At long last, the NBA is back! In just a few short hours, the 2022-23 NBA season will tip off at TD Garden as the Boston Celtics play host to the Philadelphia 76ers, an elite matchup of Eastern Conference powerhouses. The night cap will feature the reigning champs, the Golden State Warriors, taking on the Los Angeles Lakers. That game could turn into a laugher if the Lakers aren’t careful.

One of the most exciting parts of any new season is seeing stars in new uniforms. Ben Simmons is finally going to make his Nets debut. Donovan Mitchell will try to lead the Cavaliers to the promised land. Dejounte Murray joins Trae Young in Atlanta, forming a backcourt duo which could quickly become the best in the NBA. Rudy Gobert starts anew in Minnesota, joining a young, hungry Timberwolves team that looks primed to make a huge leap.

These next 4 weeks are sports heaven. The NBA is about to begin. The NFL is heating up, albeit there are about 5 good teams in the whole league. The NHL season began this past week. The NLCS begins tonight, and the ALCS begins tomorrow night. College football is as crazy as ever (shoutout Tennessee!). College basketball is right around the corner. The World Cup kicks off on November 20th. You aren’t going to want to miss out on any of the action, so be sure to subscribe to the MVP Blog and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

Without further ado, The MVP Blog presents our annual NBA Preview.

Eastern Conference

1. Philadelphia 76ers (Ryan = 1, Ben = 1, Avg = 1.0)

Ryan: PJ Tucker adds a level of toughness that this team has been lacking in past years. He’s a winner through and through. He’s the type of player you need to win a title, and I really think he is the piece that pushes the Sixers over the hump to being legitimate title contenders. What a time to be a Philly sports fan. Eagles are 6-0, Phillies are in the NLCS, and the 76ers are primed to be ELITE.

Ben: Joel Embiid has his sights set on another MVP caliber season, Tyrese Maxey is primed for another leap, and the 76ers loaded offense means that James Harden will be able to operate as a primary playmaker. They’re perfectly constructed to dominate the regular season and finish as the East’s top seed.

2. Milwaukee Bucks (Ryan = 4, Ben = 3, Avg = 3.5)

Ryan: Fear the deer. A healthy Brook Lopez for an entire season will be a huge plus. He’s such an underrated piece to this team.

Ben: Giannis Antetokounmpo will naturally draw the headlines for the Bucks, but a healthy Khris Middleton knocking down threes from everywhere will work wonders for the perimeter spacing around the Greek Freak. Fear the deer indeed.

3. Boston Celtics (Ryan = 5, Ben = 2, Avg = 3.5)

Ryan: Malcolm Brogdon is a great addition, but my worries with this team are twofold. The distractions revolving around Ime Udoka this offseason, and Robert Williams missing at least the first month of the season have me thinking this uber talented team starts slow.

Ben: I’m much higher on the Celtics than Ryan. This team is way too talented and deep to not establish themselves as an elite team from wire to wire this season, even with the injury to Robert Williams.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers (Ryan = 3, Ben = 5, Avg = 4.0)

Ryan: We are going to see the best version of Donovan Mitchell this season. For the first time in his career, he doesn’t HAVE to be the guy every single night. The Cavs have so many guys that can hurt you and create for themselves.

Ben: Garland, Mitchell, Okoro, Mobley, Allen as starters with a bench featuring LeVert and Love is frightening. An absolutely stacked roster with a great coach in J.B. Bickerstaff to keep them dialed in on both ends. The new-look Cavs can make serious noise this season.

5. Brooklyn Nets (Ryan = 2, Ben = 7, Avg = 4.5)

Ryan: Put the offseason drama aside, it’s time to hoop. Nobody in the league has as much pure talent in the locker room as the Brooklyn Nets. They are deep too. I expect Ben Simmons to have a huge impact on this team.

Ben: The Brooklyn Nets are the NBA Equivalent of Bravo television. Nonstop drama, elite star power, but ultimately a flawed product. The Eastern Conference’s answer to the LA Lakers.

6. Miami Heat (Ryan = 6, Ben = 4, Avg = 5.0)

Ryan: Typical Heat team that will grind their way to the middle of the Eastern Conference. Their toughness and physicality make them a tough out come playoff time, but I really don’t see them as title contenders.

Ben: The Heat have been consistently competitive with the core of Butler, Bam, and Herro for a few years now, and that shouldn’t change. If Lowry and Oladipo can make more meaningful contributions this season, health permitting, I can envision a great season in Miami.

7. Atlanta Hawks (Ryan = 8, Ben = 6, Avg = 7.0)

Ryan: There is nothing that I am more intrigued to see heading into the season than how Dejounte Murray and Trae Young complement each other. I think the pairing works, I just have no idea what it will look like.

