The cliffhanger I left you with from the breakdowns has been unveiled. Derrick Rose will lead the Bulls past the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals and past the Golden State Warriors in the Finals on his way to Finals MVP.
2. At least one player this season will record a quadruple double.
Either Chris Paul or John Wall with a 10+/10+/10+/10 in points, assists, rebounds, and steals.
3. The Los Angeles Lakers will allow a 50 point opposing scorer five times.
They are also going to give up 100 points in every game that isn't against a team I projected to win less than 20 games.
4. John Wall will average 25 points and 10 assists a game.
The irrationally misplaced John Wall love continues!
5. The first coach to be fired will be Monty Williams.
They made so many moves to make the rebranded Pelicans a playoff contender right away that when they falter early, Monty will be the obvious fall guy.
6. Stephen Curry will break his own three point record from last year.
By at least 5. If J.R. Smith was healthy I'd say he'd make a run at it too.
7. The Celtics will trade at least three more players.
Rajon Rondo, Jeff Green, and Brandon Bass are my three candidates.
8. Mario Chalmers will average more points per game than Chris Bosh.
I think Miami is going to go on cruise control so early in a lot of games but leave Chalmers on the floor as a small two with Norris Cole giving him more chances to score.
9. Al Horford will lead the league in rebounding.
Just a hunch. No real metrics or trends here.
10. This year's trade deadline will be the most active ever.
So many expiring deals and so many teams trying to position themselves better in the draft. The trade deadline may not have a great blockbuster in the cards but it will have plenty of player movement.
These are the bold predictions of Trevor Utley. Nobody else is responsible for when they backfire.
Image credits: All players (nba.com); Monty Williams (atlantablackstar.com)