2019 NBA regular season predictions

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Split T
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2019 NBA regular season predictions

Post by Split T »

I’m basing this off how the regular season goes. We can do playoffs when the time comes.

West

1. Denver Nuggets - Don’t think they are the title favorite, but they are the deepest team and I see them racking up the most wins.

2. Utah Jazz - Also not my title favorite, but I see them going hard all 82 games with home court advantage a nice prize.

3. LA Clippers - Probably my early favorite for the title, think they will rest Kawhi and PG a decent amount which will suppress their win total.

4. Houston Rockets - Westbrook seems willing to play 2nd fiddle to Harden. We’ll see if that lasts, but I see them being a very dangerous team. Harden is incredible.

5. LA Lakers - Could be very dangerous in the playoffs. Regular season win total could be suppressed by resting players and developing chemistry. Slow start wouldn’t surprise me.

6. GS Warriors - No depth, still very dangerous at the top. No Klay until March means their win total will be down, but will still be very dangerous come playoff time.

7. NO Pelicans - I was hesitant to call them a playoff team earlier in the off season, but Zion looks fantastic, Lonzo looks improved, and Jrue is an absolute stud. I’m on the bandwagon.

8. Portland Trail Blazers - Don’t like this pick. I love Lillard and CJ, don’t really like the rest of the team. Think they’re very vulnerable to a let down, but I’m banking on Lillard getting them here.

9. Sacramento Kings - Love their young core of Fox/Hield/Bagley. Think they could challenge for that 8 seed.

10. Dallas Mavericks - Love the Doncic/KP duo and they have a deep bench. Just short on difference makers past the top 2. They’d be in trouble if either got hurt.

11. San Antonio Spurs - Think this is the year they fall off. Aldridge is 34, Derozan is getting older and has an outdated game. Pop could pull off the magic again, but west is just too deep.

12 Phoenix Suns - We’ll surprise most people, as we’ll stay close to the other borderline playoff teams. Probably won’t ever be seen as a serious threat though.

13 Minnesota Timberwolves - Love KAT, think the rest of the team is mostly crap. Covington is nice, but not a #2 guy. Culver could be nice. Wiggins is garbage, Teague is meh.

14. OKC Thunder - Could probably be in that 9-11 range if they wanted too, I see them trading off vets though.

15 Memphis Grizzlies - Good future, gonna be bad this year though.

East

1. Philadelphia 76ers - Starting lineup is scary. Think they did enough to be favorite over Milwaukee.

2. Milwaukee Bucks - Didn’t like their offseason as they downgraded slightly. Giannis still a top 3 guy. That gets them to the ECF.

3. Brooklyn Nets - Don’t like this pick, think there is a huge drop from 2 to 3. Think Kyrie will be on good behavior all year and they edge out Celtics.

4. Boston Celtics - Pretty mediocre, but enough to get HC in the East.

5. Miami Heat - Jimmy will play hard and that might be enough out East.

6. Indiana Pacers - Not a ton of depth, but if Oladipo comes back healthy, their starting lineup is dangerous.

7. Chicago Bulls - A bit of a surprise, but they had a nice offseason. They added Satoransky, Thad Young, Coby White. Full seasons from Carter and Porter, plus Lauri and Lavine is enough to get to the playoffs in the East.

8. Orlando Magic - Bring back essentially the same team that made the playoffs last year. Think that’s enough.

9. Detroit Pistons - Could be a playoff team, but I could see either an injury or a trade involving Blake keeping them out.

10. Toronto Raptors - Think they’ll struggle without Kawhi. Is siakim ready to be the man? I don’t think so. Still definitely on the running for 7/8 seed.

11. New York Knicks - Just the best of the garbage in the East.

12. Atlanta Hawks - Offensively will be fun, defensively a train wreck.

13. Cleveland Cavaliers - These last three are all atrocious. Cavs have slightly more nba players than the other 2.

14. Charlotte Hornets - Can they win 15 games? I don’t think so.

15. Washington Wizards - Bradley Beal and a G League team. Beal by himself puts them ahead of Charlotte, but I’d expect a trade.

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Re: 2019 NBA regular season predictions

Post by Hermen »

West:
1.: Denver - continuity and depth are good for the regular season. Could also make an all in trade mid-season.
2.: Houston - Harden and Westbrook are good for the regular season
3.-5.: LA teams, Utah - both LA teams have injury concerns and will load manage. Mitchell is not a superstar yet.
6., 7.: Golden State, Portland - I was higher on the Warriors before preseason when I actually looked at the roster beyond the stars. And its ugly. Still, if Curry is healthy, that's enough. Lillard doesn't miss games, Whiteside is in a contract year so he might actually do something useful.
8.: Spurs - doesn't make sense, but that has never stopped them before.
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9.-11.: Pelicans, Sacramento, Dallas - Exciting "young" teams, but not there yet. I don't think Dallas has enough beyond their stars, I'm concerned about shooting for the Pelicans and not a big fan of Ingram. I don't think Sacramento will do better than last year, now that teams won't be sleeping on them at the beginning.
12.-14.: Phoenix, Minnesota, OKC - What Split said.
15. Memphis - Happy tankers.