Ben: I expect McMillan to explore a Murray and Collins PnR duo to give Trae Young and DeAndre Hunter more opportunities for open catch and shoot threes. The Hawks are loaded with young talent, but the key to their success will be improvement on the defensive end. Murray’s elite perimeter defensive skills should help them accomplish that.

8. Toronto Raptors (Ryan = 7, Ben = 8, Avg = 7.5)

Ryan: 5 very good starters, okay depth, but lacking a superstar with that killer instinct. That sounds like a recipe for a 7th place team if I have ever heard one. They’ll need a big splash at the trade deadline to have even a glimpse of championship aspirations.

Ben: Scottie Barnes should take another leap, Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam will serve as consistent sources of offensive production, and the rest of the squad is full of two-way talent and youth. However, the Raptors just don’t have that “it” factor for me to separate themselves from the rest of the pack in the East.

9. Chicago Bulls (Ryan = 9, Ben =9, Avg = 9.0)

Ryan: I’m not sure what the vision with this roster is. They have very little young talent, although I do love me some Ayo. They are too good to miss the playoffs, but at the same time have no title hopes, and at the same time, they are too old to have future title hopes with this core. They need to blow it up at the deadline and start fresh.

Ben: Lonzo Ball’s injury woes are a huge problem. He’s the best defender in the Bulls full-strength starting five (Ball, LaVine, DeRozan, Williams, Vucevic) and his playmaking abilities give LaVine and DeRozan a lot of offensive freedom, especially in transition. The lack of interior defense and elite playmaking (excluding Lonzo) on the Bulls roster holds this team back from being true contenders.

10. Washington Wizards (Ryan = 10, Ben = 10, Avg = 10.0)

Ryan: This is a play-in team through and through.

Ben: The Wizards refuse to blow it up and they refuse to go all in. They’re definitely a professional basketball team that exists though!

11. New York Knicks (Ryan = 12, Ben = 11, Avg = 11.5)

Ryan: It’s not even that I think the Knicks are bad. I actually think this is a pretty decent team. I love the addition of Jalen Brunson. The east is just so deep and so tough this season. I could see them sneaking into the play-in, but nothing more than that.

Ben: Jalen Brunson’s perimeter creation will provide some much needed spacing to the Knicks offense, but the Knicks are basically the Wizards in a different uniform and arena. That’s not going to cut it in the loaded Eastern Conference.

12. Charlotte Hornets (Ryan = 11, Ben = 13, Avg = 12.0)

Ryan: LaMelo is special, but this team is really going to miss Miles Bridges.

Ben: The Charlotte Hornets have a LOT of problems stemming from this past offseason. I have a feeling they’ll blow it up by the deadline and tank for Victor.

13. Detroit Pistons (Ryan = 15, Ben = 12, Avg = 13.5)

Ryan: I’m giddy about the potential of this Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey backcourt, but they are still a few years away.

Ben: The Pistons really excite me, but they’re still too young to have a real shot at the playoffs. I expect Cade to enter the All-Star conversation though.

14. Indiana Pacers (Ryan = 14, Ben = 14, Avg = 14.0)

Ryan: TANK FOR VICTOR! Of all the possible landing spots for Victor Wembanyama, this is by far the one that gets me the most excited. A Tyrese Haliburton and Victor Wembanyama pairing is stuff that dreams are made of.

Ben: Tyrese Haliburton isn’t just going to enter the All-Star conversation, I fully expect him to earn a spot on the team in February. Other than that, not a whole lot to be excited about for Pacers fans. Benedict Mathurin could very well be legit, but that’s about it.

15. Orlando Magic (Ryan = 13, Ben = 15, Avg = 14.0)

Ryan: Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero are both going to be stars in this league, but the Magic are still a year or two away from contending for a playoff spot.

Ben: The Magic’s guard play is virtually nonexistent. That young frontcourt trio of Wagner, Paolo and Wendell should make for a fun watch once in a while on League Pass, but Orlando is fully entrenched in a rebuild for now.

Western Conference

1. Denver Nuggets (Ryan = 2, Ben = 1, Avg = 1.5)

Ryan: Nikola Jokic is the most unique player this league has ever seen. He’s about to win a 3rd MVP in a row.

Ben: An offense with Nikola Jokic serving as primary playmaker to a supporting cast of Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, Kentavious Caldwell Pope, Bones Hyland, and Bruce Brown is (health permitting) absolutely unstoppable. I believe the Nuggets will finish with the best record in the NBA this season.

2. Golden State Warriors (Ryan = 3, Ben = 2, Avg = 2.5)

Ryan: The Draymond Green/Jordan Poole ordeal was so over blown. Draymond is one of the best competitors this league has ever seen, and sometimes his competitive nature gets the best of him. It will not impact this team at all. They are still the title favorites, in my opinion.

