The NBA season begins Tuesday, October 17, 2017, with many fun and interesting games. A lot has happened this past summer in free agency which makes this NBA season one to watch.

The main question everybody has on their mind is: Who will stop the Warriors? We have seen many teams assembled to compete and possibly defeat the Golden State Warriors this offseason. It shall be interesting to see how these teams match up against the Warriors.

Here are my predictions for the NBA Finals, Western and Eastern Conference matchups, Rookie of the Year and more:

Eastern Conference Championship

There has been a lot of speculation that Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics will meet Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Although that may be interesting, I am predicting the Washington Wizards and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The All-star duo of John Wall and Bradley Beal will defeat the Boston Celtics in the 1st round of the NBA playoffs and challenge the Cavaliers. Ultimately, it comes down to will and talent and Wizards have what it takes to compete against Lebron and the Cav's.

The Cavaliers will win a tough fought series 4-2.

Western Conference Championship

I am expecting the Golden State Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder to meet in the Western Conference Finals.

From the observation of the Thunder so far, Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, and Paul George have great team chemistry.

I expect that chemistry to get a lot better by the time the Playoffs come around.

The Warriors are talented with Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. A team with good talent like will find a way to win and compete for a second straight championship.

Assuming all players are 100 percent healthy, I am picking the Warriors to beat the Thunder 4-3 in a controversial game 7.

2018 NBA Finals

In this year's NBA Finals, I expect to see the Warriors and Cavaliers for the 4th straight year. The Warriors are looking to repeat as NBA Champions (something neither team has done since meeting in the 2015 NBA Finals) while Lebron James and the Cavaliers are looking to avenge their loss to the Warriors last year.

I expect this year's NBA Finals to be more competitive than last year's. I am also expecting both teams to play better. The Warriors are the favorites to win the Finals this year but I believe Lebron James and Dwayne Wade will find a way to defeat the Warriors.

I am predicting the Cavaliers to win the series 4-2 with Lebron James winning his 4th NBA Finals MVP.

NBA Most Valuable Player

Russell Westbrook looks to repeat as MVP this NBA season but will have a lot of other great players looking to stop him.

Lebron James, Joel Embid, John Wall and Anthony Davis are great players who pose the biggest threat to winning the MVP.

I am choosing John Wall to win the 2018 NBA MVP because he had a good season last year and is going to play at a higher level this season.

Rookie of the Year

There has been a lot of hype around this year's NBA rookie class. With players such as Lonzo Ball, De'aaron Fox, Jordan Bell and others, it will be hard to decide who will win the Rookie of the Year.

Ultimately, I am choosing Lonzo Ball to win the Rookie of the Year with De'aaron Fox coming in second. I believe Ball's role on the Los Angelos Lakers will help propel him to Rookie of the Year.

Defensive Player of the Year

Draymond Green won 2017 DPY and looks to prove why he should win it again. Rudy Gobert finished second to Green in last years DPY voting but is wanting to show how much of a value he is to his team defensively.

I am choosing Green to win DPY this year because of his role and value to the Warriors.

Some argue that Green in the heart of the Warriors and the reason that he is because of his defense.

Coach of the Year

This is a hard one to predict mainly because you will find out more about each NBA team as the season goes on. Great coaches such as Steve Kerr, Gregg Popovich, and others will be in the running to win coach of the year this season.

I am predicting Brad Stevens to win coach of the year because I believe the Celtics will have a great season with the young talent they have.
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