Official West Conference Prediction Thread - updated 10/25/16

[ken6199]

Results updated (up to 8/1/2016 00:00am)


Original document:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzaygCX5b1zHZElSbkFNVXRYQTg/view?usp=sharing
It's a very quick and dirty analysis based on the data I have. All suggestions are welcome, especially on plotting!!

[nbafan341]

Results updated (up to 8/1/2016 00:00am)


Original document:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzaygCX5b1zHZElSbkFNVXRYQTg/view?usp=sharing
It's a very quick and dirty analysis based on the data I have. All suggestions are welcome, especially on plotting!!

Waiting for the anova!

[shakendfries]

Who's the better WC team this season, Memphis or Dallas?

[JazzMan_OS]

Who's the better WC team this season, Memphis or Dallas?

Memphis. I don't think Dallas is going to be **** this year, but I thought that last year, too.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[JazzMan_OS]

GSW
LAC
SAS
UTA
MEM
OKC
POR
MIN

HOU
SAC
DEN
NOP
DAL
PHX
LAL

West is good this year, really deep. I could see almost anybody but the Lakers and the Suns making the postseason.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[John Murdoch]

Clippers being overated and Thunder being underated imo

[John Murdoch]

GSW
SAS
LAC
OKC
DAL
MEM
UTA
POR



DEN
MIN
HOU
NOP
PHX
SAC
LAL

I was with u all the way until u said Dallas over Memphis... im not seeing how they are even better than Portland this season.

[WestbrookGOATed]

GSW by 10 games at least.

Adding a Top 5-8 player to what was already THE best Reg. Season team in all of history. There's probably never been a case where the challenge of developing the necessary chemistry was less of an issue. KD will fit right in on THAT team with THAT coach.

Only major injury or a bizarre case of boredom (or deliberately losing so as to not seem so preposterously good) - only that can stop the Warriors from 1st place in the West and by a wide margin - the rest of the list is academic.

KD is a pretty inconsistent player. Who's going to protect the rim for GS? Zaza Pachlia? David West? Anderson "Injury Reserve" Varejao? C'mon man. This team is going to get absolutely destroyed in the paint. Their bigs got 100x worse and they already weren't very good last year. As a long time Thunder fan I can assure you the addition of Durant will not make up for the gaping hole in their frontcourt.

[Impuniti]

GSW by 10 games at least.

Adding a Top 5-8 player to what was already THE best Reg. Season team in all of history. There's probably never been a case where the challenge of developing the necessary chemistry was less of an issue. KD will fit right in on THAT team with THAT coach.

Only major injury or a bizarre case of boredom (or deliberately losing so as to not seem so preposterously good) - only that can stop the Warriors from 1st place in the West and by a wide margin - the rest of the list is academic.

KD is a pretty inconsistent player. Who's going to protect the rim for GS? Zaza Pachlia? David West? Anderson "Injury Reserve" Varejao? C'mon man. This team is going to get absolutely destroyed in the paint. Their bigs got 100x worse and they already weren't very good last year. As a long time Thunder fan I can assure you the addition of Durant will not make up for the gaping hole in their frontcourt.

Are you that one guy that voted Warriors finish 3rd by any chance?

[WestbrookGOATed]

GSW by 10 games at least.

Adding a Top 5-8 player to what was already THE best Reg. Season team in all of history. There's probably never been a case where the challenge of developing the necessary chemistry was less of an issue. KD will fit right in on THAT team with THAT coach.

Only major injury or a bizarre case of boredom (or deliberately losing so as to not seem so preposterously good) - only that can stop the Warriors from 1st place in the West and by a wide margin - the rest of the list is academic.

KD is a pretty inconsistent player. Who's going to protect the rim for GS? Zaza Pachlia? David West? Anderson "Injury Reserve" Varejao? C'mon man. This team is going to get absolutely destroyed in the paint. Their bigs got 100x worse and they already weren't very good last year. As a long time Thunder fan I can assure you the addition of Durant will not make up for the gaping hole in their frontcourt.

Are you that one guy that voted Warriors finish 3rd by any chance?

No I voted that they'll finish in 1st. I can see them finishing 2nd or 3rd though just depends if any other teams like the Clippers really stand out this season. They're gonna have chemistry problems at first just like Miami did. But seriously don't act like a I don't have a point. No bigs and a horrible bench outside of Iguodala. This is not a player on that bench that can consistently score 10ppg. Even Iggy scores like 8ppg.

