RealGM

Lets see everyone's predictions. You can post them in this thread.

Or to make things easier, I have created a google sheet. There are instructions on how to create your own tab on the bottom.

Let me know if you have any questions.

You can take a screen shot if you do it there (or I can) and post in this thread.

Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QibYtFOj6wDgJ3zOg76g6tAwtfN5DDs-63oxqx7RBUo/edit#gid=850501064

I predict that for most posters a link to a google sheet with instructions is to much effort.

SNPA wrote:I predict that for most posters a link to a google sheet with instructions is to much effort.

Well, you see day and week long diaries and back and forths on COVID that requires hours and hours of people's time to try and convince people to change their minds (hint: they won't)...so....

Plus, I thought about just making a thread where people had to type it out, but that's a hell of a lot more work than going to a sheet and entering records next to teams....or do I overestimate our users?

OR, if people don't understand google or simply would like me to create them their personal tab to work off of, they can ask here.

bwgood77 wrote:

SNPA wrote:I predict that for most posters a link to a google sheet with instructions is to much effort.

Well, you see day and week long diaries and back and forths on COVID that requires hours and hours of people's time to try and convince people to change their minds (hint: they won't)...so....

Plus, I thought about just making a thread where people had to type it out, but that's a hell of a lot more work than going to a sheet and entering records next to teams....or do I overestimate our users?

OR, if people don't understand google or simply would like me to create them their personal tab to work off of, they can ask here.

You’re on to something here…add a column for a COVID take and they’ll come in droves.

East

Bucks
Nets
Heat
Hawks
Celtics
Bulls
Sixers
Knicks
—————
Hornets
Pacers
Raptors
Magic
Wizards
Pistons
Cavs

**Sixers could move either way depending on the Simmons outcome

West

Lakers
Suns
Nuggets
Jazz
Blazers
Warriors
Mavs
Clippers
—————
Grizzlies
Pelicans
Kings
Spurs
Timberwolves
Rockets
Thunder

The West looks very weak in comparison

If the Knicks end up being the 8th seed.. the East is strong af.. this team is way better than last season

FreeThrowLine wrote:East

Bucks
Nets
Heat
Hawks
Celtics
Bulls
Sixers
Knicks
—————
Hornets
Pacers
Raptors
Magic
Wizards
Pistons
Cavs

**Sixers could move either way depending on the Simmons outcome

West

Lakers
Suns
Nuggets
Jazz
Blazers
Warriors
Mavs
Clippers
—————
Grizzlies
Pelicans
Kings
Spurs
Timberwolves
Rockets
Thunder

The West looks very weak in comparison

Yeah, when filling it out, the east kept coming out with an overall better record..I kept having to adjust things. I have the Blazers lower maybe fighting with the Grizzlies but the Blazers always do better than I expect. I thought that was because of Stotts though, so it will be interesting.

Grizz were tough though...knocking out the Warriors who nearly knocked out the Lakers in play ins, and they played the whole season without JJJ, and Ja missed a lot of time..I think Winslow too...then they have some good improving young guys in Bane, Tillman, Clarke, etc.

East looks about right. It seems like the Pacers could be tough if they could stay healthy and TJ came back but everyone ahead of them seems pretty tough too, especially if the Bulls guards mesh and Kemba gets back to his former self (or close).

DaGawd wrote:If the Knicks end up being the 8th seed.. the East is strong af.. this team is way better than last season

Well the Heat should be WAY better and the Bulls should be quite a bit better, but I have the Knicks and Bulls about the same. The Bulls are interesting with a lot of talent, ball movement and scorers, but no defense. The Knicks have a year of playoff experience plus Kemba and Fournier which is big. If Kemba is even close to what he used to be, they should be pretty tough. But I think the top 3 are probably a tier above and maybe the Hawks if they improve with playoff experience and a little more health.

Now if Barrett takes another big step forward, than who knows? But the experience of the Nets, Bucks and Lowry joining Butler, Bam, etc, make those 3 all seem very tough.

bwgood77 wrote:

DaGawd wrote:If the Knicks end up being the 8th seed.. the East is strong af.. this team is way better than last season

Well the Heat should be WAY better and the Bulls should be quite a bit better, but I have the Knicks and Bulls about the same. The Bulls are interesting with a lot of talent, ball movement and scorers, but no defense. The Knicks have a year of playoff experience plus Kemba and Fournier which is big. If Kemba is even close to what he used to be, they should be pretty tough. But I think the top 3 are probably a tier above and maybe the Hawks if they improve with playoff experience and a little more health.

Now if Barrett takes another big step forward, than who knows? But the experience of the Nets, Bucks and Lowry joining Butler, Bam, etc, make those 3 all seem very tough.

