The NBA season is set to tip-off tonight but the Detroit Pistons will have to wait until Wednesday to start their campaign in the home opener against the Chicago Bulls.
All of the talk in Detroit has revolved around injuries, as number one pick Cade Cunningham is still day-to-day and we won’t know until game time if he is going to play.
In the latest Pistons’ injury update, Cunningham has still not practiced fully while both Killian Hayes and Saddiq Bey appear to be ready to go.
Injuries aside, excitement is high around the Pistons and their young talent as they try take the next realistic step in the restoration.
The Detroit Pistons are not title contenders just yet, but they might have some players up for awards this season.
Here is my prediction for the Finals, champion and all of the NBA awards for the 2021-22 season.
NBA Finals prediction: Milwaukee Bucks vs. Utah Jazz
Champion: Milwaukee Bucks
Just like last offseason, we’ve spent all summer talking about what the Lakers and Nets have done, debating the merits of the 76ers and Celtics and wondering if the Warriors can get back to the top while completely ignoring the Bucks, who happen to be the defending champions.
Unlike all of those other teams, the Bucks don’t have any huge question marks and are basically running it back with the same team that won the title last season. The Bucks did lose PJ Tucker, but brought back Bobby Portis and added shooting in Grayson Allen, Rodney Hood and George Hill.
I also think Giannis is going to make another leap as a player and start knocking down more jumpers, so good luck NBA.
Is this the season that the Utah Jazz finally break through? The Jazz were the best regular season team in the NBA last season and will be hungry to get back to the playoffs and win.
The Jazz made some nice low-key additions this offseason in Rudy Gay, Hassan Whiteside and Eric Paschall to go along with underrated rookie Jared Butler, giving them perhaps the deepest roster in the league. This will allow them to rest their starters more and they’ll be ready when the playoffs start this season.
But I think the Bucks are going back-to-back, which will make some of the award choices make more sense.
Coach of the Year prediction: Nate McMillian-Hawks
I thought McMillian probably should have won this award last season, as the Atlanta Hawks overachieved and really took off after he was named interim head coach in March.
The Hawks will be running it back with the same team and I predict they will finish 3rd in the Eastern Conference this season, which will be enough to win McMillan the award.
In addition to bringing back and extending their own guys, Atlanta added former Detroit Pistons’ point guard Delon Wright, who will add some nice depth to their bench.
The Hawks are really building something special and it’s something I hope the Detroit Pistons can emulate this season.
6th Man of the Year: Jordan Clarkson-Utah Jazz, but some Detroit Pistons will be in the mix
I am going to be boring and say that Jordan Clarkson will win back-to-back 6th Man of the Year awards. This is mostly because Utah is going to be good again, will likely have one of the strongest benches in the NBA, and Clarkson is very comfortable in his role.
However, I do think a couple of Detroit Pistons could be in the running for this award if the Pistons have some team success.
Frank Jackson could be the Pistons’ Clarkson this season and if he averages 15+ off the bench, he’ll get some attention.
Same with Josh Jackson, who looks primed for a breakout season where he fills the stat sheet, shoots a higher percentage and cuts down the turnovers.
Ultimately I don’t think the Pistons will win enough games for either to take home the award, but hopefully they will at least be in the mix.
Defensive Player of the Year: Rudy Gobert-Utah Jazz
This is another boring choice, but Gobert is the anchor of one of the NBA’s best defensive teams and will once again win the award.
The only way Gobert doesn’t win this is if voters are just sick of choosing him or if the Jazz suddenly fall off the map.
I could also see Bam Adebayo winning this if Miami finishes in the top-4 in the East, or even Giannis Antetokounmpo if he finds another level or leads the league in blocked shots.
Most Improved Player: Nickeil Alexander-Walker-New Orleans Pelicans
A lot of people are picking Jordan Poole for this award, which makes sense, but I don’t think he’s going to get enough touches with Klay Thompson back to improve significantly.
I am going to take a flyer on 3rd-year guard Alexander-Walker, who is going to have a much larger role this season and should be the 3rd scoring option for the Pelicans behind Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.
Alexander-Walker only averaged 11 points last season, but scored 18+ per game as a starter, which he should be this season. If he nearly doubles his scoring average and the Pelicans make a run at the playoffs, he’ll have a good chance to take home this award. I love him as a longshot bet if you are looking for one.
Rookie of the Year: Cade Cunningham-Detroit Pistons
Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons has all of the tools to be a superstar for the Detroit Pistons and he has a cast that complements his skills.
A lot of people are choosing Jalen Green for this award, mostly because he has talked NON-STOP about winning it, while Cunningham talks more about team success.
Ultimately, this is why Cade will win, as the Pistons will hopefully win more games than the Rockets this season, sniff the play-in tournament while Cunningham fills up a stat sheet.
Green may very well score more points than Cunningham, but I like Cade’s all-around game and think he’ll be in the top-5 in nearly every category, much like LaMelo Ball last season.
Cade’s Rookie of the Year odds are still pretty tasty, especially now that he has suffered a minor injury, so now is the time to make that bet if you are going to.
Cade vs. Jalen is going to be a fun rivalry this season but they aren’t the only rookies, so watch out for Evan Mobley in Cleveland and dark horse candidates Josh Giddey in OKC and Davion Mitchell in Sacramento.
Most Valuable Player: Giannis Antetokounmpo-Milwaukee Bucks
It’s crazy to say that Giannis, who is probably already a top-15 player of All-Time, is underrated, but that is where we are.
Nearly all of the experts are picking Kevin Durant, Luka Doncic or Joel Embiid for this award, but with no offense to those guys (or LeBron James), none of them are as good as Giannis on both ends. I should also add that Nikola Jokic, the reigning MVP, is getting very little love even though he is just entering his prime and should have a healthy roster around him this season.
But Giannis put the league on notice this preseason by unleashing a new-look jumper that he was very comfortable knocking down. He hit both mid-range and 3-point shots at a high clip (albeit on a small sample size) and if he adds those to his game, it is over.
Even without a mid-range jumper Giannis was nearly impossible to defend, as he showed in his historic run in the Finals last season.
I thought he should have won his 3rd straight MVP last season but the voters will get it right this time after Giannis puts up stats that give them no choice.
Giannis has just been quietly going about his business of improving himself and his team this offseason and hasn’t had to deal with the drama some of these other teams have, so I like him to take home the MVP and another title while the “super teams” watch from home.