NBA Predictions: Who Will Lead the League in What?

Sure, Rings are important, but a player is usually only as good as his stats. 

Statistics help determine a lot in this league. They are the deciding factors for when player's receive awards, contracts and etc. 

So we're going to look at every single statistical category (excluding turnovers) and see who's in the best position to lead and will end up leading the league in that particular category. 

Let's get started shall we....

Points Per Game

Top 5 contenders (in no particular order)

Kobe Bryant (27.0) - What can't he do? Bryant has one of the deadliest mid-range jumpers in the game today and is a superbly streaky shooter from beyond the arc. He doesn't have the same explosiveness he once did but has added an unstoppable fade-away to his repertoire to offset it. Bryant is one of the greatest scorers of the decade and there's no reason to think he won't continue doing the same. 

Kevin Durant (30.1)  - Last year's scoring leader will look to defend his title. There's no reason to think that he won't either. Durant's got one of the purest strokes in the game. He can hit the mid-range J with ease and can step out to the 3pt line and drain it from there as well. He's got the ability to drive to the rack and finish, while also being a great shooter from the free-throw line. Durant can do it all on the offensive end. 

Carmelo Anthony (28.2) - Similar to Durant, Anthony has the complete offensive package. He's got an excellent jumper which is not only effective from mid-range but also from beyond the arc. In the paint, Melo is just a bully, being able to overpower his opponents and drive to the rack and finish. No matter where melo ends up, his scoring will most probably stay the same.  

Dwyane Wade (26.6) - Even with the addition of Lebron James and Chris Bosh, Wade's role is still primarly the same and that's to put the ball in the basket. Wade has an unmatched driving ability and is one the best finishers in the game. His mid-range is second to none and Wade can hit 3s with the best of them when he's on. Look for Wade to lead the Heat in scoring and be one of the top 5 scorers in the NBA. 

Dirk Nowitzki (25.0)- The Mavs are still pretty much the same team, and that means Dirk's role hasn't changed. He's still the team's primary option on the offensive end and he's perfect for the role. His shooting for a player his size is unmatched. Nowitzki can also stretch out to the 3 if needed and has one of the deadliest fade-aways in the game. His height makes him impossible to defend so look for Dirk to be one of the top scorers in the league once again. 

Honorable mention: Lebron James, Danny Granger, Amar'e Stoudemire. 

Winner: Kevin Durant

Simply put, Kevin Durant is a scoring machine. 

The reigning scoring champ will most likely repeat next year and up his scoring average by a couple more points as he continue's to be the Thunder's main go-to-guy and enter them into the upper echelon of the West. 

Kobe Bryant will probably be Durant's biggest competition but he's got more than enough offensive options on his team to take away from his scoring. Plus Kobe's got a lot of miles on his body and may be 1 or 2 injuries away from missing a whole lot of action. 

It's difficult to say whether or not Carmelo will be a huge threat to Durant in terms of scoring because of how uncertain his situation is. Melo is not content with the Nuggets and until his situation is resolved, he won't pose a threat to Durant. 

Lebron James took his talents to Miami this summer and basically took himself out of the scoring race for the near future. He essentially took Dwyane Wade with him as well, as there won't be nearly enough basketballs in Miami for Wade and James to both reach last year's scoring numbers. Look for a dip in both Wade and James's scoring totals. 

That leaves Dirk Nowitzki, who's never lead the league in scoring but has always been near the top. There's no reason to think that will change. 

Look for Durant to take home the scoring title with ease as he will lead the league and score somewhere from 30-33 points per game. 

Rebounds Per Game

Top 5 contenders (in no particular order)

Pau Gasol (11.3) - Gasol is one of the best rebounders in the game and he showed it last year by averaging 11+ boards. He's got long arms and a great reach which makes rebounding particularly easy for him. With Bynum usually hurt and on the bench, look for Gasol to gobble up most of the rebounds for the Lakers as he is not only their best big man but also their best rebounder. 

