Westbrook with Another Triple Double

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Coming into the 2016-17 season Westbrook is considered an MVP candidate. Some even feel Westbrook could be the first player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple double for a season. Although it is still early Westbrook has two triple doubles in three games. Right now Westbrook is averaging 38.7 points, 11.7 assists, and 12.3 rebounds per game. Westbrook's numbers have been good enough to win him Western Conference player of the week for the first week of the season. It is impressive considering how many players had outstanding opening week to the season.

If Westbrook can continue his current rate of production it will be hard to not consider him for MVP. It was only two seasons ago that Westbrook made a late push to gain votes for MVP. This year he is starting off well and is no longer sharing the stage with Kevin Durant. It is Russell Westbrook's team now and it should be exciting to see what he will do unleashed.

Anthony Davis Needs Help

The NBA season is really starting off with a bang this year. Historic performances are happening left and right. For Anthony Davis he played very well in his season opener. He had a stat line of 50 points, 16 rebounds, 7 steals, 5 assists, and 4 blocks. Davis became only the 4th player in NBA history to score 50 points in a season opener. The other 3 were Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, and Elgin Baylor. That is some elite company to be with.

Davis did not stop there though. Last night Davis had 45 points and 17 rebounds. Davis became the seventh player in NBA history to have 45 points and 15 rebounds in consecutive games. The other six were Charles Barkley, Elgin Baylor, Walt Bellamy, Wilt Chamberlain, Moses Malone, and Bob McAdoo. Davis was also only the second player in the last 50 years to score 90 plus points in their team's first two games. The other was Michael Jordan in 1986. This just further solidifies how good Anthony Davis is.

But Davis' Pelicans are now 0-2. It clearly is not Davis fault. He is doing everything he can to win these games. It is Davis' supporting cast that is at fault. Of the two games, the lose against the Nuggets is much more surprising. The Nuggets are projected to be a lottery team come next offseason. So how in the world did the Pelicans lose when Davis had 50 points? Simple his teammates were awful. Davis shot 17-34 from the field. An even 50%. The rest of the team shot 21-58 from the floor. That's 36%. It is going to be a struggle for Davis and his team the rest of the season if the Pelicans cannot find a way to improve their roster.

Chris Bosh's Situation

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With one night of the NBA regular season in the books now, it is the time to round up my final prediction. This prediction however does not pertain to awards, standings, or anything like that. This all revolves around Chris Bosh's health.

Chris Bosh had a physical a couple of weeks ago to evaluate his blood clots. Unfortunately Bosh failed his physical and will not be playing basketball anytime soon. With that said it is obvious that the Heat do not want Bosh to come back this season. The Heat's goal is to get to February without Bosh playing a single minute. If this is done the Heat do not have to pay Bosh's salary this season and will receive insurance on the rest of Bosh's contract if they decide to release him. That is not the end goal though. If the Heat can they want to keep Bosh sidelined and on their roster until March. If the Heat can do this Bosh's contract will not count against their cap this year. In the end this would lower the Heat's luxury tax.

The truth is this would help the Heat, but in the end makes them look bad. It makes them look bad in the sense that they are doing nothing to try to get Bosh back on the floor this season. It seems as if Bosh and his contract have become a burden and the Heat just want to get rid of both.

Here is where things should get interesting. I think that the NBPA will get involved in Bosh's case sooner or later. Bosh has repeatedly said he is ready to return and that he won't stop until he does. If the NBPA gets involved they could run separate tests from the Miami Heat doctors to determine Bosh's situation. If the NBPA can determine Bosh healthy the Heat will either let him play or, the more likely option, discuss a buyout. When this happens Bosh will be free to choose any team he'd like to join.

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The reason it is so controversial that Bosh isn't released from the team until March is his eligibility. If Bosh is still on the Heat roster in March he will not be eligible to sign with a playoff team. This is important to Bosh since he is getting to the later stages of his career. At this point he is looking for more championships to add to his collection. He already received his big contract from the Heat. Even if the Heat work a buyout and a stretch provision with it, he will still be receiving a good portion of his money. He will also be able to sign another contract and have two sources of income.

The bottom line is Bosh wants to play this season. In order for this to become a reality the NBPA will have to step in at some point and help Bosh with his case. Until then the Miami Heat have full control of his situation.

DeMarcus Cousins to Cleveland?

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With one more day before the start of the NBA season it is time to start rounding up predictions. Today's prediction is DeMarcus Cousins being traded to Cleveland at some point this season. 

