Predict top 8 seeds in both conferences

[ProspectPark]

East

1. Bucks
2. Nets
3. Celtics
4. 76ers
5. Heat
6. Magic
7. Pacers
8. Bulls

West

1. Nuggets
2. Jazz
3. Clippers
4. Rockets
5. Blazers
6. Spurs
7. Kings
8. Pelicans

[MGB8]

East

1. Sixers - deepest team in the league
2. Bucks - too reliant on one player to maximize regular season wins this time around
3. Heat - Coach Spo is underrated and this team is going to overlooked, until they aren't
4. Raptors - the loss of Kawhi and Green hasn't been adequately addressed
5. Pacers - if 'dipo comes back promptly and strong, they'd be above the Heat and push the other teams down
6. Nets - Durant isn't back yet, so not a top tier team, but could easily be much higher in standings due to depth
7. Celtics - still a playoff lock, but interior defense and drama concerns
8. Pistons - too much talent to be knocked out of playoffs by an Eastern Conference also-ran

Just miss - Magic - still no point guard, and while they are deep, Vuc and Gordon very good and Isaac could be a monster down the line, not quite enough this year.

West

1. Nuggets - regular season champs due to depth and special home court edge
2. Lakers - have something to prove, and bar injuries, I give them a regular season edge over the Clippers who load manage more
3. Clippers - even with load management, they will win a ton of games
4. Jazz - underwhelming preseason but too much talent and depth to think they'll actually underperform
5. Rockets - they've got some issues but are still a playoff lock
6. Spurs - another playoff lock, and could well be higher given Murray's return
7. Blazers - loss of Aminu hurts them as do injuries, but they will be in the mix
8. Warriors - sneak in with run after Klay comes back, but not a lock this season - too much weight on Curry

Just miss - Kings, Mavs - young teams edged out by Warriors in the end (or maybe not?)

[Asif16]

Miami is getting severely overrated

[MoMan24]

East

1. Bucks
2. Nets
3. Celtics
4. 76ers
5. Heat
6. Magic
7. Pacers
8. Bulls

West

1. Nuggets
2. Jazz
3. Clippers
4. Rockets
5. Blazers
6. Spurs
7. Kings
8. Pelicans

So the Raptors don't make the playoffs but the Bulls do, Nets are 2nd over the 76ers. Lakers don't make the playoffs but the Kings and Pelicans do. Okay.

[jrask]

East

1. Bucks
2. Nets
3. Celtics
4. 76ers
5. Heat
6. Magic
7. Pacers
8. Bulls

West

1. Nuggets
2. Jazz
3. Clippers
4. Rockets
5. Blazers
6. Spurs
7. Kings
8. Pelicans

careful, your homer is showing (NETS)

also, weirdest list ever

[And1+2]

People really underrate or don’t understand how good this Sixers team will be, 60-65 wins is doable.

Sixers got worse. The rest of the East did as well...

For the record, my prediction is that the Sixers will go to the finals and win it all this year. But I still don't think they are as good as they were last year...

They are built to beat the Clippers. Rock, paper, scissors. Lakers? Would be a lot tougher.

[Duffman100]

People really underrate or don’t understand how good this Sixers team will be, 60-65 wins is doable.

Not sure about that. The lack of bench depth is worriesome. They'd have to be super healthy for that to happen.

[jrask]

People really underrate or don’t understand how good this Sixers team will be, 60-65 wins is doable.

Not sure about that. The lack of bench depth is worriesome. They'd have to be super healthy for that to happen.

I love the Sixers coming out of the East. But, I worry about the 3ball.

The 2 guys that get the most touches on that team can't shoot the 3 (at least last year)

[Duffman100]

People really underrate or don’t understand how good this Sixers team will be, 60-65 wins is doable.

Not sure about that. The lack of bench depth is worriesome. They'd have to be super healthy for that to happen.

I love the Sixers coming out of the East. But, I worry about the 3ball.

The 2 guys that get the most touches on that team can't shoot the 3 (at least last year)

Yup, agreed.

Plus their bench is Milton, Burke, Smith, Thybulle, Ennis, Scott, Bolden, O'Quinn.

They need to make a trade at the deadline for a bench scorer.

[Prokorov]

People really underrate or don’t understand how good this Sixers team will be, 60-65 wins is doable.

Sixers got worse. The rest of the East did as well...

For the record, my prediction is that the Sixers will go to the finals and win it all this year. But I still don't think they are as good as they were last year...

They are built to beat the Clippers. Rock, paper, scissors. Lakers? Would be a lot tougher.

I agree on Philly... especially as a regular season team. most seem to have milwaukee/philly as a lock for 1 and 2 but philly has a ton of turnover and lacks depth. they also have some injury prone guys and some older guys:

-2 new starters (Richardson/Horford)
-Lost alot of scoring/shooting. Reddick is one of the leagues best floor spacers and moves so well off the ball and shoots it so well off screens. their dynamic changes a bit
-I'm not sure richardson/horford is more talent or a better fit the butler/reddick
-team lacks depth
-Embiid how many games will he play

to me i can see all of that... the chemistry learning curve, embiid sitting some, lack of depth, etc leading to less regular season wins

[Ahmed1212]

I'll go one step further and add playoff predictions too. (I'm ready for the heat Lakers fans)

East:

1. Milwaukee Bucks:
2. Philadelphia 76ers:
3. Toronto Raptors:
4. Boston Celtics:
5. Brooklyn Nets:
6. Indiana Pacers:
7. Orlando Magic:
8. Miami Heat:


West:

1. Denver Nuggets:
2. Utah Jazz:
3. LA Clippers:
4. Goldenstate Warriors:
5. LA Lakers:
6. Houston Rockets:
7. Portland Trailblazers:
8. New Orleans Pelicans:

Playoffs

1st Rd
Bucks > Miami
Philly > Orlando
Toronto > Pacers
Boston < Brooklyn

Nuggets < Pelicans
Jazz > Blazers
Clippers > Rockets
Warriors > Lakers

2nd Rd

Bucks > Brooklyn
Philly > Toronto

Pelicans < Warriors
Clippers > Jazz

ECF
Philly > Bucks
Clippers > Warriors

Finals
Clippers > Philly

[MGB8]

People really underrate or don’t understand how good this Sixers team will be, 60-65 wins is doable.

Not sure about that. The lack of bench depth is worriesome. They'd have to be super healthy for that to happen.

Lack of depth? That is among the Sixers strengths.

PG: Simmons*, (Richardson), Burke, Neto
SG: Richardson, Z.Smith, Korkmaz, Thybule
SF: Harris, (Simmons), Ennis, (any of the shooting guards)
PF: Horford, (Harris/Simmons), Scott, J.Bolden
CC: Embiid, (Horford), O'Quinn

Because of the versatility of the starters, if one or even two of them are out, you just sub in one of the various other legit NBA rotation players on the team - Scott and Bolden both legit rotation 4s, O'Quinn a legit rotation 5, Ennis a legit rotation wing, Burke and Neto legit rotation pgs (though lower end for primary reserves), Z.Smith a guy who came back from injury to have some strong showings as 19 years old 1st round rook, to include shooting 38% from 3, who is competing with another first round rook in lots of D, maybe some 3s Thybulle, and a guy in Korkmaz whose stats don't (yet) show the level of shooting that he brings.

[MGB8]

Not sure about that. The lack of bench depth is worriesome. They'd have to be super healthy for that to happen.

I love the Sixers coming out of the East. But, I worry about the 3ball.

The 2 guys that get the most touches on that team can't shoot the 3 (at least last year)

Yup, agreed.

Plus their bench is Milton, Burke, Smith, Thybulle, Ennis, Scott, Bolden, O'Quinn.