Dwight Howard (13.2) - Last year leader in rebounds per game, Dwight Howard is simply a beast on the boards. His size and strength are unmatched which allows him to overpower his oppenents and grab rebounds with ease. Howard really has no competition from the PF spot with Rashard Lewis, as Lewis likes to stay on the perimeter and knock down the 3 ball. Look for Howard to continue dominating the glass. 

David Lee (11.7) - David Lee has a knack for rebounding the ball, plain and simple. His new situation in Golden State should help keep him atop the league leaders in rebounds as he's only got Andris Biedrins as competition for his boards. Lee has got great hands and a great motor which allows him to keep getting rebounds. 

Kevin Love (11.0) - Similar to Lee, Love also has a knack for rebounding the ball. He's got great hands and feet, which allow him to move well for a man his size and grab rebounds. The don't call him Mr. Glass Cleaner in Minnesota for nothing. 

Joakim Noah (11.0) - Noah is easily one of the best rebounders in the game. He's got an unstoppable motor that allows him to keep pursuing the boards over and over again. He can do it on the offensive and defensive glass and while the addition of Boozer to the Bulls frontcourt may have an affect on Noah's rebounding, it shouldn't be nearly enough to keep him out of being the top 5 rebounders in the league. 

Honorable mention: Andrew Bogut, Carlos Boozer, Zach Randolph. 

Winner: Dwight Howard

Similar to the scoring title, the rebounding crown should be an easy one to determine. Dwight Howard takes the cake easily. 

His size and strength are second to none and the fact that the Magic run a 4-1 offense only allows Howard to gobble up as many boards due to the fact that the other four players are all on the perimeter. Howard is a monster on the offensive and defensive glass and can jump with the best of them. Dwight Howard is the best rebounder in the NBA no doubt. 

Pau Gasol, Kevin Love, David Lee and Joakim Noah are all serious contenders to Howard when it comes to rebounding but they all have flaws who don't allow them to rebound at the rate Howard does. 

Gasol has another 7 footer in Bynum on the front-line who averages a good 7-9 rebounds a game, as well as Lamar Odom, who's also got a knack for rebounding the ball. 

Love's also got a decent set of rebounders on his team in Michael Beasley, Darko Milicic and etc. He also had trouble getting minutes last year as he came off the bench. It will be up to Coach Rambis to see if he wants to start Love or Beasley because depending on his minutes, Love's rebounding rate could be affected. 

David Lee should run wild in Golden State but he's also got a very good double-digit rebounder on his side in Andris Biedrins. Joakim Noah's situation is the same way with Carlos Boozer. 

Dwight Howard leads the league easily with around 12-15 boards a game. 

Assists Per Game

Top 5 contenders (in no particular order)

Deron Williams (10.5) - Williams doesn't have Boozer, Korver or Matthews to dish the ball to, but he's got Al Jefferson, Raja Bell and Gordon Hayward, that should be more than enough for Williams' to continue his passing ways and be atop the league in assists. Williams has supreme vision added with his magical ball-handling that make him of the best passers in the game. 

Chris Paul (10.7) - Paul was out for a good portion of the year or he may have lead the league in assists once again. Paul also has great vision and absurdly good ball-handling skills that allow him to find his man anywhere on the court. He's got Ariza as his new wingman, as well as bigs in West, Okafor and shooters in Thorton and Stojakovic, which should be more than enough to keep him among the league leaders in assists. 

Steve Nash (11.0) - Last year's leading assist man. Simply put, Nash has eyes in the back of his head. He got the unkeen ability to pass the ball with his left, just as strong as with his right hand and his passion vision is second to none. He doesn't have a dominant big like Amar'e anymore but he's got other option in Turkoglu, Richardson, Hill and etc. 

Rajon Rondo (9.8) - Rondo almost averaged double-digit assists last year. He's got huge hands which allow him to do unbelievable fakes with the ball. His vision is great as well and he's got even more option this year with Shaq, Jermaine, Wafer added with Pierce, Garnett, Allen, Perkins and etc. 

