So now that you know some of the important dates and changes made in the NBA this year, here's how we see this season going down.
Western Conference
1. Golden State Warriors*
The champs will be back at it again this season. This team won't really sneak up on anybody this season, they have a target on their backs as the defending champions. But the question is, how can you top what you did last year? This team finished with 67 victories and won an NBA title for the first time in 40 years. The fact that Golden State is returning the top nine players in minutes is going to be a big help, and the Warriors should land in the top 10 in offensive and defensive efficiency for the second straight season. They still have their top two players in Steph Curry and Klay Thompson locked up for a while and have a solid supporting cast round them once again. When you have a starting five that consists of Curry, Thompson, Barnes, Green, and Bogut its a scary bunch to play against. This Golden State team should again be a heavy favorite to come out of the West again this season.
2. San Antonio Suprs*
You want to talk about a model of consistency, look no further than the Spurs. This team hasn't missed the playoffs since the 1996-97 season, and in fact have only missed post season play five total times in the history of the franchise. I don't see that changing this year. One of the biggest splashes that the Spurs made in the offseason was adding one of the game’s best offensive big men and one of its more underrated bigs to an already experienced and loaded roster. LaMarcus Aldridge and David West will let Pop rest Tim Duncan plenty during the season, which due to his age is something Duncan might need if the Spurs want him healthy come playoff time. Kawhi Leonard continues his trajectory towards superstardom. The league’s most consistent franchise will continue to infuriate opposing fans. When you have a starting five that consists of Parker, Green, Leonard, Aldridge, and Duncan, your set up for success.
3. Los Angeles Clippers*
The Clippers had one of the most entertaining summers in recent memory from an off the court perspective. With everything that happened with DeAndre Jordan and whether or not he was going to Dallas or heading back to LA, it made for some good drama before the start of the season. Now he's back in the fold, and the Clippers are going to contend again this season. When you add in talented players like wily veteran Paul Pierce, Lance Stephenson and Josh Smith, it adds some depth to the team. If the second unit can find a groove and Stephenson can find his Indiana form again, this team has the firepower to make things uncomfortable for teams at the top like the Spurs and Warriors. When you also have a starting five of Paul, Redick, Pierce, Griffin, and Jordan, that will scare the pants off anybody.
4. Houston Rockets*
James Harden is coming off an outstanding year last year, one in which he fell just short of winning MVP (which went to Stephen Curry). One problem Houston had last season was not having much support in the backcourt for Harden. Now they have it in the form of Ty Lawson. Bringing in Lawson is going to help take some of the pressure off Harden, which is going to be a huge help. Once again, the Rockets are going to be known as the top three point shooting team in not only the Western Conference, but in the entire league. Besides that, Houston is one of the best ball possession team in all of basketball, and when you have a starting five that has Ty Lawson, James Harden, Trevor Ariza, Terrence Jones, and Dwight Howard it makes for a good basketball team.
5. Oklahoma City Thunder*
Last season couldn't have gone any worse for OKC. Derailed by injuries the last two years, both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook will be back healthy to start the season. But health will continue to be a concern for this team, as will depth. They need to find a leader for the second unit, so Durant and Westbrook can get some rest during games. A lighter minutes load will keep them productive, which is the same argument you can make for the Spurs. Another big knock on the Thunder is winning a title. The pressure is really starting to mount in OKC for winning a crown. The pressure is on Russell Westbrook, Andre Roberson, Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka, and Steven Adams to try and bring home a title. That and stay healthy, because as we saw last year, not having Westbrook and Durant hurt the Thunder. They did have a winning record, but it wasn't enough. This year they have enough talent to get in.
6. Memphis Grizzlies*
The team you’d least want to get in a fight with just got tougher. Here's a team that likes to run with the basketball down load, which is a bit of a surprise considering that this league has now gone to mostly an outside shooting league. In order to get tougher, Memphis added noted scrapper Matt Barnes, they threw in a solid backup in the form of big man Brandan Wright. Then kept it going by adding possible backup point guard in Russ Smith. When you already have a team that boast a starting five of Mike Conley, Jeff Green, Courtney Lee, Zach Randolph, and Marc Gasol, you have one of the more intimidating lineups in all of the league. Looks like grit-n-grind basketball returns for another year in Memphis, which should be fun to watch.
