[ChicagoCaseyParticipant]

Western Conference 

1. Golden State Warriors – I see them being a great team again. This is the same tean as last year that didn’t get worst.
2. San Antonio Spurs – This team might be the best team, but they always rest players and that might lose a couple games because of that.
3. Oklahoma City Thunder – They have two top 5 players and a great 3 man power forward/center rotation. KD health is the key.
4. Los Angeles Clippers – Shooting is the key w/ this team. Strong bench and they have a go to scorer late in games in Paul Pierce.
5. Memphis Grizzlies – This might be too low for the Grizzlies. They upgraded their back up center spot and got better shooting/defense in Matt Barnes.
6. Houston Rockets – If they can get Ty Lawson they will move up. This team just didn’t improve to me.
7. New Orleans Pelicans – Health and shooting is the key. Can AD, Holiday and Anderson stay healthy. Can the Pels find outside shooting?
8. Dallas Mavericks – They took still have a good enough coach and roster to make the playoffs. Key is if Utah Deron can come to Dallas.
9. Utah Jazz
10. Pheonix Suns
11. Sacromento Kings
12. Portland Trailblazers
13. Los Angeles Lakers
14. Minnesota Timerwolves
15. Denver Nuggets

Eastern Conference

1. Cleveland Cavaliers – Best player in the world on the Cavs no question who’s number one. Key is can Love and Irving prove that they are not injury prone.
2. Chicago Bulls – Derrick Rose looked great in the playoffs and if he can tranfer it to next season watch out. Can Noah get back to 2013-14 form?
3. Miami Heat – In my eyes this is the deepest team in the NBA. All their starters finished top 100 in PER. No other team can say that.
4. Washington Wizards – They lost Paul Pierce, but got Jared Dudley, Alan Anderson, and Gary Neal. The Wiz new playing style can get them the number 2 seed. Wall 20/10?
5. Milwaukee Bucks – Jabari Parker back and improved, Monroe there, Giannis improved, MCW full offseason, and top 5 defense. Nice uniforms too.
6. Atlanta Hawks – East gotten better and they lost a key peice in DeMarre Carroll. Can Korver repeat the season he had last yeat? Was last year a fluke?
7. Toronto Raptors – No division automatic top 4 seed. Defense will still be an issue even w/ Carroll and Biyombo. DeRozan and Lowry ball hogs.
8. Indiana Pacers – George healthy and the addition of Ellis makes them one of the best wing pairing in the league. But where’s the depth?
9. Boston Celtics
10. Detroit Pistons
11. Orlando Magic
12. Brooklyn Nets
13. Charlotte Hornets
14. New York Knicks
15. Philadelphia 76ers 

 

[llperez]

 west:

1-warriors

2-thunder

3-spurs

4-clippers

5-rockets

6-grizz

7-pelicans

8-kings

9-jazz

10-suns

11-mavericks

12-lakers

13-wolves

14-blazers

15-nuggets

 

east

1-cavs

2-bulls

3-raptors

4-heat

5-hawks

6-bucks

7-wizards

8-bobcats

9-pacers

10-celtics

11-magic

12-nets

13-pistons

14-knicks

15-sixers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[llperez]

 west:

1-warriors

2-thunder

3-spurs

4-clippers

5-rockets

6-grizz

7-pelicans

8-kings

9-jazz

10-suns

11-mavericks

12-lakers

13-wolves

14-blazers

15-nuggets

 

east

1-cavs

2-bulls

3-raptors

4-heat

5-hawks

6-bucks

7-wizards

8-bobcats

9-pacers

10-celtics

11-magic

12-nets

13-pistons

14-knicks

15-sixers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TripleDoubleScoutParticipant]

 Two common themes on this subject in this forum that I dont get: 1) Overlooking Nowitzki and the Mavs. No respect I tell ya. 2) Overrating the Hornets. Clearly the people picking my hometown team to make the playoffs don’t actually watch Hornets basketball. They also ignore the freaking 10 or 11 other teams that have improved in the East.

[llperez]

 mavs have downgraded while other teams in west have gotten better. they lose chandler and monta and gain deron and wes mathews and dirk is getting older. As for overrating the hornets? Care to explain. Anthony davis is an all-nba caliber big and they made the playoffs last season with numerous injuries to the backcourt. I only see them making improvements. Where do you have them? And how can you underrate 10-11 teams from one conference that all made improvements? If 10-11 teams all made improvements, are we supposed to assume that to 11 teams all move forward at once? Its entirely possible a team improves on the court but does not improve in terms of wins if the entire conference as you are suggesting also got better.

