Do Celtics, Anyone, Have a Chance Against Golden State This Year?

By Adam Lowenstein (@StatsAdam)

Why the Warriors’ Chances at 2018 Title are Still Sky High

While Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks dominate the current NBA news, the Warriors are readying themselves to defend their second championship in the last three years as the NBA’s heavy favorite to win the 2018 Finals.

Golden State is getting the band back together after registering the league’s best offensive efficiency, effective field goal percentage and true-shooting percentage during last year’s regular season. Although they were the Western Conference’s worst squad in terms of defensive rebounding, they were among the league’s top teams on the defensive end of the basketball.

Jeremy's Best- and/or Worst-Case NBA Preview

Stephen Curry took home an MVP Award and an NBA Title last season, but can he repeat?

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

Every year I make NBA picks. Every year I'm wrong. Like, yeah, I picked Cleveland to make the Finals last year, and yeah, I picked Miami to make the Finals in each of the previous four years. But how hard was that? The East is always super-easy to predict. I've whiffed on the West pretty much every year, sometimes spectacularly so.

So, I'm just taking a wide lens this year. I'm making no official predictions, whether with regards to win-loss records or who's going to win which conference or the title. If I'm just going to be wrong anyway, what's the point? So, like I did with my NFL preview back in September, I'm going to take a look at every team's best-case scenario, every team's worst-case scenario, and finally, a middle-ground look that (I suppose) will serve as my unoffically official prediction (but again, I'm not going to explicitly say a win total or an exact finish).

As I sometimes do, I've arranged the teams in a random order, so please don't spend time worrying about why I picked the order that I picked, or searching for hidden meaning. There isn't any. Also, it is long (in total, it runs a cool 8800 words), so feel free to skip ahead and just find your favorite team. I won't be offended.

The Official (Way Too Long) SuiteSports 2014-2015 NBA Preview: Part V - The Finals Favorites

As long as these guys are walking, the Spurs are contenders. And they'll still probably be contenders even with these guys in wheelchairs.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

With opening day upon us, it's time to finish up the season preview, and this final section features the last six teams. They aren't the teams with the six best records in the league, as I explained briefly in Monday's section. The last six teams are the teams with the best "Finals equity," as I have taken to calling it. Strictly speaking, I think Golden State will finish with a better record, and is a better overall team that the first team up today. But because Golden State plays in the loaded West (and is unlikely to come up with a top 3 seed), they have less of a chance to make the Finals than the team that seems likely to grab a top 3 seed in the more volatile conference.

Even within this section, the teams don't run in order of win totals. They run in the order from least likely to make the Finals to most likely. There are two Western Conference teams that might seem out of order, but that's because one projects to be a better regular season team, while the other will probably be better in the playoffs. But that will all become clear when we get there. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's just roll through these:

The Official (Way Too Long) SuiteSports 2014-2015 NBA Preview: Part IV - The Playoff Contenders

Stephen Curry has Golden State ready for the season. But are they ready for the Finals?

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

With the season starting tomorrow, we're really getting down to the nitty-gritty. Part III on Friday covered the first stretch of Eastern Conference playoffs teams and the last stretch of Western Conference lottery teams, which means every team left is one I'm picking to make the playoffs.

Through the first three sections, the teams have been sequenced in ascending order based on record. This is the section that will start to deviate from that. While each team listed here in this section will have more wins than the team listed before it, there will be teams in tomorrow's final section (the six Finals contenders) who have fewer wins than some of the teams listed here. But we'll get to them tomorrow. Let's just focus on the playoff teams for now.

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Houston Rockets
2014 Record: 54-28
Over/Under Wins: 49.5
Odds To Win Championship: 30-1

It’s a bit tough to place Houston this season because of two factors that would generally be considered to be in conflict with each other. They are:

(A) With the losses of Chandler Parsons, Jeremy Lin, and Omer Asik, the team is undoubtedly less deep than it was last year.
(B) A team with James Harden and Dwight Howard is going to be pretty good regardless of players 3-12.

With how closely-knit teams 4-10 in the Western Conference might be this year, any step backwards could send the Rockets tumbling out of the playoffs. But on the other hand, it’s really hard to imagine a team with two top-10 players in the league missing out.

The Official (Way Too Long) SuiteSports 2014-2015 NBA Preview: Part III - West > East

This is the face Stan Van Gundy is going to make when Josh Smith shoots a three.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

Last year, the Western Conference dominated the East, to a tune of 284-166. Prorated to a 82-game schedule, that's the equivalent of the West being a 51-31 team and the East being a 31-51 team. That's kind of a lot.

