[ama3599]

In this thread, just name some predictions based on the standings/power rankings that you would think would be by the end of the year

My standings might involve a little bit of playoffs since teams might be ranked lower than their regular season record

So here it is, teams from worst to best

30. Cleveland Cavaliers - Current Record: 3-3, Prediction: 20-46
Now they might be 3-3 so far, but they didnt start off awful last year either, and their team looked even worse, and at least they have Kyrie Irving to build around, I was about to put Toronto here, but they just beat the Cavaliers, but the future looks brighter for Cleveland with a shot at a high pick in a VERY DEEP DRAFT.

29. Toronto Raptors - Current Record: 3-3, Prediction: 21-45
Not gonna be any better than last year, and the thing is, I dont think they even WANT to be good right now, as their staffs have said that they have all their hopes for next year that Valanciunas is coming, DeRozan developing, and I might add a high draft pick, but theyre not focused at all on this season.

28. Washington Wizards - Current Record: 0-6, Prediction: 23-43
Despite the 0-6 start, they should manage to be better than 2 other teams, and hope to improve that road record, Wall will show star potential.

27. Charlotte Bobcats - Current Record: 2-4, Prediction: 23-43
Rebuilding mode, and its gonna start slowly, Bismack Biyombo will need some time, and Kemba Walker is good but he isnt Derrick Rose and he wont have a very early impact on the team, and moving Stephen Jackson might not be awful, but the players they got for him are struggling, the dumbest move was last year, they basically traded Gerald Wallace for Tyrus Thomas (They got Tyrus for 2 first round picks, while they sent Gerald Wallace for a bunch of Scrubs and 2 first round picks).

26. New Jersey Nets - Current Record: 1-6, Prediction: 25-41
The 6 worst teams in the league are from the East, but thats not a surprise, the West is a much more dominant conference, although the East have 2 big contenders, the West is all around alot better. Back to the Nets, Deron Williams might be a star, but hes no MVP, hes not just gonna magically take a team with very little talent to the playoffs.

25. Detroit Pistons - Current Record: 2-4, Prediction: 27-39
Brandon Knight might be the 2nd best player in this draft, but the Detroit Pistons are still at least 2 years away from Playoffs contention, Greg Monroe is gonna be a very good big man, and Rodney Stuckey is a good but inconsistent player, theyre a young team that seems to be deep... in a year or 2.

24. Phoenix Suns - Current Record: 2-4, Prediction: 30-36
Its really hard to believe that a team with Steve Nash on their roster, might be the worst team in (a tough) The Western Confrence, but they really have no one around him, Grant Hill might be their second best player but hes really old and is injury prone, Shannon Brown been disappointing, Markieff Morris looks really solid but hes just a rookie, its time to start over Phoenix, being the team that had a great shot at winning it all 2 years ago, let Amare go, traded for and signed average player with that money, just fell apart.

23. Houston Rockets - Current Record: 2-4, Prediction: 30-36
This might be a surprise, them being the team that was 9th seed or a playoff team for the past few years, but really, alot of that credit should go to Rick Adeleman, watch him help the Timberwolves overachieve, great coach, and theyre just a team with bunch of average players really... Their best player (Kevin Martin) cant play defense, their second option, Scola, is probably the ugliest and most boring player to watch in the NBA, not knocking him down because he can put up numbers, but hes not a big threat as your second option, Kyle Lowry was a beast agianst the Hawks, but really how many times are we gonna see that happen? This is a team with alot of young overdrafted players, so they dont seem to have great potential either (Jordan Hill, Terrance Williams, Jonny Flynn, and HASHEEM THABEET), Honestly though, I really like Jonny Flynn and I hope he becomes great.

22. Utah Jazz - Current Record: 3-3, Prediction: 31-35
Despite getting wins, their losses have been awful, they do have alot of talent at the point guard (Devin) and bigs (Favors/Millsap/Jefferson) and 2 ok shooting guards (Miles and Burks), but their 3 is a void, and something about them just doesnt seem to click at times, they can get better in a few years, but drafting Enes Kanter was a horrible move, biggest bust of the draft.

