Preseason standings review

Every year, I make preseason picks and they are always a disaster.  It is time to review my preseason standings predictions

West

1. Nuggets This one was a good pick.  The defending champs are in a tight race to get the 1st seed with the Timberwolves and Thunder.

2. Suns Injuries have cost the Suns big time this season and the play-in is lurking.  This has been a disastrous season for Phoenix.

3. Warriors I thought the Warriors would be better on the road this season, and they have been.  The issue is they are .500 at home, which is why they are 10th in the Western Conference.

4. Grizzlies I was not going to under pick the Grizzlies again and I did not.  They have lost everyone besides Jaren Jackson Jr. for an extended period of time this season.  As a result, this season is a wash for Memphis.

5. Lakers The West has been better than I anticipated it would be so the Lakers are sitting in 9th place.  L.A. also has not been as good as I expected they would be, though I said Anthony Davis would have a big year and he absolutely has.

6. Timberwolves I was worried about overpicking the Wolves this season but they have been this year exactly what I thought they would be last year.

7. Kings With Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk both out for an extended period of time, the Kings could be in serious danger of losing 2 play-in games and missing the playoffs.

8. Clippers I told you that if the Clippers got Harden and were healthy, they would be a dark horse.  I know they have had high peaks and low valleys but the Clippers are certainly a dark horse.

9. Mavericks In 2022, the Dallas Mavericks were the 4th seed and found themselves in the Western Conference Finals.  Right now they are tied for 5th and if they catch the correct matchups, could absolutely find themselves back in the Western Conference Finals.

10. Pelicans I told you that if Zion was healthy the Pelicans had a chance to be really good.  Well, Zion has been healthy and the Pelicans are a threat out West.

11. Thunder Woof.  Oklahoma City is the biggest surprise in the NBA this season and a lot of it has to do with Jalen Williams, who has turned himself into a legit second scoring option.

12. Jazz The Jazz had a fun start to the season but after trading Simone Fontecchio, Kelly Olynyk, and Ochai Agbaji at the trade deadline, the Jazz have been one of the worst teams in the NBA.

13. Rockets For a lot of the season, I was right about Houston, they were not good.  However, behind a sudden breakout by Jalen Green, they have turned their season around and have a legit chance to make the Play-In Tournament.

14. Trail Blazers Portland is worse than I thought they would be.

15. Spurs It is crazy how good Victor Wembanyama is in his rookie season.  He just had a 40 point and 20 rebound game!

East

1. Celtics Boston has been dominant all season, doing laps around the rest of the Eastern Conference.  Can they finally break through for banner 18?

2. Bucks  Milwaukee has not featured the Giannis-Dame pick and roll as much as I thought they would but they are still one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.

3. Cavaliers Cleveland was a massive disappointment in the playoffs last season.  Can they avenge that and win a round or two this season?

4. Heat Miami has had a similar regular season to what they had last season.  However, they have had one key difference, they are 29th in 4th quarter net rating this year after being 4th last year.

5. 76ers The big fella is back and he makes the Sixers dangerous again.  Is this the year that Philly exercises their playoff demons and gets to the Eastern Conference Finals?

6. Hawks The Hawks won 2 games against the Celtics last week.  Other than that there are not many positives to talk about from their season.

7. Knicks If the Knicks can get Julius Randle and OG Anunoby back they are dangerous.  However, there have been no signs of a Randle return, and while it is expected that OG returns, to me, they need to get Randle back to be considered a serious threat.

8. Nets The Nets are so sad.  In other news, the guy who runs the NetsDaily X (formerly Twitter) account being 78 years old is crazy.

9. Magic I expected Orlando to be better but I did not expect them to be this much better.  Jalen Suggs shooting 40% on his 3s has been a great development for the Magic for this season and beyond.

10. Bulls The Bulls have been in 9th all season, which is an improvement from 10th!

11. Raptors After trading both Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby this season, Toronto has lost 14 games in a row and is currently tanking to try and keep their pick (if it is outside of the top 6 the pick goes to San Antonio from the Jakob Poeltl trade).

12. Pacers The ascension of Tyrese Haliburton is the reason the Pacers look like they are going to make the playoffs.  Indiana’s offense is so much fun but they do not defend anyone, which will make it hard for them to win a round.

13. Hornets Brandon Miller has looked really good this season, Hornets fans!  No need to talk about anything else, like LaMelo Ball’s injury issues.

14. Pistons If you take out the Pistons 28 game losing streak they would be 13-34… which is still really bad but not 13-62 bad.

15. Wizards The only way someone could be worse than this Wizards team is by going on a 28 game losing streak… which the Pistons did.  At least Jordan Poole has been better since he was benched (though he has since re-joined the starting 5).

The NBA regular season is almost over as the postseason approaches.  If your team qualifies for the postseason in any form, good luck!  If not, enjoy it because it is always so much fun.