I’m recording my predictions here in case I have a future as a basketball pundit.

Mild

The Minnesota Timberwolves finish as a top 3 seed

I don’t think this is a crazy take. Lamelo Ball is a great fit alongside Anthony Edwards, and the Wolves have needed a true PG for a while (I like Mike Conley, but he’s getting too old). Kuminga provides scoring off the bench and a lob threat in addition to Ant, and Jaden McDaniels showed everybody what he was capable of against he Nuggets. I really like this roster and I believe it has championship potential.

The Cavaliers Suck Again

I will never believe in James Harden in the playoffs going forward, and Donovan Mitchell doesn’t inspire confidence in me. This team may do well in the regular season, but they will not make a deep playoff run.

Medium

Jokic has a down year

Nikola Jokic will go down as one of the greatest players ever. However, he looked really bad against the depleted Timberwolves (how can you lose when they don’t have Ant?). His 3pt shot was not falling, and I think his defensive limitations really showed. People claim his game will age well because he doesn’t rely on athleticism very much, but the NBA season is extremely long, and Jokic losing a step means he goes from excusable defense to a cone. Everything hinges on his 3pt% returning to his career averages.

Cooper Flagg Ascends

Cooper Flagg will be a future MVP (not this season though). He needs to develop his 3pt shot to complete his scoring package, but his improvement from the start of last season to the end was incredible. Hopefully he can also add some playmaking and reduce his turnovers, but his improvement last season showed me he can do the work. One concern is the his rebounding numbers were surprisingly low for someone with his frame and athleticism, but we can flag (no pun intended) this as rookie growing pains. I think we’ll see him as a top 20 guy next season, possibly top 15.

Scorching

Tyrese Maxey will be 1st Team All-NBA

This is probably an insane prediction, but I’ve liked Maxey for a long time (I have receipts!) and I really believe he will show everybody his potential this season. The 76ers have an amazing transition offense and Maxey’s role can be solely focused on scoring now that LeBron can handle the PG duties. I know Luka and SGA seem to be the definitive top 2 guards, but don’t sleep on Maxey.