Suprises:
WEST
New Orleans: With Rondo and Ian
Clark in the backcourt and a healthy Holiday, along with a full year of Boogie and Davis, I think the Pelicans are going to be better then most think.
Utah Jazz: Even with the depature of Hayward and Diaw, the Jazz add compelling guard Donovan Mitchell as well as Ricky Rubio and veteran Thabo Sefolosha. They also retained Joe Ingles. And have Dante Exum, Rodney Jood, and Gobert to boot. They are going to play well enough to make the middle of the pack.
Blazers: The Blazers are underestimated as always. With a full year of Jusuf Nurkic, returning players, and an intriquing rookie in Caleb Swanigan look for them to be in the mix, even without a Carmelo trade.
Minnesota: The Timberwolves couldn't figure it out last year, but with the additions of Butler, Teague, Crawford, and Gibson they are going to be a team to look out for this season.
Clippers: LAC will find away to keep winning even without Chris Paul and JJ Reddick. They added Danilo Galinari, Milos Theodisic, Patrick Beverly, Lou Williams, and Willie Reed to go with Griffin and Jordan. Too Young Rivers will probably take a step up.
Sacramento: The Kings will do better than expected having added Veteran ( Randolph, Hill, Carter) and rookie (Fox, Jackson, Giles) pieces that will compliment each other well with what Sac already was sitting with. (Buddy Hield, Willie Cauley Stein, Skal)
EAST:
Miami: The Heat struggled to start the year, but got hot and finished the season strong. Look for them to start where they left off.
Philidelphia: The 76ers are going to win a lot more this year. If they can stay healthy look for them to make a run for a low-mid seed playoff spot.
Skunks - Bad Apples:
WEST:
Lakers: Maybe next season with Lebron and George join if that happens. This year though even with Ball, the Lakers on the outs. They will be at the bottom of the stack ahead of the lowly suns.
Rockets: Its going to take more than Paul and Harden to form a goid team. With Melo, should the trade miraculously happen ( Milwaukee does like to trade for over expensive white bigs for sone reason then trade them away because how could they not be good) anyway toi much ball hogging in Houston, even with Capela's help. The Rockets are deep as a shallow person.
EAST:
Boston: The Celtics lost 4 of 5 starters from last season along with the heart of their bench. Even with Irving, Hayward, and promising young blood, Boston is going to struggle to begin the season. Ultimately though in such a weak east they will make the playoffs, probably with home court.
Pacers: Yeah the loss of George is going to hurt. They weren't great last year with him, but without him, even with Sabonis and Oladipo, its going to be raining tears in Indiana.
Usual Suspects:
WEST:
Warriors, Spurs, and Thunder: All will be good, Warriors and Spurs as usual. Thunder because with George alongside Westbrook equals wins.
Grizzlies: Grizzlies are getting old and battered. They will take a step down this season but still be in the mix gor a low seed playoff spot.
Dallas, Denver, Phoenix: Bottom line Suns are going to be the worst team in the west. Dallas has a chance to surprise, but I see a rebuild and a lot of losses. Denver is a wildcard. They lost their best player in Gallinari, but signed Milsap. They haveca lot of youth and unknown. They could surprise, but realistically they will probably be towards the other end of the spectrum
EAST:
Cavaliers, Tornonto: Once again they will be top seeds in the East. Not hard to do though
Wizards, Hornets, Bulls: Middleground teams. The Wizards will probably round out home court in the playoffs with the Hornets and Bulls taking the 5th and 6th spots. The Wiz and Hornets will be at above .500 ball for the season. Chicago probably won't but with a weak east it doesn't matter.
Hawks, Magic, Nets, Pistons, Knicks: This goes to show how weak the east has gotten. Any of these teams could vie for a low play off spot. The Nets are the worst, and will be the worst team in the east. None of these teams will be .500 teams.
