The arrival of the new NBA season every fall is met with mild fanfare. It seems that until March most people really don’t care about the NBA. Fans complain that the season is too long, and the players don’t start trying until at least March so why should we care before then. I’ve got one simple reason: it’s fun.

The level of talent and athleticism in the NBA has always been incredible, but we are in a new golden era of pro basketball. We have new blossoming stars, a faster-paced, cleaner game, and a level of parity found previously only in the NFL. On any given night any team can win, and that keeps watching exciting.

This season promises to be especially exciting. There is no clear favorite to win it all, and in the West there are at least 12 teams that could make the playoffs. This makes for a closely contested regular season. Teams want to establish themselves early, and starting could hinder a team’s chances in the postseason especially with the parity this year. So now onto a few predictions:



Most Valuable Player: LeBron James – If his team had won a few more games the award would have been his last year. This year look for James to continue averages of nearly 30, 6 and 6 while he leads his team to 55-60 wins and a Central Division title.

Honorable Mention: Elton Brand – He’s amazing statistically and very consistent, but can old man Sam Cassell and the rest of the Clips keep up their play from last year?

Rookie Of The Year: Brandon Roy – He has all it takes to be an impact player immediately in the NBA, plus he plays for a young developing team that can afford to play him. Honorable Mention: Rudy Gay – The man was a scoring machine in college and I’m sure his game will transition smoothly to the NBA. He’s tall, long, strong and athletic. Look for him to be the number two scoring option on his Memphis team at least until Paul Gasol gets back.

Eastern Conference Champion: Cleveland – I think the Eastern conference is pretty weak. Last year’s champs, the Heat, are old and slow, the only way for them to repeat is with a perfect Dwayne Wade, and a large storage of arthritis medicine. The Pistons, although still a threat, aren’t the defensive monsters they’ve been in the past without Ben Wallace. Chicago will be strong, but they don’t have a great go-to scorer and that will be their downfall. In the end it will be survival of the fittest and LeBron and Co. will come out on top.

Western Conference Champion: San Antonio – This is a tough one. Phoenix and Dallas are both very strong teams but I don’t see either beating San Antonio in a seven game series. San Antonio is just too strong too deep and too experienced. I don’t think Dallas will be able to overcome their devastating loss to Miami last year although they have an equally loaded team. Phoenix is strong but their fate lies intertwined with that of Amare Stoudemire’s.

NBA Champs: San Antonio – In the end their experience will be the key. They’ve been here before and won it, Cleveland hasn’t. No matter how hard or how well LeBron plays, a single player will never beat an entire team at the top of its game.