2014-15 NBA Early Season Forecast

After an interesting offseason, I'm happy to see the NBA regular season kick off. For the 6th straight season, the anticipation of the upcoming season is filled with great storylines, high expectations for contending teams & the usual 3-hour argument of how the Western Conference playoff picture will play out during the season. Most of the Western powers made moves during the summer in order to go after the defending NBA champs Golden State Warriors, the biggest winner of this arms race being the San Antonio Spurs. In the grand scheme of things, we can see another scenario of 8 50-win teams & a 1st round “upset”.

In my opinion, The Eastern Conference has had parody for the last several seasons, but they have more bad luck when it comes to injuries than the Western Conference. The 9th, 10th & 11th seeds might not be over .500 out East, but there's always the possibility those teams can be in position to fight for a playoff spot after the halfway point of the season, if they stay healthy.

For last year's season preview, I went into detail about the moves that each team made and what factors had to play a part in order for them to have a successful season. I gave each team an over/under as to how many wins that they have to get in order to have a successful season. This year, I'm doing the same thing, but we're cutting right to the chase. A few hits and misses notwithstanding, my predictions are pretty accurate. This season, the over/under has a 3 to 4 win margin of error so I'll be keeping a close eye on as the season progresses. The order in which the teams are listed in their respective divisions, are based off their offseason moves, and where I think they're ranked as we begin to 2015-2016 campaign.

Also included are postseason award projections. All are subject to change as the season progresses.

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Divison

Toronto Raptors: 48 wins

Boston Celtics: 45 wins

New York Knicks: 43 wins

Brooklyn Nets: 41 wins

Philadelphia 76ers: 19 wins

Central Division

Cleveland Cavaliers: 60 wins

Chicago Bulls: 54 wins

Milwaukee Bucks: 46 wins

Indiana Pacers: 45 wins

Detroit Pistons: 38 wins

Southeast Division

Miami Heat: 52 wins

Atlanta Hawks: 50 wins

Washington Wizards: 47 wins

Charlotte Hornets: 39 wins

Orlando Magic: 36 wins

Western Conference

Southwest Division

San Antonio Spurs: 57 wins

Houston Rockets: 55 wins

Memphis Grizzlies: 50 wins

New Orleans Pelicans: 46 wins

Dallas Mavericks: 45 wins

Pacific Division

Golden State Warriors: 57 wins

Los Angeles Clippers: 55 wins

Phoenix Suns: 45 wins

Sacramento Kings: 42 wins

Los Angeles Lakers: 35 wins

Northwest Division

Oklahoma City Thunder: 56 wins

Utah Jazz: 45 wins

Denver Nuggets: 38 wins

Portland Trail Blazers: 37 wins

Minnesota Timberwolves: 37 wins

Predictions

MVP: LeBron James, Cavs

Defensive Player of the Year: Anthony Davis, Pelicans

Rookie of the Year: Karl Anthony Towns, Timberwolves

Sixth Man of the Year: Andre Igoudala, Warriors

Most Improved Player: Andre Drummond, Pistons

Coach of the Year: Brad Stevens, Celtics

Sleeper Team (East): Miami Heat

Sleeper Team (West): Utah Jazz

2014-15 NBA Division Preview: Northwest Division

Northwest Division

1.   Oklahoma City Thunder

Before Kevin Duran’t toe injury & Russell Westbrook’s fractured hand, the Thunder were primed to be a Top 3 team in the West, top5 in the league overall, as they looked to get past the injury bug that derailed them from getting back to the Finals in the last two years. Reggie Jackson being out doesn’t help things either. Jeremy Lamb is out with a bad back. Rookie 1^st rounder Mitch McGary is out with a broken foot. New acquisition Anthony Morrow is also sidelined with an injury. The injury bug has made himself comfortable in Oklahoma City, and it’ll be up to Serge Ibaka & the young reserves to hold down the fort until KD& Westbrook come back. In the unforgiving Western Conference, OKC will be laying catch up for the rest of the season when they get the whole team intact. It may or may not cost them home court advantage in the playoffs, it remains to bee seen. Scott Brooks has his biggest challenge as a coach thus far. He has his work cut out for him. OKC may be the most dangerous below 4 seed we’ve seen out the West in some time. Getting back to the Conference Finals should get Brooks Coach Of The Year.