Lebron James (8.6) - It's scary to think but Lebron James could very well lead the league in assists. He finished 6th last year with an absurd 8.6 dimes per game with mediocre talent on his team. Now imagine what he could average with Wade and Bosh at his arsenal. Unreal...

Honorable mention: Jason Kidd, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook.

Winner: Chris Paul

Chris Paul isn't going anywhere....for now. Atleast

That's why he'll lead the league in assists this year. Last year, Paul was hit by the injury bug and had to miss a good portion of the season but was still able to finish top 5 in assists. This season, barring injury, Paul should be able to reclaim his spot as the top assist man in the league. 

His team is relatively the same but they've added one key player in Trevor Ariza, who is the athletic swingman Paul has never had. Now with a group of Thorton, Ariza, West and Okafor, Paul should have enough talent to once again lead the league in assists. It won't be easy though. 

Deron Williams remains Paul's main competitor and if last season was an indication, he may surpass Paul. He was clearly the superior player to Chris Paul but only due to Paul being out for most of the season. Williams' team has lessened in talent with the additions of Jefferson, Bell and Hayward but that shouldn't stop Williams from once again being near the top of the league in assists and averaging 10+ dimes per game. 

Steve Nash can only play like an All-Star for so long. Fortunately, this probably won't be the season he drops off. Nash lost his long time pick n roll parter in Amar'e Stoudemire but the Suns management were able to bring in some decent talent with point forward Hedo Turkoglu, high-flyer Hakim Warrick and energy player Josh Childress. Look for Nash to still be near the top 

Rajon Rondo has even more options this year than he did last year as the Celtics reloaded with Shaquille and Jermaine O'neal and added key pieces in Von Wafer and rookies Avery Bradley and Luke Harangody. Rondo may very well climb to the top of the assist chart.

Lebron James is the X-factor here. He could very well lead the league in assists or he may not. It all depends on how he embraces his role. If he does however chose to play point for the Heat, for the majority of the time he's on the floor, Look out. There's no reason to think James can't average double-digit assists with Wade and Bosh at his side. 

Steals Per Game

Top 5 contenders (in no particular order)

Dwyane Wade (1.84) - Wade finished 5th last year in this category and there's no reason to think he won't stay there. Wade has great ball instincts and amazing man-to-man coverage which allows him to strip the ball the majority of the time his man drives. 

Chris Paul (2.13) - Paul has arguably the quickest hands in the league and lead the league in steals before. He could very well do it again if he just stayed healthy. 

Rajon Rondo (2.33) - Rondo lead the league in steals last year with his tenacious on-ball defense and his great defensive IQ. He's the best defender at his position, period. 

Jason Kidd (1.81) - Kidd is always a great thief and will continue to use his veteran smarts to keep himself among the league's top steals leaders. 

Monta Ellis (2.23) - Monta, similar to most of the players on this list has great insticts and get's in the passing lanes very well, allowing him to pick off passes very easily. 

Honorable mention: Stephen Curry, Lebron James, Ronnie Brewer. 

Winner: Rajon Rondo

Rondo lead the league last year in steals and will defend his crown as the league's top thief. 

His massive hands allow him to pick pockets very quickly and his persistent on-ball defense lets him reach the ball with ease. 

Rondo also plays the passing lanes very well and rarely gets noticed as most of the attention is drawn to Boston's big 3 in Garnett, Pierce and Allen. 

Look for Rondo to lead the league in this category once again by averaging 2.5+ steals per game. 

Blocks Per Game

Top 5 contenders (in no particular order)

Dwight Howard (2.78) - Dwight is gifted in two areas immensely. One is rebounding, the other is shot-blocking. No one is better in the league at spiking the basketball. Howard has great timing and length and lead the league in blocks last year. 

Andrew Bogut (2.54) - Bogut, similar to Howard has great timing and he's got the ability to on-ball block his man. His post defense is great and Bogut can alter almost every shot in the paint. 