Ben: The thing that impresses me the most about the Warriors is their youthful depth. Despite the losses of Otto Porter Jr. and Gary Payton II in free agency, a healthy James Wiseman and the ever-improving duo of Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody makes this iteration of the defending champion Warriors as young and dangerous as any contender in the league.

3. Los Angeles Clippers (Ryan = 5, Ben = 3, Avg = 4.0)

Ryan: With PG13 and Kawhi back and healthy, this team is as dangerous as any team in the league come the playoffs. But even if they stay healthy, the two will combine to play about 130 games in the regular season. Load management, baby!

Ben: I don’t expect Paul George and Kawhi Leonard to play every game this season. However, even if the star duo is operating at 80% availability, the Clippers are talented enough to finish in the podium places of the Western Conference.

4. Phoenix Suns (Ryan = 1, Ben = 7, Avg = 4.0)

Ryan: I will never understand why people are so low on this team going into the season. Are they going to win the title? No. Are they an elite regular season team? Yes.

Ben: The vibes in Phoenix are, to put it mildly, not good. There is a tangible rift between the recently resigned DeAndre Ayton and head coach Monty Williams. Chris Paul’s body is betraying him and I’m not sure how much juice he has left to lead this team. Jae Crowder wants out, and the loss of JaVale McGee is more important than people think. With the rest of the contenders in the West ready for a dogfight, I see the Suns getting beaten out by the rest of the pack and sliding down into the play-in this season.

5. Minnesota Timberwolves (Ryan = 4, Ben = 5, Avg = 4.5)

Ryan: Ant is him. This is the most talented and deepest Timberwolves team of my life. They are going to make some serious noise.

Ben: Rudy Gobert is one of the most impactful defenders in NBA history, and his presence will do wonders for this Minnesota team primed and ready to establish themselves among the NBA’s elite.

6. Dallas Mavericks (Ryan = 6, Ben = 4, Avg = 6.0)

Ryan: Luka is a generational talent, but Mark Cuban needs to get him more help, and quickly. They are too good to acquire elite talent through the draft, but they aren’t good enough to contend for a title with this roster. The Mavs are trapped in the middle of a top-heavy Western Conference.

Ben: While the Mavericks offseason was far from perfect, the general public is way too low on this team, especially given their WCF appearance last year. The loss of Jalen Brunson will put pressure on Spencer Dinwiddie to step up as a consistent secondary ball handler, but the additions of JaVale McGee and Christian Wood should bring some much needed production to the Mavs frontcourt on both ends of the floor. As long as Luka is firing on all cylinders, Dallas is still an upper-echelon contender in the West.

7. Memphis Grizzlies (Ryan = 7, Ben = 6, Avg = 6.5)

Ryan: Ja makes this team a must watch on League Pass, but this team didn’t get any better in the offseason. Another JJJ injury hurts this team a lot.

Ben: Trading away De’Anthony Melton and drafting four rookies doesn’t really make much sense for a team that finished second in the West last season. I understand their commitment to building a long-term contender, but with JJJ’s injury woes, I don’t think the Grizzlies have done enough to sustain their sudden success in the short-term.

8. New Orleans Pelicans (Ryan = 8, Ben = 8, Avg = 8.0)

Ryan: The season hasn’t even begun yet, and it already seems like the Pelicans are locked into the 8 seed. All 7 teams above them are just more talented, but they are so much more talented than the 7 teams below them. The western conference looks something like this in tier form:

Top 7 teams — Pelicans — Huge gap in talent — Bottom 7 teams

Ben: The key to the Pelicans success this season will be Zion Williamson’s ability to stay healthy. If he can do that, the sky is the limit for this incredibly talented Pelicans squad. I really like the offensive versatility that a CJ/Ingram backcourt provides, but the Pelicans starting lineup leaves a lot to be desired on the defensive end, which might hold them back from their full potential.

9. Los Angeles Lakers (Ryan = 10, Ben = 9, Avg = 9.5)

Ryan: It feels weird to say that a Lebron James led team can’t contend, but that’s where we are at with the current roster of the Lakers. Patrick Beverley will get this team to a play-in, but nothing more.

Ben: The Lakers prove how important it is to have productive role players in the modern NBA. Simply put, they will not be a contender, no matter how well LeBron James and Anthony Davis play. I have no faith that Davis can stay healthy, no faith that Westbrook can fit alongside the star duo, and no faith that the Lakers supporting cast and bench unit can pull their weight. Another ugly season is on the horizon in Hollywood.