[llperez]

 my bad, im still all over the place with these hornets/bobcats nicknames. Immediately realized my mistake when i posted that. Anyways, i think the east’s 8th seed is wide open. Al jefferson will do work down low. I dont even think the horents are a good team, but every team at bottom of east has holes in their game.

[llperez]

 my bad, im still all over the place with these hornets/bobcats nicknames. Immediately realized my mistake when i posted that. Anyways, i think the east’s 8th seed is wide open. Al jefferson will do work down low. I dont even think the horents are a good team, but every team at bottom of east has holes in their game.

[llperez]

 mavs have downgraded while other teams in west have gotten better. they lose chandler and monta and gain deron and wes mathews and dirk is getting older. As for overrating the hornets? Care to explain. Anthony davis is an all-nba caliber big and they made the playoffs last season with numerous injuries to the backcourt. I only see them making improvements. Where do you have them? And how can you underrate 10-11 teams from one conference that all made improvements? If 10-11 teams all made improvements, are we supposed to assume that to 11 teams all move forward at once? Its entirely possible a team improves on the court but does not improve in terms of wins if the entire conference as you are suggesting also got better.

[TripleDoubleScoutParticipant]

 Two common themes on this subject in this forum that I dont get: 1) Overlooking Nowitzki and the Mavs. No respect I tell ya. 2) Overrating the Hornets. Clearly the people picking my hometown team to make the playoffs don’t actually watch Hornets basketball. They also ignore the freaking 10 or 11 other teams that have improved in the East.

[Rip255]

 I think MKG is ready to play at slightly-below-allstar level this season. That 8th seed in the East will be occupied by a sub-par team though. Theres a possibility that could be the Hornets.

 

 

 

[Rip255]

 I think MKG is ready to play at slightly-below-allstar level this season. That 8th seed in the East will be occupied by a sub-par team though. Theres a possibility that could be the Hornets.

 

 

 

[Stop_basketball_nonsenseParticipant]

 Yo, this has to be at the least, the 4th conference prediction post in the last 2 weeks! I will say its the 1st 1 I’ve seen that has Milwaukee in the top 5 & got negged that many times. I have said my opinion on the bucks so many times ill just wait for when Gianni’s& mcws’ lack of 3 point shooting is actually highlighted as a problem. 

As for my Mavs, I love em, but let’s be clear being a true fan means being optimistic, but also being honest. They lost a top 10 center I’m chandler & replaced him with zaza! Dirk is a year older. Parsons & Mathews are both coming off year ending injuries& I would love for us 2 able to make the playoffs, but it is a possibility. The mavs could miss the playoffs.

Oh yeah tripledoublescout, how can your team improve & you still have no hope in your team. 1 of the hornets biggest problems was lack of outside shooting,& they improved with Batum, haws, & kaminsky. That was also the reason why big Al, a top 5 center in my opinion, couldn’t really get it going. Teams could double team him & not worry about outside shooting becuz kemba’s 3 pt% was up & down. Henderson has always been around average, mkg, come on no need to explain, & no bigs that could shoot the 3. I definitely can see them making the playoffs.

 

 

 

 

[Stop_basketball_nonsenseParticipant]

 Yo, this has to be at the least, the 4th conference prediction post in the last 2 weeks! I will say its the 1st 1 I’ve seen that has Milwaukee in the top 5 & got negged that many times. I have said my opinion on the bucks so many times ill just wait for when Gianni’s& mcws’ lack of 3 point shooting is actually highlighted as a problem. 

As for my Mavs, I love em, but let’s be clear being a true fan means being optimistic, but also being honest. They lost a top 10 center I’m chandler & replaced him with zaza! Dirk is a year older. Parsons & Mathews are both coming off year ending injuries& I would love for us 2 able to make the playoffs, but it is a possibility. The mavs could miss the playoffs.

Oh yeah tripledoublescout, how can your team improve & you still have no hope in your team. 1 of the hornets biggest problems was lack of outside shooting,& they improved with Batum, haws, & kaminsky. That was also the reason why big Al, a top 5 center in my opinion, couldn’t really get it going. Teams could double team him & not worry about outside shooting becuz kemba’s 3 pt% was up & down. Henderson has always been around average, mkg, come on no need to explain, & no bigs that could shoot the 3. I definitely can see them making the playoffs.

 

 

 

 

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

 The Nets should be bad.

Who do they have?

