The 2015-2016 NBA season is finally under way, and fans across the nation are waiting in anticipation for what this season has in store for their favorite teams.

Since the Golden State Warriors won the NBA 2014-2015 championship, this upcoming season brings anticipation to its viewers on who will be the next champion.

“It’s exciting that this season has finally officially begun. There were a lot of trades that happened over the summer – more than usual which has made it very interesting,” Lindsay Goldblatt, head coach of the Regals basketball team, said.

General managers from each NBA team made their own predictions about potential MVPs, the most improved team, coaches, the underdogs and many more in a non-biased survey on NBA.com.

According to the survey, the Cleveland Cavaliers are predicted to win the 2016 NBA Finals, with 53.6 percent of GMs choosing the LeBron James-led squad to win the title. The San Antonio Spurs followed second with 25 percent. However the Golden State Warriors were placed third with a 17.9 percent chance of winning the finals based on the survey despite their title as last year’s championship winners.

Along with the Cavaliers winning the finals, the GMs chose LeBron James as the probable 2015-2016 MVP in the survey.

Results of the survey sparked discussion among NBA viewers and fans, predicting on who will triumph or who will take the heat in the finals.

Goldblatt said she fully supports the Los Angeles Lakers to make it to the top in the Western Conference since they are her hometown team.

“I’m a Lakers fan so I pay a little more attention to that team despite their current struggles. But I’m still a fan and I think the Western Conference is going to be a lot of fun to watch,” Goldblatt said.

Goldblatt especially supports Kobe Bryant as she predicted that he could possibly win the title of 2015-2016 MVP.

“We have high hopes for Kobe this year to stay healthy. He had a very good opening night. That was really reassuring for us Laker fans. Even Kobe at half his best is still pretty good,” Goldblatt said.

Sophomore student Troy Fukutomi said he has high hopes for the 2016 NBA season.

“I’m very excited for the NBA to come back, it’s been so long since I’ve watched a game. I’m excited to see new draft picks and see how they fit in with their new teams. It will also be interesting to see who the top players are going to be,” Fukutomi said.

Fukutomi said he expects the Warriors to keep their momentum from last year’s NBA 2015 Finals but he said the Cavaliers are the ones to look out for.

“If the Golden State Warriors continue where they left off last season, I feel that they have a good shot to win it all again this season,” Fukutomi said. “However if the Cavaliers can stay healthy unlike last season, I feel that they can give the Warriors a run for their money.”

Although Fukutomi is very committed to the Lakers, he said he finds the Warriors to be the most exciting team to watch.

“I think that the Warriors are just such an exciting team to watch – their style of offense is so quick and fun for the players and for the fans. [There’s] never a dull moment with the Warriors,” Fukutomi said.

Meanwhile, the NBA season tip-off began with a game between the Cavaliers and the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference division where the Bulls pushed themselves to the top.

The first quarter of the game gave the Bulls the leverage they needed to keep a consistent pace in outscoring the Cavaliers in the remainder of the game.

The Western Conference launched with a heated game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors.

According to nba.com, the Warriors placed fourth in the power rankings of the Western Conference and breezed through the game where they gained the upper hand in the season with a score of 111-95.

These two games marked the teams to anticipate and look out for and might surprise the viewers in the upcoming games in the season.

Kristen Cueva
Staff Writer
Published November 4th, 2015