They need to make a trade at the deadline for a bench scorer.

Who was the bench scorer for the Warriors?

They don't need a starting caliber player off the bench (though Bolden may well develop into one as may Thybulle and Z.Smith) of a "6th man scorer" a la Lou Williams (though they certainly are nice to have). You need rotation level players who can chip in enough points (and not give up enough) so that the team can win.

Philly is loaded because any of their starters can score 20+ on any given night. And you have a guy like Trey Burke who put up over 15 points 18 times last season. Even Ennis and Scott did it 5 times, each, last season. And then you have the youngsters, Bolden, Z.Smith and Thybulle, who have all given reasons for optimism.

(Note - I'm actually a long suffering Bulls fan, despite my location, but folks seem like they are sleeping badly on the Sixers, not realizing what it means that they added Horford, or the fact that Richardson is a darn good player in his own right and while not quite Jimmy Butler, him not having Butler's gravity may actually help the other Sixers players do more).

[Narigo]

East:
1.Bucks 59-23
2.76ers 55-27
3.Raptors 50-32
4.Celtics 48-34
5.Heat 44-38
6.Nets 44=38
7.Pistons 42-40
8.Magic 41-41

Teams that can sneak in: Bulls, Pacers, Hawks

West
1.Clippers 58-24
2.Rockets 56-26
3.Warriors 54-28
4.Nuggets 54-28
5.Jazz 52-30
6.Blazers 51-31
7.Lakers 50-32
8.Kings 49-33

Teams that can sneak in: Spurs, Thunder

[MGB8]

Miami is getting severely overrated

They've had a good pre-season. And Spo is underrated as a coach. Meyers Leonard looking like an NBA rotation level big (Spo maximizing him) has a lot to do with that, but they are a deep team, if missing the amount of top-end talent that would make them contenders.

PG: Winslow, Dragic, (Waiters/Butler), Nunn
SG: Herro, (Dragic), Waiters, Reed
SF: Butler, D.Jones.Jr.
PF: Bam, J.Johnson, Okpala, D.Robinson
CC: M.Leonard, (Bam), Olynyk

Very comparable in talent level to the Pacers - Butler -- 'Dipo (if he's healthy), Bam -- Turner (though Turner is significantly ahead in terms of how proven), Winslow + Dragic -- Brogdon + Lamb

[Scalabrine]

A lot of people have the Spurs missing the playoffs altogether I see.

It's a hype thing and San An didn't make no flashy moves. Pops led team will win around ( +/- 2 games ) 50 games. It's not like they don't have couple proven all stars and highly promising player coming to this season. Interior defense is a concern though, LMA is soft and top teams in WC got bruisers that do dirty work.

Aldridge is soft? Why do you think that?

For the real big guys they also have Poeltl to matchup against them. He's still just 24 and bigs typically take a bit longer to develop, not expecting him to be a star, but he should be pretty serviceable.

[Duffman100]

People really underrate or don’t understand how good this Sixers team will be, 60-65 wins is doable.

Not sure about that. The lack of bench depth is worriesome. They'd have to be super healthy for that to happen.

Lack of depth? That is among the Sixers strengths.

PG: Simmons*, (Richardson), Burke, Neto
SG: Richardson, Z.Smith, Korkmaz, Thybule
SF: Harris, (Simmons), Ennis, (any of the shooting guards)
PF: Horford, (Harris/Simmons), Scott, J.Bolden
CC: Embiid, (Horford), O'Quinn

Because of the versatility of the starters, if one or even two of them are out, you just sub in one of the various other legit NBA rotation players on the team - Scott and Bolden both legit rotation 4s, O'Quinn a legit rotation 5, Ennis a legit rotation wing, Burke and Neto legit rotation pgs (though lower end for primary reserves), Z.Smith a guy who came back from injury to have some strong showings as 19 years old 1st round rook, to include shooting 38% from 3, who is competing with another first round rook in lots of D, maybe some 3s Thybulle, and a guy in Korkmaz whose stats don't (yet) show the level of shooting that he brings.

