Well it’s that time of year again. Another NBA season is upon us and I feel about as ready for it as Ben Simmons. But let’s put on our best Nostradamus hats and predict this thing anyway.
Eastern Conference Standings
Jarrod Cotton:
1 Milwaukee Bucks
2 Brooklyn Nets
3 Atlanta Hawks
4 Miami Heat
5 Boston Celtics
6 Indiana Pacers
7 Philadelphia 76ers
8 Chicago Bulls
9 Charlotte Hornets
10 New York Knicks
11 Toronto Raptors
12 Cleveland Cavaliers
13 Detroit Pistons
14 Washington Wizards
15 Orlando Magic
Troy Goostrey:
1 Brooklyn Nets – Even without Kyrie, they look like #1 seed
2 Milwaukee Bucks – May start slow with a title hangover and target on their back, but clear #2 in the East IMO
3 Atlanta Hawks – Last season wasn’t a fluke. Another year into young legs, they’ll pounce if others falter
4 Miami Heat – Deep on paper, but will it all gel??
5 Philadelphia 76ers – Drama early will hurt, should have momentum as playoffs approach
6 New York Knicks – 6th based on last year then adding Kemba and Fournier
7 Indiana Pacers – As usual, on the playoff cusp. Too good for a high lottery, not good enough to contend
8 Charlotte Hornets – Wanted to put them higher, but it’s Charlotte. 8th seems an over-achievement
9 Boston Celtics – I’m off the Celts this season. Did nothing to improve, actually got worse!
10 Chicago Bulls – Made some moves to try and climb the ranks, but need things to go right
11 Toronto – Most likely to climb into the play-in. Depends on health and chemistry and blokes return
12 Washington Wizards – Dinwiddie and Beal show in DC. Beal needs a Wilt like average for them to get into the hunt
13 Detroit Pistons – Building something, get the season to gel and work out who stays and who is worth dealing
14 Cleveland Cavaliers – Get rid of the old blokes for some talent and they could move up. Garland, Sexton, Okoro, Mobley and Allen will be a good lineup in about 2026
15 Orlando Magic – Is Disneyland open yet? How long do we have to quarantine for when coming home? Nothing else to see here
Dan Kelly:
1 Milwaukee Bucks – Will be neck and neck with the Nets, not much in it for #1 seed
2 Brooklyn Nets – Will depend how many games KD misses and “IF” Kyrie comes back would expect them to go #1
3 Miami Heat – Big mover this year, nice addition with Mike Lowry
4 Atlanta Hawks – Build on last season and chance to go past first round in playoffs
5 Philadelphia 76ers – Bit of a slide this year, can they get close to a full season out of Embiid?
6 New York Knicks – Pretty similar to last season, could see them slipping out and a team like the Bulls surprising a little
7 Chicago Bulls – I like the additions and think they could be a sleeper for making the playoffs. Exit first round
8 Boston Celtics – Not seeing any major improvement and they are around the Knicks, Bulls type of team
9 Indiana Pacers – Usual Pacers, nobody notices them all season and they end up in playoffs
10 Toronto Raptors – Not sure what to make of them, thinking it is probably the time they finally start to go downhill
11 Charlotte Hornets
12 Washington Wizards
13 Orlando Magic
14 Detroit Pistons
15 Cleveland Cavaliers
David Ashman:
This is the Bucks year again, all healthy and looking impressive as they battle the Nets for the East
1 Milwaukee Bucks
2 Brooklyn Nets
3 Miami Heat
4 Atlanta Hawks
5 Boston Celtics
6 Philadelphia 76ers
Toronto just missing out, a bit like the Spurs how they are consistent but this time injuries over run them and they miss out on playoffs
7 Toronto Raptors
8 Chicago Bulls
9 Indiana Pacers
10 New York Knicks
Lottery Pooms. Charlotte can improve but expect another year of not good enough from the Hornets. Time to suit MJ up again.
