 Posted by: Dan Slaubaugh
Congratulations, basketball fans. You've made it. The 2016/17 NBA season is upon us, which means it's time for our 2nd annual OTP Season Prediction Roundtable. Sit back. Relax. Grab a cup of coffee. You might need it. Just don't spill it and burn yourself after reading the hottest takes in the Upper Midwest. Wolves Edition Most Valuable Player Dan Slaubaugh: Karl-Anthony Towns Zach More: Karl-Anthony Towns Alex Berg: Karl-Anthony Towns Eric Page: Karl-Anthony Towns Ryan Schmidt (StreetHistory): Ricky Rubio Tim Parochka: Karl-Anthony Towns Most Improved Player DS: Nemanja Bj3lica ZM: Zach LaVine AB: Nemanja Bjelica EP: Zach LaVine RS: Ricky Rubio TP: Shabazz Muhammad Defensive Player of the Year DS: Ricky Rubio ZM: Ricky Rubio AB: Ricky Rubio EP: Karl-Anthony Towns RS: Ricky Rubio TP: Andrew Wiggins Who leads the team in scoring? DS: KAT. The ball is going to be in his hands A LOT. ZM: Andrew Wiggins AB: Karl-Anthony Towns EP: Karl-Anthony Towns RS: Andrew Wiggins TP: Andrew Wiggins Three bold predictions DS: The Wolves will finish top 8 in total three pointers attempted ... Karl-Anthony Towns will make All-NBA 2nd Team ... Adreian Payne will be on a different team come All-Star weekend. ZM: Bazz gets traded at the deadline ... Wolves finish at least four games under .500 ... KAT battles injuries all season. AB: Zach LaVine averages at least 17 points per game ... Nemanja Bjelica leads the bench in minutes and finishes 2nd on the team in made three pointers ... Kris Dunn's field goal percentage is lower than Ricky Rubio's. EP: The Wolves won't trade Ricky Rubio this year ... Andrew Wiggins will average 5+ rebounds per game ... Zach LaVine will surpass Wiggins as the Wolves' second-leading scorer. RS: Zach LaVine wins 3rd Slam Dunk Contest Trophy and retires from Slam Dunk Contest after ... Nemanja Bjelica takes starting spot from Gorgui Dieng and Dieng goes back to 3rd BIG in the rotation ... Kris Dunn isn't ready to be a point guard in the NBA. TP: The Wolves win less than 39 games ... Ricky Rubio's name is brought up at the trade deadline ... Shabazz Muhammad understands basic defensive principles. Any All Stars? DS: The big man from Kentucky ZM: Karl-Anthony Towns AB: Karl-Anthony Towns EP: Karl-Anthony Towns RS: Andrew Wiggins. KAT as an injury replacement. TP: Karl-Anthony Towns And finally, the burning question: Will the #Wolves end their 12-year playoff drought? Why or why not? DS: The Wolves won 29 games last year. That said, one would assume a 13-win spike would have to occur if they wanted a chance at that 8 seed. If health is kind, I truly believe a 45 win season (16-win spike) could be in the mix. This team's core has been generally healthy over the past three years. Because of that, I'll go out on a limb and put them at 44-38. Playoff basketball will return to Minneapolis. ZM: No, this team will be vastly improved but they will take a while to fully grasp Thibodeau's system. The team will lose to many games they shouldn't still due to poor three-point shooting. AB: Yes. I think the Wolves will benefit from a relatively easy schedule early in the season to build a strong base for the season and will be able to stay in playoff position as the season goes on and the team matures. Also, I think some teams in the West will drop off. EP: Yes. The pieces are in place. It'll be a growth process early in the year as the team adjusts to Thibs' style and X's and O's. Once the team hits its stride, there's no way this isn't one of the top eight teams in the West. RS: Yes, because they'll be a middle of the pack defensive team, which will be a difference maker. Plus, the bench will finally be above average. TP: No. I like to compare Tom Thibodeau in the same context as Mike Zimmer coming to Minnesota. It took time for Zimmer to implement his system on the young Vikings roster to be adopted. It will be the same for Tom Thibodeau with the Minnesota Timberwolves. NBA Edition Most Valuable Player: DS: LeBron James ZM: Russell Westbrook AB: Russell Westbrook EP: Russell Westbrook RS: LeBron James TP: Russell Westbrook Most Improved Player DS: Devin Booker ZM: D'Angelo Russell AB: Jabari Parker EP: D'Angelo Russell RS: D'Angelo Russell TP: Jabari Parker 6th man of the Year DS: Jamal Crawford ZM: Andre Iguodala AB: Brandon Knight EP: Andre Iguodala RS: Jamal Crawford TP: Andre Iguodala Rookie of the Year DS: Joel Embiid ZM: Brandon Ingram AB: Kay Felder EP: Joel Embiid RS: Joel Embiid TP: Joel Embiid Team that will surprise people DS: The Jazz, who would have made the playoffs last