I feel this was all pretty pointless though, since I expect the differences in win totals to be VERY small from spots 3 to 10 at least. The order will fall in place in the last days of the season when many games are whack and who knows what will happen.


East:
1.: Milwuakee - Bud's offense does wonders in the regular season.
2.: Philly - They have some figuring out to do, games could get grindy, Embiid should rest (won't want to though). But I'd pick them over the Bucks in the playoffs.
3.-5.: Toronto, Boston, Miami - Miami should be much better with Butler (assuming health) and without Whiteside. Boston's defense should take a major hit. Toronto will be good. Even if they make trades by the deadline, they probably won't tank completely and still win games until that point.
6.-8.: Brooklyn, Indiana, Orlando: Oladipo and KD are out, everything else is OK but not great. Orlando is good enough on defense.
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9., 10.: Chicago, Detroit: Can see Chicago them beating one of the previous 3 teams if their young guys are healthy and click. Detroit will try hard and Blake might get them to the playoffs if he's healthy, but the rest of their roster is meh.
11.: Atlanta - Fun to watch, but too soon for anything serious.
12.-15.: Charlotte, Cleveland, New York, Washington: Don't care about these teams enough to think how the order shakes out, like they don't really care about this season.

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Mori Chu
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Re: 2019 NBA regular season predictions

Post by Mori Chu »

Thanks for making this thread. I will say that I have been reluctant to write up predictions this year because I think this is one of the hardest years to predict in a long time. The talent in the league really spread itself out this offseason. A lot of teams have 1-2 studs and it's hard to find the separation and figure out who the best teams will be. With that said, let's try to make sense of it all.

West:

1. LA Clippers - Best team in the West.

2. Utah Jazz - Love their roster, great homecourt advantage.

3. Denver Nuggets - Super deep and anchored by Jokic. Only real risk for them is if Joker gets hurt from all the mileage he racked up this summer.

4. Portland Trail Blazers - Everybody always underestimates them, and they always overperform. Lillard and McCollum always get these guys a good playoff seed, and their home court is quietly one of the best in the league.

5. Houston Rockets - I don't like the Westbrook/Harden pairing, and I think this is a bad playoff team, but I think they'll go at 110% effort all season and it'll lead to some regular season wins.

6. LA Lakers - I think they will underperform badly. Lebron and AD will both miss significant time to injury, and they won't mesh super well when they are both on the floor. Their supporting cast blows, and they have coaching hierarchy issues. Strongly dislike this team. Everybody rating this team as top 2-3 in the West is assuming that 2020 Lebron will be like 2013 Lebron. He won't.

7. Sacramento Kings - I think this is a playoff team. They have a ton of talent and are maturing rapidly. Plus a great coach.

8. Golden State Warriors - I think the injuries are just too much for them. Steph tries to do too much and wears out down the stretch. We get "bad Draymond." Their other players and youngs don't contribute enough. No Klay this year. I think they barely scrape their way to the playoffs on veteran savvy and effort.


9. New Orleans Pelicans - Lonzo revenge season with better shooting. Jrue is awesome. And Zion is going to be a total phenom.

10. San Antonio Spurs - Too old, not enough 3-point shooting. I don't like their roster at all, and Pop can't turn it into a playoff team.

11. Phoenix Suns - Getting 11th in the West sounds like a bad year, but I think we can be here with a mid-30s number of wins and look much much better overall than last year.

12. Memphis Grizzlies - I like Morant and JJJ a lot. They will surprise some people.

13. Dallas Mavericks - I am not a fan. I know they have Porzingis and Doncic, but I think they won't mesh. I think Luka wants to hold the ball and shoot more than be a Magic Johnson, and that he won't let Porzingis unleash his full potential. I also hate most of the rest of their roster.

14. Minnesota Timberwolves - Nothing on this team other than KAT is worth anything. They suck.

15. OKC Thunder - They have a few decent vets, but Chris Paul has nothing to play for and will want a trade, and I think the toxic attitude will rub off on others. They may do a fire sale and dump off their vets for picks and youngs.


East:

1. Milwaukee Bucks - Their overall roster got slightly worse, but I think Giannis will be even better than ever.

2. Philadelphia 76ers - Philly and Milwaukee are the two obvious contenders out of the East. Almost a lock for the ECF. I'm not sure I love the Horford addition, but maybe he gives them depth and different lineup looks.

