Everybody loves them some predictions and we are all experts when it comes to making them. The risky part is putting them in writing as people can call you out on them after the fact. It’s pretty easy to predict who you think is going to be the best team in the NBA in any given season. Right now it’s probably easier then ever. The key is to pick the team with the player on course to being a top five player of all time. I am not talking about Kobe or the Lakers for all the delusional LA fans out there. I am talking about the Miami Heat and Lebron James. It can be easy to pick the top few teams finish it’s also a completely other thing to predict exactly how many wins each team will have for a season. This is exactly what I am about to do for every NBA team. I also have an article in the works predicting the major awards as well as the all-NBA teams in the next couple days. First up will be the Western Conference. I will give a quick explanation on each team and my projected win total.
If you missed it, here is the Eastern Conference.
And now, here we go with the Western Conference:
15 – Phoenix – This is a team in full rebuild mode. Their latest trade of Gortat to Washington proves this more than ever. They seem to be after the 1st pick and will have a legitimate shot at it come the lottery next spring. 15 wins
14 – Sacramento – A team that is full of shoot first guys in the back court probably shouldn’t have drafted a shooting guard. But they did. Cousins is a top 15 talent but with the mentality of a 12 year old. Not a good mix for success. 24 wins
13 – Utah – They have two talented big men in Kanter and Favors which will be enough to miss out on a top 5 pick but won’t get them a sniff at the playoffs. 24 wins
12 – Portland – They have added talent but just seem to be a team that can’t move up in the standings. I feel that they are destined to miss the playoffs again. They will also probably deal Aldridge and be set back even further at some point during the season. 30 wins
11 – LA Lakers – A team that is in survival mode until Kobe gets back. Although when that happens I am not sure it will matter. They lost a ton of games with him and Dwight in the line-up last year. They will miss this years playoffs. 32 wins
10 – Minnesota – A two man team that can do damage if that twosome stay healthy. However, not enough for a playoff birth. They needed the Love and Rubio injuries this year when the draft is stacked and then they could have added a nice third piece. 35 wins
9 – Dallas – Cuban is not willing to waste any of Dirk’s last few years even if it is better for the team in the short and long term. They should be in a fight for the 8th seed in the West but will probably fall short unless we see the Dirk from his prime. 40 Wins
8 – Denver – Not bringing back George Karl is probably a mistake. They were over achievers the last few years with him. They also lost Andre Iguodala to free agency and Gallinari for probably half the season to an injury. 43 wins
7 – New Orleans – I really like Davis and think he showed that he is going to be a franchise player. They also got better with the draft day trade for Holiday. If Gordon is healthy they make the playoffs easy. If not they are still close because of Davis. 46 wins
6 – Golden State – All this team did was add Iguodala after giving the conference champ Spurs a scare in the playoffs. They should make the playoffs with a five or six seed. If they learn to win on the road they could be higher. 50 wins
5 – Memphis – Their window to win it all might already be closed however they are still a good team. They are too big for most teams to match up with because of this they will pound it inside. Another weird coaching fire or change that I can’t say will be for the better of this team. 52 wins
4 – Houston – This team is set for a big jump in the standings. Harden did a great job of carrying them last year but wore out late and they fell to the eighth seed. Picking up the best big man in the league in Howard will make them an instant contender. They also have a GM that will make a move if needed. 56 wins
3 – LA Clippers – Almost everyone acknowledges that Vinny Del Negro was the worst coach in the league last season. I have watched a lot of Celtics games and will say Doc is an upgrade although I think he’s a little overrated as a head coach. They will win their division easily and probably have a shot at the one seed because their division is so weak this year. 56 wins
2 – Oklahoma – The Harden trade is one of the worst in the NBA’s history. I still can’t get over it. How many times have three of the best five players in the league been on the same team at the same time? None that I can think of. Not having Westbrook in the lineup for the start of the season will cost them the one and possibly even the West’s two seed. 57 wins
1 – San Antonio – They are a team that people have written off many times. That does not seem to be happening this off-season. Kawhi Leonard looked like a legitimate super star in the playoffs and I think that continues this year.This team wins the West. 60 wins
Stay tuned later today for my continued NBA season predictions when I give you my Eastern conference win totals.
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