Ahead of the regular season opener on Tuesday evening, it's worth noting it's tough to predict much of anything in the NBA.
Well, not exactly.
It's tough to predict much of anything outside of who'll win the championship—it's a relatively safe bet to pick the Golden State Warriors to win it again in 2018-19.
But the year feels wide-open elsewhere. Young All Stars like Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo are rising—will they make another leap this year? Can Chris Paul fend off Father Time and help lead the Houston Rockets back to the West Finals? Is LeBron James even human—will he ever decline? What happens when, for the first time in his career, he's forced to play in the tougher Western Conference?
Still, even with the relative uncertainty of what's to come, experts did their best to predict what's to come with the 2018-19 NBA season. We've collected some of their picks below to help guide your thinking for the year.
Playoff teams in East
Washington Post: 1. Boston Celtics, 2. Toronto Raptors, 3. Philadelphia 76ers, 4. Milwaukee Bucks, 5. Indiana Pacers, 6. Washington Wizards, 7. Miami Heat, 8. Detroit Pistons
FiveThirtyEight projection: 1. Raptors, 2. Celtics, 3. 76ers, 4. Wizards, 5. Bucks, 6. Pacers, 7. Heat, 8. Pistons
CBS: 1. Raptors, 2. Celtics, 3. 76ers, 4. Pacers, 5. Heat, 6. Bucks, 7. Pistons, 8. Wizards
ESPN's Zach Lowe: 1. Celtics, 2. Raptors, 3. Bucks, 4. Sixers, 5. Pacers, 6. Heat, 7. Wizards, 8. Pistons
Playoff teams in West
Washington Post: 1. Golden State Warriors, 2. Utah Jazz, 3. Houston Rockets, 4. Oklahoma City Thunder, 5. New Orleans Pelicans, 6. Denver Nuggets, 7. Portland Trail Blazers, 8. San Antonio Spurs
FiveThirtyEight projection: 1. Warriors, 2. Rockets, 3. Jazz, 4. Thunder, 5. Nuggets, 6. Los Angeles Lakers, 7. Minnesota Timberwolves, 8. Pelicans
CBS: 1. Warriors, 2. Rockets, 3. Lakers, 4. Thunder, 5. Nuggets, 6. Jazz, 7. Spurs, 8. Pelicans
ESPN's Lowe: 1. Warriors, 2. Rockets, 3. Thunder, 4. Jazz, 5. Nuggets, 6. Lakers, 7. Pelicans, 8. Trailblazers. (Added that if Timberwolves holds on to Jimmy Butler they'd catapult into the playoffs.)
Conference winners / title winners
Washington Post: East - Celtics, West - Warriors; title: Warriors
Sports Illustrated: Five of six writers picked the Celtics in the East and Warriors in the West. All five of those writers picked the Warriors to win again.
ESPN's Lowe: East - Celtics, West - Warriors; title: Warriors
MVP
Washington Post: Antetokounmpo
ESPN's Lowe: Antetokounmpo
ESPN experts: Nine picked James, four picked Anthony Davis, two picked Kevin Durant, two picked Kawhi Leonard, two picked Antetokounmpo, one picked James Harden, one picked Kyrie Irving
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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