Yeah there’s def a lot of factors involved for every team. Every youngster on the Knicks so far seems to have improved. Obi Toppin could be an ever bigger X factor than Barrett. He’s looking night and day much more confident than his rookie season. Then the added depth and hopeful good health from Kemba and Mitchell Robinson will be huge factors as well

DaGawd wrote:If the Knicks end up being the 8th seed.. the East is strong af.. this team is way better than last season

dont worry thats not going to happen. being a better team and having better record in rs is different things. randle and thibs are masters of rs they wont drop 4 below. whats infamous abt thibs is postseason and ironically randle busted.

DaGawd wrote:

bwgood77 wrote:

DaGawd wrote:If the Knicks end up being the 8th seed.. the East is strong af.. this team is way better than last season

Well the Heat should be WAY better and the Bulls should be quite a bit better, but I have the Knicks and Bulls about the same. The Bulls are interesting with a lot of talent, ball movement and scorers, but no defense. The Knicks have a year of playoff experience plus Kemba and Fournier which is big. If Kemba is even close to what he used to be, they should be pretty tough. But I think the top 3 are probably a tier above and maybe the Hawks if they improve with playoff experience and a little more health.

Now if Barrett takes another big step forward, than who knows? But the experience of the Nets, Bucks and Lowry joining Butler, Bam, etc, make those 3 all seem very tough.

Yeah there’s def a lot of factors involved for every team. Every youngster on the Knicks so far seems to have improved. Obi Toppin could be an ever bigger X factor than Barrett. He’s looking night and day much more confident than his rookie season. Then the added depth and hopeful good health from Kemba and Mitchell Robinson will be huge factors as well

Oh yeah, I'm one of the few who love Toppin. Now that you have some shooters around him...a guy that can run, finish, hit 3s, block shots, play the pick and roll, etc. Unfortunately he only seemed to play when Randle sat and Randle played like 38 minutes a game.

I can't predict them all, but I'll say I think the Warriors will sneak in 4th in the west at the end and the Heat will be 3rd in the east. Sixers will fall to 4th or 5th.

WC
Utah 56
Phoenix 54
Dallas 50
Portland 49
Golden State 49
Denver 48
LA Lakers 45
LA Clippers 44
Memphis 39
New Orleans 38
Minny 36
Sacramento 34
San Antonio 30
Houston 23
OKC 21

Total: 616

EC
BK 59
Milwaulkee 57
Atlanta 51
Philly 50
NYK 49
Miami 48
Boston 44
Charlotte 43
Chicago 42
Washington 39
Toronto 33
Indy 31
Orlando 24
Cleveland 23
Detroit 21

Total: 614

giberish wrote:WC
Utah 56
Phoenix 54
Dallas 50
Portland 49
Golden State 49
Denver 48
LA Lakers 45
LA Clippers 44
Memphis 39
New Orleans 38
Minny 36
Sacramento 34
San Antonio 30
Houston 23
OKC 21

Total: 616

EC
BK 59
Milwaulkee 57
Atlanta 51
Philly 50
NYK 49
Miami 48
Boston 44
Charlotte 43
Chicago 42
Washington 39
Toronto 33
Indy 31
Orlando 24
Cleveland 23
Detroit 21

Total: 614

I might not agree with all the win totals but this isn’t bad. Its fairly close to where I’m at although I’m more bullish on the Celtics than most. I also don’t see the Lakers grabbing a high seed in the regular season either, they’ll be more focused on being healthy for the playoffs so there isn’t a repeat of last season. Plus they have terrible depth outside their top 3 players. Bottom 3 in the league imo. That loses a lot of regular season games. Last years Laker team had solid depth.

The_Hater wrote:

giberish wrote:WC
Utah 56
Phoenix 54
Dallas 50
Portland 49
Golden State 49
Denver 48
LA Lakers 45
LA Clippers 44
Memphis 39
New Orleans 38
Minny 36
Sacramento 34
San Antonio 30
Houston 23
OKC 21

Total: 616

EC
BK 59
Milwaulkee 57
Atlanta 51
Philly 50
NYK 49
Miami 48
Boston 44
Charlotte 43
Chicago 42
Washington 39
Toronto 33
Indy 31
Orlando 24
Cleveland 23
Detroit 21

Total: 614

I might not agree with all the win totals but this isn’t bad. Its fairly close to where I’m at although I’m more bullish on the Celtics than most. I also don’t see the Lakers grabbing a high seed in the regular season either, they’ll be more focused on being healthy for the playoffs so there isn’t a repeat of last season. Plus they have terrible depth outside their top 3 players. Bottom 3 in the league imo. That loses a lot of regular season games. Last years Laker team had solid depth.

Of course that would pit another Phx/LA 1st round matchup. I don't want that. I was already worried about getting a high seed and Kawhi coming back to nab a 6 or 7 seed when Phx is a 2 or 3 seed...Clips are easily the Suns toughest matchup with Kawhi. They nearly beat us without him.

