6 bold predictions for the 2017-18 NBA season

Generic predictions can be quite drab and, well, predictable, so here are six somewhat off-the-wall - yet completely defensible - prognostications for the 2017-18 NBA season.

No Finals rematch

History was made last season when Golden State and Cleveland squared off in the Finals for a third straight year, and while they remain the favorites to do so again, a lot has changed that should keep that from happening.

The Western Conference is much deeper and will undoubtedly pose more of a challenge for the reigning champs, while the Cavaliers are incorporating a ton of new pieces with their fair share of red flags. The physical and emotional toll that comes from playing that deep that many times in a row could also afflict key members of both squads. Teams like the Celtics, Wizards, Thunder, Rockets, and Spurs will not go quietly into the night. - Chris Walder

Minnesota misses the playoffs ... again

With the talent at their disposal, the expectation should definitely be for the Timberwolves to make the playoffs. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. They owned the NBA's fifth-worst defense (worse than the Knicks!) last season and were comically bad in clutch scenarios.

Introducing responsible adults like Jimmy Butler, Jeff Teague, and Taj Gibson should take the pressure off their young core, but the Timberwolves have to find that balance immediately in a ruthlessly competitive Western Conference or they'll get left behind. Minnesota is also short on depth (it's not like Tom Thibodeau has a habit of overworking his players or anything) and has four players in its starting lineup who always want the ball. The Wolves haven't made the playoffs since the Kevin Garnett era (2004). You can never just assume postseason appearances for this franchise. - William Lou

Milos Teodosic leads NBA in assists

Chris Paul may be gone, but the Los Angeles Clippers won't lose much in terms of entertainment value at point guard. Milos Teodosic is on the scene and showed throughout the preseason that the show will be as good as ever in Los Angeles.

The 30-year-old Serbian star will run the Clippers' offense - with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan the beneficiaries of his slick passing - and will look to shoot much less than Paul did. With CP3 now sharing assists in Houston with James Harden, and the Oklahoma City Thunder's additions of Paul George and Carmelo Anthony sure to take the ball out of Russell Westbrook's hands a few times, Teodosic will shoot to the top of the assist chart and keep fans around the league entertained in the process. - Dane Belbeck

Either Raptors or Wizards top the East

Until LeBron's annual spring demolition of the East, there's a regular season to be played, and Cleveland starts it with whatever's left of Derrick Rose and the ghost of Dwyane Wade in the backcourt. Boston, meanwhile, surely needs time to figure out an undersized, defensively challenged roster that brings back just four players from last year's East finalist.

Enter Toronto and Washington. The Raptors, who've won more regular season games than any East team over the last four years, would've landed the 1-seed last year had Kyle Lowry stayed healthy, while the Wizards can lean on the fact that only the Warriors are bringing back more 2016-17 minutes to 2017-18 - particularly encouraging for a Washington team that closed last season on an East-best 42-20 tear after a terrible start. - Joseph Casciaro

The Bucks earn a top-3 seed

The young Bucks need a big year, and health permitting, they'll get it behind the ascending Giannis Antetokounmpo and a rehabilitated Khris Middleton.

Missing Jabari Parker until the new year hurts, but Milwaukee went 19-10 - a 53-win pace - with Middleton in the lineup last season, and even if the Bucks' ceiling is a bit lower than that, it should still be enough to grab third in the conference and home court in the first round (the East's third seed has averaged 49.2 wins over the last five years). - John Chick

Giannis becomes an MVP finalist

Vegas tabbed Antetokounmpo as the sixth-most likely candidate to be crowned MVP after he made history last season as the first player to finish in the top 20 in every major statistical category. He's the only MVP candidate who doesn't play alongside a star, so the Bucks will go as far as his freakishly long limbs can take them.

If the 22-year-old phenom carries Milwaukee to one of the East's top spots, there's no reason he shouldn't finish in the top three in voting, if not become one of the youngest players to claim the Maurice Podoloff Trophy. He's up for the challenge, which was issued by Kobe Bryant himself. - Victoria Nguyen