21. Milwwaukee Bucks - Current Record: 2-3, Prediction: 31-35

They have a horrible starting lineup, but a SLIGHTLY deep bench, Brandon Jennings is a really fun player to watch, but he cant carry a team, and Bogut is overrated and injury prone, and Stephen Jackson is done, they can still be the 9th seed in a terrible Eastern Confrence

20. Sacramento Kings - Current Record: 2-5, Prediction: 32-34
First of all, trade DeMarcus Cousins, hes just killing the team chemistry, Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton with Jimmer coming off the bench might be the best YOUNG backcourt in the NBA, Tyreke can be a superstar if he just stays healthy and is surrounded by Talents (I cant believe alot of people were counting him out since he didnt live up to his AMAZING ROOKIE YEAR, and the injury was part of that), Salmons Thompson Hickson can provide some defense, I say if this team trades Cousins, theyre heading in the right direction, maybe next year they make the playoffs who knows

19. Golden State Warriors - Current Record: 2-4, Prediction: 32-34
Theyre gonna be good, if they can play defense and keep Monta Ellis, and STOP GETTING INJURED, there has been so many injuries this year already, they made some dumb moves this offseason, Kwame Brown 7mill$, Klay Thompson at 11, HOWEVER, they got 2 steals in Jeremy Tyler and Charles Jenkins, and despite all those, they got better considering Mark Jackson can be a good coach.

18. Minnesota Timberwolves - Current Record: 2-4, Prediction: 33-33
As crazy as this sounds, the Minnesota Timberwolves are going .500, theyre in the best shape they have been in since KG left, Adeleman is gonna help them overachieve, but they have the most potential in the League... Michael Beasely, Derrick Williams, Ricky Rubio, Anthony Randolph, Ellington, and Love already broke out, this team can be... a contender in a few years, if they just add one more player through this draft (they gave one pick to the Hornets but they still got another one), and despite 4 losses all of them have been close, and they SHOULD have won against the Heat, a team with so many dumb moves have been made in the past are actually playing smarter right now.

17. Indiana Pacers - Current Record: 4-2, Prediction: 35-31
I feel like I am underrating this team just a little bit, but they are defiantly gonna be better than last year, Aside from Wolves and Pistons, the Pacers might have the most potential in the league, and theyre already pretty good

16. New Orleans Hornets - Current Record: 2-4, Prediction: 35-31
I think the Hornets got a great deal trading CP3, despite me being a Lakers fan I gotta admit the Clippers offered a 100x better trade, Emeka Okafor/Carl Landry/Chris Kaman/Al Farouq Aminu might be the most underrated Front Court in the league, Gordon can be one of the better scorers, they got 2 high picks in this draft and some cap room, pick up a PG and SF and your back in the playoffs

15. Philadelphia 76ers - Current Record: 3-2, Prediction: 36-30
Andre Iguodala is one of my favorite players, and he would be a great second option for a championship team, not first, Jrue got stardom in his future and anyone who denies that is a *******, but its not a near future, Thaddeus Young can be a 6th Man of the year contender, but sad to say, theyre not going anywhere out of the 1st round anytime soon

14. Boston Celtics - Current Record: 3-3, Prediction: 36-30
Rondo might be a little overrated but hes still a good number 2 option for a championship team, the big 3 are old right now, Jeff Green is gone but he might be a really good player in the near future, so I wouldnt say rebuild is the right word but theyre defiantly slowing down, and the big 3 might break up, try to get some good young players instead of them, I still think they can be in the playoffs, since Rondo and Green can be good and Pierce will probably stay but Allen and KG would better to be traded because if the Celtics arent dumb they know they cant win a ring with them anymore

13. San Antonio Spurs - Current Record: 4-2, Prediction: 37-29
Yes, 1st seed to 8th seed, and WITHOUT their injuries they look like an 8th seed team, just old and slow and boring, but Im taking account that they might be the best run team in the NBA, despite that they will be 8th seed, and they will struggle even more in the playoffs just like last year, I gotta share my opinion I couldnt believe they were the 8th seed last year they were like the worst team in the playoffs getting sweeped (their only win was in the last second so its a semi-sweep) by the Grizzlies without arguably their best player (I think Rudy Gay and Z-Bo are equal), and Manu is already gone for alot, while Duncan is probably gonna get injured again, and Parker and RJ are very inconsistent, they improved their bench with Ford and Kawhi, but this is probably their last year in the playoffs if they keep getting injured.

12. Portland Trail Blazers - Current Record: 4-1, Prediction: 38-28
They are on a great start this season, however, I really cant see them winning it all, especially with a sad career ending injury to their best player in Brandon Roy, just imagine Lamarcus and Brandon being at their best together, they would be top 3-4 team in the west, sadly it didnt happen, Lamarcus is still top 25 maybe top 20 player, and they are really deep at some positions, but I cant imagine them getting past the 2nd round, maybe not even the 1st

11. Orlando Magic - Current Record: 5-2, Prediction: 40-26 (It can be as low as 30 wins depending on how good of a deal they get for Dwight)

Orlando Magic better get a good deal for Dwight Howard, because seriously if he leaves them for nothing they can be in the same shape as the Cavs last year, Dwight Howard is the 2nd best player in the league, but hes like the only one on that team, and I dont even think the Lakers will trade for him anymore since Bynum is a star, they should have went for the Lakers in the offseason, the best deal I can think of is Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Hinrich + 1st rounders in the Hawks which will probably offer that