7. New Orleans Pelicans*
New coach Alvin Gentry has reason to be optimistic going into this season. He does have Anthony Davis, who is quickly becoming one of the top two way players in all of the NBA. The Pelicans are still missing a few pieces, but if they can just put a competent group of four players around Davis, they’ll be a playoff team that goes on a deep run. With a starting five of Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon, Dante Cunningham, Anthony Davis, and Omer Asik, they will make a solid run at this thing. If it’s an above-average group, that’s when you get into contender territory. First and foremost, Jrue Holiday and Eric Gordon need to stay healthy. That’s a big ask considering the two have combined to miss 129 games over the last two years. The team lacks depth, which will hurt them come playoff time. Still when healthy, this team has enough talent to get in as a seventh seed.
8. Dallas Mavericks*
Talk about a rough go of it over the summer. The Mavs thought they had Deandre Jordan locked up to a contract, but that fell through as they weren't able to pry him from the Clippers grasp. That said, they still had a solid offseason. Dallas got a little better with the addition of Deron Williams and Wes Matthews. Williams looked to have regained his form at the end of last season, and the Mavs are banking on that continuing. Matthews is coming off a torn Achilles, and you never know how well a player can come back from that. But if he returns to pre-injury form, this team will fill it up. The problem is at the five spot, where the options are uninspiring. Javale McGee, Zaza Pachulia and Samuel Dalembert don’t exactly strike fear into opponents. Justin Anderson should be a good 3 and D guy right away in the league. If things break just right, there’s a sliver of hope that they can send Dirk out on top. Dallas still has enough talent to get into the post season.
9. Utah Jazz
This team is going to surprise a few people this year, they are going to make it close this season. This was a team that finished under .500 and came in 11th place last season in a tough Western Conference. This is the NBA's third-youngest team (24.9). They're going to be without second-year point guard Dante Exum, who's out with a torn ACL, and that is going to hurt their chances. After the All-Star break last season, a giant frontcourt featuring 6-10 Derrick Favors, who is going to be somebody to keep an eye on in the pain this season, and 7-1 Rudy Gobert led Utah to a 19-10 record and the NBA's best D. Throw in a talent like Gordon Hayward, who is a solid player, and you have something to build off of. The rest is untapped potential right now. Trey Burke, Alec Burks, Dante Exum and Rodney Hood could all be good players, but haven’t lived up to expectations yet. Defensively this team can lock down opponents. On offense it will stagnate and get clunky at times.And who’s playing point? Still, the Jazz will be in the mix for the last couple seeds come playoff time.
10. Phoenix Suns
New year, same results. I can see Phoenix finishing in the exact same spot they did last season. Still a little tough to make things out for this basketball team, I mean think about it. two years ago they had a winning record and just missed out on making the playoffs. Last year they took a step backwards and fell to under .500. This season, Phoenix nearly won the offseason lottery in getting Tyson Chandler to pair with LaMarcus Aldridge, but Aldridge headed off to San Antonio instead. What’s left is a fun team with some intriguing pieces, that could give teams fits, but will ultimately jockey for one of the final couple playoff spots. I mean look at the team they have. To complement Tyson Chandler, they have Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, PJ Tucker, and Markieff Morris. Plus throw in guys like Mirza Teletovic off the bench, it should help keep Phoenix in the race and finish right around .500 this year.
11. Sacramento Kings
With the talent on this basketball team, there is a little bit of potential and something to possibly build on. I know its been a struggle for the Kings, a team that hasn't made the playoffs since 2006 and hasn't won 30 or more games in a season since winning 33 games in 2007. Came close last year with 29 wins, but still it hasn't really been good for the Kings. There is a little hope here, considering the team has Rajon Rondo, Ben McLemore, Rudy Gay, DeMarcus Cousins and Willie Cauley-Stein. On paper, this team reads like a great starting lineup on paper. How will it play out on the floor? We’re about to find out. Its either going to be really great, or really suck.
12. Portland Trail Blazers
This is going to suck if your a fan of Portland. This is a team who was a 51 win team and a division winner a season ago. They got bounced by Houston in the opening round, so you would think they would be back to rebuilding. But right here and now, Lamarcus Aldridge and Wesley Matthews are gone, as are Aaron Afflalo and Robin Lopez (both signed with the Knicks). The talent that was here has been replaced by role players. Ed Davis is a nice piece, same with Al-Farouq Aminu. And CJ McCollum seems primed for a breakout year. But there’s just not enough here to contend.
