The two teams who ended last season playing for the championship are starting this season in the top 2 spots in my preseason NBA rankings, despite some inner turmoil in both franchises. The teams that are looking to make the biggest jumps this year all have important players who are returning from injury or joining via trade. The Clippers get Kawhi Leonard back, New Orleans has Zion Williamson returning, Cleveland added Donovan Mitchell, and Atlanta added Dejounte Murray. Among teams that look to be significantly worse this year, only one was actually good last year, and that is Utah, who traded away nearly their entire roster over the summer for a bunch of backups and future draft picks. Because there are 6 Western teams that appear to be tanking, at least one will still find themselves in the play-in tournament, which is a sad statement. Here are my full preseason rankings and playoff picks, with rising teams in green and falling teams in red:
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Record |
Proj |
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Rank |
LW |
Team |
Rating |
W |
L |
W |
L |
Seed |
|
1 |
1 |
Boston |
-6.544 |
|
|
59 |
23 |
E1 |
|
2 |
3 |
Golden State |
-5.129 |
|
|
56 |
26 |
W1 |
|
3 |
9 |
Philadelphia |
-4.928 |
|
|
55 |
27 |
E2 |
|
4 |
2 |
Phoenix |
-4.354 |
|
|
54 |
28 |
W2 |
|
5 |
13 |
Cleveland |
-4.264 |
|
|
53 |
29 |
E3 |
|
6 |
18 |
LA Clippers |
-4.069 |
|
|
54 |
28 |
W3 |
|
7 |
7 |
Dallas |
-3.954 |
|
|
53 |
29 |
W4 |
|
8 |
4 |
Memphis |
-3.951 |
|
|
53 |
29 |
W5 |
|
9 |
6 |
Miami |
-3.934 |
|
|
52 |
30 |
E4 |
|
10 |
8 |
Milwaukee |
-3.399 |
|
|
51 |
31 |
E5 |
|
11 |
14 |
Atlanta |
-3.309 |
|
|
51 |
31 |
E6 |
|
12 |
10 |
Minnesota |
-3.052 |
|
|
51 |
31 |
W6 |
|
13 |
11 |
Toronto |
-2.828 |
|
|
49 |
33 |
E7 |
|
14 |
20 |
New Orleans |
-2.203 |
|
|
48 |
34 |
W7 |
|
15 |
17 |
New York |
-1.763 |
|
|
46 |
36 |
E8 |
|
16 |
12 |
Denver |
-1.382 |
|
|
46 |
36 |
W8 |
|
17 |
21 |
Chicago |
-0.431 |
|
|
42 |
40 |
E9 |
|
18 |
5 |
Utah |
0.429 |
|
|
41 |
41 |
W9 |
|
19 |
15 |
Brooklyn |
1.149 |
|
|
37 |
45 |
|
|
20 |
16 |
Charlotte |
1.169 |
|
|
38 |
44 |
E10 |
|
21 |
22 |
LA Lakers |
2.785 |
|
|
34 |
48 |
W10 |
|
22 |
24 |
Washington |
3.124 |
|
|
32 |
50 |
|
|
23 |
25 |
Sacramento |
5.114 |
|
|
28 |
54 |
|
|
24 |
19 |
San Antonio |
5.307 |
|
|
27 |
55 |
|
|
25 |
23 |
Indiana |
5.334 |
|
|
26 |
56 |
|
|
26 |
26 |
Detroit |
6.926 |
|
|
22 |
60 |
|
|
27 |
28 |
Orlando |
7.286 |
|
|
21 |
61 |
|
|
28 |
27 |
Oklahoma City |
7.938 |
|
|
20 |
62 |
|
|
29 |
29 |
Portland |
8.499 |
|
|
19 |
63 |
|
|
30 |
30 |
Houston |
10.69 |
|
|
15 |
67 |
|
Playoff Picks
Play In
(7) Raptors over (8) Knicks
(7) Pelicans over (8) Nuggets
(9) Bulls over (10) Hornets
(9) Jazz over (10) Lakers
(8) Knicks over (9) Bulls
(8) Nuggets over (9) Jazz
First Round
(1) Celtics over (8) Knicks
(2) 76ers over (7) Raptors
(3) Cavaliers over (6) Hawks
(4) Heat over (5) Bucks
(1) Warriors over (8) Nuggets
(2) Suns over (7) Pelicans
(3) Clippers over (6) Timberwolves
(4) Mavericks over (5) Grizzlies
Second Round
(1) Celtics over (4) Heat
(2) 76ers over (3) Cavaliers
(1) Warriors over (4) Mavericks
(2) Suns over (3) Clippers
Conference Finals
(1) Celtics over (2) 76ers
(1) Warriors over (2) Suns
NBA Finals
(1) Celtics over (1) Warriors
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