10. New York Knicks - Current Record: 2-4, Prediction: 40-26
Its ridiculous how undeep (Idk if thats a word) the New York Knicks are, especially with the injuries, they can still manage to get back on track with a great front court, but its dumb that some people think that they have a shot at winning it all, its just really only two teams in the East that can, and liek 5-7 in the West, I can see Denver and Portland with a better chance than the Knicks have

9. Dallas Mavericks - Current Record: 3-4, Prediction: 41-25
The Mavericks arent in that much worse shape than they were last year, they lost Butler (who didnt even play in the playoffs), Chandler, Peja and Stevenson but also got Odom and Carter, the thing is, You have to admit that there was some... If not alot of luck last year, but I am not saying they arent a very good team because no matter what, winning it all says alot, they might be able to put it together later though

8. Denver Nuggets - Current Record: 5-2, Prediction: 43-23
They are still the deepest team in the NBA despite losing JR Smith, Wilson Chandler, Kenyon (Never liked him), and Felton (Miller is a better fit), they will resign Wilson, by March they said, they should resign JR Smith and they have an unstopabble team, Ty Lawson is breaking out into a star and Nene isone of the best Centers, however, I dont think they can win it all with their current roster, but considering how deep they are, they might make a trade for a star player and be an even stronger contender

7. Atlanta Hawks - Current Record: 4-2, Prediction: 46-20
They should be 6-0 right now, the Bulls game was the best game so far this season and it just came to free throws, one thing I noticed, Marvin Williams may never live up to expectations, but hes becoming a solid Forward for the team, they have a deep starting lineup, and Josh Smith might be the best 3rd option in the NBA (Some might argue hes their best player, but I think Horford and Johnson are much better), Horford might be a star player, and Joe Johnson is having a bounceback year and is clearly the 3rd best shooting guard in the league (MANU IS A P****, and Monta is close but his defense isnt as good and he scores more because he has less help), a great team, just cant see them getting past Chicago and Miami

6. Memphis Grizzlies - Current Record: 3-3, Prediction: 47-19
Id love to see them make another great run at the playoffs this time WITH RUDY, but they are so injured right now, Randolph, Arthur, and Conely, they have a solid backup at every position, but they wont be as great right now, hopefully they stay healthy at the end of the season and try to make another run and surprise the fans

5. Los Angeles Clippers - Current Record: 3-2, Prediction: 50-16
Blake and CP3 are both stars and in few years could be 2 of the best players in the NBA (CP3 is already top 5ish, and Blake is top 15-20ish), and DeAndre is a great Center to put with Blake, very athletic, and they are pretty deep, the only thing is they have a losing history and a TERRIBLE COACH in Vinny Del Negro

4. Chicago Bulls - Current Record: 6-1, Prediction: 51-15
Derrick Rose is one of the best players in the game and is only getting better, BUT with Luol Deng as their second best player, I really cant see them getting past the Heat, they will get alot of wins in the East though

3. Miami Heat - Current Record: 6-1, Prediction: 52-14
As much as I hate to say it they have the best player in the League and a top 10 maybe top 5 player, and they found their PG in Norris Cole, but are still void at the 5, seeing them lose to the Mavs in the finals, I dont think its all LeBrons fault, and I dont think theyre gonna beat Lakers and Thunder, but they might, so dont overhype them Heat fans they barely beat the Timberwolves and Bobcats.

2. Los Angeles Lakers - Current Record: 4-3, Prediction: 53-13
Kobe is still one of the best players in the League, and the Lakers have been looking liek their championship years a couple seasons ago right now, they REALLY need a Point Guard though, and they could easily get one since there are alot of good backups this year, Pau Gasol is one of the best forwards still and Andrew Bynum is the 2nd best Center and hes proven that, if only he can stay healthy, and I expected us to have a horrible bench, but theyre all overachieving, JUST GIVE US AN AVERAGE POINT GUARD, even Jerryd Bayless, George Hill, Mo Williams, Kirk Hinrich would be good here and those are average at best, I used to like Fisher but hes slowing us down right now

1. Oklahoma City Thunder - Current Record: 5-2, Prediction: 53-13
The Thunder SHOULD have won it all last year, now they might get the Job done, Durant and Westbrook duo are almost as good as LeBron and Wade, and the team overall is deeper, I do believe Westbrook is a top 10 player and maybe top 3 PG if he doesnt try to do it all on his own and make smarter decisions, As a Lakers fan I would be really worried if we face the Thunder earlier than Conf Finals in the playoffs, both Lakers and Thunder can beat the Heat in the Finals

What do you think some standings will look like