Setting The Pick: Three bold predictions for the rest of the NBA season

With the NBA’s play-in tournament here to stay, every game between now and April comes with high stakes.

The elite teams are jockeying for home-court advantage.

The tier-two playoff teams are looking to avoid the play-in tournament.

The middling franchises are clawing for play-in seeding.

Even the bottom-feeders have implications for draft lottery balls.

This year’s trade deadline caused a massive shuffle, with most of the league having to assimilate new players.

While those storylines continue to dominate the headlines, I’ve lined up three bold predictions for the second half for teams that have remained relatively quiet.

This prediction obviously coincides with the Chris Paul injury news. Paul is projected to miss six to eight weeks with a right thumb avulsion fracture, keeping him out until the first round of the playoffs.

I’m not saying Booker finishes the year averaging the most points per game for 2021-22 – that bet is priced at 100-to-1 for a reason.

I’m predicting that Phoenix’s franchise player will average 30-plus points per game and lead the league in scoring over these final 20-plus games after NBA All-Star Weekend.

Let’s start off by analyzing his shot zones chart below.

A couple of things should jump out. Let’s get the negative out of the way first.

Red at the rim: For the first time in four years, Booker’s shooting percentage at the rim is below league average. He’s shot 60.2, 63.9, and 59.1 per cent over the past three seasons, so it’s a bit befuddling to see such a drastic drop-off. He missed two weeks in early December with a left hamstring injury but that’s unlikely to be hampering him now. Considering his track record and the same roster surrounding him, I’m willing to bet his rim touch regresses back