After the shortest offseason in NBA history followed by what seemed like the longest offseason in NBA history, NBA basketball is back this week!  Heat fans have enjoyed an exciting preseason, but now things are for real.  In the last weekend without basketball for eight months, Five Reasons Sports gathered thirteen “experts” (stop laughing) to make their season predictions.  If you want to join in yourself, we also started a fan poll so that you can make your predictions and we’ll save the receipts.  

 

Our 14 experts:  @RoyalAShepherd, @MateoMayorga23, @BryanIsTheKing, @ToineSpeaks, @Michael5RSN, @Kendale_11, @MarcoRomo_, @RickyJMarc, @TonySchwartzNBA, @BradyHawk305, @AdamNBorai, @GregSylvander, @GadielCartagena, and @SRochesterNBA.  

 

Eastern Conference Predictions:

Our experts were nearly unanimous on the Bucks taking the East’s top spot, with Marco going “lone wolf” on the Nets.  The panel was pretty clear on the Nets and Heat taking the 2nd and 3rd seeds, but the middle seeds were extremely mixed.  The Hawks took the 4th seed, and the Celtics just edged out the Sixers for the 5th seed.  After the top six, the panel seems to have a significant drop to a lower tier of teams with six different possibilities fighting for the play-in spots at 7th-10th.

 

Average Expert Rankings:

1. Milwaukee Bucks (1.08)
2. Brooklyn Nets (2.41)
3. Miami Heat (3.50)
4. Atlanta Hawks (5.00)
5. Boston Celtics (5.58)
6. Philadelphia 76ers (5.67)
7. Chicago Bulls (7.3)
8. New York Knicks (8.91)

Play-In Candidates (ranked in order of votes):  Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors, Charlotte Hornets, and Washington Wizards

 

Eastern Conference Finals:

Royal: Bucks vs. Heat

Mateo: Bucks vs. Heat

Bryan:  Bucks vs. Nets

Toine:  Bucks vs. Heat

Michael:  Bucks vs. Heat

Kendale:  Bucks vs. Nets

Ricky:  Bucks vs. Nets

Tony:  Bucks vs. Heat

Sean:  Bucks vs. Nets

Brady:  Bucks vs. Heat

Adam:  Bucks vs. Nets

Gad:  Nets vs. Heat

Greg:  Bucks vs. Heat

 

Western Conference Predictions:

Unlike the Eastern Conference, our experts were torn on the best team in the west with each of our top four teams receiving 1st place votes.  The consensus seems to believe there is a clearly defined tier of four teams, followed by the Warriors, and then another tier of eight teams competing for the 6th-10th seeds.  

 

Average Expert Rankings:

1. Los Angeles Lakers (2.25)
2. Utah Jazz (2.58)
3. Denver Nuggets (3.58)
4. Phoenix Suns (3.91)
5. Golden State Warriors (5.16)
6. Dallas Mavericks (7.50)
7. Portland Trailblazers (8.16)
8. Los Angeles Clippers (8.25)

Play-In Candidates (ranked in order of votes):  Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Minnesota Timberwolves

 

Western Conference Finals:

Royal:  Lakers vs. Warriors

Mateo:  Lakers vs. Nuggets

Bryan:  Lakers vs. Warriors

Toine:  Lakers vs. Nuggets

Michael:  Lakers vs. Warriors

Kendale:  Lakers vs. Warriors

Marco:  Suns vs. Nuggets

Ricky:  Lakers vs. Nuggets

Tony:  Nuggets vs. Jazz

Sean:  Lakers vs. Suns

Brady:  Lakers vs. Suns

Adam:  Lakers vs. Nuggets

Gad:  Lakers vs. Suns

Greg: Lakers vs. Jazz

 

NBA Finals Predictions:

Royal:  Lakers vs. Heat

Mateo:  Lakers vs. Bucks

Bryan:  Lakers vs. Nets

Toine:  Lakers vs. Bucks

Michael:  Warriors vs. Heat

Kendale:  Lakers vs. Bucks

Marco:  Nuggets vs. Nets

Ricky:  Lakers vs. Bucks

Tony:  Nuggets vs. Heat

Sean:  Lakers vs. Nets

Brady:  Suns vs. Heat

Adam:  Lakers vs. Nets

Gad:  Lakers vs. Nets

Greg:  Lakers vs. Heat

 

NBA Champion:

Royal:  Heat

Mateo:  Lakers

Bryan:  Nets

Toine:  Lakers

Michael:  Warriors

Kendale:  Lakers

Marco:  Nets

Ricky:  Lakers

Tony:  Heat

Sean:  Nets

Brady:  Suns

Adam:  Lakers

Gad:  Nets

Greg:  Heat

 

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Who Will Win 2021-2022 NBA MVP?

Royal:  Durant

Mateo:  Giannis

Bryan:  Giannis

Toine:  Harden

Kendale:  Jokic

Marco:  Jokic

Ricky:  Embiid

Tony:  Jokic

Sean:  Durant

Brady:  Giannis

Adam:  Luka

Gad:  Giannis

Greg:  Steph

 

Who Will Win 2021-2022 NBA Rookie of the Year?

Royal:  Jalen Green

Mateo:  Green

Bryan:  Green

Toine:  Green

Michael:  Jalen Suggs

Kendale:  Green

Marco:  Cade Cunningham

Ricky:  Cunningham

Tony:  Scottie Barnes

Sean:  Green

Brady:  Barnes

Adam:  Green

Gad:  Green

Greg:  Davion Mitchell

 

Who Will Win 2021-2022 NBA Most Improved Player?

Royal:  Michael Porter Jr.

Mateo:  Gary Trent Jr.

Bryan:  OG Anunoby

Toine:  OG

Michael:  Victor Oladipo

Kendale:  Porter Jr.

Marco:  OG

Ricky:  OG

Tony: OG

Sean:  Jordan Poole

Brady:  Christian Wood

Adam:  Dejounte Murray

Gad:  OG

Greg:  Poole

 

Who Will Win 2021-2022 NBA Sixth Man of the Year?
Royal:  Jordan Clarkson

Mateo:  Marcus Smart

Bryan:  Tyler Herro

Toine:  Herro

Michael:  Clarkson

Kendale:  Michael Porter Jr.

Marco:  Herro

Ricky:  Herro

Tony:  Herro

Sean:  Herro

Brady:  Herro

Adam:  Derrick Rose

Gad:  Herro

Greg:  Herro

 

Who Will Win 2021-2022 NBA Defensive Player of the Year?

Royal:  Bam Adebayo

Mateo:  Bam

Bryan:  Bam

Toine:  Anthony Davis

Michael:  Bam

Kendale:  Bam

Marco:  Bam

Ricky:  Bam

Tony:  Giannis

Sean:  Bam

Brady:  Rudy Gobert

Adam:  Bam

Gad:  Davis

Greg:  Bam

 

Who Will Win 2021-2022 NBA Coach of the Year?
Royal:  Erik Spoelstra

Mateo:  Frank Vogel

Bryan:  Vogel

Toine:  Steve Nash

Michael:  Spoelstra

Kendale:  Ime Udoka

Marco:  Michael Malone

Ricky:  Spoelstra

Tony:  Spoelstra

Sean:  Spoelstra

Brady:  Monty Williams

Adam:  Michael Malone

Gad:  Malone

Greg:  Spoelstra

 

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Who Will Be the Best Player Traded This Season?

Royal:  CJ McCollum

Mateo:  Ben Simmons

Bryan:  Simmons

Toine:  Domantas Sabonis

Michael:  McCollum

Kendale:  Brandon Ingram

Marco:  Kristaps Porzingis

Ricky:  Kyrie Irving

Tony:  Simmons

Sean:  Myles Turner

Brady:  Simmons

Adam:  Simmons

Gad:  Simmons

Greg:  Bradley Beal

 

Who Will Be The 1st NBA Head Coach Fired?