It is no secret that DeMarcus Cousins is not happy in Sacramento. Since Cousins has arrived in Sacramento the Kings have yet to make the playoffs. In fact the teams best season since 2010 was last year and they only won 33 games. The organization does not seem to know what they are doing. Their free agent signings are questionable and their draft selections have been real headscratchers. They have yet to draft good talent despite being in the lottery for a decade now. The only good draft selection they have made is DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins has been waiting patiently for a long time for the franchise to surround him with better talent, but they have failed to do so. As a result Cousins name has been in trade rumors for years now. But could this be the year Cousins finally gets to leave the Kings?

The Sacramento Kings have the upper hand with Cousins right now. Cousins signed a 4 year maximum extension back in 2013. This means Cousins is under contract until the summer of 2018. It would be hard for Cousins to force his way out because the Kings know that he will be back next season if they do not think they can receive fair value in return.

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But here is where things get interesting. Kevin Love has been in trade talks since the Cavaliers lost the championship in 2015. Since then the rumors have died down, but there are always going to be trade speculation around Love. Since Love arrived in Cleveland his numbers have fallen off a cliff. A guy that would average 20 points and 12 rebounds a night is averaging 16 points and 9 rebounds a night. This is because he is not the focal point of Cleveland's offense.

Now here is why a Kevin Love for DeMarcus Cousins swap would be perfect for both teams. DeMarcus Cousins would finally be out of Sacramento and be with a championship contender. Also the Cavaliers do not have a true center of their roster beside Chris Anderson. This would fill one of the Cavaliers needs while making them stronger.

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For Sacramento they would be getting back the best talent they can get for Cousins. Also while bringing back talent they would bring in a guy who is under contract until 2019. This would give them more time to assemble something around their new star player in Kevin Love. Also Kevin Love's production would see a huge increase by being on a team that runs their offense through him. If the Kings were smart they could give the team a whole new identity by trading away Rudy Gay and others for draft picks or role players to surround Love with.

It may be painful for Sacramento, but the clock is counting down. If something does not change immediately this year Cousins will be looking to get out as soon as possible. This may be their best bet to bring in a good return for a player they know they are going to lose at some point. It will jump start a process that at this point seems inevitable. Time will only tell if this trade will become a reality this season.

Joel Embiid: 2017 Rookie of the Year

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2014. This was the year that Joel Embiid was taken third overall by the Philadelphia 76ers. When Embiid was drafted he had a foot injury that the Sixers were well aware of. The Sixers still took him seeing that his potential out weighed his injury. Embiid was set to make his debut last year, but he started to have set backs in the preseason. Not long after those set backs Embiid needed surgery on the same foot again. This would cost him another season. This year though Embiid is finally fully healthy and set to make his NBA debut.

Since Embiid has yet to play in an NBA game he is technically a rookie. This puts him in contention for this years rookie of the year award. This years draft class was solid, but the top two draft picks were seen as favorites for rookie of the year. Those two players are Brandon Ingram and Embiid's teammate Ben Simmons. Unfortunately for Philadelphia Simmons suffered a broken foot in practice and will be out 3 months. There are rumors that Simmons could sit out the whole 2016-17 season. For now that leaves it a two man race between Ingram and Embiid.

Looking at both players preseason performances Embiid is the favorite for rookie of the year. Embiid is averaging 10.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1 block per game. The craziest part about these numbers is that he is only averaging 14.2 minutes per game. Once he starts to see a bump in minutes his numbers are going to be through the roof. Not only should his numbers improve, but he may be mentally prepared for the season. Embiid has been around the NBA for two seasons now. He might not have played a game, but he knows how things work in the organization. It may or may not help him throughout the season, but it can't hurt to have been around professional basketball players for two seasons.

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For Brandon Ingram he is coming into the league with high expectations. In college he was a great scorer and the Lakers are hoping that will translate to the NBA. So far in the preseason Ingram is averaging 8.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game. For Ingram his numbers will also increase when he starts seeing the floor more each night. Right now he is averaging 24.1 minutes per game. On Wednesday Ingram had 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists in 28 minutes of action. This was easily his best game of the preseason. Expect Ingram to play more and more as the season continues. In fact by December he could be inserted into the starting lineup for the Lakers.

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The difference between Embiid and Ingram will be their immediate impact to their respected teams. Embiid is going to be inserted into the starting lineup right away due to Jahlil Okafor rehabbing a right knee injury he suffered at the end of last season. With Okafor and Simmons both out it will allow Embiid to shine. The Sixers goal is to build chemistry between their young core, but they need to figure out what two of the three big men will be staying long term. Okafor's injury is actually perfect timing for Philadelphia. This will allow them to give as many minutes as they would like to Embiid. This will give them a sense of what Embiid has to offer. Until the whole team is healthy it will be Embiid's show.