3. Boston Celtics - They seem like the clear #3 to me. Deep and talented roster, a great coach, great home court. And I think Kemba will have a strong year. Maybe a better overall fit than Kyrie.

4. Toronto Raptors - Yeah it is awful to lose Kawhi, but they still have the rest of a title team there, both in terms of the roster and the confidence boost it gives them to win the trophy. And this should give them more minutes for Siakam and others. Don't count them out.

5. Indiana Pacers - I love Oladipo and Sabonis, and they have a lot of nice pieces. Solid no-nonsense team that works hard and plays well together. I like them at #4.

6. Orlando Magic - Around #6 is where I think the East gets really stinky. Orlando is not a good team, but they made the playoffs last year and have kept their core intact, and everybody is a year older and wiser. They have a lot of nice talent, but don't like the way it meshes together. Maybe they can make a trade?

7. Chicago Bulls - I think some people are sleeping on them. Yes, they're very young. But look up and down their roster. They have a lot of really nice players. Lavine, Markkanen, Porter, Carter Jr, Coby White, Thad Young, Satoransky. That's a nice little team! I think in the poopy East they can sneak into a playoff spot and get Chicago excited about basketball again for the first time in a long time. I almost put them up at #6 but decided to rein in my enthusiasm a bit.

8. Miami Heat - Had a hard time picking an eighth team; I don't like any of them. This is a respect vote for Jimmy Butler, Dragic, and Spoelstra. They need more shooting. I don't feel super confident this far down the list in the East.


9. Brooklyn Nets - I don't see why people are picking this team to be a home-court playoff team. Durant is going to be out all year. Kyrie is an insane person. And they gutted a lot of the rest of their roster to get those two. I think this is an "off" year for them while KD heals. I think they will suck and don't have enough talent to stay competitive while KD is out. Watch out for them in the 2020-21 season, though, once they are at full strength.

10. Atlanta Hawks - Trae Young is fun to watch. But they will be depending on guys like Alex Len and Evan Turner too much for my taste.

11. Detroit Pistons - I may be underrating these guys because of their veterans; they could scratch their way to a low playoff spot. But I look at their roster and I dislike almost every player they have. I don't like their 3-point shooting, their guards, their defense. I can't help but root against them insofar as I care about them at all.

12. Charlotte Hornets - I like some of their young guys, but I don't think they will get many wins.

13. Cleveland Cavaliers - Awful. They will probably tank, too.

14. Washington Wizards - I guess they have Beal... and maybe Wall can come back? But, blech.

15. New York Knicks - Complete trash team. Horrible.

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Re: 2019 NBA regular season predictions

Post by In2ition »

The Mavs podcast guys love love love their bench and think Delonte Wright is a top 15 PG. Who am I to argue with them, since I really don't watch their games to know how great their bench is. I just know that Booker cooks them it seems every time he plays them.
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Split T
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Re: 2019 NBA regular season predictions

Post by Split T »

In2ition wrote:
Sat Oct 19, 2019 1:24 pm
The Mavs podcast guys love love love their bench and think Delonte Wright is a top 15 PG. Who am I to argue with them, since I really don't watch their games to know how great their bench is. I just know that Booker cooks them it seems every time he plays them.
I like Wright, but he doesn’t shoot well enough to be a top 15 pg. Especially in a lineup where Doncic will dominate the ball.

They've got a bunch of nice 5th through 7th men, but there is a huge gap from their top 2 guys to their next guy. An injury to KP or Doncic would be pretty crushing I think.

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Re: 2019 NBA regular season predictions

Post by Mori Chu »

That's also assuming that Porzingis will be able to play close to 100%. He had a brutal injury. What's to say that he will be back at full strength? It may be a bit of a down year for him as he continues to recover.

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Split T
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Re: 2019 NBA regular season predictions

Post by Split T »

Could be. He did sit out like 20 months though...he should be fully healed. Rust would be the only issue

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Re: 2019 NBA regular season predictions

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I just want to make my annual statement that conferences are dumb.
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Re: 2019 NBA regular season predictions

Post by Split T »

Agreed, think we’d have a legitimate shot at the playoffs out East. I think every western team besides the grizzlies would.

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Re: 2019 NBA regular season predictions

Post by Indy »

I haven't read anything above because I didn't want it to cloud my predictions. And I am not giving a final order, but a range because I expect about 7-12 in the west to be within 3-4 games.

