I made some predictions about the NBA season back on October 24, 2016. I love sports, but I never really did research before a season to try to make bets or what have you. This year, I spent a week (so I’m no expert) listening to podcasts and reading articles on over/unders, player trends, and other factors to help me come up with 10 predictions that were sure to go wrong. Some of them were very serious; others were goofy just to get to a round number.
Let’s see how I did:
1. My hometown Suns: I predicted that the Suns would finish third to last; they finished with the second-worst record by a game. Close. I also thought people would fall in love with Devin Booker. He hit 70 points against the Celtics. The highest this season; most since Kobe’s 81-pointer in 2006; tied for 10th highest point total ever. So, yeah… people love Booker. Unfortunately, Phoenix didn’t trade either Knight or Bledsoe like they should have for draft picks and players.
2. My homestate Sixers: It looks like Ben Simmons won’t win Rookie of the Year because not only did the Sixers keep him out too long to be considered for the award. He didn’t even play. Interestingly, Joel Embiid is the frontrunner (who sat out his first [two] season), but a lot of people don’t think he played enough.
3. Young guns: Giannis became an All-Star and the Unicorn of the League. I thought he’d be All-NBA in three years, but he’ll probably make it to the Second Team this year. First Team in three years; I’m calling it now. Karl-Anthony Towns did not (and his team wildly underperformed). Boogie was traded. Just to New Orleans instead of Toronto. For some reason, I thought Anthony Davis would miss a lot of games. He did not. Oops. Still counting this as three-for-three.
4. Old dudes: This one was silly. I predicted some retirements. Who knows… I’ll update later.
5. MVP race: I was right. “LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden will be the top three MVP vote getters (in no particular order).” We’ll find out June 26 who takes the award home.
6. Three-point record: I thought the single-game team record for three-pointers (23) would be broken by the Warriors. The Rockets hit 24 on December 16, 2016. Then the Cavs his 25 on March 3, 2017. Record was broken – twice – but not by the expected team.
7. Utah’s playoff upset: I was high on Utah before the season and people laughed in my face. I felt they would get to the second round and push a team to seven games. My main prediction was that they would upset a higher season. Right now, they’re either going to be a 5-seed and upset the 4-seed. Or vice versa and will hold their ground. I’m counting this one.
8. & 9. Playoff Standings: I picked 14 of the 16 teams. I thought Detroit would slot into the 7th spot in the East, but ended up in the 10th spot. Minnesota totally underperformed and broke my heart. Other than that, I got the basic order correct. Give or take.
10. NBA Championship: Warriors/Cavs III? Maybe. My heart is hoping Celtics or Raptors take out the Cavs before though.
ADAM VITCAVAGE 