NBA Preseason Rankings - 2016

The NBA season is starting in a few days, and I have analyzed every roster change and adjusted each team's final rating from last season according to their transactions. It's no surprise that the Warriors are back at #1, after setting a record for regular-season wins last year and adding another recent MVP to their roster in the offseason, but you can never count out Cleveland or San Antonio. Here are my full preseason rankings, along with my playoff predictions:

				Rec		Proj
TW	LW	Team	Rating	W	L	W	L	PO Seed
1	2	Golden State	-13.4			70	12	W1
2	1	San Antonio	-11.9			69	13	W2
3	10	Utah	-6.78			59	23	W3
4	5	LA Clippers	-5.22			56	26	W4
5	4	Cleveland	-5.11			57	25	E1
6	3	Oklahoma City	-4.16			53	29	W5
7	12	Portland	-3.72			52	30	W6
8	11	Indiana	-2.91			52	30	E2
9	7	Toronto	-1.77			49	33	E3
10	15	Detroit	-1.39			47	35	E4
11	13	Charlotte	-1.18			46	36	E6
12	6	Atlanta	-1.16			47	35	E5
13	8	Miami	-0.47			44	38	E7
14	24	Minnesota	-0.4			43	39	W7
15	9	Boston	-0.17			44	38	E8
16	18	Chicago	0.495			42	40
17	16	Washington	0.723			42	40
18	17	Dallas	1.624			38	44	W8
19	26	Milwaukee	1.65			39	43
20	14	Houston	2.252			36	46
21	19	Orlando	3.333			34	48
22	21	Denver	3.69			32	50
23	20	Sacramento	3.842			32	50
24	25	New Orleans	3.919			32	50
25	23	Memphis	6.725			24	58
26	22	New York	7.541			24	58
27	29	LA Lakers	8.111			21	61
28	27	Phoenix	10.14			18	64
29	28	Brooklyn	11.75			15	67
30	30	Philadelphia	12.22			15	67

Playoff Picks

First Round

(1) Cavaliers over (8) Celtics
(2) Pacers over (7) Heat
(6) Hornets over (3) Raptors
(5) Hawks over (4) Pistons
(1) Warriors over (8) Mavericks
(2) Spurs over (7) Timberwolves
(3) Jazz over (6) Trail Blazers
(5) Thunder over (4) Clippers

Second Round

(1) Cavaliers over (5) Hawks
(6) Hornets over (2) Pacers
(1) Warriors over (5) Thunder
(2) Spurs over (3) Jazz

Conference Finals

(1) Cavaliers over (6) Hornets
(2) Spurs over (1) Warriors

NBA Finals

(2) Spurs over (1) Cavaliers

Even though Tim Duncan has retired, the Spurs are led by LaMarcus Aldridge, Kawhi Leonard, Pau Gasol, and Tony Parker. LeBron makes his 7th straight Finals appearance, but loses to the Spurs in the final series for the third time in his career.