Team Prediction and Goals
Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2024 10:33 pm
Team Prediction and Goals (Written before Training Camp)
Glen Sabo Division: I’m riding with the Lakers again. As always, the Lakers will have to decide between a run at the title or a quick rebuild for next year. They have their three purple players that could easily contend for a title. The interesting question is, will they pivot this year and move their big names? I hope they pivot. The only question mark outside of a pivot is: Will Harold Schiff take a hit in TC? And if so, how bad will it be?
Prediction - Lakers win the Glen Sabo Division and make a deep run in the playoffs.
(I’d love to see the Cavs make a run at the Lakers, but they have more than a few moves to make to catch them.)
Silky Johnson Division: This is probably the best division this year, making it difficult to predict. My bet is the Nuggets hold off the Bulls and retain their division champs. The Amos pick up is like the Remy Martin Pick up of last year. The best player in Free Agency joins one of the best teams in the league.
They lost Alphonse Morelock and Ousmane Dieng. Dieng just doesn’t matter. Morelock was really good, but Amos is better. Amos brings elite defense, rebounding athleticism, and scoring. Maybe most importantly, the motion offense paired with Amen could be unstoppable.
Outside of Morelock and Dieng, the rest of the core came back, and since they were so young, they are about to get a huge boost in TC.
Prediction - Every year I pick the Lakers; this year I’m sending the curse over to the Nuggets. I think the Nuggets will take the title this year.
Gary Loredo Division: This seems like the battle of the Meh. The Kings have their hopes tied to Kavon Looney. The Trailblazers seem a little too young to be ready. (We’ll see how they do in TC.) The Mavericks will figure out a way to screw it up. That just leaves the Suns. The Suns should be done running this division but thanks to a bunch of trades that made them younger, they look like they could be back at the top.
Prediction - I hate to say it, but I’m going with the Suns to repeat as well. I do think whoever wins is getting knocked out in the first round of the playoffs.
Buddy Pedraza Division: The division that I think will not have a repeat division winner is the Buddy Pedraza division. The Rockets are starting to age but just barely. The Spurs look as good as last year. The Pistons are coming online. They are fast and they can score. IamQuailMan always gets the most out of his guys. He will find talent where no one else sees it, and he will make some amazing trades at some point this season. The question for the Pistons is where will they find a point guard and what will they have to give up to get him.
Prediction - I’m taking the Pistons to win the division, and the Spurs and the Pistons to duke it out in the Conference Finals. Not sure which one wins that matchup.
Playoff Prediction (as currently constructed): Out of the Alpha Conference, the teams to beat and are an almost guarantee to make the playoffs are the Lakers, Bulls, and Nuggets.
The next four are a little harder to figure out. The Timberwolves as currently constructed should easily be able to make the playoffs, but as their steward, I hope we can get them set up with a bunch of young rookie contracts. If we can start the rebuild, the Timberwolves won’t make the playoffs. The Bucks hopefully can do the same.
That leaves the next tier of playoff teams, which include the Pacers, Cavs, Celtics, and Magic.
So assuming the Bucks and T-Wolves go into rebuild mode, all four of these teams should make the playoffs. If the T-wolves and Bucks don’t make any trades, they will make the playoffs.
Playoff Prediction (as currently constructed): Out of the Omega Conference, the teams to beat and are an almost guarantee to make the playoffs are the Pistons, Spurs, and Rockets.
The next four are tricky; it is much less clear in the Omega Conference who will make the playoffs. I am going with the Suns, Trailblazers, Kings, and (hopefully) the Mavericks.
Now that these ridiculous predictions are out there, let's see what actually happens!
Honorable Mentions: Grizzlies Goals - get out of tax jail and win a few games along the way, then build around Tennessee Rainwater. For a team that has been in tax jail for a while, they are looking pretty good. With the current team build, they should be able to win a decent number of games and get some points, then ship off Markus Ridenhour and Jalen Warley.
Prediction - The conference is stacked, and being in jail significantly hampers them.
The Heat (Even without an Awards Ballot, I would like to nominate Mike Lowry for GM of the Year, for his work from jail for the past two seasons. If you agree, add a comment at the bottom; I’m looking for a majority of GMs.)
The Heat have made jail their second home. Watching the Heat work is like watching a cartel boss run a prison and his outside empire. The jail just makes him more invincible. I’m legitimately scared of what he's going to do when he gets out. He's not the same man he was when he went in. I think jail has made him understand this game better than he ever did. (and probably better than most of us.)
Prediction - Mike Lowry won’t win many games this year, but he’ll be free, and that is all he needs to make the league fear him.
Raptors I love what the Raptors are doing. Free Agency went well; they kept Kamari Brown and picked up Brandon Ingram. They were able to do this because they went into full rebuild mode pre-UFA. Pre-Free Agency already gave themselves a head start by getting rid of expensive older players (i.e., Looney and Markus Ridenhour).
