With the sports world being dominated by headlines with the World Series, college football, and the NFL; the 2013-14 NBA season creeped inaudibly upon us. This delaying silence is sort of a disservice to the league because of how great the competition is set to be this season. There are eight teams from in the league that have a legitimate chance at an NBA championship – more than this league has seen in years.

Also, the headlines from the offseason did not short in excitement as well. Howard went to Houston, Doc’s in L.A., Kobe’s out ‘til Christmas (at least), D-Rose is back, The “Big Three” in Boston is done, and J-Kidd is up in Brooklyn. These fantastic storylines assist the popularity of the league, and help set up for a fantastic year. Here are my predictions for the upcoming NBA season.

East

The East is as wide open as it’s been since “The Decision.” When LeBron came to Miami in 2010, the Heat have been perennial favorites in the East year-after-year since Lebron and Chris Bosh came to Miami. In 2010, Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose was in his second year with the team, the Indiana Pacers, and the New Jersey (now Brooklyn) Nets were struggling to stay above .500, and the Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic were actually good, superior teams. Clearly, a lot has changed since then.

For 2013-14, there are four legitimate teams to compete for a Eastern Conference title, and therefore compete for a NBA title: Brooklyn, Miami, Indiana, and Chicago.

Six months ago, future hall of famer Jason Kidd was the starting point guard for the New York Knicks and helped guide the team to a first-round playoff win over Boston. Nearly two months later, J-Kidd was hired as the head coach of the “across the Hudson” rivals, the Brooklyn Nets, an organization J-Kidd played on in the early to mid-2000’s. This year, however, I believe the Nets are for real. The acquiring of Kevin Garnett, Jason Terry, and Paul Peirce from the Celtics gives this team that veteran appearance, and with Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and Andrei Kirilenko, on the team as well, this sets up for a monster year for Brooklyn.

Obviously there is the question whether J-Kidd can lead players less than a year removed after retiring as one, but he does have the best assistant coach in the game, Lawrence Frank, who will bring the mentality and motivational aspects to the Nets need in order to be great, and I believe they will.

The defending champions Miami Heat come into the season perhaps in better shape than they were last season. They re-acquired free agent Michael Beasley in which I believe is an upgrade from their former shooting guard Mike Miller. Beasley is younger and he will be able to play more minutes, and he is much more versatile than Miller. Also, when Beasley has his head screwed on right, he has all-star talent, and with a reduced role on a great team with veteran talent, Beasley will be excellent in Miami.

The big question with Miami will be if  Dwayne Wade stay healthy. Wade’s health will ultimately decide the fate of this team, and without Wade, everybody’s role on the Heat maximizes, including Lebron’s , and I think that will be too much to handle for the Heat.

Arguably, the biggest contender to the Miami Heat to capture the number-1 overall seed in the conference is that of the Indiana Pacers. Last season, the biggest weakness for the Pacers was their bench, which ranked as one of the least-scoring benches in the NBA. This year, however, when all-star Danny Granger gets back into action after missing most of last season nursing an injury, the Pacers’ bench becomes more of an asset, which is key when heading into the postseason.

The Pacers did well in acquiring Louis Scola, who will make this team even more physical than they before. With center Roy Hibbert, forwards Scola, and Paul George in the front court, this team is so physical and strong, they are much better than they were last season, and remember; this was a team that was one win away from beating the Heat in the Eastern Conference finals.

In the windy city, other than the fact that this season is the coming back party for former MVP Derrick Rose, the Chicago Bulls did not do much this offseason. They literally did nothing in acquiring free agents or make any trades with other teams, and the Bulls, being the most injury-riddled team last season, needed additions more than any other team.  Seeing if the Bulls can stay healthy is what I’ll be watching this season. If they can, they are a huge championship contender, but if they cannot, expect some major player personnel changes in Chicago.

West

Standing in the West are a couple more teams that I believe have the chance at winning the conference, and standing at the forefront of those teams are the defending Western Conference champions the San Antonio Spurs. If legendary power forward Tim Duncan stays healthy, this is really the same Spurs team this season that should have won the NBA Championship last year, but with all thanks to Ray Allen, that did not come about. The Spurs also added the sharpshooting Marco Belinelli which will give this team more shooting range, and will make the team more lethal in the playoffs.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will be better than they were last year. However, ever since their 2012 NBA finals runner-up, this team has taken steps downward in becoming better. Last season was a major disappointment for the Thunder, obviously losing all-pro guard James Harden to the Houston Rockets, and point guard Russell Westbrook for the playoffs with an injury. This season, even with one of the league’s best players in Kevin Durant and Westbrook making his return, this team will improve from last year, but not as much as a lethal team as they were a couple years ago, especially since the West has became much more talented since 2012.

The Los Angeles Clippers are another one of my teams that could excite during the postseason. The Clippers are very talented, very experienced, and now they have a great new coach, Doc Rivers, to lead them. I see the Clippers as a potential Western conference winning team.

The second team from L.A. is a different story. It’s kind of weird to admit that the Lakers are actually in a rebuilding stage this season, even with all the veteran talent they have. All-star Kobe Bryant, who missed a majority of the end of last season with an Achilles injury, is slated to return possibly before Christmas, but the Lakers still should find their fair share of struggles. Of course the main issue is health and if players like Bryant, Steve Nash, and Pau Gasol stay active for most of the season. I see the Lakers as potentially being better than last season, but there are too many great teams in the West, and I see the Lakers as a borderline team to make the playoffs or not.

The Houston Rockets made perhaps the most monumental addition since Lebron went to Miami when they signed all-pro center Dwight Howard from the Los Angeles Lakers. Even with Howard and Omer Asik powering in the front-court, and Harden, Jeremy Lin, and Chandler Parsons manning the backcourt, I still believe this team is one year away from being, major potential NBA champion favorites. If Howard can maintain his sanity and play as a teammate, the Rockets will be dangerous come playoff time – but that might be asking a bit too much.

Others teams to keep an eye on in the West are the Dallas Mavericks, who made a great addition with Monta Ellis, and along with all-pro forward Dirk Nowitzki, I see the Mavericks making it back to the playoffs this year. The Memphis Grizzles are roughly the same team as last season even without Lionel Hollins, and I see the Grizzles as possible six or seven seed come playoff time. Finally, the Golden State Warriors are another team capable of making a great run during the regular season, and possibly, another magical run during the playoffs.

With all that in mind, here are my predictions on who will make the playoffs from both conferences. From the East: Miami, Indiana, Chicago, Brooklyn, New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, and the Toronto Raptors. From the West: San Antonio, L.A. Clippers, Oklahoma City, Houston, Golden State, Minnesota, Memphis, and Dallas.

Eastern Conference Champions: Indiana Pacers

Western Conference Champions: San Antonio Spurs

NBA Champions: Indiana Pacers

NBA MVP: Lebron James, Miami Heat

Coach of the Year: Mark Jackson, Golden State

Rookie of the Year: Victor Oladipo, Orlando Magic

Defensive MVP: Roy Hibbert, Indiana Pacers

Comeback player of the year: Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls