EAST STANDINGS, WEST STANDINGS FOR 2018-19
Which teams are headed for the playoffs? Which teams are
lottery bound? Predict the win totals for all 30 teams.
Here are the results:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
STANDINGS
Gordon
Hayward and Kyrie Irving combined
to miss 103 regular-season games last season, and the Celtics still won 55
games. Even if Boston needs to ease Hayward and Irving back a bit, the younger
players who sparked Boston's playoff run -- Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier --
will be hungry to showcase their own development. It all adds up to Boston
earning the second-highest win projection in the league, behind only Golden
State.
The Raptors added an MVP-caliber talent this summer and
their win projection is ... lower? Toronto won 59 games last
season, but the uncertainty surrounding Kawhi Leonard's
health likely left our panel leery of pushing Toronto's win total too high. A
new head coach adds a layer of unpredictability to the season.
Our panel predicted the 76ers to win a mere 37 games last
summer. But voters clearly trust the process now, with Philadelphia emerging
with the fifth-highest win projection in the entire league this time
around. Joel Embiid probably
thinks it's still too low.
Our panel is much more bullish on the Pacers this year. In
the aftermath of the Paul George trade,
Indiana was forecasted at a meager 31 wins and exceeded that number by a whopping
17 games last year. Now we'll find out if the additions of players such
as Doug
McDermott and Tyreke Evans can
help propel the Pacers to a spot in the top half of the East playoff bracket.
Giannis
Antetokounmpo and the inconsistent Bucks settled for the
seventh seed last season but nearly stunned short-handed Boston in Round 1. The
biggest change for Milwaukee this offseason was the hiring of Coach Mike
Budenholzer. His playoff experiences with San Antonio and Atlanta
could go a long way toward helping a young Bucks squad find the consistency it
needs.
The schedule makers don't seem too hyped about Washington,
giving the Wizards only eight national TV appearances next season. John Wall has
suggested he's content with Washington reverting to the underdog role, but
clearly there's still a good amount of talent here. The question is whether
adding the likes of Dwight Howard this
summer is the answer to what ails the Wizards -- or what might finally cause
them to implode.
When re-signing Wayne
Ellington is your big summer splash, it's going to be hard to
generate voter confidence. Miami won 44 games last season, and our panel
doesn't expect much change for a team that's on track to pay the luxury tax
despite not being a surefire contender.
Despite hiring the reigning NBA Coach of the Year in Dwane
Casey, the Pistons' win projection is actually lower than their win total from
last season. Still, the Pistons, who have only one playoff appearance in the
past nine seasons, are projected to be in the mix for a playoff spot with
Casey's leadership and a full season of Blake Griffin.
The Hornets are hoping some of the Spurs' mojo rubs off on
them. Charlotte hired former San Antonio assistant James Borrego to be its
coach, then signed veteran guard Tony Parker.
But tough decisions loom about the future of key players, including Kemba Walker and Michael
Kidd-Gilchrist, on a Hornets team that has won only 36 games in each
of the past two seasons.
GM Sean Marks and Coach Kenny Atkinson have done a nice job
getting an asset-deprived program back on the road to respectability. But it's
reflective of just how poor the bottom of the East is that the Nets are pegged
to finish above five teams during the rare instance they actually own their
first-round pick.
We see the LeBron Effect out West, with the Lakers projected
to vault to a playoff team this season. Well, here's the other side of the
coin: The Cavaliers dropped from a projected 52 wins last season to 31 this
year. Kevin Love faces
an uphill battle to keep the Cavaliers in contention.
Steve Clifford will be the latest coach to try to harness
the talents of Orlando's fleet of unique young big men, including first-round
pick Mohamed Bamba.
After a big summer payday, Aaron Gordon must
figure out how to get a team that has missed the playoffs six straight years
out of lottery mode.
Say this about the Bulls: They don't seem content to stand
pat. Chicago paid to retain Zach LaVine,
nabbed free agent Jabari Parker and
drafted Wendell
Carter Jr. With Lauri
Markkanen and Kris Dunn,
the Bulls have an intriguing mix of talent -- or at least more than 28
projected wins might suggest.
New coach David Fizdale won't have the services of a
still-rehabbing Kristaps
Porzingis to start the season. But lots of reps for Kevin Knox and
securing another lottery pick probably isn't the worst outcome for a Knicks
team hoping it can lure an elite star to New York during the summer of 2019.
First-year coach Lloyd Pierce has three first-round picks to
trot out in Trae Young, Kevin Huerter and Omari
Spellman. The Hawks are playing the long game, which means they'll
be short on wins for the foreseeable future. But hitting on draft picks and
managing their cap might just be the fastest path back to respectability.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
STANDINGS
Boredom was probably the Warriors' biggest problem last
regular season, and the signing of All-Star center DeMarcus
Cousins definitely adds some excitement. It isn't clear when
Cousins will make his Golden State debut, but when he does, the opportunity
(and challenge) of implementing another dominant scorer should command the
Warriors' attention, along with everyone else watching the NBA.
A projected drop of eight wins -- which is more optimistic
than the Las Vegas oddsmakers' over-under -- reflects the perception of
replacing versatile defensive stoppers Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a
Moute with aging Carmelo
Anthony and journeyman James Ennis
III. However, it's worth noting that Houston went 14-1 in games
Ariza missed last season, with the lone loss coming when the Rockets sat all
their regulars in the regular-season finale. And the Rockets' record with James Harden, Chris Paul and Clint Capela all
playing: 42-3 (plus 11-4 in the playoffs).