Prediction - Raptors flip Brandon Ingram.
Glen Sabo Division: I’m riding with the Lakers again. As always, the Lakers will have to decide between a run at the title or a quick rebuild for next year. They have their three purple players that could easily contend for a title. The interesting question is, will they pivot this year and move their big names? I hope they pivot. The only question mark outside of a pivot is: Will Harold Schiff take a hit in TC? And if so, how bad will it be?
Prediction - Lakers win the Glen Sabo Division and make a deep run in the playoffs.
(I’d love to see the Cavs make a run at the Lakers, but they have more than a few moves to make to catch them.)
Silky Johnson Division: This is probably the best division this year, making it difficult to predict. My bet is the Nuggets hold off the Bulls and retain their division champs. The Amos pick up is like the Remy Martin Pick up of last year. The best player in Free Agency joins one of the best teams in the league.
They lost Alphonse Morelock and Ousmane Dieng. Dieng just doesn’t matter. Morelock was really good, but Amos is better. Amos brings elite defense, rebounding athleticism, and scoring. Maybe most importantly, the motion offense paired with Amen could be unstoppable.
Outside of Morelock and Dieng, the rest of the core came back, and since they were so young, they are about to get a huge boost in TC.
Prediction - Every year I pick the Lakers; this year I’m sending the curse over to the Nuggets. I think the Nuggets will take the title this year.
Gary Loredo Division: This seems like the battle of the Meh. The Kings have their hopes tied to Kavon Looney. The Trailblazers seem a little too young to be ready. (We’ll see how they do in TC.) The Mavericks will figure out a way to screw it up. That just leaves the Suns. The Suns should be done running this division but thanks to a bunch of trades that made them younger, they look like they could be back at the top.
Prediction - I hate to say it, but I’m going with the Suns to repeat as well. I do think whoever wins is getting knocked out in the first round of the playoffs.
Buddy Pedraza Division: The division that I think will not have a repeat division winner is the Buddy Pedraza division. The Rockets are starting to age but just barely. The Spurs look as good as last year. The Pistons are coming online. They are fast and they can score. IamQuailMan always gets the most out of his guys. He will find talent where no one else sees it, and he will make some amazing trades at some point this season. The question for the Pistons is where will they find a point guard and what will they have to give up to get him.
Prediction - I’m taking the Pistons to win the division, and the Spurs and the Pistons to duke it out in the Conference Finals. Not sure which one wins that matchup.
Playoff Prediction (as currently constructed): Out of the Alpha Conference, the teams to beat and are an almost guarantee to make the playoffs are the Lakers, Bulls, and Nuggets.
The next four are a little harder to figure out. The Timberwolves as currently constructed should easily be able to make the playoffs, but as their steward, I hope we can get them set up with a bunch of young rookie contracts. If we can start the rebuild, the Timberwolves won’t make the playoffs. The Bucks hopefully can do the same.
That leaves the next tier of playoff teams, which include the Pacers, Cavs, Celtics, and Magic.
So assuming the Bucks and T-Wolves go into rebuild mode, all four of these teams should make the playoffs. If the T-wolves and Bucks don’t make any trades, they will make the playoffs.
Playoff Prediction (as currently constructed): Out of the Omega Conference, the teams to beat and are an almost guarantee to make the playoffs are the Pistons, Spurs, and Rockets.
The next four are tricky; it is much less clear in the Omega Conference who will make the playoffs. I am going with the Suns, Trailblazers, Kings, and (hopefully) the Mavericks.
Now that these ridiculous predictions are out there, let's see what actually happens!
Honorable Mentions: Grizzlies Goals - get out of tax jail and win a few games along the way, then build around Tennessee Rainwater. For a team that has been in tax jail for a while, they are looking pretty good. With the current team build, they should be able to win a decent number of games and get some points, then ship off Markus Ridenhour and Jalen Warley.
Prediction - The conference is stacked, and being in jail significantly hampers them.
The Heat (Even without an Awards Ballot, I would like to nominate Mike Lowry for GM of the Year, for his work from jail for the past two seasons. If you agree, add a comment at the bottom; I’m looking for a majority of GMs.)
The Heat have made jail their second home. Watching the Heat work is like watching a cartel boss run a prison and his outside empire. The jail just makes him more invincible. I’m legitimately scared of what he's going to do when he gets out. He's not the same man he was when he went in. I think jail has made him understand this game better than he ever did. (and probably better than most of us.)
Prediction - Mike Lowry won’t win many games this year, but he’ll be free, and that is all he needs to make the league fear him.
Raptors I love what the Raptors are doing. Free Agency went well; they kept Kamari Brown and picked up Brandon Ingram. They were able to do this because they went into full rebuild mode pre-UFA. Pre-Free Agency already gave themselves a head start by getting rid of expensive older players (i.e., Looney and Markus Ridenhour).
Prediction - Raptors flip Brandon Ingram.
