Dallas Mavericks
"We have to find who took the last tapioca"
- Dirk (most definitively)
- Dirk (most definitively)
Key Departure - Seth Curry (Signed with Trail Blazers)
Realistic Ceiling - 8th Seed
Realistic Basement - 13th
Betting Line for Title - +25,000
Betting Line for Playoffs - +600
Bottom Line - The Mavs are a very interesting team to me. Dennis Smith Jr. has the makings of a very good guard in the league, and Luka Doncic could very well be the next big thing. The team still isn't very deep, and Dirk's at the point where even his trainer was shocked when he decided to come back, so if they do make a run at the playoffs, they'll barely sneak in.
Denver Nuggets
When you're about to hit your homie
with a ball but they make you laugh
with a ball but they make you laugh
Key Departure - Kenneth Faried (Traded to Nets)
Realistic Ceiling - 4th Seed
Realistic Basement - 9th
Betting Line for Title - +12,500
Betting Line for Playoffs - -400
Bottom Line - The Nuggets just missed out on the playoffs on the final day of last season. They lost energy man Kenneth Faried, but they were able to pick up Isaiah Thomas, who is looking to have a bounce-back year.
Golden State Warriors
I'm no casting agent, but...
Key Departure - JaVale McGee (Signed with Lakers)
Realistic Ceiling - Top Seed
Realistic Basement - 3rd Seed
Betting Line for Title - -195
Betting Line for Playoffs - -10,000
Bottom Line - So the Warriors are good. They swapped JaVale McGee for perennial all-star DeMarcus Cousins, who once he returns will create the best starting lineup in pro sports since the 1931 New York Yankees (shouldn't have said that, because now you all know I was frozen in time like Captain America). Golden State is so good that if you were to bet $100 on them to make the playoffs, you'd lose $9,900 and your pride.
Houston Rockets
The Houston Elon Musk-eteers
Key Departure - Trevor Ariza (Signed with Suns)
Realistic Ceiling - Top Seed
Realistic Basement - 5th Seed
Betting Line for Title - +850
Betting Line for Playoffs - -2,000
Bottom Line - Houston is still a good team, but they'll be slightly worse compared to last season. Losing Ariza is going to hurt a lot, as he added so much defensively to his team, which it needs. Adding Atlanta Hawks legend Carmelo Anthony is kind of like adding Joe DiMaggio to the 1931 Yankees (is that joke good enough to use twice?). It's adding more offense to the team known for offense.
Los Angeles Clippers
The her? of the NBA
Key Departure - DeAndre Jordan (Signed with Mavericks)
Realistic Ceiling - 7th Seed
Realistic Basement - 11th
Betting Line for Title - +25,000
Betting Line for Playoffs - +550
Bottom Line - The Clippers are venturing to unknown waters (boat joke) in Doc Rivers' tenure with the team. Lob City has disappeared from the Staple Center, leaving the team without any recognizable star to lead the team. I thought they had a solid draft, which lays a good foundation for coming years, but this year will have a lot of struggles.
Los Angeles Lakers
Glad these crazy kids are finally
trying to make it work
Key Departure - Brook Lopez (Signed with Bucks)
Realistic Ceiling - 3rd Seed
Realistic Basement - 6th Seed
Betting Line for Title - +1,000
Betting Line for Playoffs - -500
Bottom Line - The Lakers just added a team-changing, generational talent in JaVale McGee, and also some up and coming point forward in LeBron James. The Lakers are definitely making the playoffs because of you know who, but the real test in whether or not they can compete with the Warriors is their younger core. If Brandom Ingram and Kyle Kuzma can become effective running mates for LeBron, the team could be scary.
Memphis Grizzlies
Since apparently Memphis ownership
doesn't know the difference
Key Departure - Tyreke Evans (Signed with Pacers)
Realistic Ceiling - 8th Seed
Realistic Basement - 14th
Betting Line for Title - +50,000
Betting Line for Playoffs - +600
Bottom Line - The Grizzlies are a team that is in a weird place. Mike Conley Jr. and Marc Gasol are in the back nine of their careers and eat up a bunch of cap space, while Jaren Jackson Jr. is a very promising prospect for the team. They still won't be competitive, but at least their name isn't geographically accurate.
