NBA / Sep 25, 2007 / 12:43 pm

What the Experts Say…

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IMAGE DESCRIPTIONBoom Dizzle. Photo. Tim Tadder

Last week, when I was at Reebok HQ in Canton, Mass., when I wasn’t getting after it on the softball field with A.I., Baron Davis and Co., I had a chance to get some early predictions for the upcoming NBA season straight from the guys themselves …

BARON DAVIS
MVP: “Lebron or Kobe.”
Scoring Champ: “Kobe.”
ROY: Durant
Sleeper Player: “In the NBA you can never tell … it could be anyone.”
Favored to win it all: “Warriors.”

SHAUN LIVINGSTON
MVP: “Steve Nash.”
Scoring Champ: “‘Melo or Kobe.”
ROY: “Kevin Durant.”
Sleeper Player: “Marvin Williams.”
Sleeper Team: “New York … if they get on a good roll and stay injury-free. They’ll be straight.”
Favored to win it all: “The Spurs.”

MARVIN WILLIAMS
MVP: “I think Gilbert can do it.”
Scoring Champ: “Kobe.”
ROY: “Kevin Durant. He’s too talented.”
Sleeper Player: “Myself.”
Sleeper Team: “Atlanta Hawks.”
Favorite to win it all: “Atlanta or San Antonio.”

GERALD GREEN
MVP: “Hard to say…”
Scoring Champ: “Honestly, I think Kobe or ‘Melo.”
ROY: “That’s tough too … I’ll go with Kevin Durant.”
Sleeper Team: “Timberwolves.”
Sleeper Player: “Myself.”
Favorite to win it all: “Boston. That’s what everyone is saying.”

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  • Prada G

    Sean Livingston is a srcub

  • sam

    srcub = super really cool uber baller?

  • Mark

    Sam = dork

  • Tareq

    These guys are terrible judges of talent. Rodney Stuckey will win ROY this year and the MVP will be Luol Deng

  • girllybballluver

    I can’t wait to see the first spurs vs celtics game!!

  • http://luckylester.com Lucky Lester

    Tareq is drunk…

    Sean Livingston might be a scrub, but Shaun Livingston, if he ever gets healthy, will turn into an All Star – even in the West – he just has to grow into his body.

    Stuckey will be stuckied behind two scoring guards in Detroit, and won’t get even close to rookie of the year – if there are 4 guys that could push Durrant for a ROY vote, they are Al Thornton (because of his man-beast ability and the fact that Brand is out for the year, that will give him minutes) Mike Conley (because I believe he’ll run the uptempo game in Memphis, and he’s got enough guys to give him fancy assist numbers) and Acie Law, because he wins, will be THE point guard in Atlanta, and that team has plenty of young players to surprise this year, and Jarvis Crittenton because if the Lakers are going to do well, Jarvis will have to show up from the get go. He is big enough and tough enough at guard to play the Pippen role in that Jordan triangle – and if the Lakers do well, you can bet he’ll get some publicity doing it.

    There’s that, call them sleepers if you want, but they are the guys with a chance to unseat the man in Seattle.

  • M Intellect

    Sam – Your sentence, if made into an acronym, reads SRCUB.

  • Tareq

    If I’m drunk, Lucky Lester finished off ALL the psychadelic Kool-Aid…

    Thornton may have minutes, but he won’t be the focal point of that offense, which will complicate his chances at any real number production this season. Conley will be jockeying for PT with Navarro, who is clearly the better PG at this point. Law is playing in Atlanta…nuff said. Crittendon is vastly overrated, playing in a system that most rookies cannot grasp, and will play alongside Kobe. No way his stats come close to ROY levels.

