I might do a series where I get friends in to voice their predictions. I don't know, but for now, here's mine.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1.) Miami Heat, 60-22: Just pretend you're surprised. If LeBron leaves, though, they'll probably fall out of the Top ten teams.
2.) Chicago Bulls, 56-26: Derrick Rose is back! (Who knew?) And, you know, Joakim Noah will probably play more than sixty-four games this year. The Bulls need as much offense as they can from their top players: they ranked twenty-ninth in team PPG last season.
3.) Indiana Pacers, 53-29: Speaking of teams that sucked on offense last season, the Pacers were first in DRtg last year but twentieth on ORtg. Interestingly enough, their "Pythagorean Wins" were three higher than their total wins. Expect slight improvement with the additions of Luis Scola and C.J. Watson, although they'll probably get more out of regression to the mean than out of their bench.
4.) New York Knicks, 50-32: Did you know that Chris Copeland was New York's sixth-highest scorer last season? Behind Steve Novak in fifth and Raymond Felton in third? And that they lost Copeland and Novak for some salary relief and Andrea Bargiani? (Scratch the salary relief, then.) This team will decline from last year.
5.) Brooklyn Nets, 49-33: Now with a trio of ex-Celtics and the league's most expensive roster! The Nets were three games better than they should have been, but Garnett/Pierce/Terry minus all the players the Nets sent to Boston is more than three wins, so expect no change from the forty-nine wins of last season.
6.) Atlanta Hawks, 47-35: I don't get why people are all pegging the Pistons here, given that the Pistons won a whopping twenty-nine games last season. Josh Smith is a good player, but he isn't worth twenty games. The Hawks, on the other hand, replaced Smith with more cost-efficient Paul Millsap and shouldn't really be pegged to decline 2.3 wins.
7.) Detroit Pistons, 40-42: Here's a more reasonable spot for the Pistons. Have I mentioned that I really like Greg Monroe?
7.) Cleveland Cavs, 40-42: Andrew Bynum and half an extra season of Anderson Varejao is what they got, not LeBron James: (see: 2014, Grant Blair, hope.) Anthony Bennett wasn't the best pick they could have made.
9.) Wizards
10.) Raptors
11.) Bucks
12.) Bobcats. The last four or so teams in the East are like a World Sucking Championship. All we need now is the national team of Whateverostan.
13.) Celtics
14.) Magic
15.) Sixers. See what I mean?
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1.) Miami Heat, 60-22: Just pretend you're surprised. If LeBron leaves, though, they'll probably fall out of the Top ten teams.
2.) Chicago Bulls, 56-26: Derrick Rose is back! (Who knew?) And, you know, Joakim Noah will probably play more than sixty-four games this year. The Bulls need as much offense as they can from their top players: they ranked twenty-ninth in team PPG last season.
3.) Indiana Pacers, 53-29: Speaking of teams that sucked on offense last season, the Pacers were first in DRtg last year but twentieth on ORtg. Interestingly enough, their "Pythagorean Wins" were three higher than their total wins. Expect slight improvement with the additions of Luis Scola and C.J. Watson, although they'll probably get more out of regression to the mean than out of their bench.
4.) New York Knicks, 50-32: Did you know that Chris Copeland was New York's sixth-highest scorer last season? Behind Steve Novak in fifth and Raymond Felton in third? And that they lost Copeland and Novak for some salary relief and Andrea Bargiani? (Scratch the salary relief, then.) This team will decline from last year.
5.) Brooklyn Nets, 49-33: Now with a trio of ex-Celtics and the league's most expensive roster! The Nets were three games better than they should have been, but Garnett/Pierce/Terry minus all the players the Nets sent to Boston is more than three wins, so expect no change from the forty-nine wins of last season.
6.) Atlanta Hawks, 47-35: I don't get why people are all pegging the Pistons here, given that the Pistons won a whopping twenty-nine games last season. Josh Smith is a good player, but he isn't worth twenty games. The Hawks, on the other hand, replaced Smith with more cost-efficient Paul Millsap and shouldn't really be pegged to decline 2.3 wins.
7.) Detroit Pistons, 40-42: Here's a more reasonable spot for the Pistons. Have I mentioned that I really like Greg Monroe?
7.) Cleveland Cavs, 40-42: Andrew Bynum and half an extra season of Anderson Varejao is what they got, not LeBron James: (see: 2014, Grant Blair, hope.) Anthony Bennett wasn't the best pick they could have made.
9.) Wizards
10.) Raptors
11.) Bucks
12.) Bobcats. The last four or so teams in the East are like a World Sucking Championship. All we need now is the national team of Whateverostan.
13.) Celtics
14.) Magic
15.) Sixers. See what I mean?
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