Empty the Bench

Bring on the the NBA! The ETB Fantasy Basketball Draft took place last Tuesday, and we have to say it was one of the most competitive hoops drafts we’ve been involved in. All of the owners were savvy, competitive, prepared and investing in the right young players. There’s nothing like a heated draft to get you psyched for the NBA and fantasy hoops season, and with tipoff set for tonight it’s time to unveil ETB’s NBA Prediction-O-Rama.

We’ve been poring over stats, records, scouting reports, news, mock drafts, expert analysis and everything else we can get our hands on for the last two months. Now we put ourselves on the line with our bold and daring picks for Individual Awards, Team Awards, Gut Feelings and the all-important Over/Unders.

The bones reveal many mysterious things. Enjoy.

Individual Awards:

Rookie of the Year:
Andrew: Kevin Durant, Seattle Supersonics
Brian: Al Thornton, Los Angeles Clippers

Breakout Point Guard:
Andrew: Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics
Brian: Raymond Felton, Charlotte Bobcats

Point Guard Bust:
Andrew: Mike Bibby, Sacramento Kings
Brian: Mike Bibby, Sacramento Kings

Breakout Shooting Guard:
Andrew: Gerald Green, Minnesota Timberwolves
Brian: Ronnie Brewer, Utah Jazz

Shooting Guard Bust:
Andrew: Brandon Roy, Portland Trailblazers
Brian: Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat

Breakout Small Forward:
Andrew: Danny Granger, Indiana Pacers/Rudy Gay, Memphis Grizzlies
Brian: Corey Maggette, Los Angeles Clippers

Small Forward Bust:
Andrew: Morris Peterson, New Orleans Hornets
Brian: Peja Stojakovic, New Orleans Hornets

Breakout Power Forward:
Andrew: Al Jefferson, Minnesota Timberwolves
Brian: David West, New Orleans Hornets

Power Forward Bust:
Andrew: Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors
Brian: Antawn Jamison, Washington Wizards

Breakout Center:
Andrew: Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic/Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks
Brian: Emeka Okafor, Charlotte Bobcats

Center Bust:
Andrew: Marcus Camby, Denver Nuggets
Brian: Jermaine O’Neal, Indiana Pacers

Have a Feeling He’ll Get Hurt:
Andrew: Zach Randolph, New York Knicks
Brian: Mehmet Okur, Utah Jazz

Have a Feeling He’ll (Finally) Stay Healthy:
Andrew: Yao Ming, Houston Rockets
Brian: Gerald Wallace, Charlotte Bobcats

Defensive Player of the Year:
Andrew: Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
Brian: Bruce Bowen, San Antonio Spurs

Most Improved Player:
Andrew: Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
Brian: Hakim Warrick, Memphis Grizzlies

Player Most Likely to Be Traded:
Andrew: Andre Miller, Philadelphia 76ers
Brian: Jermaine O’Neal, Indiana Pacers

Coach Most Likely to Be Fired:
Andrew: Sam Mitchell, Toronto Raptors
Brian: Eddie Jordan, Washington Wizards

Two Waiver Wire Revelations:
Andrew: Travis Outlaw, Portland Trailblazers/Corey Brewer, Minnesota Timberwolves
Brian: Ryan Gomes, Minnesota Timberwolves/Brendan Haywood, Washington Wizards

Scoring Title Winner:
Andrew: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Brian: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers

Rebounding Title Winner:
Andrew: Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics (with Howard a close second)
Brian: Tyson Chandler, New Orleans Hornets

Assist Title Winner:
Andrew: Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns
Brian: Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns

Coach of the Year:
Andrew: Scott Skiles, Chicago Bulls
Brian: Sam Vincent, Charlotte Bobcats

Fantasy MVP:
Andrew: Yao Ming, Houston Rockets
Brian: Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics

NBA MVP:
Andrew: Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
Brian: Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics

Team Awards:

