I can hardly believe the NBA is back. The offseason went by like a blur, and it's already time to fire up League Pass and get back into my habit of waking up bleary-eyed every morning after staying up way too late to watch Western Conference basketball.
You Pacific Time Zone people don't know how good you have it.
I've covered all of my preseason topics, and now the games are actually ready to start counting. Get ready for Week 1 with our top-150 projections and best waiver-wire adds of the week over here. However, if your roster is already set, I thought I would give you one more thing to chew over before the games start. So, here are 10 randomly selected bold predictions for the 2016-17 season:
Hassan Whiteside will post historic numbers
I'm not sure which way this means. Will he be the first person since 1989-90 to record four point-rebound-block triple-doubles in a single season? Will he best the mark of Mark Eaton and Hakeem Olajuwon by getting to five? Will he become the first player since Shaquille O'Neal in 1999-00 to average 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks per game? Will he become the first player since Dikembe Mutombo in 1995-96 to average more than four blocks per game? I'm not sure. All of these and more are on the table for Whiteside now that he is pretty much the undisputed top dog in Miami. Oh, and did I mention he shot 60.6 percent from the field last season and upped his free-throw shooting to 75.0 percent after the All-Star break? Whiteside was a borderline first-rounder this season, and I'm excited to see how he might improve.
Anthony Davis finally stays healthy
This is a total stab in the dark, but it sure would be nice to see, wouldn't it? Davis has slipped to the second half of the first round in most leagues this year after four NBA seasons that have seen him miss 20.7 percent of all games his team has played. However, he was a contender for the No. 1 pick just a year ago, and with his range extending out to the 3-point line and his improving play-making skills, he could challenge for the top spot if he just manages to play 75 games this season.
Evan Fournier will lead the Magic in scoring -- and he will score more than Victor Oladipo
Fournier isn't an exciting player. He's never had the hype of current and former Magic teammates like Nikola Vucevic, Elfrid Payton, or Oladipo, and he was even overshadowed in free agency. He signed for $85 million, a relative steal when you see what the likes of Bradley Beal got. Fournier shot 40 percent on 3-pointers last season and averaged 15.4 points per game, and he should only build on that with Oladipo out of the picture. Vucevic has been the Magic's No. 1 option on offense the past few years, but he has real competition for playing time in Bismack Biyombo, and could find minutes a bit scarcer than last season. Fournier, on the other hand, is the unquestioned top option on the perimeter, and could take his game to another level.
Dwight Howard will have a bounceback season
This is vague enough that I have some leeway, so I'll be a bit more specific: I think we see 2013-14 Dwight again. That year, he averaged 18.3 points, 12.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, while shooting 59.1 percent from the field. Howard's role has been reduced in recent years in Houston, and reports of internal strife surrounding him make it clear he was no longer much of a focal point for the Rockets. However, he can still make his presence known on the offensive glass and bully his way to the free-throw line, even if he isn't the physically dominant force of nature he once was. On an Atlanta team much more intent on sharing the ball, we'll see a better Dwight than we have in at least a few years.
No rookie will finish in the top-75 in Fantasy scoring
This one seems like a pretty easy call after Ben Simmons' injury, though there are still a few candidates. Joel Embiid ended up sporting a 93 overall ADP at FantasyPros.com as the hype grew, and it wouldn't surprise me if he ended up going in the first six or seven rounds in some leagues. His talent is undeniable, but the injury risk and minute limitations make it hard to see how he makes the jump to top-75 right away. Buddy Hield has an opportunity in New Orleans if he is ready, but he didn't shoot the ball well in the preseason or summer league, and may not be ready. Brandon Ingram certainly has the skills, and may be a top-50 player in the second half of the season if the Lakers decide to tank. However, the presence of a surprisingly crowded roster, featuring veteran Luol Deng ahead of him on the depth chart, might make minutes somewhat hard to come by to start.
Paul George will make the leap to top-five status
The addition of Jeff Teague should take some of the pressure to create off Paul George, which should have a positive impact on his overall game. George is a terrific shooter, but he has too often be forced into taking ugly, off-dribble jumpers when the Pacers' offense bogged down in recent years. With a more dynamic creator running alongside him, in what is expected to be a faster-paced offense, it wouldn't surprise me if we saw George make the leap to 25 points per game. Add in around eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and three 3-pointers per game, and improved efficiency, and George may just have one more leap left in him.
We get at least one vintage Linsanity run
Lin has turned into a serviceable point guard, most recently in a largely reserve role for the Hornets a year ago. He will be unshackled this season, and I'm excited to see what he can do in Brooklyn. The Netswill likely be a mess but, in a change from last season at least, should be a pretty fun mess. They have some interesting pieces. Brook Lopez is a terrific scorer, and Lin will be unleashed. He is a terrific pick-and-roll player who can get to the rim with ease, and draws a healthy amount of free-throws to boot. The Nets won't win much this season, but don't be surprised if we see a few 10-game stretches where Lin averages 25 points per game. He's got the opportunity, and put up 17.2 in just 23.3 minutes per game in the preseason.
This trade deadline is as busy as the 2015 one
The February 2015 deadline was a crazy one, with players moving around the league at a frantic pace before the deadline. Last season was relatively quiet, by comparison, but it isn't hard to find teams on the verge of a move this season. Maybe the seeming inevitability of a Warriors championship pushes teams to be more conservative, but you could also see quasi-contenders look to either swing for the fences or blow it up, which could make for a very active deadline season. Teams like the Celtics, Hawks, Wizards, Bulls, Nuggets, Thunder, Rockets, Pelicans and Kings all could be looking to make big moves this February.
The record for 3-pointers in a season is not broken for the third straight year
Steph Curry broke the 3-pointers record in 2012-13, with 272 makes, three more than Ray Allen's record number from 2005-06. He improved on that in 2014-15 with 286 makes, and then demolished his own record with 402 last year, and that is where the record is likely to stay for a while. With the addition of Kevin Durant this offseason, you have to expect Curry's shooting volume overall to drop pretty significantly, and even an improvement in efficiency makes it awfully hard to see him get back to 5.1 makes per game.
Russell Westbrook moves into fifth place in career triple-doubles
Westbrook is already eighth all-time with 38 triple-doubles, five behind Fat Lever for seventh place. Given what he did in 2014-15, when he had 18 triple-doubles while playing most of the season without Kevin Durant, he seems a lock to pass LeBron James for most among active players, and he is 21 behind Larry Bird for fifth place. He's got a long way to go to pass Wilt Chamberlain for fourth place but ... it's not totally out of the question, is it? Yeah, it is ... But, is it?
