The NBA season is winding down, with just a handful of games remaining before the playoffs begin. In a year riddled with injuries to top stars as well as the COVID-19 pandemic making things unordinary (to say the least), the NBA awards this year feel somewhat underwhelming.
Midway through the season, the landscape of the Association was changed drastically by the Brooklyn Nets acquiring James Harden from the Houston Rockets. This effectively changed the balance of power, and the Nets have also been signing highly-regarded buy-out veterans – such as Blake Griffin and Lamarcus Aldridge (well, at least before he retired).
The bottom of the league has been interesting to watch, as well. For the majority of the season, the two worst teams have been the Minnesota Timberwolves and Houston Rockets. Both of those teams are also dependent on their draft pick(s) not falling out of a certain range due to previous trades they have made (Westbrook to Houston in 2019 and Russell to Minnesota in 2020).
In terms of how the play-in tournament goes, there are several teams vying for seeding in both conferences. After trading for Nikola Vucevic prior to the trade deadline, the Chicago Bulls have essentially played their way OUT of the race, performing horribly during the months of March and April. The Hornets, despite not having LaMelo Ball or Gordon Hayward throughout April, have managed to hold onto a top-8 seed in the East.
In the West, the Lakers have fallen to the sixth seed after missing both Anthony Davis and LeBron James for extended periods of time. The four teams at the top of the conference are all within 3.5 games of each other, while seeds 5-10 are within four games of each other. There is a non-zero chance the Lakers have to perform in a play-in setting.
With that being said, let’s get into the Dunking With Wolves’ staff season award predictions.