2019/2020 Western Conference Projected Standings

[gmoney411]

I'm a pretty rational guy, and I eyeroll at the reaches Laker fans make sometimes (it's almost as bad as the Laker hate in this forum), but you are absolutely correct.

The first, say, 20 games of the season may be ugly, and the Laker haters will have a field day ("HAHAHA Laker fans! What do you have to say now?") When it starts coming together though, Lakers will be practically unbeatable when the whole squad is playing.

I don’t think anyone doubts they can be really good by the end of the season. But if the first 20 games of a season are ugly you probably aren’t finishing higher than fifth in this western conference. And having to win three straight series on the road with LeBron probably having to play 45 minutes a night to stay competitive is a TALL order

Not necessarily, on both accounts.

Lakers have quite solid role players (no matter what RealGM posters think), that could probably carry the team for quite a few minutes at a time while LeBron gets a breather.

Also, as players become more veteran and experienced in this league, home-court advantage begins mattering less and less. The Lakers have a solid core of head-y veterans with playoff experience.

Also, AD.

Also, how DeMarcus Cousins shows up to game 1 of the season is a toss-up, but assuming that he is AT LEAST as good as he was last season (probably will be better as he actually has an off-season to get in shape and rehab as needed), he'll average AT LEAST 16 and 8.

The Lakers probably aren't a playoff team if LeBron isn't healthy. AD is great but he's spent almost his entire career missing the playoffs as the lead dog. If LeBron plays 70+ games they should be a top 4 seed.

[tsirigoj]

I don’t think anyone doubts they can be really good by the end of the season. But if the first 20 games of a season are ugly you probably aren’t finishing higher than fifth in this western conference. And having to win three straight series on the road with LeBron probably having to play 45 minutes a night to stay competitive is a TALL order

Not necessarily, on both accounts.

Lakers have quite solid role players (no matter what RealGM posters think), that could probably carry the team for quite a few minutes at a time while LeBron gets a breather.

Also, as players become more veteran and experienced in this league, home-court advantage begins mattering less and less. The Lakers have a solid core of head-y veterans with playoff experience.

Also, AD.

Also, how DeMarcus Cousins shows up to game 1 of the season is a toss-up, but assuming that he is AT LEAST as good as he was last season (probably will be better as he actually has an off-season to get in shape and rehab as needed), he'll average AT LEAST 16 and 8.

The Lakers probably aren't a playoff team if LeBron isn't healthy. AD is great but he's spent almost his entire career missing the playoffs as the lead dog. If LeBron plays 70+ games they should be a top 4 seed.

If LeBron tears his ACL during the middle of the season *knock on wood* you are correct.

People that think that last year's injury actually lasted as long as it did are kinda funny. People who think that there wasn't some level of coasting by LeBron last year are funny.

His basketball IQ is through the roof. He knows enough to know that the team he was with wasn't going to make huge moves. Still, without all the injuries he could have carried that team to the playoffs.

[Danny1616]

1) Utah
2) Houston
3) Golden State
4) Clippers
5) Portland
6) Lakers
7) Denver
8) Dallas

[gmoney411]

Not necessarily, on both accounts.

Lakers have quite solid role players (no matter what RealGM posters think), that could probably carry the team for quite a few minutes at a time while LeBron gets a breather.

Also, as players become more veteran and experienced in this league, home-court advantage begins mattering less and less. The Lakers have a solid core of head-y veterans with playoff experience.

Also, AD.

Also, how DeMarcus Cousins shows up to game 1 of the season is a toss-up, but assuming that he is AT LEAST as good as he was last season (probably will be better as he actually has an off-season to get in shape and rehab as needed), he'll average AT LEAST 16 and 8.

The Lakers probably aren't a playoff team if LeBron isn't healthy. AD is great but he's spent almost his entire career missing the playoffs as the lead dog. If LeBron plays 70+ games they should be a top 4 seed.

If LeBron tears his ACL during the middle of the season *knock on wood* you are correct.

People that think that last year's injury actually lasted as long as it did are kinda funny. People who think that there wasn't some level of coasting by LeBron last year are funny.

His basketball IQ is through the roof. He knows enough to know that the team he was with wasn't going to make huge moves. Still, without all the injuries he could have carried that team to the playoffs.

It wouldn't take a LeBron acl tear. If LeBron misses 25 games they could miss the playoffs. I'm not saying they will, but I don't trust an AD led team.

[BigLurch92]

Denver
LA Clippers
Utah
Portland
Houston
LA Lakers
Warriors
San Antonio

1-7 will be like 6 games apart

[tsirigoj]

The Lakers probably aren't a playoff team if LeBron isn't healthy. AD is great but he's spent almost his entire career missing the playoffs as the lead dog. If LeBron plays 70+ games they should be a top 4 seed.

