Standings Predictions, where will we rank?

[LofJ]

These are the 10 teams I think have a chance at the playoffs, feel free to use your own format.

1) Bulls (Deep & experienced, added Gasol, Buckets, and Mirotic to a 48 win team)
2) Raptors (Deep team in the worst division in the NBA, they're practically guaranteed HCA)
3) Wizards (Lost Ariza but added quality veteran depth with Pierce, Blair, and Humphries)
4) Cavaliers (Paper-thin frontcourt and youth prevent me from ranking them higher)
5) Pacers (Experienced and Hibbert/George Hill are likely to rebound from last year)
6) Hornets (Added Stephenson, but doubts about our 4 spot prevent me from ranking us higher)
7) Heat (Old & still have no true Center. Also have poor depth on the wings)
8) Hawks (Great coach and experienced team, they could go higher)
9) Nets (Overachieved last year and lost Piece and Livingston)
10) Pistons (SVG is a big addition, if Heat/Nets experience injuries they could sneak into the playoffs)

[Rajaness]

2015 NBA champions are your Charlotte Hornets.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

[BigSlam]

What's higher than 1st overall?

That's my pick.

[MasterIchiro]

These are the 10 teams I think have a chance at the playoffs, feel free to use your own format.

1) Bulls (Deep & experienced, added Gasol, Buckets, and Mirotic to a 48 win team)
2) Raptors (Deep team in the worst division in the NBA, they're practically guaranteed HCA)
3) Wizards (Lost Ariza but added quality veteran depth with Pierce, Blair, and Humphries)
4) Cavaliers (Paper-thin frontcourt and youth prevent me from ranking them higher)
5) Pacers (Experienced and Hibbert/George Hill are likely to rebound from last year)
6) Hornets (Added Stephenson, but doubts about our 4 spot prevent me from ranking us higher)
7) Heat (Old & still have no true Center. Also have poor depth on the wings)
8) Hawks (Great coach and experienced team, they could go higher)
9) Nets (Overachieved last year and lost Piece and Livingston)
10) Pistons (SVG is a big addition, if Heat/Nets experience injuries they could sneak into the playoffs)

Record-wise...

1) Bulls (you forgot to mention Derrick Rose)
2) Cavs (think you have them underrated and if Love goes there, they become #1)
3) Hornets (This should be our target slot. We're well positioned at the trade deadline to get here. I think Afflalo gets us here. He should come cheap now that he announced he's opting out and if the Nuggets have dim playoff hopes)
4) Wiz (Beal/Wall keeps getting better and I love Gortat's game)
5) Heat (their top-3 is comparable to ours + they have better shooters/spacers/playmakers, lack depth)
6) Raptors (maybe I'm overselling them here but they're the same team, all the teams above improved except for the Heat)
7) Pacers (I really don't like this team without Lance. They also get weaker at PF due to aging. Their starting 5 played more minutes than anyone the past 2 years, they're cooked)
8) Knicks (Melo is happy, he's matched smartly with a ball distributor, Calderon as oppose to Felton. Bargs and Amare are in walk years. Tim Hardaway Jr. should be better.

9) Nets
10) Hawks
11) Pistons
12) Celtics
13) Magic
14) Sixers

[MasterIchiro]

These are the 10 teams I think have a chance at the playoffs, feel free to use your own format.

1) Bulls (Deep & experienced, added Gasol, Buckets, and Mirotic to a 48 win team)
2) Raptors (Deep team in the worst division in the NBA, they're practically guaranteed HCA)
3) Wizards (Lost Ariza but added quality veteran depth with Pierce, Blair, and Humphries)
4) Cavaliers (Paper-thin frontcourt and youth prevent me from ranking them higher)
5) Pacers (Experienced and Hibbert/George Hill are likely to rebound from last year)
6) Hornets (Added Stephenson, but doubts about our 4 spot prevent me from ranking us higher)
7) Heat (Old & still have no true Center. Also have poor depth on the wings)
8) Hawks (Great coach and experienced team, they could go higher)
9) Nets (Overachieved last year and lost Piece and Livingston)
10) Pistons (SVG is a big addition, if Heat/Nets experience injuries they could sneak into the playoffs)

Record-wise...