Plumlee is gone as is Deron Williams.  Joe Johnson is there, but could he get traded?  I know Lionel Hollins will coach them to be tough minded and gritty, but they could be bad this year.

Other than the Nets and Nuggets, I think most all the other teams can win around 30 games or more.  

In the West, I can see the teams other than the Nuggets win 30 plus games.  

Out West, the Warriors, Spurs, Clippers, Thunder, Grizzlies, and Rockets could all win 55 plus games.

Then I think you have a ton of teams in that 35 to 45 win range: one great winning streak could put you in the playoffs.  One key injury or a couple of bad losing streaks could put you near the bottom of the West standings.  

I think the Blazers can be anywhere in that 30 to 45 win range.  30 wins puts you in contention for a top 3 pick.  At 45, you are in the playoffs as a 7th or 8th seed.  For one, they still have Damian Lillard as a scorer and passer.  I think he and Mason Plumlee would be great in the pick and roll.  Meyers Leonard can shoot the 3 and looks like a solid athlete and overall player.  He is a pick and pop guy they can really work with.  Noah Vonleh joined the team and has done really well in summer league.  CJ McCollum gives them a scoring backup combo guard.  Their big man rotation looks solid, as does their point guard spot.  

They are lacking at the wings with Gerald Henderson and Aminu being their "name" guys.  Aminu as a role player is highly effective — especially on the boards.  If he can consistently hit jumpers (or even 3’s) then why can’t he have a DeMarre Carroll type break out year?  So, he is at least average.  Henderson — same thing, he is an average wing.  If he can knock down shots then he should be fine.  The Blazers had "average" wings on paper last year.  Wes Matthews really played above that.  Aflalo was basically average, and then Batum was below average at times.  Dorrell Wright is a no-name guy but he can hit some 3’s.  Pat Connaughton might be a shooting spark off the bench.

For some reason, the Blazers also have Easy Ed Davis.  He can put some things on the box score like rebounds, put backs, and blocked shots.  

I am not sure what Moe Harkless does — or is even supposed to do.  Maybe he breaks out a bit.

Don’t rule these guys out of a playoff spot though.  Lillard can play.  Then they have some bigs that are perfect complements for him.  For this team, they just need their wings to defend some and stretch the floor for 3 pointers.  I see them being in the mix for the last playoff spot.

Dallas could be in the mix, OR they decide to tank the season at some point, which would inflate their losses.  On average, I think they should be a 35 win team, but you can give them 5 games either way — 40 wins puts them in the mix for the last playoff spot.  30 wins puts them near the bottom of the conference.  

I have the Nuggets DEFINITELY under 35 wins, most probably under 30 wins, and perhaps under 25 wins.  Other than that, I think EVERY OTHER Western team will be respectable.  I think the Lakers most likely end up with 30 to 35 wins, putting them near the bottom of the West.  

I think the Mavs will be the worst team in their division, and if they call off the horses early, I think they could win closer to 30 games than 40 games.

If the 3 worst teams next season ended up with the top 3 picks then I would be looking at Denver, Brooklyn, and Detroit in some order.  I can see the Lakers finishing in that 5-10 range, meaning that they will lose their pick.  I am not a huge fan of the Suns, and I see them winning anywhere from 30 to 40 games.  Look for them to get one of those dreaded 12-14 picks in the draft.  Not good enough to get into the playoffs, and not bad enough to get a high lottery pick.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

 The Nets should be bad.

Who do they have?

Plumlee is gone as is Deron Williams.  Joe Johnson is there, but could he get traded?  I know Lionel Hollins will coach them to be tough minded and gritty, but they could be bad this year.

Other than the Nets and Nuggets, I think most all the other teams can win around 30 games or more.  

In the West, I can see the teams other than the Nuggets win 30 plus games.  

Out West, the Warriors, Spurs, Clippers, Thunder, Grizzlies, and Rockets could all win 55 plus games.

Then I think you have a ton of teams in that 35 to 45 win range: one great winning streak could put you in the playoffs.  One key injury or a couple of bad losing streaks could put you near the bottom of the West standings.  

I think the Blazers can be anywhere in that 30 to 45 win range.  30 wins puts you in contention for a top 3 pick.  At 45, you are in the playoffs as a 7th or 8th seed.  For one, they still have Damian Lillard as a scorer and passer.  I think he and Mason Plumlee would be great in the pick and roll.  Meyers Leonard can shoot the 3 and looks like a solid athlete and overall player.  He is a pick and pop guy they can really work with.  Noah Vonleh joined the team and has done really well in summer league.  CJ McCollum gives them a scoring backup combo guard.  Their big man rotation looks solid, as does their point guard spot.  

