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We made it! The newest installment of the NBA begins tonight in Boston after the Celtics receive their rings and raise their banner. Now, we see if anybody can stop them from repeating.
Ten Bold Predictions
There’s no way these predictions can go wrong
I have a pretty strict predictions policy here at The Bounce. None of these can be used against me, but we have to pretend we all win the Super Bowl if I get one even marginally correct. Fragile ego, you say? Never heard of it! With the 2024-25 regular season starting tonight, we need to throw down some bold predictions that fall into this being a safe space.
There are a lot of potential categories to dive into. Let’s try to spread the love through a good chunk of the league with accomplishments, awards and outright winners. Time to get to work! 🔮
Ben Simmons gets five triple-doubles. Yes, I’m serious! Or at least … I think I’m serious? I honestly don’t know if this is a bit anymore. Maybe it’s a desperate ploy to remind people Simmons was really good before his downfall. He’s allegedly healthy, and still just 28. He last had a triple-dip Jan. 17 of 2023. I’m choosing to believe.
The Rockets win the NBA Cup. The Lakers are the defending Cup holders. We have a better understanding of how this goes and teams’ approach to it. The Rockets have real expectations compared to last year. I think they take it very seriously and eek it out.
Bronny James. This isn’t a prediction. I’m just seeing if content algorithms exist in email newsletters.
The Thunder get the No. 1 seed and No. 1 pick. Everybody took notice of the Clippers’ pick-swap situation when the latest Kawhi Leonard bummer news dropped. The Clippers can somehow “win the lottery” and have to give it up, which is what happened in 2011, when the Cavs got their pick and took Kyrie Irving.
Victor Wembanyama averages at least four blocks per game. The last person to do this was the late, great Dikembe Mutombo back in the 1995-96 season (4.49 per game). Wemby was just dipping his toes in the NBA waters last year and managed 3.58 per game. He’s clearing four each night this season and onward.
Backlash toward Wemby and Anthony Edwards rolls in. It has already started. We see two players who are beloved by the internet quickly demoted by the same internet. Wemby started getting backlash for saying some guys don’t work that hard. Ant is going to get it if Minnesota starts out slowly. Regardless, these two will win everybody back, but these are the ebbs and flows of stardom.
Zion Williamson plays 75 games and makes All-NBA Second Team. Oh yeah. Let’s get BOLD. Zion played 70 games last season and was killer. I’ve got him for 75 games this year, and being a complete monster. He’ll make his first All-NBA team as well. Believe in Zion! Believe in his health!
Cam Thomas finishes second in scoring. Last year, I predicted Jordan Poole would lead the league in scoring. With him as the top guy on a meaningless Wizards team, it didn’t seem crazy right after the trade. Then, at some point, he got benched by the NBA’s second-worst team. Not my best prediction. That’s why I’m going a little cowardly here with the Nets scorer finishing second. How much does Jordi Fernandez believe he needs Thomas on the court for a Nets team hoping to secure some lottery luck in their rebuild?
Conference finals prediction! I’ll take the Thunder over the Mavs in the West, and the Celtics over the Knicks in the East.
Welcome back dynasties! The Celtics win the NBA’s first back-to-back titles since 2018 and their first time as a franchise since 1969.
The Last 24
New Season’s Eve was quite busy
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Is it a coincidence that there are 24 hours in a day and 24 seconds in a shot clock? Probably! As we get ready for months and months of shot clocks, let’s go over the last 24 hours leading up to the first day of this new season!
🏀 NBA.com is giving out dunk scores now? I feel like Shea Serrano did this years ago in a much better way, but somebody should be grading all these dunks. Read More
🏀 The G League is experimenting with the Heave Zone. It’ll count as a team attempt and not an individual attempt for the player, which is how it should always be. Read More
🏀 Welcome to the Reliability Tiers! I was legitimately shocked that Zion Williamson is more reliable than James Harden. Read More
🏀 The plight of the Knicks fan. It feels like the die-hard fans can finally relax and enjoy this. Read More
🏀 Take the over! I broke down the over/unders for each team, and there’s no way I can get a single one wrong. Read More
🤝 Checks over Stripes. The NBA agreed to a historic deal to keep Nike running their apparel game. Read More
📺 The Celtics host the new-look Knicks on ring night! We’re locking into TNT at 7:30 p.m. ET to start this season.
📺 The Lakers host the Wolves to cap off opening night. This is right after Celtics-Knicks, so keep it locked on TNT at 10 p.m. ET. We’re here for Ant and LeBron. We’re here for the Griffeys?
Big-Money Extensions
Nearly $950 million in extensions signed for
Yesterday was the deadline for rookie-deal extensions from the 2021 rookie class. We’ve had nearly a billion bucks in extensions agreed to. Let’s do some quick-hitter analysis to get everybody up to speed!
💰 Trey Murphy III gets four years, $112 million from the Pelicans. I think it’ll end up a steal for NOLA, and this probably means Brandon Ingram is elsewhere next season. Read More
💰 Jalen Green gets three years, $106 million from the Rockets. Two years guaranteed and a player option for the third as both sides try to figure out who the real Green is. Read More
💰 Alperen Şengün gets five years, $185 million from the Rockets. The Rockets have given up much of their cap space to lock in Şengün and Green, and this makes Şengün their franchise guy. Read More
💰 Jalen Suggs gets five years, $150.5 million from the Magic. If Suggs shoots like he did last year (39.7 percent on 3s, 60.2 percent true shooting), then this makes sense. If he reverts to his first two seasons of shooting, this deal gets awkward. Read More
💰 Jalen Johnson gets five years, $150 million from the Hawks. By god that’s Jalen Suggs money! If he continues like he did last season, it’s easy to justify this deal. Read More
💰 Corey Kispert gets four years, $54 million from the Wizards. Less than $15 million in average annual salary for a shooter of this caliber is a good deal. Read More
💰 Jaden Hardy gets three years, $18 million from the Mavericks. Hardy is a really nice role player, and this becomes one of the best non-rookie deals immediately.
💰 Moses Moody gets three years, $39 million from the Warriors. This happened over the weekend, and it’s a likely bargain for the Warriors. Read More
🚫💰 No extension for Jonathan Kuminga from the Warriors. Not a surprise here. The Warriors still have full control of his restricted free agency next summer. He can play his way into a big deal. Read More
One more extension for the non-rookie extension crop of players. We have a champion with a sign-and-extend for big money.
💰 Aaron Gordon gets four years, $133 million from the Nuggets. After Kentavious Caldwell-Pope left, it was fair to wonder if the Nuggets were willing to spend big on this team. This deal for the 29-year-old is a resounding yes. Read More
(Top photo: Rich Storry / Getty Images )