13. Denver Nuggets
I think its time for rebuild mode in Denver. After going through a nine year stretch of making the playoffs, the Nuggets has missed it the last two seasons each. Now I think management has sent the loud and clear message that the team is in rebuild. How do I know? When you go and get rid of Ty Lawson in the offseason and, on top of that, drafted Emmanuel Mudiay. Mudiay will be good, and Jusuf Nurkic is a solid big man. But outside of those two, where does the production come from? Does Danilo Gallinari finally show the form they expected?Seems unlikely. This roster has a bunch of question marks. Its not going to be pretty in Denver this season.
14. Los Angeles Lakers
This is Kobe Bryant's last run in the league, but its not going to go very well I can almost guarantee you that. Give the Lakers some credit, they did manage to trade for Roy Hibbert, which will help their 29th-ranked D. Lou Williams and Brandon Bass are going to help mentor the young guys. But relying on those two, an aging Kobe and Jordan Clarkson/rookie D’Angelo Russell is not a formula for success in a stacked Western Conference. Good news for the looming post-Kobe era, right? Not so much. The Lakers have improved just enough to send their 2016 top-three-protected pick to Philly.
15. Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota has a little something to build off of here. The fun young players on this roster, along with a stabilizing veteran presence, will help the Timberwolves start to sniff coming back into prominence in a very tough West. When you have guys like Karl-Anthony Towns, Gorgui Dieng and Adreian Payne, you have something to work with. And they get to learn from talent like Kevin Garnett. Zach Lavine and Tyus Jones can study the ageless wonder professor Andre Miller. Kevin Martin and Tayshaun Prince can help Andrew Wiggins continue to grow. The problem will be finding minutes for everyone. If they can correctly balance that equation, this will be a fun team to watch. In two years, they’ll scare the daylights out of the rest of the league. It's just not going to happen this season.
Eastern Conference
1. Cleveland Cavaliers*
Yes I know this is going to be the team that most experts pick to come out of the East, but with how weak the East is by comparing it to the West, its not hard to see why you would take the Cavs. One of the biggest question marks with the Cavs is health. You saw what happened to them in the playoffs last year. Yes they made the finals but lost two big pieces, Irving and Love, by the time the finals started. You still have the big three of James, Love and Irving, who when healthy can beat everybody in the East almost. Adding in guys like Mo Williams and vet Richard Jefferson will deepen an already explosive offense. Add in the talent of guys like Timofey Mozgov and Tristan Thompson and the Cavs will once again be the kings of the East.
2. Chicago Bulls*
Its going to be tough without Derrick Rose, but the Bulls have been able to do it in the past without him. Fred Hoiberg has taken over as Chicago's head coach and all we know for sure is that this year’s Bulls team will be completely different from Tom Thibodeau’s Bulls teams of yesteryear. Hoiberg is known for his offensive acumen and has been the toast of the town this preseason for the free-flowing offense he’s putting into place. A big problem that Hoiberg is going to have is the same thing that Thibodeau had, its dealing with Injuries on his basketball team. Rose is out for a while, dealing with his facial injures. Once Rose comes back, there's hope in Chicago. Rose, they are hoping, can mesh with Jimmy Butler, to make a pretty good one-two punch. Put in Joakim Noah, Pau Gasol, and Doug McDermott to the starting five and it could make Chicago tough to defend against.
3. Atlanta Hawks*
This is a Hawks team that is coming off a 60+ win season last year. Atlanta has a strong chance to go deep in the playoffs. But there is a small problem. Atlanta lost DeMarre Carroll to free agency, which is going to hurt. Replacing his perimeter skills on both ends won't be easy. No East team moved the ball and spaced the floor better than the Hawks. New center Tiago Splitter, though a good fix for the team's rebounding woes (22nd in defensive, 30th in offensive), has neither range nor passing skills. When you have a starting five that consists of Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Al Horford, Thabo Sefolosha and Paul Millsap, it still a good mix for a decent playoff team.