[ken6199]

The difference between the 17 GS and 13 Bulls or 15 OKC is, the GS play as a unit unlike the other two, who failed to cope with the loss of Rose and Durant. I think GS is quite locked in for #1 seed even with a couple of injuries to their starting 5, as a perfect example of 'the next man up' roster.

The biggest concern is the drop in their big men rotation, Zaza/Varejao/West is not the same caliber as Bogut/Ezeli/(the crazy)Speights. Latter obviously provides more depth, passing, and versatility. The team is so perimeter elite plus the rise of Draymond Green which makes people think they can easily cope with that drop in the middle. People even start suggesting KD will elevate to a better rim protector and better rebounder so NBD.

Only time will tell.

[Impuniti]

KD is a pretty inconsistent player. Who's going to protect the rim for GS? Zaza Pachlia? David West? Anderson "Injury Reserve" Varejao? C'mon man. This team is going to get absolutely destroyed in the paint. Their bigs got 100x worse and they already weren't very good last year. As a long time Thunder fan I can assure you the addition of Durant will not make up for the gaping hole in their frontcourt.

Are you that one guy that voted Warriors finish 3rd by any chance?

No I voted that they'll finish in 1st. I can see them finishing 2nd or 3rd though just depends if any other teams like the Clippers really stand out this season. They're gonna have chemistry problems at first just like Miami did. But seriously don't act like a I don't have a point. No bigs and a horrible bench outside of Iguodala. This is not a player on that bench that can consistently score 10ppg. Even Iggy scores like 8ppg.

Livingston is a horrible player? West is a good addition. It's a good 8-man team which is pretty much what every team relies on once the playoffs hit. I'm hoping one of the young guns shows up, but don't act like depth is some huge issue now considering how dog **** Ezeli was. The only player leaving that I wish Warriors still had is Barbosa whose 33 years old (and Bogut.. but he had to go due to his wages). If one of the youngins shows up, that's a good 9 man team.

Yes it is an issue but overblown by quite a margin. Every team has weaknesses, but you are making it seem like Warriors will the team with the worst front court once PS hits which overdramatic. The team that bothered the Warriors the most at the front court was OKC, who lost two players. Cavs can hurt the Warriors as well but that is regarding rebounds where Zaza is quite good at. The good overweigh the bad by a massive margin. In regards to chemistry issues, it could happen. I think there's less of chance of it being like the Maimi Heat for the simple reason of Miami forming their entire superteam from 3 stars from all separate teams. This is one star joining 3 others.

To me it's going to depend if the egos are kept in check. If that happens and everyone shares the ball and Durant doesn't pull some beta sh*t and lets Steph close important games, they should win the ship this year. Injuries, clash of ideals, or maybe Durant maybe won't fit as well as it looks who knows. Those could lead into a loss.

[Statlanta]

The difference between the 17 GS and 13 Bulls or 15 OKC is, the GS play as a unit unlike the other two, who failed to cope with the loss of Rose and Durant. I think GS is quite locked in for #1 seed even with a couple of injuries to their starting 5, as a perfect example of 'the next man up' roster.

The biggest concern is the drop in their big men rotation, Zaza/Varejao/West is not the same caliber as Bogut/Ezeli/(the crazy)Speights. Latter obviously provides more depth, passing, and versatility. The team is so perimeter elite plus the rise of Draymond Green which makes people think they can easily cope with that drop in the middle. People even start suggesting KD will elevate to a better rim protector and better rebounder so NBD.

Only time will tell.

I think those teams are on a whole 'nother galaxy compared to the talent on this Golden State roster. I actually think those teams might be more cohesive(hence why I personally believe they matched or exceeded their talent level) than this Golden State roster at least till mid-season

[Catchall]

1 Golden State
2 LA Clippers
3 Utah
4 Memphis
5 San Antonio
6 Houston
7 OKC
8 Portland
9 NOLA
10 Dallas
11 Sacto
12 Minny
13 Denver
14 Suns
15 Lakers

I'm a bit down on the Spurs. I think Parker and Ginobli are on their last legs. Gasol no longer runs the floor, defends or rebounds well enough to replace last year's version of Duncan. LMA isn't a stellar defender either, and Mills is small for a starting PG. They're the oldest team in the league, and I question whether they can defend and board well enough to win close games.