    Stuckey, however, will quickly become the go-to guy off the Pistons bench, and will get big minutes spelling both Billups and Hamilton. With Lindsay Hunter’s role being reduced, Flip Murray being inconsistent, and the unlikely situation of getting any quality minutes from the rest of the guards, Stuckey will separate himself from the pack. He’s got arguably the best ready-made NBA game out there. Just watch…

  • http://intellect~ Sacto J

    Understand that was Sam’s whole point (the previous post was mis-spelled), and me having to point that out to you speaks volumes regarding your intellect. Sleeper team: The Kings might surprise some folks this year, or be a complete crapper. Sleeper player – Maxiel (pistons)
    ROY – Marco Bellineli or Joakim Noah
    Title – Bulls vs. Suns

  • http://psinapticapotheosis.org Amar

    shaun won’t be an all-star guard in the west anytime soon . . . look at the list of guards in the west who have at least shown up so far, and not just been hyped up to be the next magic johnson, or whatever . . .

    brandon roy, kevin martin, monta ellis, deron williams, chris paul, etc have better shots to be all-stars in the west in the next 3-6 years than livingston.

  • JC

    M Intellect, that’s exactly what Prada G said, srcub. :D

  • http://dimemag.com Austin Burton

    Marvin: “Atlanta or San Antonio.”

    Gotta love the optimism.

  • JCrom

    M Intellect- That was the point because in the first post Prada G said Shaun Livingston was a “srcub.”

  • http://www.workforstudents.com Adrian Zapata

    The Spurs would dominate the Celtics. If they want to compete for the title, they got to load up their bench.

  • westside

    I don’t think so; The celtics have some key players starting for them, it’s going to be hard for the spurs to match up with them all. Don’t get me wrong the spurs are still the team to beat but lets face it there getting “OLD” compared to the celtics. I see the celtics as the new team to beat because you can now say there some contenders.

    ROY- Kevin Durant
    Title- Bulls vs. Celtics

  • nick

    roy- jeef green, his game is more polished then durrant’s

  • Doobie

    Al Horford will be ROY. He’s got the most polished game of all players in this draft. Durant may score more points, but Horford will be an inside/outside double/double guy who can run the floor, pass and defend. Acie Law looks like a good player but he’s not a PG, so he’ll suffer scoring wise playing alongside JJ.

    Mike Conley looks like a good fit for an uptempo offense, but he’ll need to gain a jumper to be able to pull in that ROY award. But who knows, Tony Parker can’t shoot, but scores most his points in the paint, so Conley might be able to do the same.

    Crittenton will most likely look like Smush Parker Jr. in LA. Kobe will dominate the rock, and if Crittenton can’t hit his 3 balls, he’ll be riding the bench.

    The Spurs have the pieces to repeat. The Bulls will need an inside/outside threat to be a factor come playoff time, but I like their chances of coming out in the East.

  • smizz

    westside you said bulls vs. celtics for the title. maybe you forgot they both play in the eastern conference. then again you may have been the only person in the world to find out the new changes to the playoff set up this year where the west is so good they aren’t allowed to play for the championship anymore. it will be east vs. east. please fill us in on these new changes.

    My picks:
    ROY- will not be won by a guard, but the guard with the best chance to win it, Mike Conley. other than that my pick is Al Horford, with Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, and Acie Law around him, there wont be much presure on him, allowing him the chance to flourish by getting boards, and slowly improving his physical post game on an underrated team.

    Sleeper team- Knicks. Curry and Randolph are gonna kill the bigs in the East.

    Title- Suns if they figure out a way to keep shawn marion happy and on the team. This is the year they beat the spurs in the playoffs. and this might be the year the Bulls put it all together in the playoffs and make it to the finals.

  • Ashlov

    Shaun Livingston injured himself while making that statement.

  • mike

    wtf. Loul deng as Mvp?
    no freaking way.
    hes just not that good yet
    i like him as a player–but hes not mvp level yet.

    and rodney stuckey is nowhere near durant

    Durant=Roy

    kobe wont get mvp because his team sucks.
    someone elsell win

  • JP

    Durant = Next Livingston (Hype in a nutshell)

    My boy Oden has it in the bag even though he is injured, he’s still a field above the rest.
    MVP = LeBron
    Sleeper = Cavs and Bogut

  • jbleez

    Why are there so many hating on Livingston????
    Don’t see none a ya’ll in da league. Keep ya head right Shaun.

    Bleez

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