James Harden's Season Debut

 The Houston Rockets are slated to make their season debut tonight against the Portland Trailblazers. The Rockets season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder was postponed due to the Rockets inability to not provide 8 healthy players to play the game. This was due to 6 players including John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins being unavailable due to either players testing positive for coronavirus or contact tracing. In addition, James Harden in a separate incident was deemed to have broken league protocol when attended a friend’s celebration of starting her business in which he was seen mask less. Harden was fined by the NBA $50,000. He has since tested negative for coronavirus and with him having quarantined for 4 days by the NBA rules he is available to play tonight. This is great news because by having James Harden the Rockets should meet the minimum of 8 players required to play in an NBA game.   

 The Rockets have had a tremulous off-season in which both of their star players current Washington Wizards guard Russell Westbrook and James Harden had asked to be traded. Also, there are both a new General Manager, Rafael Stone, and Head Coach Stephen Silas. With all the drama surrounding the Rockets it will be great to see them take the floor and play basketball. The Rockets are going to have the hands full for the first 2 games, as they will be playing without 3 starters. Wall, Cousins, and Eric Gordon have been placed in 7-day quarantine and will not be available until the team plays on Thursday New Year’s Eve against the Sacramento Kings.

 I expect Harden to play well tonight against the Trailblazers as he gets to block out the off court distractions. Also, Christian Woods will be a key player for them not just the next 2 games but also this season. I see James Harden getting a 40-point triple double in a loss to the Trailblazers in which fatigue will set in for the Rockets. The score will be 110 to 95.

NBA Christmas Day Preview and Predictions

 

NBA Christmas Day is here the best day of the NBA Season.  There are 5 games on the schedule starting at 12:00pm. The day starts with the Miami Heat taking on the New Orleans Pelicans with Zion making his Christmas day debut. The Bucks welcome Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors to town.  Kyrie Irving makes his regular season return to Boston as the Brooklyn Nets take on the Boston Celtics. In addition, Lebron James and the Los Angeles Lakers take on Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks. Lastly the final game of the night is rematch of the 2^nd round playoff matchup; with the Los Angeles Clippers battling the Denver Nuggets. Let’s look to see at my predictions for Christmas Day Games.

 

New Orleans Pelicans vs Miami Heat

The Eastern Conference Champions look to get into the win column after falling to the Orlando Magic Wednesday night. The Pelicans look to win 2 in row after winning their season opener against the Toronto Raptors. The key match up to watch for in this game is Bam Adebayo and Zion Williamson. A match up of two young rising big men in the league it will key to see how the heat choose to defend Zion when he chooses to drive to the basket. Also, the team makes the most 3’s will win the game. Both teams will rely on their marksmen shooters to try to break open the game and secure a Christmas Day Victory.  I predict the Pelicans will win 115 to 105 with Brandon Ingram of the Pelicans being the leading scorer with 35 points.

Milwaukee Bucks vs Golden State Warriors

The two-time reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks take on Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. The Bucks are coming off a heart breaking lost to the Boston Celtics and Giannis will be looking to redeem himself from missing the game tying free throws from their game against the Celtics. The Warriors come into this game once again without the heart of the team Draymond Green. Steph and the Warriors look to make this game more competitive than the season opener against the Nets, they were never in the game against the Nets from start to finish. This game will be another blowout for the Warriors; I see the game being 118 to 97 in favor of the Bucks.

 Brooklyn Nets vs Boston Celtics

In a match up of 2 of the top 3 teams in the Eastern Conference sees the Brooklyn Nets against the Boston Celtics. This is going to be the game of the day and it has a tremendous individual matchup of Jayson Tatum and Kevin Durant. This will be a highly competitive game of similar teams whom both have the bulk of their offense come from their perimeter players. I predict the Nets will win 108 to 105 with Boston’s Jayson Tatum leading all scorers with 40 points.  

The Los Angeles Lakers vs The Dallas Mavericks

Luka Doncic and the Mavericks visit the defending NBA Champions the Los Angeles Lakers in a prime time Christmas Day match up. Lebron James has stated he will be ready to play which smells trouble for the Mavericks. Dallas will be without star Forward Kristaps Porzinigis who is making his way back from offseason surgery. Dallas are going to be hard pressed to put together any offense against this Lakers team when it comes to scoring on the inside. With few consistent scoring options outside of Doncic I see the Lakers easily winning this game 125 to 110. Anthony Davis will exert his dominance inside by having 25 points and 15 rebounds on Christmas Day.