[nbafan38]

I just don't see it. Oladipo has really stagnated and doesn't fit with Westbrook, Kyle Singler is going to be playing 30mpg at SF. I can see teams literally just flooding the paint and forcing Westbrook into long 2s and/or forcing the ball to Kanter.

I might be wrong, but I seriously see them falling through this year - badly.

I'd again bet everything that's wrong. Because Oladipo is taking over for Dion Waiters and provides better defense. And Singler won't play, he's still benched, Roberson will start, Morrow back him up, and Abrines is there.

Honestly I think they're 4th possibly. 8th if teams really overperform, but after GSW/LAC/SAS they're as good as or better than anyone. I don't trust Memphis's health, Utah's youth totally, Dallas's talent, or Houston's new players and defense.

4th?!! wow...they lost their shot blocker in Ibaka, basically have only one big guy that can guard a garbage can.

Its basically westbrook oladipo and a scrappy defensive center. meanwhile you have great "TEAMS" in the western conference. ITs gonna be tough to even make the 8th seed

I'm not saying they are right necessarily but vegas has the Thunder still as the 4th best odds in the west and 6th best odds in the nba. Lot of respect for Westbrook. Thunder will have depth issues potentially but you could make a strong case they have the best player in the conference outside of Oakland (and that may even be somewhat debatable).

[DROB27]

1 Golden State
2 LA Clippers
3 Utah
4 Memphis
5 San Antonio
6 Houston
7 OKC
8 Portland
9 NOLA
10 Dallas
11 Sacto
12 Minny
13 Denver
14 Suns
15 Lakers

I'm a bit down on the Spurs. I think Parker and Ginobli are on their last legs. Gasol no longer runs the floor, defends or rebounds well enough to replace last year's version of Duncan. LMA isn't a stellar defender either, and Mills is small for a starting PG. They're the oldest team in the league, and I question whether they can defend and board well enough to win close games.

Gasol is way better then last years Duncan, and your kidding yourself if you don't believe they'll be a top 5 defense lol

[Catchall]

1 Golden State
2 LA Clippers
3 Utah
4 Memphis
5 San Antonio
6 Houston
7 OKC
8 Portland
9 NOLA
10 Dallas
11 Sacto
12 Minny
13 Denver
14 Suns
15 Lakers

I'm a bit down on the Spurs. I think Parker and Ginobli are on their last legs. Gasol no longer runs the floor, defends or rebounds well enough to replace last year's version of Duncan. LMA isn't a stellar defender either, and Mills is small for a starting PG. They're the oldest team in the league, and I question whether they can defend and board well enough to win close games.

Gasol is way better then last years Duncan, and your kidding yourself if you don't believe they'll be a top 5 defense lol

Because Parker/Mills, LMA and Gasol are considered good defenders? They'll play team defense, but top 5 sounds ambitious.

[mcmurphy]

1 Golden State
2 San Antonio
3 LA Clippers
4 Utah
5 Houston
6 OKC
7 Denver
8 Portland

9 Memphis
10 Minny
11 NOLA
12 Dallas
13 Sacto
14 Lakers
15 Suns

If Gallo+Chandler play near 100-120 games (critical role last year for injuries), with the improvement of young players, denver will surprise

[r1terrell23]

1. Warriors
2. Spurs
3. Clippers
4. Trailblazers
5. Grizzlies
6. Thunder
7. Timberwolves
8. Rockets


9. Jazz
10. Mavericks
11. Pelicans

[DROB27]

1 Golden State
2 LA Clippers
3 Utah
4 Memphis
5 San Antonio
6 Houston
7 OKC
8 Portland
9 NOLA
10 Dallas
11 Sacto
12 Minny
13 Denver
14 Suns
15 Lakers

I'm a bit down on the Spurs. I think Parker and Ginobli are on their last legs. Gasol no longer runs the floor, defends or rebounds well enough to replace last year's version of Duncan. LMA isn't a stellar defender either, and Mills is small for a starting PG. They're the oldest team in the league, and I question whether they can defend and board well enough to win close games.

Gasol is way better then last years Duncan, and your kidding yourself if you don't believe they'll be a top 5 defense lol

Because Parker/Mills, LMA and Gasol are considered good defenders? They'll play team defense, but top 5 sounds ambitious.

LMA is solid on D him being bad is ridiculous at this point . The Spurs managed to have the best defense in the league with West and Diaw playing mins and gasol is a better defended them both of them