10. Sacramento Kings (Ryan = 9, Ben = 11, Avg = 10.0)

Ryan: I still can’t believe they traded Tyrese Haliburton.

Ben: Congratulations to the Sacramento Kings on officially having the longest playoff drought in North American sports! They have absolutely earned all 16 seasons of futility. Here’s to the many more to come!

11. Portland Trail Blazers (Ryan = 11, Ben = 10, Avg = 10.5)

Ryan: Why have the Trail Blazers not traded Damian Lillard yet? You are going nowhere, and with the current NBA trade market, you could get a ton of rebuilding assets for him.

Ben: Damian Lillard refuses to run from the grind, and the Trail Blazers refuse to build a legitimate championship contender around his brilliance. A tale as old as time.

12. Utah Jazz (Ryan = 13, Ben = 13, Avg = 13.0)

Ryan: It was blatantly obvious that the Jazz needed to rebuild, and they’ve done just that by trading away Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Rudy Gobert. But they hung onto Mike Conley for some reason? It’s like they are 90% committed to rebuilding, but still want to win a game or two. I don’t get it. Go all in on the rebuild and give yourself the best chance of landing Victor Wembanyama, possibly the best NBA Draft prospect since LeBron James.

Ben: The Jazz brought in Danny Ainge to lead their front office into a rebuild. Trading away Mitchell and Gobert was just the start. I expect Clarkson and Conley to be dealt to contenders before the deadline. Credit where it’s due to Utah – they may not have won anything, but they got the most they possibly could out of the Mitchell/Gobert core and got an absolute haul for them in the trade market by blowing it up at the right time.

13. Houston Rockets (Ryan = 12, Ben = 14, Avg = 13.0)

Ryan: It’s not a matter of if this team will be good, it’s just a matter of when. All the pieces are in place for the Houston Rockets to become a very good basketball team in the coming years. Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr., and Tari Eason are just oozing with talent. I will say though, I am not nearly as high on Alperen Sengun as most.

Ben: I’m already sold on the Rockets young core of Jalen Green, Tari Eason, Jabari Smith Jr., and Alperen Sengun. While they shouldn’t be gunning for wins just yet, if Kevin Porter Jr. can translate his immense talent into consistent, efficient production, Houston will be able to exit their post-Harden rebuild sooner rather than later.

14. Oklahoma City Thunder (Ryan = 14, Ben = 12, Avg = 13.0)

Ryan: The length on this team is obnoxious. They seem to be trying to replicate the DNA that turned the Milwaukee Bucks into a championship team. Imagine a starting lineup next year of Gilgeous-Alexander, Giddey, Dort, Wembanyama, and Holmgren. This is my #2 preferred landing spot for Victor.

Ben: The Thunder have accumulated so many young players that it’s difficult for any single one of them to establish themselves as a core piece in their rebuild. I love Shai and Giddey as individual players, but they still seem like an awkward backcourt duo at this point. When you throw Holmgren’s season ending injury into the mix, it’s clear that this is going to be another season where the Thunder are a basement team.

15. San Antonio Spurs (Ryan = 15, Ben = 15, Avg = 15.0)

Ryan: No disrespect to Keldon Johnson, but if he is your best player, you aren’t going to win many basketball games. I’m not sure why Pop is still hanging around. Just retire already, you bloody legend.

Ben: Just because a team is young doesn’t mean they’re talented or oozing with potential. Without Dejounte Murray, the Spurs are the easy favorites to land Victor Wembanyama with the first pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Award Predictions

Most Valuable Player
Ryan: Nikola Jokic (DEN)
Ben: Joel Embiid (PHI)

Rookie of the Year
Ryan: Paolo Banchero (ORL)
Ben: Paolo Banchero (ORL)

6th Man of the Year
Ryan: Christian Wood (DAL)
Ben: Tyler Herro (MIA)

Most Improved Player
Ryan: Jalen Brunson (NYK)
Ben: Alperen Sengun (HOU)

Defensive Player of the Year
Ryan: Rudy Gobert (MIN)
Ben: Rudy Gobert (MIN)

Coach of the Year
Ryan: Chris Finch (MIN)
Ben: Mike Malone (DEN)

Which predictions did we get right? Which did we get wrong? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

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Authors: Ben Pawlak and Ryan Macdonald

Published: 10/18/22 at 4:45pm EST

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Sources/Works Cited:

Google Images, Google, https://images.google.com/imghp?hl=en.

“NBA.com.” The Official Site of the NBA for the Latest NBA Scores, Stats & News. | NBA.com, https://www.nba.com/.

Sports Reference LLC. Basketball-Reference.com – Basketball Statistics and History. https://www.basketball-reference.com/. 7 February 2022.

StatMuse, https://www.statmuse.com/.