1) Bulls (you forgot to mention Derrick Rose)
2) Cavs (think you have them underrated and if Love goes there, they become #1)
3) Hornets (This should be our target slot. We're well positioned at the trade deadline to get here. I think Afflalo gets us here. He should come cheap now that he announced he's opting out and if the Nuggets have dim playoff hopes)
4) Wiz (Beal/Wall keeps getting better and I love Gortat's game)
5) Heat (their top-3 is comparable to ours + they have better shooters/spacers/playmakers, lack depth)
6) Raptors (maybe I'm overselling them here but they're the same team, all the teams above improved except for the Heat)
7) Pacers (I really don't like this team without Lance. They also get weaker at PF due to aging. Their starting 5 played more minutes than anyone the past 2 years, they're cooked)
8) Knicks (Melo is happy, he's matched smartly with a ball distributor, Calderon as oppose to Felton. Bargs and Amare are in walk years. Tim Hardaway Jr. should be better.

9) Nets
10) Hawks
11) Pistons
12) Celtics
13) Magic
14) Sixers

Teams in each tier are interchangeable

Tier 1
Bulls
Cavs

Tier 2
Hornets (we could finish anywhere from 3-6)
Wiz
Heat
Raptors

Tier 3
Pacers
Knicks
Nets
Hawks

[LofJ]

I agree with those tiers. I'd probably put the Pacers in the same tier with us though. And I'm not sure at all how good the Cavaliers will be, they're a hard team to peg right now with all the potential moving parts.

[HornetJail]

1) Cleveland Cavaliers - They have Lebron. Enough said. Regardless of whether Wiggins, Kevin Love, or someone else is playing alongside Lebron and Irving, Lebron is going to be Lebron, and he's head and shoulders above everyone else in the Eastern Conference, plus he does have quite a bit of talent around him. I expect three or four teams in the West to be much better than them, but they're tops in the East.

2) Chicago Bulls - I think this is the year Rose finally has something resembling a bounce-back season, and their roster is loaded. Definitely fall to 5th or 6th if Rose gets hurt again though. As of now, I believe Aaron Brooks is their only backup PG. Chicago and Cleveland are the clear top 2 and seeds 3-7 are a pretty tight race.

3) Charlotte Hornets - The pieces are finally coming together. We have three guys that could conceivably be in All-Star consideration, two defensive stoppers on the wings, a young and growing roster, and top-notch coach to put it all together. This seems high, but after winning 43 last season, this roster can get 50 wins if healthy.

4) Toronto Raptors - They're guaranteed 4th for winning their division because their division is ass. I'd put them as the sixth or seventh best team in the conference. A full season without Rudy Gay will be good for them, as will another year of developing Valanciunas, Ross, and Derozan. A ton rides on whether Lowry (their best player) can stay healthy and productive.

5) Washington Wizards - They'll be neck-and-neck with Charlotte all season and the race for the 3-seed is going to be a good one. Another year of experience for Wall and Beal will help, and the addition of Pierce should certainly help them. Worried about Nene though. He isn't getting younger or healthier and they lost depth behind him. Who thought Washington and Charlotte would be racing for the division title?

6) Indiana Pacers - They took a major step back by replacing Lance Stephenson before he even signed elsewhere. They overpaid CJ Miles and fixed exactly zero of last season's problems. If Hibbert can't pull himself together, and George Hill can't make adjustments to his game without a playmaker next to him, Indy could even find themselves lower than this.

7) Miami Heat - I was tempted to put them at 6, but then I remembered just how unreliable Lebron's replacement Luol Deng was. Wade and Deng have no backups worth a second glance, both have significant concerns about age and durability, and then they still don't have a legit starter at PG or C. If Wade plays this season like he played in the Finals, Miami doesn't even make the playoffs. This was a disastrous offseason.

8) Atlanta Hawks - There's a major drop-off here as I think all remaining teams will be well below .500, and I think ATL, Detroit, Brooklyn, and possibly New York or Boston can fight for this spot. ATL needs Horford to come back strong though. If they trade to sign Bledsoe or something, they can move up a few spots too, but I think Horford/Millsap/Korver/Teague is strong enough to beat any remaining teams out of the playoffs.

9) Detroit - SVG is going to make this team competitive, but unless Smith and Jennings are moved or drastically alter their playing styles, they will be the undoing of the Pistons. There's still nowhere near enough spacing to play Van Gundy ball around Drummond anyhow.

10) Brooklyn - I wouldn't rule them out of the playoffs, but given the recent health of Lopez, Williams, and Garnett, I can't put them any higher than this. They'll stay afloat but I think they ultimately miss out.

11) New York - Melo coming back is definitely a load off their mind, but this team got worse in terms of talent than last season. New York better have a plan for 2015. Melo would have to score 35 a game if they wanted a chance at the playoffs. Maybe Shumpert and Hardaway play up their trade value to return a second star next to Melo?

