October 27, 2013

Sheridan Hoops Season Preview Predictions Special

I was taping an appearance on the BBC the other day, which of course means that we were breaking everything down to the most basic of basics.

“Will the Miami Heat three-peat?” was the first question.

And you can’t blame the Brits for asking the same question everyone in the basketball universe is asking. (Aside from “Who will win the Andrew Wiggins lottery?”)

Resisting the urge to use the words “bollocks” and “crikey” (keeping those in the vault), I dispensed my wisdom to the best of my abilities and then closed the segment by offering a little advice. Host Chris Mitchell (or “presenter,” to use the BBC expression) closed the segment by asking me if he had a pocketful of dollars to wager, what would be the best wager?

My answer: the Indiana Pacers to win the championship.

You can get odds ranging anywhere from 7-1 to 12-1, depending on whether you go to Las Vegas or gamble offshore. That is a heck of a payoff for a team that took the Miami Heat to seven games in last season’s Eastern Conference finals and might have made it to the next step if they had two things: experience playing in that type of pressure situation, and a deeper bench.

That second item was taken care of by Larry Bird and Donnie Walsh. The Pacers have added Luis Scola to a front line of Roy Hibbert and David West, and there is no player in all of Argentina who is more passionate about winning than Scola. He has an Olympic gold medal to prove it.

That first item took care of itself in last year’s Game 7 in Miami, and you can be damn sure the Pacers are going to do everything within their power to make sure that if a similar situation arises at in early June 2014 that Game 7 will be played in Indianapolis and not Miami.

They are the best bet out there, and I mean no disrespect to the Heat in saying that. But take a look at a couple of the other pieces Indiana has added. There is Chris Copeland, who was signed away from the Knicks after becoming a rotation player in the playoffs when Mike Woodson lost all faith in Amar’e Stoudemire and Jason Kidd.

They have added C.J. Watson, an upgrade over D.J. Augustin even if he didn’t have the greatest of seasons in Brooklyn, where he backed up Deron Williams but didn’t produce the same type of numbers as he did the previous season when he backed up Derrick Rose in Chicago.

And they will have back Danny Granger, depending on how injury-prone he remains. So make no mistake – this Indiana team is better than last year’s Indiana team.

They have 82 games to set themselves up for failure or success, because if they are playing a Game 7 in Miami, they will lose. But if it is in Indianapolis, they will win.

And I think the Pacers have it in them to finish the regular season with a better record than the Heat.

(WHO WILL BE MVP? SCORING CHAMP? ROOKIE OF THE YEAR? PROP BET ODDS)

So when mid-June arrives and commissioner Adam Silver hands the Larry O’Brien Trophy to the Simon brothers, remember where you heard it first.

And if Silver is handing that trophy to someone else, well, there is probably someone listed below from the Sheridan Hoops staff who predicted it.

So without further ado, our staff predictions for the upcoming season, along with links to some of our recent archived columns with yet more predictions. (Somebody here thinks Pau Gasol will be traded; somebody else thinks this will be Kobe Bryant’s last season with the Lakers).

We have more predictions that a soothsayer’s convention – and we have more years of experience on our staff than ESPN, Yahoo, Bleacher Report or any of the other mainstream sites.

Enjoy.

CHRIS SHERIDAN

East Champion: Indiana Pacers
West Champion: Memphis Grizzlies
NBA Champion: Indiana Pacers
MVP: LeBron James
Rookie of the Year: Kelly Olynyk
Most Improved: Kahwi Leonard
Coach of the Year: Dave Joerger

CHRIS BERNUCCA

East Champ: Miami Heat
West Champ: L.A. Clippers
NBA Champion: Miami Heat
MVP: LeBron James
Rookie of the Year: Victor Oladipo
Most Improved: Jonas Valanciunas
Coach of the Year: Doc Rivers

JAN HUBBARD

East Champ: Miami Heat
West Champ: San Antonio Spurs
NBA Champion: Miami Heat
MVP: LeBron James
Rookie of the Year: Ben McLemore
Most Improved: Eric Bledsoe
Coach of the Year: Rick Carlisle

MARK HEISLER

East Champ: Chicago Bulls
West Champ: Oklahoma City Thunder
NBA Champion: Oklahoma City Thunder
MVP: Kevin Durant
Rookie of the Year: Victor Oladipo
Most Improved: Eric Bledsoe
Coach of the Year: Scott Brooks

PETER MAY

East Champ: Brooklyn Nets
West Champ: Los Angeles Clippers
NBA Champion: Brooklyn Nets
MVP: Chris Paul
Rookie of the Year: Victor Oladipo
Most Improved: DeAndre Jordan
Coach of the Year: Jason Kidd

DANNY SCHAYES

East Champ: Indiana Pacers
West Champ: Houston Rockets
NBA Champion: Indiana Pacers
MVP: LeBron James
Rookie of the Year: Kelly Olynyk
Most Improved: Anthony Davis
Coach of the Year: Kevin McHale

ANDY KAMENETZKY

East Champ: Miami Heat
West Champ: Los Angeles Clippers
NBA Champion: Miami Heat
MVP: LeBron James
Rookie of the Year: Victor Oladipo
Most Improved: Kawhi Leonard
Coach of the Year: Doc Rivers

BRIAN KAMENETZKY

East Champ: Indiana Pacers
West Champ: Los Angeles Clippers
NBA Champion: Indiana Pacers
MVP: Kevin Durant
Rookie of the Year: Victor Oladipo
Most Improved: Anthony Davis
Coach of the Year: Doc Rivers

SHLOMO SPRUNG

East Champ: Miami Heat
West Champ: Oklahoma City Thunder
NBA Champion: Miami Heat
MVP: Kevin Durant
Rookie of the Year: Trey Burke
Most Improved: Bradley Beal
Coach of the Year: Mike Brown

JIM PARK

East Champ: Miami Heat
West Champ: L.A. Clippers
NBA Champion: Miami Heat
MVP: Kevin Durant
Rookie of the Year: Victor Oladipo
Most Improved: Anthony Davis
Coach of the Year: Doc Rivers

CHRIS PERKINS

East Champ: Miami Heat
West Champ: Oklahoma City Thunder
NBA Champion: Miami Heat
MVP: Kevin Durant
Rookie of the Year: Victor Oladipo
Most Improved: Anthony Davis
Coach of the Year: Frank Vogel

JON MARKS