The Jazz made continuity a priority this summer, banking on
internal development as the path to improvement after advancing to the second
round for the second consecutive season. The Jazz went 29-6 from Jan. 24 (soon
after Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert's
return from injury) through the end of the regular season, posting the NBA's
second-best record and best point differential during that span. Watch out if
Rookie of the Year runner-up Donovan
Mitchell makes strides as a pull-up shooter (35.3 percent
overall, 29.3 on 3s last season).
Massive luxury-tax implications made dumping Melo's salary a
must, but the move might also make the Thunder a better team. Oklahoma City was
minus-58 in Anthony's 194 playoff minutes and outscored the Jazz by 32 points
in the 94 minutes Melo sat during that series. How well Dennis
Schroder, acquired from Atlanta in the Melo deal, adapts to his new
sixth man role could determine whether OKC has home-court advantage in the
first round.
After Denver came up one win short of the playoffs last
season, we're projecting the Nuggets to end a postseason drought that stands at
five years. Denver deserves to be mentioned among teams that have the most
promising young cores. The Nuggets had three of the seven players in the NBA
last season who averaged at least 16.5 points at age 23 or younger while
playing a minimum of 65 games: center Nikola Jokic and
guards Gary Harris and Jamal Murray.
This would be the fewest wins for a LeBron James team
in a full-length season since the 2007-08 Cavaliers went 45-37. On the previous
occasions when James made a move in free agency, his new teams jumped 11 and 20
wins the next season. Of course, the Lakers aren't adding an All-Star-caliber
power forward, as well, unlike the Heat (Chris Bosh) and Cavs (Kevin Love) in
2010 and 2014, respectively.
The Pelicans went 20-9 in regular-season games during
which Anthony Davisand
February trade pickup Nikola
Mirotic played together, outscoring opponents by 10.7 points
per 100 possessions when that duo was on the floor. That momentum carried over
into a first-round sweep of the Trail Blazers. Can the Pelicans, who played at
the league's fastest pace, keep running successfully with reclamation
project Elfrid Payton replacing Rajon Rondo?
There haven't exactly been warm, fuzzy vibes coming from
Minnesota, despite the Timberwolves making the playoffs for the first time
since Kevin Garnett was just entering his prime. There have been persistent
rumors and speculation about whether Jimmy Butler and Karl-Anthony
Towns, the team's two All-Stars, are a tandem suited to last long
term, with the former being a Tom Thibodeau loyalist and the latter seeming to
butt heads with the head coach.
The Kawhi Leonard saga is over in San Antonio. Will the
Spurs' historic playoff streak come to an end next? San Antonio's 21 straight
postseason appearances is tied for second in NBA history. An optimistic
viewpoint: The Spurs managed to squeak in last season despite Leonard playing
only nine games, and DeMar DeRozan --
the centerpiece of the package the Spurs received from the Raptors -- has been
the leading scorer of a playoff team in Toronto each of the past five seasons.
This projection will probably be perceived as disrespectful
in the Pacific Northwest. But there's a reason Damian
Lillard and CJ McCollum tweeted
their displeasure when the Trail Blazers let reserve center Ed Davis leave
in free agency. Davis, a valuable, rugged role player, ranked third among the
Blazers in win shares last season, behind only Portland's high-scoring guard
duo. Portland likely needs Zach Collins to
improve significantly to make the playoffs for a sixth straight season in the
loaded West.
The departure of DeAndre
Jordan, the last of the Lob City cornerstones, is a major reason the
Clippers are projected to finish less than .500 for the first time since
2010-11. Based on on/off court stats from last season, perhaps that shouldn't
be the case. The Clippers had a net rating (points per 100 possessions) of
minus-2.8 when Jordan played and plus-4.4 when he sat. Montrezl
Harrell, whose role could expand significantly this season with
Jordan gone, had the best net rating (plus-2.3) of any Clipper who played at
least 1,000 minutes.
The Memphis front office firmly believes the Grizzlies can
compete for a playoff spot with a healthy Marc Gasol and Mike Conley.
They are 65-56 when both of their remaining Grit 'n Grind cornerstones have
played over the past three seasons. But staying healthy has been tough for
Conley in particular; he missed 70 games last season due to a heel injury that
required surgery. No. 4 overall pick Jaren Jackson
Jr. gives the Grizzlies a much-needed bolt of youthful energy
and a bridge to the future.
Dallas, which has missed the playoffs in consecutive years
for the first time since Dirk Nowitzki's
first two seasons in the league, has dual goals. The development of future
franchise cornerstones Luka Doncic and Dennis Smith
Jr. is a priority, but the Mavs want to be competitive in what is
likely Nowitzki's last season. Signing DeAndre Jordan to what amounts to a
one-year trial period addresses both agendas, giving the Mavs' young playmakers
a lob threat as Dallas hopes to fight for a playoff spot.
Devin Booker's
scoring average (24.9 points per game) was higher than the Suns' win total last
season. That earned Phoenix the No. 1 pick and the right to draft big man Deandre Ayton,
who sees the Suns' young cornerstones as the next Shaq and Kobe. A good first
step would be getting out of the West cellar, where Phoenix finished the past
two seasons.
The Kings have gone 12 years -- and nine head coaches --
since their last winning season. Maybe Marvin Bagley
III and De'Aaron Fox will
lead the Kings back to relevance and improve the team's reputation of being
dysfunctional, but likely not this year.
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