As another baseball season winds down, the NBA season looms.  To the dismay of Heat fans everywhere, LeBron James returned to Cleveland, joining forces with budding superstar Kyrie Irving and sharpshooting big man Kevin Love.  The trio is instantly expected to compete for championships, and faces little competition in the Eastern Conference yet again.  The biggest competitors to King James are the Chicago Bulls, led by a revitalized Derrick Rose and defensive stalwart Joakim Noah.  Each of the Eastern finalists from last year—The Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat—figures to regress this year.  The Pacers lost versatile swingman Lance Stephenson in free agency to the Charlotte Hornets—yes, the Charlotte Hornets—and saw star forward Paul George suffer a gruesome leg injury during a Team USA exhibition match.

  Meanwhile, the Miami Heat retooled in the offseason, responding to the loss of James by adding former all-star Luol Deng and extending star forward Chris Bosh for 5 years/$122 million.  While future Hall of Famer Ray Allen is unlikely to return to the team, the Heat signed key role players to replace him.  On the first day of free agency, GM Pat Riley sniped two players to fortify the Miami bench: former all-star Danny Granger and former Duke standout Josh McRoberts.  In the NBA Draft, Miami nabbed former UConn point guard Shabazz Napier, the darling of last year’s March Madness tourney.  While analysts continue to discount the Heat’s title chances, the addition of prominent veterans still gives Miami a legitimate shot to come out of the East yet again.

   In the West, the road to the Finals still runs through San Antonio.  The seemingly ageless Spurs continue to pile up conference titles, and are poised to continue the trend this year.  While the Western Conference is as deep as ever, only reigning MVP Kevin Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder appear to have the ammunition to topple the defending champions.  Golden State opted not to trade for Love, keeping sharpshooters Steph Curry and Klay Thompson together for yet another season.  After getting knocked off by the eventual champion Spurs in the first round last year, the Dallas Mavericks made a couple major moves in the offseason, swiping center Tyson Chandler from the Knicks and emerging star forward Chandler Parsons from the Rockets.  Naturally, the Rockets responded by signing defensive specialist Trevor Ariza from Washington, completing a spinning carousel of small forward signings.

Predictions:

Most Improved Teams:

Charlotte Hornets- After signing Stephenson and drafting Noah Vonleh, the newly branded Hornets should compete for the Eastern conference title this season.  Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker lead a talented, young core that’s ready to emerge in a weak East.

Milwaukee Bucks- Despite finishing with the worst record in the NBA last season, Milwaukee will return to the playoffs this year.  Lead by new head coach Jason Kidd, the Bucks will be the NBA’s most improved team.  Healthy, productive years from Larry Sanders, OJ Mayo, and Brandon Knight will ensure improvement from the Bucks—and did we mention that they drafted rookie sensation Jabari Parker with their first round pick?

Minnesota Timberwolves- The T’Wolves are locked in a tough conference, and just traded their superstar forward, so why are they here?  Simple: they received a massive haul for Love, including 2014 first overall pick Andrew Wiggins, 2013 first overall pick Anthony Bennett, and forward Thaddeus Young.  While many are predicting an ugly season for Minnesota, they will be in the hunt for a playoff spot until the end of the season.

New Orleans Pelicans- Despite being led by star forward Anthony Davis, the Pelicans have yet to experience any kind of success under their new name.  That’s set to change this year, as newly-acquired Omer Asik will tandem with Davis to create the best defensive frontcourt in the NBA.  Factor in the imposing guard trio of Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon, and Tyreke Evans, and New Orleans will be celebrating a playoff berth later this year.

Award Predictions:

Most Improved Player: Anthony Bennett, Minnesota Timberwolves

Sixth Man of the Year: Jeremy Lin, Los Angeles Lakers

Rookie of the Year: Jabari Parker, Milwaukee Bucks

Coach of the Year: Steve Clifford, Charlotte Hornets

Defensive Player of the Year: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans

Most Valuable Player: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers

Playoff Predictions:

East:

(1)Cavaliers over (5)Heat

(2)Bulls over (3)Hornets

(2) Bulls over (1)Cavaliers

West:

(1)Spurs over (4)Rockets

(6)Mavericks over (2)Thunder

(1)Spurs over (6)Mavericks

NBA Finals: Spurs over Bulls in 5 games.