What does Halloween mean to you? If you’re reading the Sports section, it probably signifies the start of the NBA season. With that in mind, I’ve combined the best parts of fall into Halloween-based awards for the start of the 2010 NBA season.

Most Horrifying Almost –– The Referees: NBA Refs take a lot of heat, but the replacement referees the NBA almost had to use would have been much, much worse.

Most Terrorizing Athleticism –– Derrick Rose: Rose’s athleticism will terrorize opponents for years to come. The second-year guard combines amazing quickness with a spectacular ability to change directions in the blink of an eye.

Scariest Potential –– Kevin Durant: Last season, Durant was an unstoppable scorer. Since then, he had his 21st birthday. As Durant continues to mature, he should be the frontrunner for the scoring title every season for the next decade.

Least Afraid –– Chris Paul: Paul is listed at 175 pounds, but probably weighs less. Somehow, he dominates players who look like they could eat him as a snack.

Player to be Afraid of –– Dwight Howard: Good luck scoring inside or grabbing a rebound against Orlando this season.

Scariest Player –– LeBron James: James is coming off one of the best individual seasons in NBA history. What’s frightening is that James still has plenty of room to improve, and he remains young enough to do so.

Best Costume Change –– Allen Iverson: A selfish choice? Probably, but I don’t know if I could have maintained my sanity if I had to suffer through another season watching Iverson suit up for my beloved Pistons. If there is a worse defensive player in the NBA, I haven’t seen him.

Worst Costume Change –– Shaquille O’Neal: The Cavaliers really think a slow, selfish, out of shape 37-year-old is going to help LeBron James? The Cavaliers fell to Orlando because the team was not athletic enough to match up with Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard up front. Adding a player who Howard will dominate makes little sense.

Most Unfortunate Costume –– Chauncey Billups: I’m still bitter. He should be a Piston.

Biggest Misfit –– Ron Artest: The Lakers replaced Trevor Ariza –– a great defender who stayed out of the way offensively –– with someone who used to be a great defender and does anything but stay out of the way offensively. Laker fans will quickly learn to cringe every time Artest foregoes a pass to Gasol or Bynum in favor of a contested mid-range jumper he has little chance of making.

Haunted House –– TD Garden: Visiting teams will have no fun in Boston this season. The “Big Three” of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett is now flanked by two other all-star talents in Rasheed Wallace and the vastly-improved Rajon Rondo.

Biggest Opponent of Halloween –– Lamar Odom: “The Candyman” has to give away his goodies to trick-or-treaters.

Scariest Thought –– Detroit Pistons: For the past 25 years, the Pistons have achieved any and all of their success with sound defensive play. This season’s Piston team will be porous defensively

Least Scary Teams –– Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings: Will any of these teams win 30 games? Don’t count on it.

Most Surprising Scary Team – Washington Wizards: With Mike Miller and Randy Foye on board, Flip Saunders navigating, and Gilbert Arenas healthy, the Wizards could win 30 more games than last season’s 19-win outfit.

Least Discussed Scary Team –– Denver Nuggets: The Nuggets haven’t received much preseason press, but Denver returns all of the major contributors from a team that gave the Lakers a run for their money a season ago. Carmelo Anthony should play better than last season, which could put Denver in contention again.

Scariest Team –– The San Antonio Spurs: If this is team is healthy –– and with Manu GInobili involved, that’s a big “if” –– the Spurs have the potential to be utterly dominant. The Spurs roster is talented, balanced and deep. Thanks to the incredible supporting cast that general manager R.C. Buford has assembled, Tim Duncan has an excellent opportunity to earn a fifth championship ring.

Trick or Treat –– The NBA: The league should be an absolute treat this season. There are five superb teams –– Lakers, Spurs, Celtics, Magic and Cavaliers –– a few great ones –– Nuggets, Blazers, Mavericks –– and several others that should be intriguing at the very least. The league as a whole has not been this strong in quite some time.

Scariest Proposition –– My Predictions: Putting these in print is definitely going to come back to haunt me.

Eastern Playoff Seedings: 1. Boston, 2. Cleveland, 3. Orlando, 4. Atlanta, 5. Washington, 6. Detroit, 7. Chicago, 8. Miami.

Western Playoff Seedings: 1. LA Lakers, 2. San Antonio, 3. Denver, 4. Portland, 5. Dallas, 6. Utah, 7. New Orleans, 8. Phoenix.

Final Four: Boston, Orlando, LA Lakers, San Antonio.

Finals: San Antonio over Boston in 6.