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ROY) I'm going to be honest, I don't know as much as I should about the upcoming rookie class to make a 100% prediction, but I have done what research I could. The resulting prediction is a bit biased, but I don't believe it is as far-fetched as it may seem at first glance. My prediction: Kelly Olynyk, Gonzaga's star center. He is a seven foot menace with moves similar to Dirk Nowitski's. Although he isn't much of a rebounder, I believe he has the potential to become more aggressive, but he is playing for a Celtics team that is very weak at the center position (his lone backup being Vitor Faverani) and will likely get heavy play his rookie season. This will cause him to have a high rebounds per game average, add that to his impressive offensive skill set and I believe you have the makings for a ROY.
DPOY) I believe that the DPOY is about more than just the amount of steals and blocks you get it is about how well you get into your opponents head and how well you keep them where you want them. Among the best players at doing this are Avery Bradley and Tony Allen, but this year I'm going with a safer pick; Lebron James. Last year Lebron finished second in voting and this year I believe he can push his way to the top. Although he is known for his offense, many forget about his advanced defensive skills. My first memory of Lebron is him chasing down Rondo for a block. He is a tenacious competitor and an underrated defender.
SMOY) At first this seemed like an easy decision since former ROY Tyreke Evans is likely to be coming off the bench this season and he can put up good numbers with the Pelicans, but Pacers forward Lance Stephenson will also probably come off the bench with Danny Granger returning, that said, Lance had a very strong playoff run showing us he can do more than just defend. As it turns out, he's a strong rebounder for a G/F and I believe he can carry out numbers like 12PPG 5RPG 3APG 1SPG in 30 minutes per game or less. with that said I think he is a strong contender for SMOY and he is certainly my pick for 2013-14.
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MIP) Probably the toughest award to predict, this year it seemed to come pretty quickly to me. One of the most promising young studs in the league, Eric Bledsoe, was traded to the Suns who are looking to be the worst team in the league this year. He averaged 14.9 PPG 5.2 RPG 5.4 APG and 2.5 SPG per 36 last year as Chris Paul's backup and I believe he can put up similar numbers at around 15 PPG 5 RPG 6 APG and 2.5 SPG this year for the Suns.
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