Every year, I make preseason picks and they are always a disaster, here is the review of this season’s prediction.
West
Thunder
Oklahoma City has been head and shoulders above everyone in the west this season. They should be the Western Conference representative in the Finals.
Timberwolves
The Wolves have not meshed the way I thought they would. They have been better as of late but are in a dog fight to avoid the play-in.
Nuggets
Denver has been around this spot all season due to another MVP caliber season from Nikola Jokic. They lack depth so it will be tough for them to win a title, especially in OKC’s conference.
Mavericks
When I made these projections, Luka Doncic was on the team, he is no longer on the team.
Grizzlies
The Grizzlies just fired their coach. Although, Taylor Jenkins hasn’t done a very good job this season with a coaching staff that is not his own, the timing of the decision is stunning to me.
Suns
Yikes. Maybe Phoenix will be the 10th seed… but maybe Suns fans just want this horrible season to end. The Rockets own their pick too so they don’t even have that to fall back on.
Kings
The Kings have been up and down all season. Their mid-season De’Aaron Fox for Zach LaVine swap was a big change to the team and I wouldn’t be shocked if there are more changes this summer.
Lakers
I am still upset that the Lakers got bailed out long term with the Doncic trade. For this season, LeBron and Luka are so good you cannot count the Lakers out.
Warriors
Golden State has been a different tem since acquiring Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline. I am not sure what kind of noise Golden State will make in the playoffs but they are very good and will be very good next season.
Clippers
The Clippers have been one of the better stories in the NBA. James Harden had an All-Star season, Norman Powell was on my All-Star ballot and Kawhi Leonard is starting to look like Kawhi Leonard again. I wouldn’t want to see the Clippers in the first round.
Pelicans
The Pelicans have had a season from hell but in what is a loaded draft class the Pelicans should be able to add another good player to their team.
Rockets
The Rockets are the team I was dead wrong about this season. They have been very good with an elite defense.
Spurs
The Spurs were frisky until they lost Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox for the season.
Jazz
The Jazz are going to have a really high draft pick.
Trail Blazers
Portland has been better than what I thought they would be. They have been a very fun team to watch over the last month-plus.
East
Celtics
Boston had a rough stretch at the end of December and into January. Since that point they are 23-4 and looking like the dominant champs they were a season ago.
Knicks
The most important thing for the Knicks is to get Jalen Brunson back. The rest doesn’t matter if Brunson isn’t on the court.
Cavaliers
“Cleveland is going to win a lot of regular season games.” They won a lot of games and then won some more. Let’s see if the Cavs can carry that over to the playoffs.
76ers
The only team who has had a worse season than the Suns is the 76ers. The biggest moment of their season will be at the draft lottery because if their pick is outside the top 6 it goes to the Thunder, shoutout to Al Horford for that one.
Bucks
Damian Lillard has a blood clot issue so we are praying for him. The Bucks will need a superhuman series from Giannis to be able to advance in the playoffs.
Magic
The Magic cannot generate baskets. Rated 27th in offense, it is really hard to win a playoff series when you can’t score.
Pacers
Indiana has followed up their conference finals run with a very good season. Currently in 4th in the east, Indiana isn’t a team I’d like to see in a playoff series.
Heat
I am not sure anyone saw the Jimmy Butler saga ending in the fashion that it did. Miami, meanwhile, is not very good and will probably miss the playoffs.
Raptors
The Raptors haven’t been what I thought they’d be and I’ll own that. Their offseason will be very interesting to watch.
Hawks
Dyson Daniels has a real case to win the Defensive Player of the Year, he has been that good on that end. Losing Jalen Johnson makes the Hawks a little less scary in a playoff series.
Hornets
The Hornets are not good and LaMelo Ball has scored a lot but he isn’t a player I would want to build my team around.
Bulls
The Bulls have been fun for a couple of weeks now. Josh Giddey and Coby White in the backcourt have been a lot of fun, they could make the playoffs.
Pistons
The Pistons are the feel good story in the NBA. J.B. Bickerstaff is my pick for Coach of the Year and Cade Cunningham has been outstanding. Malik Beasly is a sneaky 6th Man of the Year candidate as well.
Nets
Cam Johnson is good. As someone who has been talking about him being traded since the Bridges deal, I think Brooklyn should keep him long term.
Wizards
The Wizards have been playing good hoops since getting winning players Khris Middleton and Marcus Smart at the trade deadline.
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