Minnesota Timberwolves
"I'll send you a postcard from my new place"
- Jimmy Butler (probably)
Key Departure - Nemanja Bjelica (Signed with Kings)
Realistic Ceiling - 6th Seed
Realistic Basement - 10th
Betting Line for Title - +15,000
Betting Line for Playoffs - -180
Bottom Line - Everyone please come to the middle of the floor for a game of (in) limbo. No one really knows what's happening with Jimmy Butler, where he's going or what the team could get in return. If Butler stays and decides to give it his all, the team could be strong, especially if KAT keeps getting better.
New Orleans Pelicans
from free agency
Key Departure - DeMarcus Cousins (Signed with Warriors)
Realistic Ceiling - 7th Seed
Realistic Basement - 11th
Betting Line for Title - +12,5000
Betting Line for Playoffs - -220
Bottom Line - The Pelicans are the team with a lot of moving factors. The Brow is a bonafide megastar, yet the team around him just isn't good enough to win him the championship. But they are good enough to get him to the playoffs. Julius Randle isn't good enough to be a true replacement for DeMarcus, but essentially he's just being added to the second half team last year, which made the playoffs.
Oklahoma City Thunder
New Thunder Buddies?
Key Departure - Carmelo Anthony (Traded To Hawks)
Realistic Ceiling - 3rd Seed
Realistic Basement - 8th Seed
Betting Line for Title - +3,000
Betting Line for Playoffs - -700
Bottom Line - I'm still one of the biggest doubters of OKC. Dennis Schroder is a good addition to the team, but I don't know about him and Russ being able to play at the same time. I do think the team will easily make the playoffs, but there's no chance they can beat the Warriors or Rockets or Celtics or Lakers (probably).
Phoenix Suns
Couldn't not post this
Key Departure - Marquese Chriss (Traded to Rockets)
Realistic Ceiling - 7th Seed
Realistic Basement - 15th
Betting Line for Title - +40,000
Betting Line for Playoffs - +900
Bottom Line - Suns fans should be excited by what this team could become. DeAndre Ayton is going to be a good player in this league, and Devin Booker is still someone I'm very high on. The team might not be able to put everything together this year, but in the next few seasons, they can be very successful.
Portland Trailblazers
just not Miles, or Mikal
Key Departure - Shabazz Napier (Signed with Nets)
Realistic Ceiling - 4th Seed
Realistic Basement - 10th
Betting Line for Title - +15,000
Betting Line for Playoffs - EVEN
Bottom Line - Portland is the Western Conference version of the Wizards. They have a star backcourt pair with the point leading the way. I could legitimately see the team finishing anywhere from the middle of the playoff seeding to just missing the playoffs.
Sacramento Kings
We got this in the bag(ley)
Key Departure - Vince Carter (Signed with Hawks)
Realistic Ceiling - 10th
Realistic Basement - 15th
Betting Line for Title - +50,000
Betting Line for Playoffs - +1,500
Bottom Line - Bagley is a good starting point for the team, but it is more of a step toward the solution than the solution itself. They don't have a great starting lineup, nor do they have a real bench, which means the team will lose a lot of games. They haven't made the playoffs since Ice Age 2: The Meltdown was in theaters, and it might take a couple more years yet.
San Antonio Spurs
Drake and Josh is overrated
Key Departure - Kawhi Leonard (Traded To Raptors)
Realistic Ceiling - 4th Seed
Realistic Basement - 9th
Betting Line for Title - +8,000
Betting Line for Playoffs - -150
Bottom Line - The Spurs did some stuff in the offseason. Out is Kawhi, in is DeRozan. The Spurs just took a big blow with Dejounte Murray tearing his ACL, especially since this seemed like it was going to be a breakout year for the guard. San Antonio has made the playoffs every year since 1996, and I'm confident they'll still make the playoffs, but we won't truly know how good they are till we see them play.
Utah Jazz
This was found when I searched
"jazz musicians in Utah".
Key Departure - Jonas Jerebko (Waived)
Realistic Ceiling - 2nd Seed
Realistic Basement - 7th Seed
Betting Line for Title - +7,500
Betting Line for Playoffs - -500
Bottom Line - I'm very high on the Jazz going into this year. They were a lot of fun to watch last playoffs and didn't lose much of anything from last year's roster. Time will tell if Donovan Mitchell can repeat last year's success over the course of his career, but regardless, Jazz fans should be excited for this year.
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