I like that Dallas is high. I don't think they have great players or necessarily finish quite that high but people talk about Luka never winning a playoff series....well they unfortunately got a Kawhi Clippers team in the 1st round twice..the same Kawhi who is the only star who is consistently better in the playoffs than the regular season and seemingly had willed the Raptors to a championship. The guy refuses to lose. I thought the Clippers were the favorites last year....certainly without a healthy Nets team...though had Kawhi stayed healthy and they faced the Bucks the way they were playing that would have been interesting too.

But they do have the long defenders to match up with the Nets well...in Kawhi, George and Batum...not that you can really stop those guys but those guys can do better defending them than anyone.

bwgood77 wrote:

The_Hater wrote:

giberish wrote:WC
Utah 56
Phoenix 54
Dallas 50
Portland 49
Golden State 49
Denver 48
LA Lakers 45
LA Clippers 44
Memphis 39
New Orleans 38
Minny 36
Sacramento 34
San Antonio 30
Houston 23
OKC 21

Total: 616

EC
BK 59
Milwaulkee 57
Atlanta 51
Philly 50
NYK 49
Miami 48
Boston 44
Charlotte 43
Chicago 42
Washington 39
Toronto 33
Indy 31
Orlando 24
Cleveland 23
Detroit 21

Total: 614

I might not agree with all the win totals but this isn’t bad. Its fairly close to where I’m at although I’m more bullish on the Celtics than most. I also don’t see the Lakers grabbing a high seed in the regular season either, they’ll be more focused on being healthy for the playoffs so there isn’t a repeat of last season. Plus they have terrible depth outside their top 3 players. Bottom 3 in the league imo. That loses a lot of regular season games. Last years Laker team had solid depth.

Of course that would pit another Phx/LA 1st round matchup. I don't want that. I was already worried about getting a high seed and Kawhi coming back to nab a 6 or 7 seed when Phx is a 2 or 3 seed...Clips are easily the Suns toughest matchup with Kawhi. They nearly beat us without him.

I like that Dallas is high. I don't think they have great players or necessarily finish quite that high but people talk about Luka never winning a playoff series....well they unfortunately got a Kawhi Clippers team in the 1st round twice..the same Kawhi who is the only star who is consistently better in the playoffs than the regular season and seemingly had willed the Raptors to a championship. The guy refuses to lose. I thought the Clippers were the favorites last year....certainly without a healthy Nets team...though had Kawhi stayed healthy and they faced the Bucks the way they were playing that would have been interesting too.

But they do have the long defenders to match up with the Nets well...in Kawhi, George and Batum...not that you can really stop those guys but those guys can do better defending them than anyone.

I think the Clips win it all last season with healthy Kawhi and the Nets win it all with healthy Harden (with or without Kyrie).

The Lakers look like a very poorly constructed team this season from RWB downward. So I think they’re vulnerable even if healthy. I don’t have a clue who their 4th and 5th best players are. I usually pencil teams with 2 players as good as AD and LJ in for greatness but I’ve rarely seen a team with more question marks beyond their 2 superstars.

Regular season standings are not important. I think the conference finals will be Nets V Bucks and Suns V Nuggets. I believe the winner of the Nets V Bucks will win it all

I like doing RS predictions but have no idea on win totals/record. Each conference will be no order just lumped into playoffs, play-in, and bottom feeders as well.

East
Nets
Bucks
Heat
76ers
Bulls
Hawks
-----------
Knicks
Celtics
Pacers
Wizards
-----------
Hornets
Raptors
Pistons
Cavs
Magic

West
Jazz
Suns
Lakers
Warriors
Nuggets
Mavs
-------------
Blazers
Clippers
Grizzlies
Wolves
-------------
Pelicans
Kings
Rockets
Spurs
Thunder

The_Hater wrote: I think the Clips win it all last season with healthy Kawhi and the Nets win it all with healthy Harden (with or without Kyrie).

The Lakers look like a very poorly constructed team this season from RWB downward. So I think they’re vulnerable even if healthy. I don’t have a clue who their 4th and 5th best players are. I usually pencil teams with 2 players as good as AD and LJ in for greatness but I’ve rarely seen a team with more question marks beyond their 2 superstars.

Yeah, so many think they improved, but I'd take their supporting cast of KCP, Caruso (great guard defenders and 40% 3 pt shooters), Schroeder, Kuzma (neither guy I like much but decent scoring punch off the bench), Harrell.

I like that better than Monk and Melo and a bunch of not great role players. I guess Bazemore can be ok. Westbrook has a lot of intensity and will help if their guys get injured but most of his strengths (setting guys up, rebounding, etc) they don't need and his weaknesses (shooting) they do. I am interested to see how they mesh. I didn't think him and Harden would work well together though and he played well with him. Not as good as Paul when they got along, but better than I expected.