NBA: 10 Bold Predictions for the 2011-2012 NBA Season

NBA seasons are always filled with questions, expectations and predictions.

Is this the year LeBron wins a ring?

Will the Lakers lose supremacy in Los Angeles to the Clippers?

Will Derrick Rose continue to blaze his own legacy in Chicago?

Will the Minnesota Timberwolves ever be good? 

Some predictions and answers to questions are a lot bolder than most others, and here are my bold predictions for the 2011-2012 NBA Season.

The Golden State Warriors Will Make the Playoffs

Mark Jackson has turned this team around completely.

They're actually playing defense now, and it's been turning out well for the Warriors so far. In a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, they played amazingly on defense in the first half, even though it fell off a little in the second half.

Monday against the Chicago Bulls, they controlled reigning MVP Derrick Rose and kept him under constant pressure, forcing him and his team into a very bad shooting night.

They are also still a formidable offensive team. Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis are still the huge scoring threats they've always been and David Lee is finally producing the numbers the Warriors were hoping for when they signed him. They're also getting help from Dorell Wright and Brandon Rush on offense.

This new found combination of defense and great offense will help propel them into the playoffs and maybe even further. Expect them to be this year's Memphis Grizzlies.

Carmelo Anthony Will Be the League Leader in Fourth Quarter Points

Carmelo Anthony is just a beast. Can anyone doubt this guy's scoring talent?

Kevin Durant should be taking notes, because I think Carmelo's the league's best scorer, even if he doesn't average the most points.

No one else has the combination of post skills, shooting skills, ability to take it to the rim, isolation play and ability to get to the line that Anthony does.

As evident in the season opener, Carmelo can score, especially in the fourth quarter. He had a game-high 37 points, and 17 of those came in the fourth quarter alone.

I have a  feeling he's going to keep carving up defenses like that for the rest of the season, and he'll be flying under the radar as the league's best scorer yet again while Durant takes the spotlight.

The Indiana Pacers Will Finish with the Fourth Seed in the East

This is a talented group of players.

Atlanta's not getting any better, and it basically the same team it's been producing for years.

Boston's season is not looking good so far—injuries are already hurting them, and the chemistry might be affected by the Rondo trade rumors.

Orlando is probably going to lose Dwight Howard by season's end, and Philadelphia hasn't made any significant changes to its roster.

The only teams left in the East that will be better than the Indiana Pacers are the Miami Heat, the Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks.

The addition of David West was huge for them, and Tyler Hansbrough and Roy Hibbert have been impressive early on. Most importantly, Paul George is breaking out early this year, which is important, as he will soon be the leader of this team.

The Minnesota Timberwolves Will Continue to Disappoint

The Timberwolves just aren't going to get significantly better this season.

Many people believe they will succeed this year with the additions of Ricky Rubio and Derrick Williams. Those people are wrong.

Both are outstanding players with bright futures in the league, but they're still rookies that will have little impact this year. 

The T-Wolves have already started off slow, which is a bad sign in a shortened season like this one. They are going to have to pick up the pace if they hope to improve.

Beasley's got to go so that they can find Derrick Williams time, and they need to fix the log jam at the guard positions to get Rubio time too.

I wonder what Kevin Love is thinking of the team right now.

New Jersey Will Not Pull off a Big Trade

All hope went flying out the window when Brook Lopez went down.

There is no way they can pull off a trade for Dwight now, as Lopez was the centerpiece of their offer. Five draft picks just won't cut it. 

With no hope for Dwight, they have almost no hope to keep Deron Williams in town now. He'll probably play his way out of town by the deadline or sign somewhere else once his contracts up this off season.

Once Lopez is back, they can try to revisit the trade for Dwight, if he's still in Orlando.  But the chances of him staying until Lopez is back are getting very slim.

The Chicago Bulls Will Look to Trade One of Their Big Men

At this point, it seems Carlos Boozer is the more obvious choice to trade, if they can find someone willing to take him.

He's regressed a lot quickly, and I don't think he can be a legitimate second option on a championship contender.

He's also not worth the money he's inked to make over the next four to five years, so it would be smart to talk some team into a trade.

I vote for the Timberwolves, since David Kahn is still the General Manager down there in Minnesota.

Hey, you never know, maybe they'd send Beasley and a point guard over to Chicago for Boozer and a draft pick. You never know with David Kahn.

The Thunder Will Be the First Seed in the West but Will Not Make the Finals

The Oklahoma City Thunder are a seriously stacked team. Few teams can match the talent they put out every single night.

Kevin Durant, Russel Westbrook, James Harden, Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins are a formidable group of players to go against, combined with solid role players off the bench.

I see chemistry issues being a problem. Durant needs to assert his position as the clear leader of the team, and Westbrook needs to focus less and less on scoring and more on defense and facilitating. 

Oklahoma also needs a good, serviceable veteran to come off the bench that can act as both a glue guy and as a contributor on the team.

The lack of the veteran presence in the locker room becomes very apparent at times for the Thunder. I expect them to be the first seed, but they won't make it to the finals, yet.

The Dallas Mavericks Will Not Make the Playoffs

I think Dallas's slow start is really going to harm their chances of making the postseason. They changed way too much about the team to contend, especially with such a short training camp.

They added Vince Carter, Delonte West, Lamar Odom and Brandon Wright while losing huge pieces of their team in Caron Butler, Tyson Chandler, JJ Barea and Deshawn Stevenson.

They're having a huge identity crisis right now, as outside of Dirk and Jason Kidd, no one really seems to know what their role is.

It's okay, because this offseason they're probably going to go after both Dwight Howard and Deron Williams—if they land even one of them, they might be championship contenders again. Maybe.

Kyle Lowry Will Become a Top-Five Point Guard

Kyle Lowry has become a stat-sheet stuffer this year! He's playing completely out of his mind so far, besides for his low field goal percentage.

He's rebounding better than some centers at this point and is leading the league in assists and steals per game. He's also kept his turnovers generally low for someone who's always making plays at three per game compared to the higher numbers of Rajon Rondo and John Wall, both averaging about one more turnover per game than Lowry, while also assisting on less shots then Lowry.

His poor shooting will probably improve. He's shown that he can shoot, as he is averaging better than 90 percent at the free throw line. His shooting skills haven't been shown off just yet from the field, due to shot selection, which will also improve as he gets more accustomed to having the ball so much.

He's showing himself to be a leader for this young Rockets team, and this is truly his breakout season. If he keeps this up for the season, he'll join the ranks of Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose as one of the five best point guards in the league.

A Team Not from Miami, Los Angeles, OKC, New York or Chicago Will Win the Finals

I think a dark horse contender from a small market will come out on top this year.

Maybe it'll be the Trailblazers, who are the best team in the West right now even though they lost their star player to retirement and are missing another season from Greg Oden.

Maybe it will be the aforementioned Indiana Pacers, who have a lot of good production from every position, proven All-Stars and up-and-coming star Paul George.

Maybe it'll be the Orlando Magic, who might just win it all after improved play early on from Hedo Turkoglu, one of the key pieces from their trip to the Finals in 2009.

I can see any of these teams, or maybe other small market teams like San Antonio, emerging as the champions this year.