Royal:  Vogel

Mateo:  Chris Finch

Bryan:  Luke Walton

Toine:  Walton

Michael:  Scott Brooks

Kendale:  Walton

Marco:  Walton

Ricky:  Popovich (retire)

Tony:  Dwayne Casey

Sean:  Walton

Brady:  Walton

Adam:  Walton

Gad:  Walton

Greg:  Wes Unseld Jr.

 

Will Kyrie Irving Play For The Nets This Season?

Royal:  No

Mateo:  Yes

Bryan:  Yes

Toine:  Yes

Michael:  Yes

Kendale:  Yes

Marco:  Yes

Ricky:  No

Tony:  Yes

Sean:  Yes

Brady:  No

Adam:  Yes

Gad:  Yes

Greg:  Yes

 

Will Ben Simmons Play For The Sixers This Season?

Royal:  Yes

Mateo:  Yes

Bryan:  Yes

Toine:  Yes

Michael:  Yes

Kendale:  Yes

Marco:  No

Ricky:  Yes

Tony:  Yes

Sean:  No

Brady:  Yes

Adam:  Yes

Gad:  Yes

Greg:  No

We’ve reached the end of the Miami Heat preseason and South Florida sports fans couldn’t be happier. Miami has now played an entire regular season, postseason, and almost a whole preseason before the one-year anniversary of their Finals defeat. While preseason records are not indicative of what’s to come; there are some things you can take from these games. General playing style, rotations, and placement of roles are a few that tend to bleed into the regular season. I’ll be taking a look at a few of these examples and others that especially caught my eye throughout most of the games. Some of these will definitely excite Heat fans, but there are a couple of worrisome spots as well.

 

1: Tyler Herro’s Added Strength Helping His Jumper

 

One of the big stories coming into Miami Heat Media Day was the newly chiseled Tyler Herro. The former Kentucky Guard is out to prove a point this season. While you see many stories of guys gaining muscle during the offseason, nothing much comes from it once the games get started. “Muscle Watch” only goes as far as the player implements it into their actual play. For Herro, he’s already shown how beneficial the new weight has been for his play. One thing that caught my attention was how his lower body strength has improved an already pretty jump shot. You can see how much easier it is for Tyler to shoot coming off of screens now.

Last season (black jersey, mirrored above) he needed to dip lower in order to get more power. Now (white jersey) you can see how much easier it is for him to immediately go into the pull-up; no longer needing to exert as much strength.

The newly added lower body and core strength also help Herro get a higher apex on his jump shot. One of the shortcomings many had for Tyler out of college was his wingspan. It has been said that he can negate that with the height he possesses.

Now with the added height, he’s added it will be even easier for him to shoot over defenders. He’s making the game easier for himself and has led to great results so far. Hopefully, it continues into the regular season.

 

2: Selective Pace

 

During the opening of Media Day, Coach Spoelstra talked about the pace that Kyle Lowry would bring to Miami. Heat fans and media employees scoffed at the idea due to how slow the Heat have played since 2014. However, pace doesn’t always mean playing like the 2007 Golden State Warriors. Pace can also mean getting into sets quicker, attacking in semi-transition, or constant movement at a consistent rate.

Kyle Lowry has already shown how much he’s going to help in all of these phases. The various ways he can attack in transition and semi-transition are akin to what I remember Dwyane Wade and LeBron James did. Lowry is not the athlete that those two were, but the way he manipulates space and reads defenders is very similar. He has shown his mastery at reading the exact moment defenses start to relax in transition and exploiting it for easy baskets.

Lowry knows some of the players, including himself, on the team won’t be able to run throughout a regular season. That’s why he’s been selective in the opportunities so far. Veterans play to the team’s strengths and fans shouldn’t worry about running out of gas late in the season. It’s a nice change of pace to have a team getting into sets faster instead of waiting until 15 seconds on the shot clock.

 

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3: Backup Point Guard – Tyler Herro or Gabe Vincent?

 

Once again going back to Media Day, Gabe Vincent talked about the expectation of having more ball-handling duties. After the preseason it still feels like those backup point guard duties might be leaning the way of  Tyler Herro. While Gabe Vincent has shown he can be semi-capable in this role, Herro has shown so much improvement with his on-ball reps that it’s hard to argue with him not having the ball in his hands more.

