Huerter +1400
Tyrese Haliburton +1400
Goran Dragic +1800
Coby White +1800
Jordan Poole +2000
Pick: Patty Mills
The situation in Brooklyn is tough to read. When Mills signed with the Nets, after a decade in San Antonio, most figured he would slot in as the perfect veteran third guard off the bench behind James Harden and Kyrie Irving. With Irving’s status in limbo, the stage is set for a potential career year for Mills, who suddenly looks like the single most important free-agent signing in the league.
Coach of the Year
Pick: Steve Nash
It takes a special even-keeled temperament to navigate Brooklyn’s locker room and just as Nash pulled the strings as a Hall of Fame point guard, coaching the Nets will require a similarly delicate touch. It’s a championship or bust in Brooklyn, and yet Nash’s job requires far more than simply rolling out the ball to let Durant, Harden and Irving cook. Throw in the departures of lead assistants Mike D’Antoni and Ime Udoka and the second-year coach will have his hands full.
Eastern Conference champion: Brooklyn Nets
This seems a bit too obvious but for good reason. After all, they did drop the opener to defending champions Milwaukee. Regardless of last year’s title and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s ascent to legendary status, the prevailing sentiment is that the Nets simply have too much talent.
But as the saying goes, the best ability is availability and the Nets are ultimately banking on their star trio seeing the floor together come playoff time. The Bucks team that hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy is a better and more seasoned team than the one that literally inched by a banged-up Brooklyn squad in last year’s playoffs.
Western Conference champion: Los Angeles Lakers
Welcome to the wild, wild West. The Suns may have emerged victorious from last year’s battle of attrition but injuries to Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, Jamal Murray, Klay Thompson and Mike Conley Jr. cast doubt on Phoenix’s lasting claim to the conference throne. I can make a case for five teams to come out of the West so I took the one that rosters LeBron James. But what if Leonard comes back and the Clippers once again look like the class of the conference? What if Thompson’s return reignites Golden State? What if Murray bounces back from a torn ACL to give Denver the NBA’s most complete team? The Lakers may be favourites amid the uncertainty, but health, an ageing roster and the integration of Russell Westbrook make them far from a lock.
NBA Champion: Brooklyn Nets
Taking any team aside from the Brooklyn Nets is considered a long shot and rightfully so. A fourth installment of the game’s two iconic superstars playing in the league’s two biggest markets (New York and Los Angeles) feels like the summer blockbuster event of the year in waiting. Should LeBron and KD face off a fourth time, there’s a legitimate case to be made that it becomes the NBA’s all-time greatest individual rivalry, supplanting the likes of Magic vs Bird or Russell vs Wilt. A Nets win over the Lakers would also give Durant a 3-1 edge over LeBron on the biggest stage, opening the door for countless hours of unanswerable and unhinged debate. LeBron is still the GOAT in my books.
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