year if health would have been kinder. The additions of George Hill, Joe Johnson, and Boris Diaw should provide depth uncanny to the rest of the league, which could have them in the mix for home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Plus, they're defense is going to be really, really good. ZM: The Utah Jazz. This team probably makes the playoffs last year without injuries. The talent they have is not talked about enough in the NBA with Favors, Hayword, and Gobert. They also made a great move in the offseason to acquire George Hill. AB: Denver Nuggets. A lot of young talent there. If they can stay healthy, I think they'll be in the mix for a playoff spot up until the final week of the season. EP: The Thunder. It's easy to focus on what the Thunder won't have this year with KD's departure to Golden State, but with Russell Westbrook leading the way, this team is going to surprise a lot of people. Their big men will take a step forward, and it'll be interesting to see how Victor Oladipo will emerge. RS: The 76ers will be surprising mostly because they won't be incompetent anymore. At least they won't seem incompetent. Joel Embiid has shown some definite skills in his preseason action. They get good production out of Dario Saric. The East will regress back a bit as a conference allowing the 76ers to win some more games. TP: Phoenix Suns. The suns have a solid mix of veterans, Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight and a young stud, Devin Booker entering his second season. Defensive Player of the Year DS: Kawhi Leonard three-peats. ZM: Kawhi Leonard AB: Kawhi Leonard EP: Kawhi Leonard RS: Kawhi Leonard TP: Kawhi Leonard Coach of the Year DS: Brad Stevens ZM: Brad Stevens AB: Tom Thibodeau EP: Tom Thibodeau RS: Tom Thibodeau TP: Brad Stevens Bold predictions, anyone? DS: The Magic experiment to go "big" fails ... Damian Lillard finally makes the All-Star team off the get-go rather than as an injury replacement. ZM: KG is on a roster after the all-star break. AB: The Warriors will lose most of their games in November and April and will have a winning streak of over 24 games in between ... KAT finishes as a runner-up for MVP ... Giannis Antekounmpo potentially finishing the season averaging a triple-double will be a storyline in April. EP: The Knicks will be good, and fun to watch ... The Warriors will struggle early ... James Harden will shave. TP: Dwight Howard finds himself with the Atlanta Hawks...The Chicago Bulls experiment doesn't work. Eastern Conference playoff predictions DS: (1) Cavaliers (2) Celtics (3) Pacers (4) Raptors (5) Bulls (6) Hawks (7) Pistons (8) Knicks ZM: (1) Cavaliers (2) Celtics (3) Raptors (4) Pacers (5) Hawks (6) Wizards (7) Hornets (8) Knicks AB: (1) Cavaliers (2) Celtics (3) Raptors (4) Pacers (5) Wizards (6) Bulls (7) Pistons (8) Knicks EP: (1) Cavaliers (2) Celtics (3) Raptors (4) Pacers (5) Hornets (6) Knicks (7) Bucks (8) Heat RS: (1) Cavaliers (2) Celtics (3) Raptors (4) Pacers (5) Hawks (6) Wizards (7) Bucks (8) Pistons TP: (1) Cavaliers (2) Raptors (3) Celtics (4) Pacers (5) Hawks (6) Hornets (7) Bulls (8) Bucks Western Conference playoff predictions DS: (1) Warriors (2) Clippers (3) Spurs (4) Trailblazers (5) Jazz (6) Thunder (7) Wolves (8) Grizzlies ZM: (1) Warriors (2) Clippers (3) Spurs (4) Trailblazers (5) Thunder (6) Grizzlies (7) Jazz (8) Rockets AB: (1) Warriors (2) Spurs (3) Clippers (4) Thunder (5) Trailblazers (6) Wolves (7) Jazz (8) Rockets EP: (1) Warriors (2) Clippers (3) Spurs (4) Thunder (5) Trailblazers (6) Mavericks (7) Wolves (8) Jazz RS: (1) Warriors (2) Clippers (3) Spurs (4) Thunder (5) Trailblazers (6) Mavericks (7) Wolves (8) Jazz TP: (1) Warriors (2) Clippers (3) Spurs (4) Grizzlies (5) Thunder (6) Traiblazers (7) Wolves (8) Jazz Eastern Conference Finals matchup DS: Cavaliers vs. Pacers ZM: Cavaliers vs. Celtics AB: Cavaliers vs. Celtics EP: Cavaliers vs. Celtics RS: Cavaliers vs. Celtics TP: Cavaliers vs. Celtics Western Conference Finals matchup DS: Warriors vs. Clippers ZM: Warriors vs. Clippers AB: Warriors vs. Clippers EP: Warriors vs. Thunder RS: Warriors vs. Clippers TP: Warriors vs. Clippers NBA Finals matchup DS: Cavaliers vs. Warriors ZM: Cavaliers vs. Warriors AB: Cavaliers vs. Warriors EP: Cavaliers vs. Warriors RS: Cavaliers vs. Warriors TP: Cavaliers vs. Warriors NBA Champion DS: Golden State Warriors. I hate that I put this. ZM: Golden State Warriors AB: Cleveland Cavaliers EP: Golden State Warriors RS: Cleveland Cavaliers TP: Golden State Warriors
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