Welcome to the Sixth Man’s preview of the 2016-2017 NBA season. This will be your comprehensive guide to the upcoming season, which is sure to be a wild ride. Kevin Durant in Golden State with a Tupac tattoo on his calf. The best team from 2010, the New York Knicks. And whatever crazy experiment they’ve got going on out in Chicago (honestly, what will that team be like??). This season is sure to be entertaining, that’s for certain.
So what will this guide cover? I will walk you through division by division, sharing with you my predictions for the upcoming season: the team’s projected starting 5, what their record will be, thoughts on their season last year and what they can look forward to this year, and of course I will hand out some awards and predict a champion.
What sort of process did I go through to concoct such a preview? Well I will say upfront that I am no expert, and I did not use heavy metrics or a crazy statistical analysis. But that being said, I am a die-hard fan who prides himself on knowing a lot about the game and following all the teams, so I feel that I have come up with a fair prediction for the upcoming season (except for anything relating to the Knicks, I am totally biased towards them).
I have chosen to ignore a lot of the unpredictable factors like injuries and fatigue simply because I want to provide some sort of projection for how well the teams will do, but that is not my main focus. Do I think my record projects will be anywhere close? Not really. But I hope to capture the feel of each team, whether they are on the rise or if they are going to absolutely stink it up every night. I want my predictions to inspire debate and conversation about the upcoming season, and to inspire others to put their opinions out there.
You can find the links to each Division's preview below:
Northwest Division Preview