If LeBron tears his ACL during the middle of the season *knock on wood* you are correct.

People that think that last year's injury actually lasted as long as it did are kinda funny. People who think that there wasn't some level of coasting by LeBron last year are funny.

His basketball IQ is through the roof. He knows enough to know that the team he was with wasn't going to make huge moves. Still, without all the injuries he could have carried that team to the playoffs.

It wouldn't take a LeBron acl tear. If LeBron misses 25 games they could miss the playoffs. I'm not saying they will, but I don't trust an AD led team.

Sure! You could be right!

But what I'm saying is everyone is freaking out because of the injury last year.

I think LeBron just took his time to get healthy and then some. It wasn't worth his exerting all of his energy for that team. He knew the Lakers were cooking to get some superstars, and he wanted to be ready.

Anyone who follows the Laker team closely could see that. It was pretty much the subtext of any interview about LeBron's injury last year.

[gmoney411]

If LeBron tears his ACL during the middle of the season *knock on wood* you are correct.

People that think that last year's injury actually lasted as long as it did are kinda funny. People who think that there wasn't some level of coasting by LeBron last year are funny.

His basketball IQ is through the roof. He knows enough to know that the team he was with wasn't going to make huge moves. Still, without all the injuries he could have carried that team to the playoffs.

It wouldn't take a LeBron acl tear. If LeBron misses 25 games they could miss the playoffs. I'm not saying they will, but I don't trust an AD led team.

Sure! You could be right!

But what I'm saying is everyone is freaking out because of the injury last year.

I think LeBron just took his time to get healthy and then some. It wasn't worth his exerting all of his energy for that team. He knew the Lakers were cooking to get some superstars, and he wanted to be ready.

Anyone who follows the Laker team closely could see that. It was pretty much the subtext of any interview about LeBron's injury last year.

I'm on the exact same page as you. I think LeBron could have and would have played if the games meant more. Unless age suddenly catches up with him they should be fine. But I don't think they can go Kawhi level load management with him and AD and expect to be a top 4 seed this year.

[tsirigoj]

It wouldn't take a LeBron acl tear. If LeBron misses 25 games they could miss the playoffs. I'm not saying they will, but I don't trust an AD led team.

Sure! You could be right!

But what I'm saying is everyone is freaking out because of the injury last year.

I think LeBron just took his time to get healthy and then some. It wasn't worth his exerting all of his energy for that team. He knew the Lakers were cooking to get some superstars, and he wanted to be ready.

Anyone who follows the Laker team closely could see that. It was pretty much the subtext of any interview about LeBron's injury last year.

I'm on the exact same page as you. I think LeBron could have and would have played if the games meant more. Unless age suddenly catches up with him they should be fine. But I don't think they can go Kawhi level load management with him and AD and expect to be a top 4 seed this year.

I see what you mean. Same page completely!

[Sprewell4Three]

The Lakers are the most overrated team in the league. They literally have nothing besides AD, Kuz and Bron.

[BNM]

LOL @ the Lakers hate.

LeBron had a poorly constructed young team and they were in top 4 in the West before the injuries ravaged the team.

You can hate, but at least be realistic. For all the s**t Lakers fans get, the other fan bases have their own ridiculous biases.

Or, perhaps some posters are factoring in the impact of injuries and load management on an old, injury prone roster. Was LeBron's injury shortened season last year a fluke, or the sign of his body aging? Boogie coming back from one major injury suffered another significant injury during the playoffs. AD, throughout his entire career has battled a variety of nagging injuries and has averaged 66 games per season over his 7 year career.

Assuming a roster that depends so much on old and injury prone players doesn't seem very realistic to me. The season is long and injuries are, unfortunately, part of the game. I hope I'm wrong. I hate to see injuries change the course of a season. It robs us all of the highest quality basketball possible. I want to see all the teams battle it out at full strength, especially come playoff time.

[NPZ]

Interesting. You don't have the Lakers in the mix.

Tv24, you shouldn't even waste your time or urine pissing on that turd troll, FT22.

Hey if you think he is trolling, just ignore him or report his post. - Ken

[Rauxcee]

People getting all pissy when a team is ranked 7th, when there legitimately could only be a 2-3 game difference between the 1 seed and the 7 seed.

[tv24lakers]

Lakers are just as stacked as the Clippers. They are a legitimate contender. Not sure how some of you are putting them at 7th or 8th seed. That's silly. They probably wont get top seed since they are going to load manage their stars, but let's get real, their starting 5:

Cousins
AD
Kuz
Green
Lebron

That's hell of a lineup. Then you have Mcgee, Rondo, Bradley, Cook, Dudley off the bench. They will be very scary, especially come playoffs.