Josh Smith (2.12) - Smith is one of the best weak-side blockers in the league. He's also excellent at trail-down swats. He finished 4th last year in blocks. 

Brendan Haywood (1.69) - Haywood has uncommonly great timing and post-defense, which allow him to swat shots with the best of them. He finished top 5 in blocked shots last year and should be near that mark once again. 

Greg Oden (2.29) - Oden was a blocking machine last year until he got hurt. Simply put, Oden can lead the league in blocks if and that's a big IF, he stays healthy. 

Honorable mention: Marcus Camby, Chris Anderson, Brook Lopez. 

Winner: Dwight Howard

Howard takes the shot-blocking title once again. 

His timing and length are too great for his opponents as he looks like he's sometimes playing volleyball out on the court. 

Dwight not only swats shots but can sometimes palm them as well. His post-defense is superior to any center in the league and his weak-side blocking is downright scary. Howard is a beast on defense, plain and simple. 

Back-to-back defensive player of the year should say it all. 

Top 3pt %

Top 5 contenders (in no particular order)

Kyle Korver (53%) - Korver lead the league last year with an absurd 53%. He can very well repeat his performance, seeing as how he's the only legitimate 3pt shooter on the Bulls. 

Mike Miller (48%) - Mike Miller better be the near the top of the league in this category. I say better because when you have Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on your team, your going to get plently of looks. Did I mention they were going to be OPEN looks. 

Anthony Morrow (46%) - Morrow's got a great stroke from beyond the arc and he's shown that every year. If he get's the right amount of minutes, look for him to be near the top in this category. 

Channing Fyre (44%) - Frye was a monster from 3pt land last year and hopefully will continue to be the same. His 44% from deep is just unfair compared to other shooting big men. 

Steve Nash (43%) - Steve Nash is always consistent from 3, shooting above 40% for the majority of his career. That's why he's on this list. 

Honorable mention: Jared Dudley, Raja Bell, Stephen Curry. 

Winner: Mike Miller

There is no reason Mike Miller should not lead the league in 3pt%. 

He's got pretty much the easiest job in the NBA. 

Stand behind the 3pt line, wait for your man to go cover either a driving Dwyane Wade/Lebron James or a posted-up Chris Bosh and wait for the kickout. 

Then receive the ball and shoot the OPEN 3 pointer. 

Mike Miller has got this category in the bag. 

Top Field-Goal %

Top 5 contenders (in no particular order)

Dwight Howard (61%) - A statistical beast. Howard almost always shoots near the paint and rarely goes outside his comfort zone, allowing him to shoot a high percentage, but he also takes a ton of shots as the Magic's No. 1 option on offense. 

Andris Biedrins (59%) - Biedrins is always near the top in this category because he gets all his points off of garbage buckets and put-backs.

Joakim Noah (51%) - Noah wasn't particularly impressive in this category last year but it should change this year with a certain big by the name of Carlos Boozer to allow Noah to go back to being the hustle-man in the post. 

Kendrick Perkins (60%) - Perkins takes very few shots, but they're all good shots. That's why he's on this list. 

Tyson Chandler (57%) - Chandler also doesn't like to roam outside the paint and will get the majority of his baskets on put-backs and dunks. 

Honorable mention: Greg Oden, DeAndre Jordan, Robin Lopez. 

Winner: Joakim Noah

This one may seem as a bit of a reach but it's really isn't. 

Noah, as sad as it may seem, was one of the Bulls highest offensive options in the paint with his hook shots, jumpers and etc. 

That however should change immediately with Carlos Boozer coming to town. Boozer will assume the role of the main offensive option in the post and allow Noah to roam around and what he does best: hustle, defend and score easy buckets. 

Noah should get plenty of easy buckets in the paint with defenses focused on stopping Boozer. He'll lead the league in this category, but not by much. 

Top Free-Throw %

Top 5 contenders (in no particular order)

Ray Allen (91%) - Pure from the line. The only time Ray misses is when you blink. 