West
  1. ===Fighting for home court
  2. Houston
  3. Clips
  4. Denver
  5. Utah
  6. Warriors
    ===Locks for playoffs
  7. Lakers
  8. Portland
    ===Comes down to last week
  9. Dallas
  10. Pelicans
  11. Spurs
  12. Kings
    ===Some teams below might be in upper 30s for wins
  13. Suns
  14. OKC
  15. Minny
  16. Memphis
East
  1. Philly
  2. Bucks
  3. Boston
  4. Brooklyn
  5. Indiana
  6. Orlando
    ===Wouldn't be surprised if this is the cut between winning/losing records.
  7. Toronto
  8. Miami
  9. Chicago
  10. Atlanta
  11. Washington
  12. Detroit
  13. Hornets
  14. Knicks
  15. Cleveland

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Re: 2019 NBA regular season predictions

Post by Indy »

Comments on my predictions:

Houston--I don't see any way most teams in the league can hang with a team that has either Harden or Westbrook on the court for 48 minutes of a game, especially when 3/4 of the game they will be on the court together. Even if they each miss 10 games this year, I could see Houston winning 65 games. (I don't see them winning a title, though).

West--I see a world where both the Lakers and Blazers miss the playoffs this year. With the high win totals I expect out west, it wouldn't take much. And if the Lakers miss the playoffs (or should I say the LeBron/AD show miss them) with a winning record, expect to see some movement from the league with respect to having the playoffs be about best top teams and not by conference alone.

East--I am not sure I can draw much of a distinction between Bucks and Philly. I think Boston is still top three due to coaching, not talent.

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Re: 2019 NBA regular season predictions

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I am not buying Westbrook next to Harden. He has not displayed any ability to play off the ball. I get Harden can do that but I think there is a mechanism missing in that pair if they are goong to be on the court together a lot.

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Re: 2019 NBA regular season predictions

Post by Superbone »

Ring_Wanted wrote:
Sun Oct 20, 2019 12:22 pm
I am not buying Westbrook next to Harden. He has not displayed any ability to play off the ball. I get Harden can do that but I think there is a mechanism missing in that pair if they are goong to be on the court together a lot.
I am withholding judgement until I see the pairing for a while. I'm not sure how well they're going to mesh yet. Westbrook is quite a bit different player than Paul is.
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Re: 2019 NBA regular season predictions

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Ring_Wanted wrote:
Sun Oct 20, 2019 12:22 pm
I am not buying Westbrook next to Harden. He has not displayed any ability to play off the ball. I get Harden can do that but I think there is a mechanism missing in that pair if they are goong to be on the court together a lot.
Let's say it doesn't work great--you could stagger them as much as possible. Get each one 32 minutes a game, and they only share the ball 3-4 minutes a quarter. I think it breaks down when you get into the playoffs against other really good teams, but I just can't see half the league getting a win against them during the regular season unless something crazy happens.

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Re: 2019 NBA regular season predictions

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They'll be a great regular season team, but the playoffs will be a different story.
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Re: 2019 NBA regular season predictions

Post by SDC »

dont panic if the suns get off to a 1-4 start.

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Re: 2019 NBA regular season predictions

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SDC wrote:
Mon Oct 21, 2019 12:18 am
dont panic if the suns get off to a 1-4 start.
I'd be pleasantly surprised if they started off better than that!
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Re: 2019 NBA regular season predictions

Post by BookTheGoat »

1. Rockets
2. Clippers
3. Lakers
4. Nuggets
5. Jazz
6. Blazers
7. Warriors
8. Suns

Jk probably the Spurs

1. Bucks
2. 76ers
3. Celtics
4. Heat
5. Brooklyn
6. Detroit
7. Toronto
8. Orlando

MVP: Jokic but if Lakers get a top 3 seed they’ll give it to AD the narrative has already started
DPOY: Embiid
6MOY: Lou Will
COY: Monty
ROY: Zion

Booker makes his first all star team.
Lecque wins the Dunk Contest.
Cam Johnson bankrupts Fulton Homes.
Mikal Bridges makes an All Defensive team.

I think either the Lakers or Clippers win it all. Depends which duo is healthier at the end of the year. I like the fit better offensively between LeBron and AD than Kawhi and PG.
Last edited by BookTheGoat on Tue Oct 22, 2019 1:19 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Mori Chu
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Re: 2019 NBA regular season predictions

Post by Mori Chu »

Dang, I forgot that Indiana will be without Oladipo for the first several months. I have them rated way too high. As I read columns about predictions, I also notice that most folks have Miami ranked much higher than I do.

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Re: 2019 NBA regular season predictions

Post by djy2j »

SDC wrote:
Mon Oct 21, 2019 12:18 am
dont panic if the suns get off to a 1-4 start.
I think they let the first one slip at home and then keep losing until Memphis so 1-5. Then Philly another L. Going to be a rough start potentially out of the gate.
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