11 Charlotte Hornets
12 Washington Wizards
13 Orlando Magic
14 Cleveland Cavaliers
15 Detroit Pistons
Jesse Cotton:
1 Brooklyn Nets – Even without Kyrie and if KD and Harden rest alternate games, they have enough to get the 1 seed
2 Milwaukee Bucks – Learnt last year to pace themselves for the playoffs, and with the 2 seed Kyrie will be out for game 7 in Brooklyn
3 Miami Heat – The best of the rest, Lowry and Tucker solid vet additions, Oladipo the wild card
4 Atlanta Hawks – I should be worried that everyone is ranking them so high, but they are legitimately the deepest they’ve been in my lifetime
5 Philadelphia 76ers – With Simmons not even practicing and Embiid inevitably missing games, how high can a Tobias Harris team go?
6 Indiana Pacers – Always overlooked, if they can keep away from injuries (looking at you LeVert) they’ll be right in the mix
7 New York Knicks – Bring back an old Knicks-Pacers rivalry for the 6 seed I reckon
8 Chicago Bulls – Put a bunch of good players together in the offseason, but I might be able to score 20 on them
9 Boston Celtics – Not convinced with anyone outside of Tatum and Brown, just feel they might be playing catchup all year
10 Toronto Raptors – Will be glad to be back in Canada, and have a stack of talent especially in their forwards. Could surprise
11 Charlotte Hornets – Another team that could surprise if they stay relatively healthy
12 Cleveland Cavaliers – Will be much improved, but still have some choices to make
13 Washington Wizards – As long as Beal is happy playing with a team of Joe Averages, then why shouldn’t he, right?
14 Detroit Pistons – Cade could become the new Grant Hill. Time to bring out the turquoise horse jerseys
15 Orlando Magic – Not even Scott Skiles could get 30 assists passing to the guys on this team
| Jarrod Cotton | Troy Goostrey | Dan Kelly | David Ashman | Jesse Cotton | ||
| 1 | Milwaukee | Brooklyn | Milwaukee | Milwaukee | Brooklyn | 1 |
| 2 | Brooklyn | Milwaukee | Brooklyn | Brooklyn | Milwaukee | 2 |
| 3 | Atlanta | Atlanta | Miami | Miami | Miami | 3 |
| 4 | Miami | Miami | Atlanta | Atlanta | Atlanta | 4 |
| 5 | Boston | Philadelphia | Phladelphia | Boston | Philadelphia | 5 |
| 6 | Indiana | New York | New York | Philadelphia | Indiana | 6 |
| 7 | Philadelphia | Indiana | Chicago | Toronto | New York | 7 |
| 8 | Chicago | Charlotte | Boston | Chicago | Chicago | 8 |
| 9 | Charlotte | Boston | Indiana | Indiana | Boston | 9 |
| 10 | New York | Chicago | Toronto | New York | Toronto | 10 |
| 11 | Toronto | Toronto | Charlotte | Charlotte | Charlotte | 11 |
| 12 | Cleveland | Washington | Washington | Washington | Cleveland | 12 |
| 13 | Detroit | Detroit | Orlando | Orlando | Washington | 13 |
| 14 | Washington | Cleveland | Detroit | Cleveland | Detroit | 14 |
| 15 | Orlando | Orlando | Cleveland | Detroit | Orlando | 15 |
Western Conference Standings
Jarrod Cotton:
1 Los Angeles Lakers
2 Phoenix Suns
3 Utah Jazz
4 Golden State Warriors
5 Dallas Mavericks
6 Portland Trailblazers
7 Denver Nuggets
8 Los Angeles Clippers
9 Memphis Grizzlies
10 Minnesota Timberwolves
11 Sacramento Kings
12 San Antonio Spurs
13 New Orleans Pelicans
14 Houston Rockets
15 Oklahoma City Thunder
Troy Goostrey:
1 Utah Jazz – Unfinished business and will have a chip on the shoulder. Climb back to the top by April, then what??
2 Los Angeles Lakers – Half the roster is already collecting a pension, but they can still play
3 Phoenix Suns – Uphill battle to repeat from the West. Last roll of the dice for CP3 as the lead PG?
4 Denver Nuggets – Hold the fort until Murray returns, hopefully for a playoff run
5 Portland Trailblazers – Best of the rest if all goes to play – Lillard and CJ focus, Nurk doesn’t get injured, and other parts work
6 Dallas Mavericks – Luka to average the trip-dub, Dallas need a big Cuban move to climb though. Kristaps not enough to support him
7 Golden State Warriors – Cheat code Curry has to slow down soon? Klay can’t return to more than 70% his former self. GSW on the decline
8 Los Angeles Clippers – No Kawhi, no LAC. PG will spit the dummy during the season and it will all fall apart
9 Memphis Grizzlies – Dangerous if they can sneak in from the play-in. One to avoid as the scoring and defensive prowess looks dangerous
10 Minnesota Timberwolves – It just has to work eventually. Russell and KAT work, Edwards continues to climb and they fly….to 10th, which is basically a title for the Wolves
11 San Antonio Spurs – If they announce the Pop retirement tour, the team will get some jets and climb up. Otherwise this is a rebuild WIP
12 New Orleans Pelicans – Zion’s feet make me worried. The rest can’t carry them in the tough West
13 Sacramento Kings – Finally getting some D, backcourt looks loaded. Bigs need to show up (Yes you Mr Bagley, drop the III and just play hard!)
14 Houston Rockets – Rebuild, will be fun. More 50/5/10 games from KPJ, please!
15 Oklahoma City Thunder – How long with the NBA tolerate a G League roster in the association? Giddey fun to watch with SGA, but both might be shelved by January when the season is gone
Dan Kelly:
1 Phoenix Suns – Keeping the nucleus together from last season will help and they hit ground running for the first game
2 Los Angeles Lakers – Could fall somewhere between #1 and #4 depending how quickly they can gel. I could see this taking a bit of time to work out integrating Russ
3 Utah Jazz – Usual Jazz team, dominate regular season, out in the first round of playoffs
4 Dallas Mavericks – Luka to have MVP type season and freshen up with super coach Jared Dudley, along with supporting cast of Jason Kidd. Big things for Kristaps this season, well I am more hoping for my fantasy team
5 Denver Nuggets – Jokic to keep Nuggets around the mark this season but could see them dropping a little without Murray from the start
6 Portland Trailblazers – Dame will keep Blazers in the hunt regular season, giving em 60 when he pleases
7 Golden State Warriors – No surprise if Steph can stay on the court that they challenge higher up standings. On any given night they can beat anyone
8 Los Angeles Clippers – Sliding without Kawhi and relying on PG, although for my fantasy I hope he has a good season. Funny the team that was plugging in Kawhi and PG are no longer there, players and coach included!
9 Memphis Grizzlies – Thinking similar run to last season, fun to watch
10 Sacramento Kings – Toss of the coin with them and Wolves. Big slider this year is Pelicans, with Zion already thinking about free agency they are on the way out
11 Minnesota Timberwolves
12 New Orleans Pelicans
13 San Antonio Spurs
14 Houston Rockets
15 Oklahoma City Thunder (at least I assume so. Dan didn’t even have them on the list, already relegated to the NBL!)
David Ashman:
1 Phoenix Suns
2 Los Angeles Clippers
3 Utah Jazz
4 Denver Nuggets
5 Los Angeles Lakers
6 Golden State Warriors
Dallas to just miss out on play-offs due to GSW resurgence with a full healthy team. Memphis to just miss out and Portland to get dismantled after this year
7 Dallas Mavericks
8 Memphis Grizzlies
9 Portland Trailblazers
10 Minnesota Timberwolves
Lottery Pooms. Houston we still have a problem. San Antonio has a lean year and New Orleans looks for answers.