They are lacking at the wings with Gerald Henderson and Aminu being their "name" guys.  Aminu as a role player is highly effective — especially on the boards.  If he can consistently hit jumpers (or even 3’s) then why can’t he have a DeMarre Carroll type break out year?  So, he is at least average.  Henderson — same thing, he is an average wing.  If he can knock down shots then he should be fine.  The Blazers had "average" wings on paper last year.  Wes Matthews really played above that.  Aflalo was basically average, and then Batum was below average at times.  Dorrell Wright is a no-name guy but he can hit some 3’s.  Pat Connaughton might be a shooting spark off the bench.

For some reason, the Blazers also have Easy Ed Davis.  He can put some things on the box score like rebounds, put backs, and blocked shots.  

I am not sure what Moe Harkless does — or is even supposed to do.  Maybe he breaks out a bit.

Don’t rule these guys out of a playoff spot though.  Lillard can play.  Then they have some bigs that are perfect complements for him.  For this team, they just need their wings to defend some and stretch the floor for 3 pointers.  I see them being in the mix for the last playoff spot.

Dallas could be in the mix, OR they decide to tank the season at some point, which would inflate their losses.  On average, I think they should be a 35 win team, but you can give them 5 games either way — 40 wins puts them in the mix for the last playoff spot.  30 wins puts them near the bottom of the conference.  

I have the Nuggets DEFINITELY under 35 wins, most probably under 30 wins, and perhaps under 25 wins.  Other than that, I think EVERY OTHER Western team will be respectable.  I think the Lakers most likely end up with 30 to 35 wins, putting them near the bottom of the West.  

I think the Mavs will be the worst team in their division, and if they call off the horses early, I think they could win closer to 30 games than 40 games.

If the 3 worst teams next season ended up with the top 3 picks then I would be looking at Denver, Brooklyn, and Detroit in some order.  I can see the Lakers finishing in that 5-10 range, meaning that they will lose their pick.  I am not a huge fan of the Suns, and I see them winning anywhere from 30 to 40 games.  Look for them to get one of those dreaded 12-14 picks in the draft.  Not good enough to get into the playoffs, and not bad enough to get a high lottery pick.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[llperez]

 blazers lost 4 starters and down graded at everyone one of those positions. If they win 45 games, i would be impressed.

[llperez]

 blazers lost 4 starters and down graded at everyone one of those positions. If they win 45 games, i would be impressed.

[CoachWyersParticipant]

My playoff teams are:
West
1. Golden State
2. San Antonio
3. Oklahoma City
4. LA Clippers
5. Memphis
6. Houston
7. New Orleans
8. Phoenix

East
1. Cleveland
2. Atlanta
3. Chicago
4. Miami
5. Milwaukee
6. Washington
7. Toronto
8. Indiana

My favorites for title right now would be Cleveland.

[CoachWyersParticipant]

My playoff teams are:
West
1. Golden State
2. San Antonio
3. Oklahoma City
4. LA Clippers
5. Memphis
6. Houston
7. New Orleans
8. Phoenix

East
1. Cleveland
2. Atlanta
3. Chicago
4. Miami
5. Milwaukee
6. Washington
7. Toronto
8. Indiana

My favorites for title right now would be Cleveland.

[TRC1991Participant]

Sorry, I don’t see Phoenix as a playoff team…I think Utah will be the 8th seed 

[TRC1991Participant]

Sorry, I don’t see Phoenix as a playoff team…I think Utah will be the 8th seed 

[King CaluchaParticipant]

I’m not really sure the Memphis upgraded their back up C. Koufos was a solid all around player, who could probably be starting for some weak team in the eastern conference. Wright was very efficient last season because he mostly gets lobs.but that’s not the Grizzlies style. I don’t see him contributing more than his defense.

They did improve in other areas, though. I can see Jordan Adams receiving more minutes and scoring from the wing. Jarnell Stokes could be a solid bench player as well.

 

 

[King CaluchaParticipant]

I’m not really sure the Memphis upgraded their back up C. Koufos was a solid all around player, who could probably be starting for some weak team in the eastern conference. Wright was very efficient last season because he mostly gets lobs.but that’s not the Grizzlies style. I don’t see him contributing more than his defense.

They did improve in other areas, though. I can see Jordan Adams receiving more minutes and scoring from the wing. Jarnell Stokes could be a solid bench player as well.

 

 

[Author]

Posts