Basketball is back!

Hoop fans everywhere will begin to dream that their team will be bringing home the championship in June.

This season should very exciting as superstar players such as Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant and Paul George are all expected to be healthy for the start of the season after suffering injuries last season.

The NBA is typically the easiest sport to predict because of the impact one player can have on a team. That’s why no NBA team has ever come back from a 0-3 series deficit in the playoffs because upsets are just so rare.

Most basketball analysts, media members and fans are predicting a whoever gets out of the west versus Lebron’s Cavaliers match-up in the NBA finals.

I could try to be clever and pick something different, but anyone who watches the NBA on a regular basis knows that is what should happen. Based on NBA history, what should happen becomes what actually happens more times than not.

With that being said, it doesn’t mean that this NBA season will be any less exciting. Just because we can foresee the destination, it doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the journey right?

The west is going to be just as if not more fierce than last season and even though it’s hard to believe, the east will actually be more competitive.

As a pure basketball fan, the only thing I’m hoping for is for all of the star players to stay healthy all year long. The Warriors received a lot of talk this off-season about how their path to the championship was easier than past teams because of the injuries suffered by their opponents. I think the Warriors don’t deserve that criticism because they can’t control who they play. They were the best team in the regular season and could have still beaten the teams they faced at full strength. But at the end of the day, we all want to see the best players play, so let’s hope that the basketball powers that be will grant us a healthier season.

Here are my predictions for the season:

Regular Season Standings

WEST

1. San Antonio Spurs
2. Golden State Warriors
3. Oklahoma City Thunder
4. Houston Rockets
5. LA Clippers
6. Memphis Grizzlies
7. New Orleans Pelicans
8. Utah Jazz
9. Phoenix Suns
10. Dallas Mavericks
11. LA Lakers
12. Portland Trailblazers
13. Minnesota Timberwolves
14. Sacramento Kings
15. Denver Nuggets

EAST

1. Cleveland Cavaliers
2. Atlanta Hawks
3. Miami Heat
4. Chicago Bulls
5. Washington Wizards
6. Toronto Raptors
7. Milwaukee Bucks
8. Boston Celtics
9. Detroit Pistons
10. Indiana Pacers
11. Charlotte Hornets
12. New York Knicks
13. Orlando Magic
14. Brooklyn Nets
15. Philadelphia 76ers

Playoffs

Western Conference Finals

The Oklahoma City Thunder defeat The San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs are the most balanced team on paper, but the Thunder have matched up well with them before in the playoffs. If Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are both healthy, I think they will both elevate their game to another level to get back to the finals.

Eastern Conference Finals 

The Cleveland Cavaliers defeat The Miami Heat

The Heat would have made a ton of noise in the playoffs last year if not for D-Wade’s nagging injuries and Chris Bosh’s health scare. They have a very good starting five and if they can find some chemistry and stay healthy, they will be the Cavs’ biggest obstacle of going back to the finals. If the Cavs are fully healthy, I think Lebron will be able to do enough to get them past the Heat and be in a 6th straight finals. I’m not the biggest Lebron fan in the world, but even I have to admit that 6 straight finals appearances would be an amazing achievement.

NBA Finals

The Oklahoma City Thunder defeat The Cleveland Cavaliers

The rematch that I’ve been waiting to see for awhile. Arguably the two best players in the world, Lebron James and Kevin Durant going head to head for all the marbles. I think KD is going to be a man on a mission this season to prove all the doubters wrong in what could be his final season in Oklahoma City. This along with the fact he lost to Lebron in 2012 finals will be more than enough motivation for the Thunder to win their first championship in franchise history!

What do you think? Let me know if you agree or disagree with my picks in the comments below!