11 San Antonio Spurs
12 New Orleans Pelicans
13 Sacramento Kings
14 Houston Rockets
15 Oklahoma City Thunder
Jesse Cotton:
1 Phoenix Suns – #1 by default really. Have no need to rest anyone outside of CP3, so will be a strong regular season team
2 Denver Nuggets – Showed last season they could still be good without Murray. Jamal, not Space Jam Bill
3 Los Angeles Lakers – Will take a while to get going, and will probably be dealing with AD and LeBron injuries again, but this time Russ will not let them slip to 7th
4 Utah Jazz – Show us what you’ve got in the playoffs, that’s my message to you Rudy
5 Dallas Mavericks – Hiring Jason Kidd, and Luka looking increasingly pouty, both have me a little worried for this team
6 Golden State Warriors – Don’t see how they should be much different than last year
7 Memphis Grizzlies – Strange offseason, but they always do better than predicted, even with a lack of big names outside of Ja
8 Portland Trailblazers – Similar story every year. Good guards, iffy forwards, hope the C can stay injury free
9 Los Angeles Clippers – Without Kawhi the roster looks average, and adding Bledsoe alone is worth dropping a few places
10 Minnesota Timberwolves – Kind of here only because I couldn’t find it in me to put any of the below teams here
11 Sacramento Kings – They should be higher based on their players, but lower based on their management
12 San Antonio Spurs – One of the worst rosters on paper, stability and coaching will get them just missing the play-in
13 New Orleans Pelicans – The secretive nature around Zion’s injury and status so early in the season is a big red flag
14 Houston Rockets – Will score a lot, at least
15 Oklahoma City Thunder – Is it too early to start selling Chet Holmgren jerseys?
| Jarrod Cotton | Troy Goostrey | Dan Kelly | David Ashman | Jesse Cotton | ||
| 1 | LA Lakers | Utah | Phoenix | Phoenix | Phoenix | 1 |
| 2 | Phoenix | LA Lakers | LA Lakers | LA Clippers | Denver | 2 |
| 3 | Utah | Phoenix | Utah | Utah | LA Lakers | 3 |
| 4 | Golden State | Denver | Dallas | Denver | Utah | 4 |
| 5 | Dallas | Portland | Denver | LA Lakers | Dallas | 5 |
| 6 | Portland | Dallas | Portland | Golden State | Golden State | 6 |
| 7 | Denver | Golden State | Golden State | Dallas | Memphis | 7 |
| 8 | LA Clippers | LA Clippers | LA Clippers | Memphis | Portland | 8 |
| 9 | Memphis | Memphis | Memphis | Portland | LA Clippers | 9 |
| 10 | Minnesota | Minnesota | Sacramento | Minnesota | Minnesota | 10 |
| 11 | Sacramento | San Antonio | Minnesota | San Antonio | Sacramento | 11 |
| 12 | San Antonio | New Orleans | New Orleans | New Orleans | San Antonio | 12 |
| 13 | New Orleans | Sacramento | San Antonio | Sacramento | New Orleans | 13 |
| 14 | Houston | Houston | Houston | Houston | Houston | 14 |
| 15 | Oklahoma City | Oklahoma City | Oklahoma City | Oklahoma City | Oklahoma City | 15 |
Awards
MVP
Jarrod Cotton: Damian Lillard
Troy Goostrey: Luka Doncic
Dan Kelly: Giannis Antetokounmpo
David Ashman: Giannis Antetokounmpo, he gets it back
Jesse Cotton: Kevin Durant
Rookie of the Year