There is something to be said about Cousin’s $3m signing. Teams across the league were unwilling to pay him more, recognizing while gifted the Achilles injury has taken a toll on his speed and agility. As a Lakers fan I can only hope that he will prove his doubters wrong.

Mind you an AllStar less Clippers team made it to the playoffs last season.

As I stated in the opening message, regular season ranking is not indicative of the teams playoff success.

[KDBG]

I think the Lakers are being massively overhyped, by the media mainly. To the point of exhaustion. And I'm not even remotely a Laker hater. Obviously, they can win it all, but LeBron better stay healthy. Dude is the equivalent to a 40+ year old with that mileage. AD isn't carrying that team anywhere if LeBron has any major injuries. Other teams in the west at least have some ammo to survive if one star goes down, especially the Clips.

The Warriors are being way underrated right now. Their system is still there, Curry is still there, who still has years left of being a top 5-8 player. D-Lo will do wonders in that system, and either will say, or be a great asset in a trade. ACL tears aren't what they used to be, nothing like achilles tears, so I expect Klay to at least be a solid contributor in the playoffs. I don't think their seeding matters, they will be one of the best teams in the playoffs again.

[Catchall]

Post Westbrook trade:

1 Jazz (56 wins) -- deep team will play for HCA, need Conley to play 65+ games
2 Nuggets (55 wins) -- deep team will play for HCA, Grant is a good pickup as Millsap is declining
3 Clippers (53 wins) -- Kawhi plays 60 games, PG plays ~70 games; I don't think they care as long as they get a top 4 seed
4 Lakers (48 wins) -- +11 wins from last season; Lebron and AD both play 65-70 games
5 Rockets (48 wins) -- offensive efficiency takes a step back, need Harden to be on par with last season and need Capella to have a good year
6 Spurs (47 wins) -- because they win 47 games every year
7 Blazers (46 wins) -- lose defense at the wings and lose Nurkic
8 Warriors (45 wins) -- tread water and pull out a PO spot if Klay comes back

[Chuck Everett]

The high water mark could be 55 wins, but I still remain unconvinced on Utah and Denver. Playoff teams for sure, but I need to wait to see how the season develops.

[Biscayne Beast]

1. Denver
2. Clippers
3. Lakers
4. Rockets
5. Jazz
6. Spurs
7. Blazers
8. Warriors

[Catchall]

I think the Lakers are being massively overhyped, by the media mainly. To the point of exhaustion. And I'm not even remotely a Laker hater. Obviously, they can win it all, but LeBron better stay healthy. Dude is the equivalent to a 40+ year old with that mileage. AD isn't carrying that team anywhere if LeBron has any major injuries. Other teams in the west at least have some ammo to survive if one star goes down, especially the Clips.

The Warriors are being way underrated right now. Their system is still there, Curry is still there, who still has years left of being a top 5-8 player. D-Lo will do wonders in that system, and either will say, or be a great asset in a trade. ACL tears aren't what they used to be, nothing like achilles tears, so I expect Klay to at least be a solid contributor in the playoffs. I don't think their seeding matters, they will be one of the best teams in the playoffs again.

I agree with you regarding the Lakers. A PG rotation of Rondo/Caruso/Cook is cringe. A C rotation of Javale and Boogie is also cringe. Danny Green is the only 35%+ 3-pt shooter who gets up 5+ attempts. Defense is spotty. They will rely heavily on Lebron to run the offense. Imagine how good they'd be if they picked up Vucevic and Terrence Ross in free agency.

I'm not sure I agree with you on the Warriors though. I don't think Klay even thinks about coming back before March, and he won't be close to 100%. Steph is going to get double-teamed. Draymond, Looney and WCS are limited offensive players who won't space the floor like they've been used to. Their whole defensive scheme was based on having 4 wing-sized players who switch everything. Now they've lost Iggy, Shaun and KD, in addition to Klay being out. DLo gives them a legit shooter, but he's a casual defender and isn't a threat to get to the rim. Their bench is going to be a work in progress. I think their pedigree and coaching puts them above the Kings, but they're probably going to fight for the 7th and 8th seed.

[PrinceCliche]

1. Clippers-62-20
2. Jazz- 59-23
3. Rockets- 57-25
4. Nuggets - 54-28
5. Golden State Warriors - 51-31
6. Trail Blazers - 50-32
7.Spurs - 49-33
8. Pelicans - 48-34

Fringe playoff teams that barely miss the playoffs

9.Mavericks - 47-35
10.Kings 45-37

Where are the LA Lakers?

[Grape]

For some reason I have an odd feeling the Spurs will just barely get the 8th seed and then upset whoever the 1 seed is with DD and LA playing out of their minds before getting swept by the 4 seed Lakers losing every game by 25+ points