Miami may have had a plan to give Gabe more responsibility, it looks like Herro’s newfound ways of attacking pick-and-rolls might have won him the defacto backup PG role. I imagine Lowry or Butler will be on the floor 98 percent of the time and the need for a definitive backup won’t be much of an issue. Hopefully, Vincent can focus on getting his jumper going to help the assist numbers of Herro early on.

 

4: The Markieff Morris Question

 

Erik Spoelstra and the Miami Heat have had a great track record of helping journeymen stretch 4s find their footing in the league. Players like Luke Babbitt, Okaro White, James Johnson, and Jae Crowder have had great success within the Heat system. However, Markieff Morris seems to be struggling to find what type of role he’ll be in early on. It is early but the returns are not strong so far.

Morris appears to be a player who’s best suited as a small-ball 5 on a team that already has a solid backup 5 in Dewayne Dedmon. It doesn’t hurt to have lineup versatility, but Morris isn’t good enough as a small 5 to warrant much hoopla. Markieff’s role will hopefully be figured out, or it seems much more likely Miami will be looking to add a different 4. Someone in the vein of Thaddeus Young to help during the buyout market or trade deadline most likely.

 

5: Bam Adebayo’s Score-First Mentality

 

We all heard the comments that Bam Adebayo made that he’ll look to be a shooter this season. The early returns after a full preseason lineup with those remarks. Adebayo averaged 18.7 FGA 7.4 FTA per 36 minutes in the dress rehearsals. Compare that to his 20-21 averages of 12.5 FGA and 5.5 FTA, it’s quite an uptick. Not only are his eyes focused on the rim at all times, but his teammates are constantly looking for him. Kyle Lowry has especially been a big part of Adebayo’s uptick in shots. It’s astonishing watching Lowry look for his big man on quick seals and transition opportunities. He’s using the athletic weapon on the Heat roster to his fullest powers.

Lowry is finally unleashing the big advantages that have been there for years for Miami. I expect Lowry to help Adebayo in the same way Chris Paul did DeAndre Ayton this past season. There will be some warts to deal with as well. Bam has had trouble finishing off self-created opportunities in the preseason. He has also health with his share of turnovers when his initial move is cut off. These sorts of issues should get ironed out with more reps and it will be fun when they do. It will be his first season truly being utilized in this role, so you can’t blame him for needing constant reps. He’s in for a big year and the Heat will go as far as he takes them.

 

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A basketball looks more aerodynamic than Zion Williamson.  Since his days at Duke, he’s punished the scales whenever stepping on them as his 6’7 frame carries 284 pounds of “reported” diesel.   

 

One of the dilemmas with New Orleans’ star forward pushing maximum density is he is not a 7-footer, despite being an athletic marvel.  Even if he was a pivot, weighing so much is not necessary.  It doesn’t take a medical professional to point out the extra armor he is carrying on to the court is probably slowing him down and causing unnecessary stress on his lower body. 

 

With respect to Williamson, he may have developed the extra mass while rehabilitating from injuries, which has resulted in him playing 85 games in two seasons.  Yet, there were questions about his durability when he entered the league.  His participation in Summer League didn’t last 10 minutes before bruising his left knee.  He also tore his right meniscus in his rookie preseason, which caused a postponement for his real debut until January of 2020.

 

On draft night 2019, Williamson was listed at 285 pounds.  It was an alarming number then, but he managed to get away with it as his arms still looked massive and defined.  At media day on *Sept. 27,* #1 posed for a photo, spinning a ball on his fingertips, but the image captured is knight-and-day when it’s observed next to the same picture taken two years ago. 

 

Williamson’s face looks puffier, and his arms aren’t as chiseled, but somehow he is still listed at the same weight of his rookie season. He’s rehabbing again, but this time for a surgery he had on his right foot during the summer, which will cause him to miss the start of the team’s campaign.  There is no timetable for a return, per ESPN.  