4. Miami Heat*
Last season was a bad one in Miami, mostly because a lot of their starters missed playing time during the year due to injury. Miami could be the most intriguing team in all the Eastern Conference this year. A starting five that boasts Goran Dragic, Dwayne Wade, Hassan Whiteside, Luol Deng, and Chris Bosh has plenty of star power to go around. Its going to be an interesting sight to see how well Dragic, Wade and Bosh are going to be playing together. Throw in veterans like Amar’e Stoudemire and young studs like Justice Winslow, and you’ve got one interesting team. On paper, they could be the cream that rises to the top of the East and dethrones the king and the Cavaliers. Al lot of it will depend on how healthy this team can stay and how well they play on defense for coach Erik Spoelstra. Whatever happens, Miami could be fun to watch.
5. Washington Wizards*
Its been fun the last two years in DC if your a basketball fan. Your team has made it to the 2nd round in each of the last two years, but the party has been stopped there each time. Is it time for the Wizards to possibly be able to expand apon it? Only time will tell. But right now it looks like a distinct possibility. With a back court of Bradley Beal and John Wall, both of whom have improved each year and still may not have peaked yet, it’s definitely possible. Sure Paul Pierce isn't in the mix anymore, which is a huge loss for the Wizards, especially when you think about his contributions in the playoffs last year. Still, the Wizards will try and compensate for the loss with the rising Otto Porter and veterans like Jared Dudley, Alan Anderson and Gary Neal. I’m not sure they can replace Pierce, but they’ll be able to contribute throughout the year for sure. When you have a starting five of John Wall, Bradley Beal, Marcin Gortat, Otto Porter, and Nene, you can make an impact in the East.
6. Toronto Raptors*
The last two seasons, the Atlantic Division crown in the Eastern Conference has gone through Toronto. Lets face facts there's not a whole lot of competition in that Division against the Raptors. The only downside for the Raptors the last two seasons is they have been bounced in the opening round each time. Give the Raptors credit, they did get noticeably better. They did add Demarre Carroll, Anthony Bennett and Luis Scola to a talented back court of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. Carroll and Scola both have a playoff pedigree of sorts as well, which is what the Raptors need to help get them over the first-round hump this year. Still, two of the biggest problems that the Raptors didn't address is the teams interior D (50.1 percent allowed on 2s last season, 28th in the NBA) and shooting (Toronto projects to have the NBA's 15th-best effective field-goal percentage). If the Raptors were in the West, we'd be punching their lottery ticket. Lucky for them they play in a weak Eastern Conference and will finish 6th.
7. Milwaukee Bucks*
This was a team who a season ago made a MAJOR step in the right direction. Two seasons ago, they finished with just 15 wins. Last year, it jumped up to 41 wins and finishing the year with a .500 season and a playoff spot (losing to the Bulls in the opening round in six games). There is a chance that the Bucks could be a good basketball team this season. What’s not to like about the roster they’ve put together? They have a talented starting five, which consists of Michael Carter-Williams, Khris Middleton, Greg Monroe, Giannis Antetokoummpo, and Jabari Parker. They have a solid bench, and a coach that appears to know what he’s doing in Jason Kidd. For once, ownership is throwing their money and putting support behind the team. The only thing that could derail a Buck run is a Jabari Parker setback as he returns from an ACL injury. Otherwise, look out for the Bucks. This team may surprise a few people. Just depends on Parker and how healthy he can stay.
8 Boston Celtics*
Boston surprised a few people last year by coming in as the seventh seed and winning forty games. The fact that the biggest impact they made in the playoffs was on Kevin Love’s shoulder is besides the point, they made it to the dance, and that was a big accomplishment. The Celtics are in great shape for the future, but could be set up for some success this season too. With some solid minutes from David Lee and continued off-the-bench excellence from Isaiah Thomas, they could make a run at a higher seed in the East than most expect. Their starting five of Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart, Tyler Zeller, David Lee, and Evan Turner is a solid starting five. Hell it may be the only starting five in the top eight in the East that doesn't have a STAR among them. That just goes to show how weak the Eastern Conference. Still I think its good enough to get bye and make the playoffs.
9. Detroit Pistons
Detroit could be close to possibly getting over the hump. This is a team that hasn't made the playoffs since 2009 and are getting a little bit closer. Year two under Stan Van Gundy definitely has Pistons fans optimistic. Stanley Johnson, who was the team’s first-round pick (No. 8 overall), will start the season coming off the bench, but he’ll be making his presence known league wide before too long. He looked good in training camp and could make noise. Andre Drummond remains one of the game’s best rebounders, and he’ll have a better supporting cast this year to work with. When you have a starting five that consists of Reggie Jackson, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Andre Drummond, Ersan Ilyasova, and Marcus Morris, there's a little bit of hope in the Motor City.
