Every summer, I go back to a piece I wrote about predictions for the previous season. As much as I think this season has been spot-on, let me assure you that there have also been some hilariously incorrect ones, so it’s a good way to avoid ego death.
As usual, my goal in making these predictions was not to increase my chances of being right, but rather to talk about and speculate on what I thought would be the major themes and issues of the year. For those that I made mistakes, it should serve as a reminder that we are all fallible and deserving of compassion; for the most part, though, it should just serve as a reminder that I’m just a click-clacking bozo with a laptop for a living.
This is the article from which I’m obtaining my predictions, for reference. Overall, though,
I always pick the first bucket of the season because I think the team’s opening play call could hint at a storyline for the upcoming campaign. Although this prediction proved to be incorrect, Dončić’s one-footed fadeaway from the post for the first points of the season did hint at the team’s eventual over-reliance on him this season.
However, I will accept some of the credit for the opening play of the season, which was a well-planned handoff between McGee and Dončić that had the potential to end in a McGee lob pass. That is, until McGee’s poor play execution turned it into a chaotic loose-ball scenario and a missed field goal.
Fans believe that the Mavericks’ bad luck in the clutch should turn around this season and lead to more wins, which is why clutch losses and injuries are at the center of this conversation. On the surface, that is a convincing argument, but what would happen if we actually brought this hypothetical scenario to reality? Are you taking into consideration all the other teams that feel they could have won four or five more games with just a few more breaks? I’m sure Pelicans supporters think they could win a few more games if their players played a little bit more. I’m positive that Thunder supporters think they could have won a few more games if they had activated their second overall pick, Chet Holmgren.