Over/Under: 53 wins

2.   Portland Trailblazers

LaMarcus Aldridge is a free agent after this season. Rip City shouldn’t worry much about that, because he’s re-signing with them. Why wouldn’t he? Leave all that big market talk out of this & look at what he comes back to. Damien Lillard, who made his 1^st All-Star game in his sophomore campaign after winning Rookie Of The Year. Nic Batum, a do-everything SF who’s STILL getting better. Solid as a rock Wes Matthews. Defensive stalwart Robin Lopez. Dorrell Wright & Thomas Robinson, along with picking up Chris Kaman & Steve Blake to provide them additional depth. CJ McCollum & Myles Leanord may or may not come around this year, we’ll see. Terry Stotts has a full ouse to play with, and Portland is looking to become a Top 10 team defensively in order to get to the next level. Scoring isn’t a problem with these guys, they’re more than capable of sustaining their offensive production. It’s on the defensive end for them, if they want to get to the next level.

Over/Under: 53 wins

3.   Denver Nuggets

Injuries a re the main reason the Nuggets looked so mediocre last season. Missing key players for most of the season, the team never had a chance to gel. They have depth, athleticism, defense, and just enough shooting to make teams play them honest every night. Ty Lawson is the engine that makes them go. Kenneth Faried showed out this summer playing for the US Men’s National Team in Spain. He’s been improving since he got into the league, so expect him to continue that trend heading into his 4^th season Danilo Galinari is 100% coming back from an ACL. JaVele McGee, Nate Robinson & JJ Hickson are all coming back from season ending injuries. All this means is that Denver will be at full strength, being able to push the ball in transition, have a balanced attack, Play solid defense, and boast one of the league’s better second units. I got Wilson Chandler being a Sixth Man Of The Year candidate early out the gate. They won 36 games despite being shorthanded. They will definetly be better this year, IF they can stay health.

Over/Under: 46 wins

4.   Utah Jazz

The Jazz are basically a blank slate. They’ve been rebuilding via the draft & trades these last several season, and one should give them props for compiling such a good group of young players to build a contending team with. Dream scenario for 1^st year coach Quinn Synder, who gets to use this balnk slate to implement his system & change the culture in Utah. Pushing the ball, spreading the floor, moving the ball & playing hard on both ends makes perfect sense with the youth on their roster. Gordon Hayward is th ealpha dog of this group, thanks in large part to the extension he signed during the summer. He’s going to be asked to take on a leadership role& bring it every night. Derrick Favors & Enes Kanter gotta find a way to give each other space to operate. Once they figure that out, they’ll be fun to watch. Alec Burks, Trey Burke & Dante Exum are gonna be a fun, tough, athletic 3-guard rotation (though we may see plenty of turnovers). Rudy Gobert has alot of spectators curious after showing flashes in international play this summer. Overall, the growing pains will be present, but if they buy in, play hard & compete, the kids will be alright.

Over/Under: 34 wins

5.   Minnesota Timberwolves

You couldn’t ask more of Kevin Love in his time in Minnesota. His gaudy numbers wasn’t enough to get the Timberwolves in the playoffs in the Wild West. Now that he’s moved on to Cleveland, everything is on Ricky Rubio to lead this squad out of the doldrums they’ve been in for the last 10 seasons. New acquisition Thaddeus Young joins a team that has a blend of youth, athleticism, and veterans like Kevin Martin, Chase Budinger, Nikola Pekovic, JJ Barea & Corey Brewer. Getting Andrew Wiggins & Antony Bennett in the Love trade to go along with their lottery pick Zach LaVine & their second rounder Glenn Robinson III. Gorgui Dieng & Shabazz Muhammed may also push for more minutes this year, as they showed signs of being nightly contributors, especially Dieng. Flip Saunders has to figure out how to stay competitive, while developing the younger guys. Wiggins is the future, so his development will play into how Minnesota move going forward.

Over/Under: 30 wins