Tier 1 Untouchable
1. Golden State Warriors
- The Warriors are on another level, barring significant injury they should walk into the first seed and a second straight championship with little to no competition.
Tier 2 NBA Elite
2. Houston Rockets
- Adding Chris Paul is huge. Obviously defense is still a concern, but Paul is an above average defender and their offense is going to be insane.
3. San Antonio Spurs
- Depending on Kawhi's health this Spurs team should still win close to 60 games. Pop.
4. Boston Celtics
- The Celtics had the best offseason of any team, adding Hayward and Irving. This propels them into the top 5 teams in the league.
5. Oklahoma City Thunder
- OKC had the second best offseason of any team this season with the addition of PG13 and Carmemelol. It should help their spacing and offense a lot, as well as take some burden off of Westbrook, assuming they can all get along.
6. Cleveland Cavaliers
- once IT is back look for them to pass the Celtics and be a top 3-4 team, but for now I just don't see them as complete enough to be any higher. They will still make the Finals tho.
Tier 3 Playoff Locks
7. Minnesota Timberwolves
- Buckets, Teague, and KAT. If their defense can improve and Wiggins gets fewer touches then the T-Wolves should easily make the playoffs.
8. Utah Jazz
- The Jazz lost George Hill and Hayward, which hurts them a lot, but Rubio, Hood, Ingles, Favors, and Gobert is still a solid starting lineup.
9. Washington Wizards
- The Wizards have the same core that gave them a 3 seed in the East last year, I don't expect much to change with the Celtics and Cavs keeping a strong grip on the top 2 spots.
10. Denver Nuggets
- The Millsap addition, plus Jokic and Harris' maturity and playing more of a featured role should be enough to make the Nuggets a strong playoff team.
Tier 4 Solid Playoff Contenders
11. Portland Trailblazers
- If Nurkic can stay healthy the Blazers should make the playoffs in probably one of the strongest Western Conferences in recent memory, following the offseason Eastern Exodus.
12. Milwaukee Bucks
- A depleted Eastern conference allows the Bucks to slide into the 4th slot. They have a solid core and a budding superstar in Giannis.
13. Memphis Grizzlies
- If any of the bottom 3-4 teams in the West suffer an injury to a key player the Grizzlies will be right there to nab a playoff spot.
14. Philadelphia 76ers
- The process will finally pay off this year, landing the 76ers a top 5-6 seed in the East.
15. Toronto Raptors
- The Raptors will continue to get worse each year as Lowry gets older, Casey remains the coach, and DeRozan has plateaued.
Tier 5 Playoff Hopefuls
16. Los Angeles Clippers
- The loss of Chris Paul will have a devastating effect on the Clippers, I think they miss the playoffs this season or barely sneak in. Griffin will probably get injured at some point, and without him they're bottom-tier.
17. New Orleans Pelicans
- The twin towers should balance each other out and make the Pelicans a dominant force, but that didn't happen last season and didn't look promising in the preseason. If they can get it together the Pelicans could be a top 6 team in a loaded West.
18. Detroit Pistons
- Drummond had surgery over the offseason to fix an issue with his nose that was causing him to be unable to breath well. If that can help him be the anchor the Pistons need him to be, coupled with Jackson having healthy knees, they should easily be a playoff team in such a weak East.
19. Miami Heat
- The Heat will be contending with the Pistons and Hornets for one of the last couple playoff spots in the East.
20. Charlotte Hornets
- See above.
Tier 6 Lottery Teams
21. Dallas Mavericks
- The Mavs with Noel, Barnes, Matthew, and DSJ will be the best of this low-tier, but nowhere near good enough to compete in this Western Conference.
22. Los Angeles Lakers
- If Ball pans out this team could turn some heads this season, but I don't think they have the firepower to make much of a splash right now.
23. Atlanta Hawks
24. Indiana Pacers
25. Sacramento Kings
- I like the George Hill and Vince Carter additions, but it's nowhere near enough to make them relevant.
26. New York Knicks
Tier 7 Dog Poop
- None of these teams are worth a description.
27. Phoenix Suns
28. Brooklyn Nets
29. Orlando Magic
30. Chicago Bulls