That depth isn't championship level depth. Who is consistently dropping points and producing? Who is reliable come playoff time?

It's exactly what hurt Golden State in the championship, was their lack of depth to handle the injuries. If Embiid, Richardson or Simmons goes down with an injury and every has to step up, all of a sudden it's razor thin.

Philly has sacrificed depth for a killer starting 5. Let's see how that works.

[SK21209]

Not sure about that. The lack of bench depth is worriesome. They'd have to be super healthy for that to happen.

Lack of depth? That is among the Sixers strengths.

PG: Simmons*, (Richardson), Burke, Neto
SG: Richardson, Z.Smith, Korkmaz, Thybule
SF: Harris, (Simmons), Ennis, (any of the shooting guards)
PF: Horford, (Harris/Simmons), Scott, J.Bolden
CC: Embiid, (Horford), O'Quinn

Because of the versatility of the starters, if one or even two of them are out, you just sub in one of the various other legit NBA rotation players on the team - Scott and Bolden both legit rotation 4s, O'Quinn a legit rotation 5, Ennis a legit rotation wing, Burke and Neto legit rotation pgs (though lower end for primary reserves), Z.Smith a guy who came back from injury to have some strong showings as 19 years old 1st round rook, to include shooting 38% from 3, who is competing with another first round rook in lots of D, maybe some 3s Thybulle, and a guy in Korkmaz whose stats don't (yet) show the level of shooting that he brings.

That depth isn't championship level depth. Who is consistently dropping points and producing? Who is reliable come playoff time?

It's exactly what hurt Golden State in the championship, was their lack of depth to handle the injuries. If Embiid, Richardson or Simmons goes down with an injury and every has to step up, all of a sudden it's razor thin.

Philly has sacrificed depth for a killer starting 5. Let's see how that works.

You could say that about every single team. If Lowry, Siakam or Kawhi had gone down the Raptors would have been ****.

[Duffman100]

Lack of depth? That is among the Sixers strengths.

PG: Simmons*, (Richardson), Burke, Neto
SG: Richardson, Z.Smith, Korkmaz, Thybule
SF: Harris, (Simmons), Ennis, (any of the shooting guards)
PF: Horford, (Harris/Simmons), Scott, J.Bolden
CC: Embiid, (Horford), O'Quinn

Because of the versatility of the starters, if one or even two of them are out, you just sub in one of the various other legit NBA rotation players on the team - Scott and Bolden both legit rotation 4s, O'Quinn a legit rotation 5, Ennis a legit rotation wing, Burke and Neto legit rotation pgs (though lower end for primary reserves), Z.Smith a guy who came back from injury to have some strong showings as 19 years old 1st round rook, to include shooting 38% from 3, who is competing with another first round rook in lots of D, maybe some 3s Thybulle, and a guy in Korkmaz whose stats don't (yet) show the level of shooting that he brings.

That depth isn't championship level depth. Who is consistently dropping points and producing? Who is reliable come playoff time?

It's exactly what hurt Golden State in the championship, was their lack of depth to handle the injuries. If Embiid, Richardson or Simmons goes down with an injury and every has to step up, all of a sudden it's razor thin.

Philly has sacrificed depth for a killer starting 5. Let's see how that works.

You could say that about every single team. If Lowry, Siakam or Kawhi had gone down the Raptors would have been ****.

Throughout the season? No, they did and we survived. I'm saying to win 65-60 games, you need absolute health from your starting lineup, especially if your bench is full of unproven people.

[PrinceCliche]

East

1. Bucks
2. Nets
3. Celtics
4. 76ers
5. Heat
6. Magic
7. Pacers
8. Bulls

West

1. Nuggets
2. Jazz
3. Clippers
4. Rockets
5. Blazers
6. Spurs
7. Kings
8. Pelicans

where is LAL?