12) Boston - I think Rondo and Green are traded mid-season and Boston rides some marginal talent and young guys to a bad finish well below 30 wins. Not really thrilled about any of their draft picks over the last couple years outside of James Young either.

13) Milwaukee - Parker and Giannis along with Knight, Sanders, and Henson isn't actually a terrible starting five, but they're too young to compete and there's nothing but Middleton behind them. They'll win some games, but not a lot.

14) Orlando - It's going to be... rough. They took another step back by trading Afflalo for nothing and then blowing a perfect chance to pair Vucevic with a two way stud in Vonleh or even Randle and they've probably got the worst-shooting starting five that I've even seen with Vuc/Aaron Gordon/Harris/Dipo/Payton. Then there's Ben Gordon.

15) Philly - They are in the midst of tanking harder than any team I've even seen. They tied the longest losing streak in NBA history by playing MCW, Thaddeus Young, and D-Leaguers post-All-Star break- now they will have an entire season playing MCW, Young, Noel, and D-Leaguers while using two lottery picks to draft an injured center that may not play, and a Euro that definitely won't play. They will exceed expectations by winning 12 games IMO.

[vorbis]

I never thought the Hornets would have a legit chance at a division title so soon. but that's where they're at. pretty cool.

[HornetJail]

I never thought the Hornets would have a legit chance at a division title so soon. but that's where they're at. pretty cool.

Definitely helps that Lebron isn't in our conference anymore. Al Jefferson may very well be the best player in the division if he plays all next season like he did from January to April this season.

[LofJ]

We've beaten the Wizards 6 out the last 8 times we've played them. I wonder if that trend will continue?

[Cheapsuits]

Teams in each tier are interchangeable

Tier 1
Bulls
Cavs

Tier 2
Hornets (we could finish anywhere from 3-6)
Wiz
Heat
Raptors

Tier 3
Pacers
Knicks
Nets
Hawks

I see something similar to this. Our back court can definitely compete with the Wizards, our front court is what puts us ahead of them.

Definitely helps that Lebron isn't in our conference anymore. Al Jefferson may very well be the best player in the division if he plays all next season like he did from January to April this season.

The nice thing about this season is that he won't have to play that way for the whole season. Offense has improved and defense is at least on par or better.

[Eoghan]

I never thought the Hornets would have a legit chance at a division title so soon. but that's where they're at. pretty cool.

Definitely helps that Lebron isn't in our conference anymore. Al Jefferson may very well be the best player in the division if he plays all next season like he did from January to April this season.

Our conference is still pretty tough though, probably the best in the East. Even Orlando might be a little better.

[LofJ]

I never thought the Hornets would have a legit chance at a division title so soon. but that's where they're at. pretty cool.

Definitely helps that Lebron isn't in our conference anymore. Al Jefferson may very well be the best player in the division if he plays all next season like he did from January to April this season.

Our conference is still pretty tough though, probably the best in the East. Even Orlando might be a little better.

Agreed, the Southeast is going to be brutal this year. I just hope we can finally get over the hurdle and win our season series with the Hawks and at least tie the Heat.

[HornetJail]

We've beaten the Wizards 6 out the last 8 times we've played them. I wonder if that trend will continue?

I think that's going to be the difference in terms of who is seeded higher. I am going to predict that we will have equal records playing against the other 28 teams in the league, but the season series between us and Washington is going to decide which one gets the 3 seed. They have as much talent in the starting five as we do if Beal breaks out, probably more if Nene is healthy and plays alongside Gortat instead of behind him, but our biggest strength is going to be the team defense and our bench unit, which suddenly looks pretty good. I think if Henderson is on the team next season, a lot of you will be changing your tone and saying he's a solid sixth man. I know it's not an ideal fit like Jamal Crawford or someone, but he will be torching teams' second units. Unless we can net someone like Jeff Green or Arron Afflalo for the second unit, I'm off the trade Hendo bandwagon, because I think he'll be a valuable weapon against some teams like Washington or Miami.

I never thought the Hornets would have a legit chance at a division title so soon. but that's where they're at. pretty cool.

Definitely helps that Lebron isn't in our conference anymore. Al Jefferson may very well be the best player in the division if he plays all next season like he did from January to April this season.

Our conference is still pretty tough though, probably the best in the East. Even Orlando might be a little better.

It is. I think Orlando is the only team that misses out on the playoffs. Even if I have Miami and Atlanta at #7 and #8, having to face three other playoff teams four times a season is better than having to see Lebron eating up the division title every year. I think this division is wide open if Wade and Bosh can bounce back and Atlanta finds some help on the wings.