Dirk Nowitzki (92%) - Nowitzki is always terrific from the line with his great stroke. Look for the same. 

Chauncey Billups (91%) - Billups has one of the quickest releases but it's also one of the purest. A deadly free-throw shooter. 

Steve Nash (94%) - Nash is the epitome of consistently from the line, always at the top or near the top in free-throw percentage. 

Kevin Durant (90%) - Durant took the most free-throws out of any player last year and made a remarkable 90% of them. That's just unreal. 

Honorable mention: Jose Calderon, Mo Williams, Peja Stojakovic. 

Winner: Steve Nash

This category is difficult to predict but I expect Nash to continue to stroke it from the line and lead the league, like he did last year. 

He's a great shooter from the line and has a flawless routine, that never changes. 

When Steve Nash steps to the line, there's only one thing that happens....

SWISH!

Most Double Doubles

Top 5 contenders (in no particular order)

Dwight Howard (64) - Howard ran away with double doubles in the league with 64 out of 82 games. He can easily score 10+ points and grab 10+ rebounds so this should be a no brainer. 

Pau Gasol (40) - Pau was a beast on the glass and in double-doubles. He would have more double-doubles if he wasn't injury so much last year. 

Kevin Love (36) - Love didn't get as many minutes as he should've, but when he did, he produced. He had potential to have more if he didn't miss significant time with an injury. 

David Lee (52) - Lee was neck and neck with Howard last year but fizzed out near the end. Look for him to be near the top in this category. 

Carlos Boozer (55) - It may be difficult for Boozer to repeat his performance from last year with a superb rebounder in Joakim Noah on his team, but it is possible. 

Honorable mention: Zach Randolph, Tim Duncan, Chris Bosh

Winner: David Lee

I'm picking David Lee over Dwight Howard for a couple of reasons. 

Andris Biedrins is really the only threat Lee has on his own team for rebounds and Biedrins is injury-prone so he may miss significant time, allowing Lee to keep the boards to himself. 

The Warriors lost most of their rebounders when they traded for David Lee, himself. They lost Turiaf and Randolph, two of their most productive rebounders. 

The Warriors are a relatively thin in the frontcourt with only Biedrins, Wright and Ekpe Udoh. Lee is clearly the best rebounder out of them all and knowing how easily injury-prone those three players are, it's easier to see why Lee should be able to lead the league in double-double. 

Lee should win this category over Howard, but not by much. 

Most Triple Doubles

Top 5 contenders (in no particular order)

Jason Kidd (2) - He's always a threat when it comes to triple-double but age and playing time to younger players (roddy beaubois) may make if difficult for him to lead the league. 

Rajon Rondo (2) - Rondo, just recently become a triple-double threat as well but rebounds will be hard to come on a team with Garnett, Perkins, Shaq and Jermaine O'neal. 

Lebron James (5) - James, who lead the league last year could very well lead the league again. Points and assists should be a given but rebounds may be more difficult than you think. 

Chris Paul (1) - Paul is another do-it-all type of guard and he could come up with one or two triple doubles, but not much more. 

Stephen Curry (1) - Curry was amazing in his rookie year and looks to become a nightly triple-double threat, but it's too early for him to lead the league in this category. 

Honorable mention: Josh Smith, Russell Westbrook, Tyreke Evans. 

Winner: Lebron James

This one was too easy. 

Lebron James should run away with this category as he could AVERAGE a triple double for the entire season. 

His points may drop off but not nearly enough to where they are single digits. So look for 22+ ppg for James. 

Assists should be on the rise this year with two other stars on his team. Look for James to average 9-10 assists per game. 

Rebounds will pose the most difficulty for James as the Heat have plently of bigs, whose only role will be to rebound the ball. The Heat have Joel Anthony, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Jamaal Magloire, Juwan Howard and Dexter Pittman in that role. 

Look for James to average around his usual 7-8 boards. 

Even so, those stats are good enough to easily lead the league in triple-doubles.

This one is a no contest.