Los Angeles Clippers vs Denver Nuggets

The Los Angeles Clippers look to get their revenge against the Denver Nuggets, who knocked the Clippers out of the playoffs last season. Denver will look to make a statement against the Clippers since most people talk about how the Clippers choked the series away after blowing a 3-1 lead last year. Paul George will be the one player eager to perform well after melting down in the playoffs. I predict this will be a closely contested game with the Nuggets coming out on top behind a 30 point triple double from Denver’s Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets win 120-115 show the league they are ready to take a step as a title contender.

These Christmas games are going to be great and entertaining. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas.

Gobert gets a $200 Million Deal

 

The Utah Jazz All Star Center Rudy Gobert just signed a 5-year extension worth $205 million; this includes a player option in the 5^th year. This is the most money ever paid to a Center in NBA History. Gobert has accomplished some good things in the NBA including being a 2-time Defensive player of the year. Also, he has been an All-NBA player 3 times, and has made the All-Defensive first team for 4 straight years including this past season. Gobert has made his name in the NBA as a good help side defender and rebounder. The questions did the Utah Jazz overpay to keep the big man.

 

Gobert’s contract coincides with Donovan Mitchell’s, who also received an extension this off season, so it ensures the duo is together for minimum 4 more years. If you’re the Utah Jazz you had to make the decision to pay Gobert more than market value. This is because of everything he does for your team defensively. Also, from the Jazz perspective they can keep their name in discussions about playoff contenders for the next couple years.

 

For Gobert to make people not view him as being overpaid is he must develop an offensive post game. He averaged just 15 points last season; he must get closer to 25 a game. If he is unable to get close to 25 points consistently the Jazz will never be considered as NBA title contenders. He also has to get better at on ball defending especially when going up against some of the better offensive centers in the league. Lastly if he improves as a passer it will help take pressure off Donovan Mitchell, so he doesn’t have to do so much offensively. The Utah Jazz want to win a championship but in order to do so Gobert will have to show improve offensively; otherwise it will always be first round playoff exits for the next 5 years.

2020-2021 NBA Season Preview and Predictions

 

The NBA Season starts December 22nd with 3 days until the start and it is now time for my preseason predictions for the 2020-2021 season. The Lakers are looking to repeat after winning the NBA championship last season. Also, after great rookie seasons how do Ja Morant and   Zion Williamson improve in their sophomore seasons. We will finally get to see both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant play together for the Brooklyn Nets.

 The 2020-2021 MVP - Luka Doncic

This season Luka will continue to establish superstar status by taking the next step by propelling the Dallas Mavericks to a top 4 seed in the Western Conference. I also predict that he will average 30 points this season in addition to bringing home the MVP to Dallas.

Sixth Man of the Year - Carmelo Anthony

With Carmelo having fully embraced the bench role last season when he joined the Portland Trailblazers, it opens another chapter for Carmelo Anthony’s career. This is chapter that can lastly likely another 2 to 3 years. He will be great dose of instant offense for the Trailblazers and having a training camp with the team will make his impact even greater. Carmelo will be key in the championship aspirations of the Trailblazers and he will deliver. I predict he will post 17 points and 6 rebounds a game making him one of the best reserve players this season.

Defensive Player of the Year - Anthony Davis

Anthony Davis finished a distant 2^nd to Giannis in the race for Defensive Player of the Year last season. This will fuel Davis to be even better defensively this upcoming season. He was in the top 20 for both Rebounds and Steals per game last season. In addition, he was 3^rd in the league in blocks per game. Davis will prove that he should have won the award last year.

Rookie of the Year – LaMelo Ball

LaMelo Ball will have good rookie season and will deliver sensational highlights in the process. He will also show off good three-point shooting to compliment his terrific passing. Also, he will average 5 rebounds which will be very good for a rookie guard. His stat line will be 11 points 8 assist and 5 rebounds for the season. Especially if he is able to help the Hornets fight for a playoff spot the award will be his for sure.

Coach of the Year- Steve Nash

First year head coach Steve Nash is coming into a must win situation with the Brooklyn Nets and if they able to be the best record in the Eastern Conference he will win the award. For Nash it will be about managing the personalities that the Nets have especially in star players Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

 Most Improved Player of the Year Jamal Murray

 He showed out in the NBA Bubble and in the playoffs. He was a key reason why the Denver Nuggets made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals. Last Season he averaged 18 points a game this year he will improve his scoring to 25 points a game while shooting a career high 38% from 3 point range.

The 2021 NBA Champions

I predict the Los Angeles Lakers will defeat the Brooklyn Nets in 7 games with Anthony Davis winning NBA Finals MVP.