Jarrod Cotton: Jalen Green
Troy Goostrey: Jalen Green
Dan Kelly: Jalen Green
David Ashman: Cade Cunningham’s Warehouse
Jesse Cotton: Cade Cunningham
Defensive Player of the Year
Jarrod Cotton: Jrue Holiday
Troy Goostrey: Rudy Gobert
Dan Kelly: AD
David Ashman: Clint Capela Big Fella
Jesse Cotton: Matisse Thybulle
6th Man of the Year
Jarrod Cotton: Victor Oladipo
Troy Goostrey: Terance Mann
Dan Kelly: Caruuuuuusooooo
David Ashman: Slo Mo Joe Ingles (finally)
Jesse Cotton: Patty Mills
Most Improved Player
Jarrod Cotton: Lonzo Ball
Troy Goostrey: Jaren Jackson Jr
Dan Kelly: Ben Simmons learns to shoot, from 3 feet
David Ashman: Mo Bamba No 5
Jesse Cotton: Kevin Porter Jr
Coach of the Year
Jarrod Cotton: Monty Williams
Troy Goostrey: Quin Snyder
Dan Kelly: Mike Budenholzer
David Ashman: Atlanta’s Nate Sonic McMillan
Jesse Cotton: Steve Nash
Statistics
Points Per Game
Jarrod Cotton: Damian Lillard
Troy Goostrey: Bradley Beal
Dan Kelly: Steph Curry
David Ashman: Dame Edna Lillard as Blazers will trade CJ McCollum because nothing is working with this Portland team, so he’ll go off.
Jesse Cotton: Bradley Beal
Rebounds Per Game
Jarrod Cotton: Jonas Valanciunas
Troy Goostrey: Clint Capela
Dan Kelly: Clint Capela
David Ashman: DeAndre Ayton so he finally get his $100 million contract and proves he’s worth it. Time to go to next level
Jesse Cotton: Michael Cage? Let’s go Gobert
Assists Per Game
Jarrod Cotton: Lonzo Ball
Troy Goostrey: James Harden
Dan Kelly: Russell Westbrook (also leading turnovers)
David Ashman: Trae Young, break out year passing the ball in Atlanta’s high octane offense. Dimes aplenty
Jesse Cotton: Trae Young, mainly on lobs to Joan Collins and Clint Eastwood
Steals Per Game
Jarrod Cotton: Matisse Thybulle
Troy Goostrey: LaMelo Ball
Dan Kelly: Jimmy Butler
David Ashman: Ben Simmons when he is finally traded and then plays for a west coast team after his sooky offseason.
Jesse Cotton: Jrue Holiday
Blocks Per Game
Jarrod Cotton: Robert Williams
Troy Goostrey: Rudy Gobert
Dan Kelly: Rudy Gobert
David Ashman: Mo Bamba No 5 for finally starting and showing off his huge Boeing 747 wingspan.
Jesse Cotton: Jarrett Allen
Accolades
East All-Star Starters
Jarrod Cotton: Embiid, Durant, Antetokounmpo, Tatum, Young
Troy Goostrey: Antetokounmpo, Durant, Harden, Beal, Tatum
Dan Kelly: Harden, Tatum, Antetokounmpo, Durant, Embiid
David Ashman: Antetokounmpo, Butler, Durant, Tatum, Embiid
Jesse Cotton: Antetokounmpo, Durant, Harden, Tatum, Young
West All-Star Starters
Jarrod Cotton: Jokic, James, George, Doncic, Curry
Troy Goostrey: Jokic, Doncic, Curry, James, Mitchell
Dan Kelly: Curry, Doncic, James, Davis, Jokic
David Ashman: James, Davis, Jokic, Curry, Booker
Jesse Cotton: James, Jokic, Curry, Doncic, Lillard
All-NBA First Team
Jarrod Cotton: Jokic, Durant, Antetokounmpo, Doncic, Lillard
Troy Goostrey: Doncic, Jokic, Durant, Antetokounmo, Beal
Dan Kelly: Harden, Doncic, James, Durant, Antetokounmpo
David Ashman: Antetokounmpo, Jokic, Booker, Durant, James
Jesse Cotton: Doncic, Curry, Durant, Antetokounmpo, Jokic