Checking out our NBA & Thunder predictions
The NBA begins its homestretch Tuesday. The all-star break means we’re virtually two-thirds of the way through the season. Seems like a good time to see how The Oklahoman staff did last October, when it made its season predictions.
We gave our picks on a variety of issues, from the Thunder record to Kevin Durant’s scoring average to the league champion. Here’s how we’re doing.
Thunder wins: OKC is on pace for 48 wins. Sports editor Mike Sherman was on the high end, with 40. I had 38. The low end was beat writer Darnell Mayberry and columnist John Rohde, both with 34.
Thunder home wins: OKC is on pace for 24.5 wins. Me and NBA writer Mike Baldwin both had the high end, 24. Everybody picked at least 21.
West playoff teams: No one had the Thunder, of course, and no one had the other West surprise, the Grizzlies. Everyone but Sherman picked the Hornets, who seem a longshot now. But Sherman picked the Rockets, who also seem unlikely to make it. But me and Baldwin picked the Clippers.
East playoff teams: All six of us picked the Wizards, who have the fourth-worst record (17-33) in the East. The East doesn’t really have a surprise team, unless you count Charlotte, and no one picked the Bobcats. But me and Sherman picked Philadelphia, which is 20-32. The 76ers have been hot but will have to be even hotter to make it.
NBA Finals: I picked the Cavs over Portland, Sherman picked San Antonio over Boston and everyone else picked the Lakers, over either Boston or Cleveland.
Worst team in the West: We all picked Sacramento, which is 18-34, five games better than Minnesota.
Worst team in the East: Kudos to Baldwin. He picked New Jersey, which absolutely is the worst team in the league and at 4-48 might be the worst team ever. I at least picked a bad team (Indiana, which is 18-34). Everyone else picked Milwaukee, which actually is only one game out of the playoffs.
NBA MVP: We all picked LeBron James. We’re all going to be right.
Team on the rise: Stupid me (plus Rohde and Baldwin) picked the Wizards, which is the opposite of rise. Columnist Jenni Carlson picked the Clippers, who are not much better. Mayberry picked Portland, which made sense, but Sherman aced it, picking the Thunder.
Team on the decline: Sherman picked the Hornets; the rest of us picked the Rockets. I think we all were right.
Rookie of the year: Sherman picked Tyreke Evans. The rest of us picked Blake Griffin. Sherman was right. We were wrong.
Most improved player: Lots of interesting answers. I picked Greg Oden, who might have had a shot if he hadn’t gotten hurt. Baldwin picked Golden State’s Anthony Randolph, who has been so-so, then got hurt. Eric Gordon (Mayberry), Luol Deng (Carlson) and Andrew Bynum (Sherman) have improved some. But clearly the best pick was by Rohde, who had Kevin Durant.
Coach of the year: Carlson and Mayberry picked Toronto’s Jay Triano, which is not a horrible pick. Rohde and Baldwin picked Washington’s Flip Saunders, who is a horrible pick. I went with Portland’s Nate McMillan, whose team has been hit by injuries. Sherman had Philly’s Eddie Jordan.
Thunder breakout player: I picked Shaun Livingston, so my credentials have been revoked. Carlson went with Thabo Sefolosha, who has played well but really hasn’t broken out. Mayberry, Rohde and Sherman chose Westbrook. Good choice. But not as good as Baldwin’s. He had Serge Ibaka, which is what you call a home run.
Durant’s scoring average: KD is averaging 29.7. This was my best category; I picked 29.9. Sherman had 28.5, Baldwin 28.1, Carlson 27.3, Rohde 27.3 and Mayberry 26.2.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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