Atlantic Division Champs:
Andrew: Boston Celtics
Brian: Boston Celtics

Central Division Champs:
Andrew: Chicago Bulls
Brian: Detroit Pistons

Southeast Division Champs:
Andrew: Atlanta Hawks
Brian: Charlotte Bobcats

Southwest Division Champs:
Andrew: Dallas Mavericks
Brian: San Antonio Spurs

Northwest Division Champs:
Andrew: Utah Jazz
Brian: Denver Nuggets

Pacific Division Champs:
Andrew: Phoenix Suns
Brian: Phoenix Suns

Five Other Eastern Conference Teams:
Andrew: Washington, Orlando, Detroit, Cleveland, Toronto
Brian: Cleveland, Chicago, Toronto, New Jersey, Orlando

Five Other Western Conference Teams:
Andrew: San Antonio, Houston, Denver, Golden State, LA Lakers
Brian: Utah, Houston, Golden State, Dallas, LA Lakers

Eastern Conference Champs:
Andrew: Boston Celtics
Brian: Detroit Pistons

Western Conference Champs:
Andrew: Dallas Mavericks
Brian: Phoenix Suns

NBA (Super) Champions:
Andrew: Dallas Mavericks
Brian: Phoenix Suns

The NBA’s Highest Scoring Offense:
Andrew: Golden State Warriors
Brian: Golden State Warriors

The NBAs Lowest Scoring Offense:
Andrew: Philadelphia 76ers
Brian: Indiana Pacers

Fewest Points Allowed in the NBA:
Andrew: San Antonio Spurs
Brian: Detroit Pistons

Most Points Allowed in the NBA:
Andrew: Milwaukee Bucks
Brian: Seattle SuperSonics

What’s the Over/Under on . . .

Dwyane Wade’s Games Played:
Andrew: 52 games played
Brian: 43 games played

Gilbert Arenas’ Games Played:
Andrew: 70 games played
Brian: 68 games played

Kevin Durant’s Points, Rebounds, Assists:
Andrew: 17.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists
Brian: 16.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists

Rasheed Wallace Technicals:
Andrew: 21 techs
Brian: 19 techs

Ron Artest’s First Suspension:
Andrew: January 23rd
Brian: February 14th

Elton Brand’s Return Date:
Andrew: February 25th
Brian: March 1st

Marcus Camby’s Games Played:
Andrew: 63 games
Brian: 58 games

Kobe Bryant’s Scoring Average:
Andrew: 31.2 points
Brian: 32.8 points

Dwight Howard’s Rebounding Average:
Andrew: 12.8 rebounds
Brian: 12.2 rebounds

Boston Celtics’ Wins:
Andrew: 56 wins
Brian: 54 wins

Minnesota Timberwolves’ Wins:
Andrew: 26 wins
Brian: 30 wins

Three Gut Feelings:

Andrew:
1) The Houston Rockets will be a lot better than people think. Rick Adelman’s offense gets the best out of Tracy McGrady, Luthor Head, Rafer Alston and Mike James. Yao Ming stays healthy and proves he’s clearly the best center in the NBA. Houston enters the playoffs as a very real title contender.

2) LeBron James has a terrific individual season, but it becomes painfully obvious that last year’s Finals appearance was a fluke for this Cavaliers squad. Nobody besides King James plays like an above-average starter, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Larry Hughes struggle with injuries, and Cleveland limps into the playoffs. Danny Ferry needs to make things right, or NBA fans the world over start counting the days until they can see LeBron on a real team.

3) With a young core of mobile and athletic players around Pau Gasol, the Memphis Grizzlies turn out to be one of the top-5 offenses in the NBA this season. Rudy Gay proves he can score in every way possible and Hakim Warrick becomes an explosive scorer off the bench who can take it to the rack. They may not finish with a sterling record, but nobody looks forward to playing with this squad that can run teams out of the gym on any given night.

Brian:
1) Bad blood runs deep in the Atlantic, with the Knicks/Celtics engaging in at least two on-court scrums that result in suspensions. In fact, the Knicks lead the league in total games missed by player suspension.

2) Allen Iverson puts together an MVP-type season in leading the Nuggs to the top of the Northwest Division. He finishes third in the voting.

3) The Miami Heat do not make the postseason (and we’re all better off for it).

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