Matchup-wise, I still think beating Atlanta is going to be the hardest opponent of Washington, Miami, and Atlanta as weird as that sounds.

Toronto has a total cake-walk to the Atlantic title though. I wish we got to play Philly and New York four times a season

[LofJ]

We've beaten the Wizards 6 out the last 8 times we've played them. I wonder if that trend will continue?

I think that's going to be the difference in terms of who is seeded higher. I am going to predict that we will have equal records playing against the other 28 teams in the league, but the season series between us and Washington is going to decide which one gets the 3 seed. They have as much talent in the starting five as we do if Beal breaks out, probably more if Nene is healthy and plays alongside Gortat instead of behind him, but our biggest strength is going to be the team defense and our bench unit, which suddenly looks pretty good. I think if Henderson is on the team next season, a lot of you will be changing your tone and saying he's a solid sixth man. I know it's not an ideal fit like Jamal Crawford or someone, but he will be torching teams' second units. Unless we can net someone like Jeff Green or Arron Afflalo for the second unit, I'm off the trade Hendo bandwagon, because I think he'll be a valuable weapon against some teams like Washington or Miami.

I really like our bench as well. With Henderson (hopefully) moving there and Zeller/Biz having another year of experience under their belt we should look really good against other team's second units. I'd also be pumped if Henderson turns out to be a really good sixth man. Maybe he'll actually be able to maintain smart, aggressive play by coming off the bench instead of zoning out and making bonehead plays/disappearing for stretches like he does as a starter.

[HornetJail]

We've beaten the Wizards 6 out the last 8 times we've played them. I wonder if that trend will continue?

I think that's going to be the difference in terms of who is seeded higher. I am going to predict that we will have equal records playing against the other 28 teams in the league, but the season series between us and Washington is going to decide which one gets the 3 seed. They have as much talent in the starting five as we do if Beal breaks out, probably more if Nene is healthy and plays alongside Gortat instead of behind him, but our biggest strength is going to be the team defense and our bench unit, which suddenly looks pretty good. I think if Henderson is on the team next season, a lot of you will be changing your tone and saying he's a solid sixth man. I know it's not an ideal fit like Jamal Crawford or someone, but he will be torching teams' second units. Unless we can net someone like Jeff Green or Arron Afflalo for the second unit, I'm off the trade Hendo bandwagon, because I think he'll be a valuable weapon against some teams like Washington or Miami.

I really like our bench as well. With Henderson (hopefully) moving there and Zeller/Biz having another year of experience under their belt we should look really good against other team's second units. I'd also be pumped if Henderson turns out to be a really good sixth man. Maybe he'll actually be able to maintain smart, aggressive play by coming off the bench instead of zoning out and making bonehead plays/disappearing for stretches like he does as a starter.

I think being demoted to the bench will motivate him. He started to play more aggressive late last season when CDR was challenging his starting spot (though the playoffs were a mess). Given the market recently (Meeks, Bradley, Marvin Williams, and Channing Frye have bigger contracts than him now???), I wouldn't be surprised if Hendo opted out next summer. I enjoyed watching contract-year Gerald Henderson a lot and I get the feeling we'll be seeing him playing for another contract for 2015.

[Cheapsuits]

I think he will do better off the bench as well. Less pressure to carry the team will allow him to just play his game rather than trying to be the player that he's not. Plus I think that he will be able to dictate the way that the 2nd unit plays and that will be good for both him and the 2nd unit. Last year the 2nd unit had no identity or leadership.

[HornetJail]

I think he will do better off the bench as well. Less pressure to carry the team will allow him to just play his game rather than trying to be the player that he's not. Plus I think that he will be able to dictate the way that the 2nd unit plays and that will be good for both him and the 2nd unit. Last year the 2nd unit had no identity or leadership.

I think Ridnour brought a little leadership to the second unit toward the end- I think Zeller in particular benefited from some of his passes, but Ridnour was too busy being a non-factor at shooting, defending, and everything else that matters. Hopefully Brian Roberts can bring some of that and be less of a liability.

[Cheapsuits]

Hopefully Brian Roberts can bring some of that and be less of a liability.

I'm banking on that as well.

[mrknowitall215]

I'm currently leaning towards us coveting the #4 seed in the Eastern Conference with home court advantage in the playoffs after wrapping up a 50-52 win season. My prediction is subject to change based on how the rest of the roster fill out and how Clifford uses the personnel