10. Charlotte Hornets
There is good news coming out of Charlotte for a basketball fan. This team has a renovated roster, one that features talent players like Nicolas Batum, Jeremy Lin and rookie Frank Kaminsky. All three of them project to at least 11 points per 36 minutes, and all should give punch to an offense that ranked 28th and shot an NBA-worst 31.8 percent from 3 in 2014-15. There is always a downside. In this case its Michael Kidd-Gilchrist's injury, which drops a stifling D a little bit. There is a great chance though that his Hornets team will improve on their 33-49 record from last season
11. Indiana Pacers
The Pacers are trading in bigger and stronger for smaller and quicker, which might not work out so well in the NBA. You have to give Indiana a little bit of credit for trying to change up their style. Not having Roy Hibbert and David West in the front court I think are going to hurt the Pacers, but apparently Indiana needs and wants a change in their philosophy. This season is going to be interesting to see how the style works for coach Frank Vogel. We’ve already heard rumblings of Paul George being unhappy with his new power forward roll, so forgive the skepticism that this transition will be seamless for the Pacers. When you have the starting five of George Hill, Monta Ellis, Ian Mahinmi, C.J. Miles, and an unhappy Paul George it may make for a long season in Indy.
12. New York Knicks
There has been a lot of changes to this Knicks squad, coming off an interesting year last year. Melo missed a lot of time with the knee injury, then their was the failed attempt to tank at the end of the year (a move which lead to New York landing the 4th pick). Now you bring in Kristaps Porzingis with the fourth pick, you add some pieces in like Robin Lopez and Arron Afflalo. With the starting five of Jose Calderon, Arron Afflalo, Robin Lopez, Carmelo Anthony, and Kristaps Porzingis, it shouldn't be as much of a dumpster fire as last years team was, but it won't be good enough to get into the playoffs.
13. Orlando Magic
Twenty five wins a season ago was a tough go of it for the Magic. A team that hasn't won more than 30 games in season since 2012 has a lot of work to do. Defensive-minded coach Scott Skiles is in for a long haul with this Orlando team. He’s looking to reshape a team that had one of the worst point differentials in the league last year. More often than not last season, this Orlando team would get roasted due to their poor defense. The Magic have some young skilled players like Elfrid Payton who are set to improve on last year’s season. Although they’re trending in the right direction, the Magic are still a year or two away from really competing in the East. The starting five of Elfrid Payton, Victor Oladipo, Nikola Vucevic, Tobias Harris, and Aaron Gordon have a lot of work to do this year.
14. Brooklyn Nets
Sorry Nets fans, this might not be your year. Yes I know the team has made the playoffs in each of the three seasons they have been in Brooklyn, but this year I don't feel they have enough talent to get there. Things didn't get off to a great start for Lionel Hollins last year to say the very least, and it’s not going to get too much easier this year either. The Nets jettisoned mercurial point guard Deron Williams and are letting Jarrett Jack run the show, a downgrade no matter your feelings on Williams. The Nets re-signed Thaddeus Young, a good move for the club, but they’re still not talented enough to compete in the East. It’ll certainly be interesting to see what the Nets can do with Andrea Bargnani, if anything. The starting five of Jarrett Jack, Bojan Bogdanovic, Brook Lopez, Joe Johnson, and Thaddeus Young are going to have a huge hill to climb and it's not going to be an easy one.
15. Philadelphia 76ers
Things haven't been too good in Philly the past few seasons. They haven't made the playoffs since 2012 and in both of the last two seasons have been unable to hit the twenty win mark for the year. It doesn’t look like this is going to be the year for the 76ers, but it could at least be the start of something for the much-maligned franchise and its tanking ways. Jahlil Okafor and a healthy Nerlens Noel could thrive together, and Tony Wroten is poised to improve on last year’s solid campaign. So, optimism in Philly? This year isn't going to provide much of any in Phnilly. The only one of the starting five of Tony Wroten, Nik Stauskas, Nerlens Noel, Robert Covington, and Jahlil Okafor who shows any promise is Okafor. The rest of the team flat out isn't very good.
So there you have it the NBA predictions for the 2015-16 NBA Season!
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