Tuesday at NOON ET: Join David Thorpe for the second installment of his excellent Fireside sessions on parenting athletes. The first one about parenting first-time athletes was meaningful, the second one gets more serious, about the stress of middle-school athletics. Join Fireside now.

Behind-the-scenes, David just predicted every one of the NBA season’s 1,230 games. These are his findings.

BY DAVID THORPE

CONTENDERS

BUCKS 58-24 
Title odds: 20 percent
After winning a title by pivoting to paint dominance in the postseason, my spidey sense suggests this might—ironically—be the season Giannis Antetokounmpo improves his jumpshot. It might be more from the free-throw line area than the 3-point line, but being money from either or both would turn this team into a dominant favorite. Winning the ring can “free” him up, so to speak, to try some things. Also, I have a hunch we will see Jrue Holiday’s career season. He has now walked the path to being a pivotal force for an NBA championship AND a gol…