For Ingram he will be coming off the bench to start the season. The Lakers want their young core to come together and succeed. For Ingram this means he will not be the focus of what Los Angles is doing. The Lakers will be trying to build a chemistry between D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle, and Ingram.

The way Embiid is playing right now it is hard not to pick him for rookie of the year. Fans have been waiting to see what Embiid can do in the NBA. That time has finally arrived and Philadelphia fans will not be disappointed.

Will Dwight Howard improve this Season?

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After an offseason that saw the Atlanta Hawks lose Al Horford to Boston it was time to shake things up. The Hawks continued with their roster changes by trading Jeff Teague to Indiana and signing Dwight Howard. Dwight Howard had a down season last year. He averaged his lowest points per game and shots per game since his rookie year. He averaged 13.7 points per game on 8.5 field goal attempts per game. Clearly Howard was not a focal point on offense last year. This was a big reason why he opted out with Huston and another reason why he signed with Atlanta. By signing with Atlanta he has the chance to become the number one scoring option for the Hawks. He also would fit very well in a pick and roll with Dennis Schroder. What people should know is that Dwight Howard will see an improvement in numbers this season.

Dwight Howard is averaging 15.7 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 blocks per game during the preseason. He is also averaging these numbers playing only 23 minutes per game. When he starts to play more than 30 minutes a night it is safe to say his numbers will go up more. In fact I'll go out on a limb and say Howard will average 18 points and 12 rebounds this season. From what has been seen in preseason so far Howard will get more touches this season. As a result he will score more points per game.

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Going off of those predictions Howard should be able to get the Hawks into the playoffs and may even have a shot at making the all-star game. A big man duo of Howard and Paul Millsap should work great for Atlanta. Having an athletic big man like Howard would fit well with a stretch four like Millsap. The Hawks will not be title contenders, but they should end up as the 5th or 6th seed at the end of the season. It is hard to see the Hawk getting past the Raptors, Pacers, or Cavaliers. If they face the Celtics there is a slim chance the Hawks could make it to the second round.

In the end Howard was a good pick up for the Hawks. He should have a bounce back season, but he will not be able to lead this Hawks team to a deep playoff run. The Hawks are the wild card for the east. Depending on how well this new roster meshes the Hawks can either end up in the lottery or finish as high as 5th. It should be interesting to see how Howard fits on his new team.

Can LeBron take home the MVP?

Last season Stephen Curry was the first ever unanimous MVP in NBA history. Behind Curry in the voting order was Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James. James has been in the top 10 for MVP votes since he arrived to the league. Being in the MVP discussion is nothing new to James. The real question that fans have is will he win another MVP award? It is uncertain, but next season he has a real chance.

With Kevin Durant joining Stephen Curry one of the two players numbers will suffer, if not both. With that said a drop in Curry's production will keep him from winning another MVP trophy next season. Curry's teammate Durant has a better chance at winning it, but he will have to become the alpha dog on the Warriors.

Unlike the Durant and Curry, LeBron is clearly the alpha dog on his team. And seeing that James has been healthy just about every year, he puts himself in a position to take home the MVP. It won't be easy for James. There are a lot of young rising star in the league that will find themselves in MVP discussion. Players like Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Paul George will be in the discussion. Kevin Durant and Steph Curry will have votes. And if the Timberwolves or Pelicans have a good season, Karl-Anthony Towns or Anthony Davis could find themselves in MVP voting. The list goes on and on. But it all comes down to how well each players team performs.

That is where James has the advantage. Playing in the East means lower level of competition for the Cavaliers. This ultimately helps the with achieving the number one seed. This year though the competition will be higher. The Raptors will be back towards the top again this season and so will the Celtics. And after a big off season, the Pacers will likely be competing for the number one seed in the East. James team should not worry though as they have now built up chemistry that would be missing from those three teams.

Not just the teams play, but James individual play is most important in him winning MVP. James averaged 25.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 6.8 assists last season. As usual these numbers are impressive and if he can keep those numbers around 25, 7, and 7 he has a real shot at winning MVP. Truthfully this year the MVP is really up for grabs. Every year there seems to be a favorite or top three, but this year it can go to anyone depending on how their performance impacts their teams performance. For now I have LeBron James as the front runner for MVP with Paul George in a close second. Paul George has a chance to beat out James due to his team. His team has added a lot of great pieces this offseason and it will help him on offense. His numbers should improve as well as his teams wins. But if James is going to win another MVP before his career is over it would be this season.