 

I don’t claim to be a doctor, but with an ailment to his extremities limiting him, maybe Williamson should work on abdominal exercises to slim down his waist.  One would think less weight up top means fewer issues downstairs. 

 

In 2021, Williamson earned All-Star honors.  Of the 27 players who received the title, Williamson was the heaviest, and he is the height of a guard and small forward.   

 

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For Williamson and the Pelicans, the upcoming campaign has enormous expectations.  In his first two seasons, New Orleans had a realistic chance of making the playoffs, despite the extensive time their star forward missed or with the addition of the league mulligan known as the play-in-tournament. 

 

 In both tries, Nola failed to reach the postseason, and the coaches’ heads rolled after each of those years.  The Pelicans needed a fresh start after Alvin Gentry.  David Griffin miscalculated when he hired Stan Van Gundy as his replacement.  First-year head coach Willie Green now holds command, and the anvil placed on his shoulders this year is massive.  

 

With Williamson eligible for a contract extension at season’s end, it’s imperative for the Pelicans to grab a playoff spot without competing in the play-in-tournament.  New Orleans’ worst-case scenario would be if Williamson refuses a new deal and shows a willingness to enter restricted free agency in summer 2023. A hot start and continued success might be the only way the Pelicans can avoid such a fate, but the odds are stacked against them as long as Williamson isn’t available.   

It won’t be a surprise if Kyrie Irving‘s attitude costs the Nets their best chance at a championship. To date, Nash has defended Irving in front of the press, but the former two-time MVP’s patience is tested every day while he supports the star guard’s decision to avoid the COVID-19 vaccine.

 

Whenever Brooklyn’s coach addresses media inquiries about Irving’s status, his body language screams he would rather be anywhere else than answering questions about a man who does not respect his instructor. 

 

Teammates have not thrown him under the bus either despite Irving’s unacceptable actions.  But GM Sean Marks drew a line in the sand with his statement Tuesday that Irving will not practice or play until he can be a full-time participant, per the Athletic. 

 

Management’s ultimatum puts the ball in Irving’s hands to do the right thing.  Still, his reluctance to do what everyone else on the team has done is a distraction and an indication that Irving is a walking contradiction.  

 

Brooklyn’s lead guard is known for acts of generosity.  He has given six-figure donations to food banks and personal protective gear to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe during the pandemic, where he is an honorary member, and for his support of women’s professional basketball.  These initiatives paint the picture of a man who is not afraid to show empathy, but his anti-vaccination stance and the ramifications that come with it counter his good deeds.  

 

The pandemic has claimed the lives of 4.5 million people worldwide, but Irving thinks taking the shot or even revealing he has is a personal matter.  He even whined that his privacy should be respected.  It would be nice if Irving could explain to everyone why all those dead people are a partisan issue beneath him.  Unfortunately, it will probably never happen because when Irving is tested on anything, he goes off on a pseudo-intellectual rant that’s almost incomprehensible. 

 

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He’s the same guy who thought it was hilarious because the fans and media were curious why he said the earth was flat four years ago.  He did not understand that as a public figure, unfortunately, people will listen to what he has to say just because he dribbles a basketball.  Worse yet, some will think that a man who went to school on an athletic scholarship for a semester before going pro is a revolutionary thinker.   

 

Thus far, the mercurial guard has missed the first three preseason games.  The first in Los Angeles was a coaching decision. The second exhibition was in Brooklyn against Milwaukee, where he couldn’t play because of New York City ordinance. The third was in Philadelphia and he was not with the team.  These games are relatively meaningless and count only for making sure the players aren’t fat and that teammates develop timing and chemistry.  

 

The regular season is approaching on Oct. 19, and there is no sign that he will vaccinate.  If that’s the game #11 wants to play, the Nets should fine him for every game he misses.  Executive Director of the Players Association Michele Roberts told the New York Daily News the Players Union did not agree to dock pay for missed games for an athlete who is not vaccinated, but that it is the position of the league that it can.  

 

The Nets should fine him anyway.  If the Players Union has an issue with that, then both parties should settle it in court.  If it gets there, Brooklyn’s conscience should be clear.  Irving made it ugly.