So, Part II! Expect a friend to get in to this soon.
WEST
1. San Antonio Spurs, 58-24: The Spurs didn't lose anybody more important than 41.2%-shooting Gary Neal, who had a whopping two wins per game by WS. If you actually go by WS, than DeJuan Blair was actually more important, although they did lose Blair too. Still, expect improve from Green, Leonard, and other rising stars on the Spurs.
2. Los Angeles Clippers, 56-26: The Clippers were one of the top teams in the conference by projected wins last season, with fifty-nine of them instead of fifty-six total. I'm not sure about how much head coaches influence their teams, but I'm pretty sure Doc Rivers is better than Vinny del Negro. And dealing Eric Bledsoe's 3.7 WS for the combined 6.1 WS of JJ Redick and Eric Bledsoe should be fine. So what's wrong? Um, not much. Maybe besides Chauncey Billups gone. And Lamar Odom. And Caron Butler.
3. Oklahoma City Thunder, 56-26: Well, the Thunder rolled last season with a 60-22 W-L, a double-digit gap between their ORtg and DRtg, and a 64-18 W-L. But losing Kevin Martin never helps, and, well, their bench sucks.
4. Houston Rockets: 53-29: HOUSTON! Well, most of the core players were staying here. But they did lose a lot of guys in trades last season. They replaced them with other guys, but they did lose a lot of value from their 50 projected wins last season and 45 actual wins. Wait, what? Dwight Howard, you say? Okay, scratch that then!
5. Memphis Grizzlies: 52-30:
The team that just came in second in the West is back! Without coach Lionel Hollins. The most important player they lost? Darrell Arthur. So why does everybody hate this team now?
6. Golden State Warriors: 50-32:
Obviously, Andre iguodala and maybe even a quasi-healthy Andrew Bogut will help. But their points differential last year pegged them as a 44-38 team. With a Iguodala there, they'll play a little better, but don't pick them to win the West yet.
7. Denver Nuggets, 46-36: Well, after 57 wins last year, you might not have expected 46. But they did fire their catch, George Karl. Third-most-important player by WS Danillo Gallinari is out for a pretty long period of time. The fifth-most-important-by-WS-but-generally-considered-more-important Andre Iguodala? Also gone. Forty-six suddenly sounds a lot more generous than it used to.
T8. Minnesota T-Wolves, 45-37: Kevin Martin and more Kevin Love certainly help.
T8. Dallas Mavericks, 45-37: With the 10,000,000,000 sort-of-major free-agent signings Mark Cuban signed off on this year, this team should improve by six wins from their last projected win total.
10. New Orleans Pelicans, 40-42
11. Los Angeles Lakers, 38-44: Note to Lakers fans: nobody likes you.
11. Portland Trailblazers, 38-44: Their bench really sucked last year, but maybe they'll improve 5-6 wins with the new bench.
13. Utah Jazz, 32-50: Wow. The Jazz suck. Commence applause.
14. Sacremento Kings, 28-54: When the Maloof brothers tried to sell and move the Kings, I was kind of wondering if nobody would put in a bid.
15. Phoenix Suns, 23-59
WEST
1. San Antonio Spurs, 58-24: The Spurs didn't lose anybody more important than 41.2%-shooting Gary Neal, who had a whopping two wins per game by WS. If you actually go by WS, than DeJuan Blair was actually more important, although they did lose Blair too. Still, expect improve from Green, Leonard, and other rising stars on the Spurs.
2. Los Angeles Clippers, 56-26: The Clippers were one of the top teams in the conference by projected wins last season, with fifty-nine of them instead of fifty-six total. I'm not sure about how much head coaches influence their teams, but I'm pretty sure Doc Rivers is better than Vinny del Negro. And dealing Eric Bledsoe's 3.7 WS for the combined 6.1 WS of JJ Redick and Eric Bledsoe should be fine. So what's wrong? Um, not much. Maybe besides Chauncey Billups gone. And Lamar Odom. And Caron Butler.
3. Oklahoma City Thunder, 56-26: Well, the Thunder rolled last season with a 60-22 W-L, a double-digit gap between their ORtg and DRtg, and a 64-18 W-L. But losing Kevin Martin never helps, and, well, their bench sucks.
4. Houston Rockets: 53-29: HOUSTON! Well, most of the core players were staying here. But they did lose a lot of guys in trades last season. They replaced them with other guys, but they did lose a lot of value from their 50 projected wins last season and 45 actual wins. Wait, what? Dwight Howard, you say? Okay, scratch that then!
5. Memphis Grizzlies: 52-30:
The team that just came in second in the West is back! Without coach Lionel Hollins. The most important player they lost? Darrell Arthur. So why does everybody hate this team now?
6. Golden State Warriors: 50-32:
Obviously, Andre iguodala and maybe even a quasi-healthy Andrew Bogut will help. But their points differential last year pegged them as a 44-38 team. With a Iguodala there, they'll play a little better, but don't pick them to win the West yet.
7. Denver Nuggets, 46-36: Well, after 57 wins last year, you might not have expected 46. But they did fire their catch, George Karl. Third-most-important player by WS Danillo Gallinari is out for a pretty long period of time. The fifth-most-important-by-WS-but-generally-considered-more-important Andre Iguodala? Also gone. Forty-six suddenly sounds a lot more generous than it used to.
T8. Minnesota T-Wolves, 45-37: Kevin Martin and more Kevin Love certainly help.
T8. Dallas Mavericks, 45-37: With the 10,000,000,000 sort-of-major free-agent signings Mark Cuban signed off on this year, this team should improve by six wins from their last projected win total.
10. New Orleans Pelicans, 40-42
11. Los Angeles Lakers, 38-44: Note to Lakers fans: nobody likes you.
11. Portland Trailblazers, 38-44: Their bench really sucked last year, but maybe they'll improve 5-6 wins with the new bench.
13. Utah Jazz, 32-50: Wow. The Jazz suck. Commence applause.
14. Sacremento Kings, 28-54: When the Maloof brothers tried to sell and move the Kings, I was kind of wondering if nobody would put in a bid.
15. Phoenix Suns, 23-59
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