2015-16 NBA predictions

Eastern Conference

1. Cleveland

2. Atlanta

3. Washington

4. Chicago

5. Miami

6. New York

7. Boston

8. Toronto

The East is wide open for the last four playoff seeds.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Charlotte, Milwaukee, Detroit, Indiana or Orlando qualifies for the tournament.  That said, I am going with the eight teams above.

1^st round winners: Cleveland, Atlanta, New York, Miami

Eastern Conference Finals: Cleveland over Miami

Western Conference

1. Golden State

2. OKC

3. San Antonio

4. Clippers

5. Memphis

6. Houston

7. Dallas

8. New Orleans

The West seems more top heavy than even throughout.  I believe Utah and Phoenix will be in the mix for the eight seed.  Also, Portland will be fun to watch, and Sacramento will win some games based on their talent.  However, the Kings will be a debacle chemistry wise with Rondo, Cousins and Karl.  That’s a trio that won’t finish the season intact.  Minnesota might surprise some folks too.

1^st round winners: Golden State, OKC, San Antonio, Memphis

(Blow up the Clippers!  The Grizz will take them out in the first round.  Doc Rivers might get fired.  I love Doc, but I seriously believe they will implode in the playoffs even with Paul Pierce).

Western Conference Finals: Golden State over San Antonio

NBA Finals: Cleveland over Golden State – I went rematch with a different outcome.

MVP: Steph Curry (repeat)

DPOY: Anthony Davis

6^th man: If Noah continues to come in off the bench for the Bulls, the award will be his.  I suspect he will start most games so I’m going with his college teammate Corey Brewer.  Also, Derrick Williams will have a shot for this as he’s instant energy off the bench for the Knicks. 

Rookie of the year: Kristaps Porzingis (Y’all heard it here first.  He’s more ready than people realize).  That is a heart pick though.  Most likely, it will be Karl Anthony Towns.

Coach of the year: Billy Donovan – OKC is back in a major way!

Most Improved: Derrick Williams – NYK all day!!

Dolphins rise to meet Campbell's challenge

In the first few weeks following Joe Philbin's ouster as Dolphins head coach and Dan Campbell's ascension to the role, it is crystal clear that Stephen Ross and Dolphins brass made the correct decision in firing Philbin.  In fact, they should have done it sooner.

Campbell's complete opposite approach (from Philbin) is flat out working.  Granted, Coach Campbell's two wins have been against AFC South doormats (Titans and Texans), but the Miami Dolphins are obviously playing better in all three phases no matter the competition.  That competition will be much improved this Thursday as the Fish travel to Foxborough to face the vaunted Pats.

I'm currently reading Carly Fiorina's 2006 memoir Tough Choices.  In chapter 16, she delves into leadership during times of change:

As is true whenever a new leader issues a challenge, a critical mass of the old-timers must rise to that challenge.  If this fails to happen, the new leader is simply ignored.

Fiorina goes onto expound on those two sentences, but there's a ton of meat on the bone in just the two sentences alone.  In relation to the Dolphins, Coach Campbell, a new leader, has certainly challenged their mindset and toughness and completely revamped their practice habits.  Campbell has shed complacency and protecting players egos in favor of ultra-competitive practices that lay bare any deficiencies.  He has issued challenges from the very first moment of his promotion to head coach.  The "old-timers" in this instance are the players.  They have risen to the challenges and embraced Campbell's hard-nosed approach.  If the players were ignoring Campbell or tuning out his message, the Dolphins would not have beaten the bark off the Titans and Texans in consecutive weeks.

Fiorina believes that a choice must be made to either follow or not follow a new leader/change agent who has issued challenges.  The Miami Dolphins look like a completely different team under Campbell.  From the quarterback play of Ryan Tannehill to the powerful running of Lamar Miller to the improved run defense, Campbell has unearthed the the very best from his players; they have accepted his challenges.  Check out this link to see how well the Dolphins performed today versus the hapless Texans.