NBA Preview
It’s basketball season finally and the NBA is set to begin
(tomorrow). Today we’ll project the Eastern and Western Conferences. Wednesday
we’ll predict what will happen in the playoffs. Of course, this season could go
in so many different directions I know we’ll be wrong!
NOTE: Andrew’s team ranking (A) and Greg’s team ranking (G)
are noted in parenthesis. These were combined and listed in composite order
below.
Eastern
1. Miami Heat (A:1,
G:2) – This team has won the NBA Championship twice in a row and their core
is still intact. They remain the favorite, not only in the conference, but also
in the entire NBA. Lebron will win MVP again, and Wadecould return to dominance
again this year. If Greg Oden can stay healthy, he’ll help them inside against physical
teams like Indiana and Chicago.
2. Chicago Bulls
(A:3, G:1) – With Derrick Rose back, the Bulls are a legit championship
contender again. He’s looked healthy in the preseason, so if they can get
perimeter scoring from the collection of Dunleavy, Deng, Butler, and Snell,
they can beat anyone.
3. Indiana Pacers
(A:2, G:3) – This is the same team that took Miami to 7 games last year,
except they are better. Not only are they a year older (important for guys like
Paul George and Lance Stephenson), but they get Danny Granger back, and they
beefed up their bench with CJ Watson, Chris Copeland, and Luis Scola. The top
three are all for real.
4. Brooklyn Nets
(A:4, G:4) – This team looks stacked on paper, but it’s a lot of new faces
mixed together to put them any higher than this in the standings. Still, they
will be scary in the playoffs. Pierce, Garnett, and Terry bring an edge with
them from Boston. Deron Williams should build upon his excellent second half
last year, and Brook Lopez is just entering his prime. If Jason Kidd can cut it
as a first year head coach, they too can win it all.
5. New York Knicks
(A:5, G:5) – Even though I wouldn’t consider this team as big time a
contender as the teams above, they are no slouch as a fifth seed. In fact, I
believe their roster is stronger than last season (and they finished second in
the East in 2013). Metta World Peace (AKA Ron Artest) will bring a defensive edge
they’ve been missing, Bargnani and a healthy Stoudemire should give them more
options inside, and they still have plenty of role players to form a very solid
bench.
6. Detroit Pistons
(A:6, G:7) – In terms of sheer talent and POTENTIAL stars, no team has more
in their starting lineup than Detroit, and that includes Miami. This is a team
that boasts four potential superstars in Jennings, Smith, Monroe, and Drummond.
Now, I don’t know if they can blend on court together and do so sometime this
season, but it will be fun to watch them try. Chauncey Billups was a key
signing for them as he can provide the leadership necessary to contend.
T7. Washington
Wizards (A9, G:6) – The Wizards made a bold trade over the weekend
acquiring Gortat from the Suns for Okafor and a pick. They’ll waive the other
players in the deal. But this gives them a legit, healthy center to pair with
Nene inside. The real threat of the team lies in the backcourt however, with
Wall, Beal, and rookie Otto Porter. They are young but if they mature quickly,
they could snag one of the last playoff spots.
T7. Cleveland
Cavaliers (A:7, G:8) – The upside with this team leans on their health and
maturity. Can Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, and Tristan Thompson grow as players?
Can Andrew Bynum stay healthy or even play? Will Anthony Bennett be a factor at
all as a rookie? The answer is probably yes to some of those questions and no
to others. Either way, this is a team I look at as vastly improved.
9. Charlotte Bobcats
(A10, G:9)– I think Charlotte made some positive moves this offseason
(finally). I loved that they drafted Zeller and paired him with newly acquired
Al Jefferson inside. I expect bigger things this year from MKG and Kemba Walker
too. Plus, remember Jeff Taylor, who could be a good player off the bench.
10. Atlanta Hawks
(A:8, G:13) – This is another new look team that could challenge for a
playoff spot. Horford, Teague, Millsap, and Korver will give them some
consistency, while Schroder and Lou Williams provide upside. Elton Brand will
be a great glue guy for them also.
11. Milwaukee Bucks
(A:11, G11) – The Bucks had one of the more confusing offseasons of any
team in the league. But, they could pull things together and honestly finish
sixth. They could also struggle and finish something like 13th. I
love the young frontcourt of Ilyasova, Sanders, and Henson, but I hate the fact
that Mayo will be the primary scorer for the team. Will Brandon Knight break
out to help?
12. Toronto Raptors
(A:14, G:10) – It will be the Rudy Gay show up in Canada, but don’t sleep
on Jonas Valanciunas, for he could end up being their best player. DeRozan
needs to keep developing for them to finish any better.
13. Orlando Magic
(A:13, G:12) – This is a young team with a lot of youthful talent now.
Oladipo, Harkless, O’Quinn, Nicholson, and others will need time to grow, but
they could end up being good players. Afflalo, Nelson, and Davis can still
provide a veteran presence.
14. Boston Celtics
(A:12, G:15) – What will Brad Stevens bring to this team? He still has
Rondo to lead them, but who are those other guys… He could go with vets inside
with Wallace, Bass, and Humphries, or he could lean on young guns Green,
Sullinger, Olynyk. I’d pick the latter due to the upside.
15. Philadelphia
76ers (A:15, G:14) – The rebuild is on for this year at least. It could be
ugly, especially given the news that Noel likely won’t play. But with multiple
first round picks next year, including the inside track for #1 overall, this
could be a team that features Wiggins, MCW, Noel, Turner, and another potential
lottery pick in a loaded 2014 draft. Give this squad a couple years and they
could be extremely dangerous.
Western Conference Projected Standings
1. Los Angeles
Clippers (A:2, G:1) – It was a great summer in LA as they welcomed Doc
Rivers, JJ Redick, Jared Dudley, and some nice pieces for the bench. Doc was
the key addition, because he can coach at a championship level. None of the
added players individually are stars, but their roles are critical. Not only
did they remain a deep team, but they also added shooting which will spread the
floor for CP3, Griffin, and Jordan.
2. San Antonio Spurs
(A:1, G:3) – Let’s not overanalyze this… The Spurs could have (and should
have) won the NBA Championship over the Heat in six games. They essentially
have the same roster coming back so they should contend again. The minimal regression
they’ll have due to Parker, Manu, and Duncan aging, will be washed out by the
growth of Green, Leonard, and Splitter.
T3. Houston Rockets
(A:3, G:5) – This was already an improving team due to the superstar status
of James Harden. Now they added a fellow star in Dwight Howard. They did this
while keeping the roster full of young role players and a few key vets. They
are only third (tied) because it will take time to gel, but they’ll be fine as
long as Harden remains the go-to player in the fourth quarters.
T3. Golden State
Warriors (A:4, G:4) – Yet another team that overhauled for the better in
the offseason. They dumped bad contracts and brought in Andre Iguodala. He
isn’t a typical star on offense, but he adds so much to their defensive
outlook. As long as they don’t have any injuries to their frontcourt (which is
a little thin), they will be a formidable out in the playoffs again this year.
T3. Oklahoma City
Thunder (A:6, G:2) – They enter this year differently. While the other
predicted playoff teams out West improved (or at least remained the same), OKC
got worse. They struck out in free agency, and they no longer have a third scorer.
Their bench is soft, Perkins and Thabo still can’t score, and Westbrook is
coming off a major injury. That’s a lot
of question marks. They have Durant though.
6. Memphis Grizzlies
(A:5, G:6) – This is a team that has been a mainstay recently in the middle
of the Western Conference playoff picture. With their roster essentially
untouched, they’ll be right in the 3-6 range again. Mike Miller was a sneaky
good pickup for them to help off the bench.
T7. New Orleans Pelicans (A:7, G:10) – It’s
time for some new blood in the Western Conference playoff race, and this team
fits the bill. Anthony Davis is ready for a monster breakout year, and Jrue
Holiday was the best draft-day get for any team. They kept some other young,
emerging talent on the roster and added Tyreke Evans to the mix. The key will
be the health Eric Gordon, who could be a big time player if he remained
healthy.
T7. Denver Nuggets
(A:8, G:9) – There will be a lot of contenders for these last couple
playoff spots, but Denver seems to have the inside track on one of them. They
are fairly deep, particularly in the backcourt, and will be able to play fast.
They once again lack an offensive star, but if everyone contributes they won’t
need one. They proved that last year.
T9. Dallas Mavericks
(A:12, G:7) – If you followed us in the offseason, you know we weren’t fond
of their moves (just like Milwaukee’s). They had dreams of becoming a major
player in the West again, but they likely didn’t do enough. This is now a team
with a ton of perimeter guys that can’t play defense (Calderon, Ellis, Harris,
Carter, etc.), an old star in Dirk, and a thin frontcourt around him. Our
rankings suggested they could finish anywhere from 7th to 12th
in the conference.
T9. Portland
Trailblazers (A:11, G:8) – There was a lot of talk about trading Aldridge,
but by keeping him they held onto they’re outside chance as a low seeded
playoff team. With he and Lillard, they have two stars. These two are
surrounded by shooting (Crabbe, Matthews, McCollum, Williams, Wright), a legit
#3 in Batum, and young bigs in Lopez, Leonard, and Robinson.
11. Los Angeles
Lakers (A:10, G:11) – It’s criminal not to have Kobe’s Lakers in the
playoffs, but that’s because he won’t be playing the whole year. And we truly
don’t know how he’ll return from injury. Throw in the fact that Pau and Nash
are on the decline (that’s an understatement), and it’s a recipe for a mediocre
team.
12. Minnesota
Timberwolves (A:9, G:14) – This team was snake bitten last year when it
came to injuries. But if Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio remain healthy, this team
could finish 4-5 spots higher. I love the fact that they signed/re-signed
quality wings (Martin, Budinger, Brewer, Williams) and retained their inside
meat (Love and Pekovic). On the flip side, we doubt they can stay healthy, gel/mature
quickly enough this season, and click on all cylinders to grab a playoff spot.
13. Sacramento Kings
(A:14, G:12) – It will be interesting to see where this team goes over the
next couple years. I know they have their building blocks in place now with Boogie
Cousins and Ben McLemore, but their roster is full of young players and vets
that may stay or go. They won’t be completely atrocious this season, but they
won’t finish much higher than this even if everything goes great.
T14. Utah Jazz (A:13,
G:15) – Now we come to a team clearly in a rebuild. They let two stars go
(Millsap and A. Jefferson) and replaced them with Golden State’s bad contracts
(R. Jefferson, Biedrins, Rush). The good news is that those will be off the
books soon, and they can continue building around Trey Burke, Gordon Hayward,
Favors, Kanter, and Rudy Gobert. But they’ll have to wait on Burke a bit
longer, as he’s out two to three months with a finger injury.
T14. Phoenix Suns
(A:15, G:13) – And now the team that is full of young assets and could make
noise… in a few years. We know Bledsoe and Dragic will be good at guard, but
they just traded their best big man (Gortat). Everybody else is a young talent
that may need more time to develop (such as their top draft choices Alex Len
and Archie Goodwin). The good news is that they have time to grow since they
don’t expect to be competitive for a couple more years. They could have up to
four first round picks in the loaded 2014 draft too if things go right.
By: The Sports Guys
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