The trend should continue this year. As such, after outlining nothing but lottery teams in the first two sections of this preview, we've exhausted the Eastern Conference lottery teams, but have yet to hit that point with the West. This section breaks down four playoff teams, all from the East, and two lottery teams, both from the West. But in a vacuum, the two best teams in this section are both lottery teams out West. But we'll get to them later.

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Detroit Pistons
2014 Record: 29-53
Over/Under Wins: 36
Odds To Win Championship: 300-1

Of all the teams that didn’t sign LeBron James and trade for Kevin Love this summer, Detroit is the most likely to improve in a big way. And they’re doing it without the benefit of a first-round pick. The reason they’ll likely improve is that they’re going from having one of the worst coaches in the league (the Maurice Cheeks-John Loyer combination) to having one of the best in Stan Van Gundy. He’s never won a title, but he’s been to the Finals once and he’s never had a losing season. In Orlando, he turned Rafer Alston into a reliable, steady hand who started for a team that made the Finals, and took Dwight Howard and launched him into the most destructive defensive force since Kevin Garnett.

The Official (Way Too Long) SuiteSports 2014-2015 NBA Preview: Part II - Six More Lottery Teams

Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade are still in Miami, but making the playoffs will be a tall order without LeBron.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

Yesterday, we kicked off the official season preview by breaking down the six teams most likely to finish at the bottom of the standings and secure the maximum number of ping-pong balls for the 2015 lottery. We're moving up a bit in Part II, but unfortunately, we're still mired in the realm of teams that probably won't make the playoffs. These teams are better than the ones we covered yesterday, but more likely than not, will be securing a few ping-pong balls of their own.

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Minnesota Timberwolves
2014 Record: 40-42
Over/Under Wins: 27.5
Odds To Win Championship: 400-1

The legacy of the 2014-2015 Timberwolves is already set in stone, which is both a blessing and a curse. Regardless of what happens this season, it will always be remembered (for better or worse) as the year they traded away Kevin Love. If Andrew Wiggins pans out and becomes the next Tracy McGrady (or better), then 2014 will be the year they dealt a disgruntled, ungrateful star for a young gun the saved the franchise. If Wiggins busts, then 2014 will be remembered as the year they traded away a top-10 player and got nothing to show for it.

The Official (Way Too Long) SuiteSports 2014-2015 NBA Preview: Part I - The Worst of The Worst

How Rajon Rondo handles a disappointing Celtics season will hint as to his future with the team.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

We’re down to less than a week before the season starts. Are you ready?

We’ve taken a pessimistic look at all 30 teams. We’ve taken an optimistic look at all 30 teams. Now it’s time to split the difference and be realistic. We’re going a bit longer with these - instead of breaking the league into three groups of ten, we’re going with five groups of six so that we can really tackle each team. And instead of going in the order of last year’s standings, we’re going to go in the order that I project them to finish this season. We’re starting off with the worst of the worst - the six teams most likely to win the NBA Draft lottery next May. Let’s start at the bottom.

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Philadelphia 76ers
2014 Record: 19-63
Over/Under Wins: 15.5
Odds To Win Championship: 1000-1

In all my years watching basketball and looking at gambling lines (despite never, ever gambling - because that would be illegal), I’ve never seen a team enter a season with 1000-1 odds to win the title.

I Like This Team - A Glass Half-Full NBA Preview (Part II)

With Derrick Rose back in action, the sky is the limit for the Bulls.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

After spending most of last week being mean, we turned the tables on Friday and started to say nice things about every team. This continues the Era of Good Feelings (or were those in the 1820s - I can never remember), and I explain how and why each of these teams has a shot at the postseason (or better) this season. This group has the last few lottery teams from last year, and the first group of playoff teams. It also includes the first two teams (one from each conference) with a semi-realistic shot (or better) of reaching the Finals.

New York Knicks

And underrated part of the trade that sent Ray Felton and Tyson Chandler to Dallas in exchange for Jose Calderon and Samuel Dalembert (and other spare parts) is that it reunites Calderon and Andrea Bargnani. Back before he got hurt in 2012, Bargnani was enjoying the best offensive season of his career, thanks in large part to a robust foul rate, and was doing most of his best work when he shared the floor with Jose Calderon. In 2013, Bargnani was injured and Calderon was traded mid-season and they never really clicked. But now they have another chance.

I Like This Team - A Glass Half-Full NBA Preview (Part I)

A healthy year for Anthony Davis and the Pelicans could launch New Orleans into the playoffs.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

Earlier in the week, we ran through all thirty teams and said mean things about them. We did this because (a) I’m a pessimist by nature, and (b) as an independent sports blog, taking pot shots is just something you have to do in order to stay relevant. Also, it’s fun.

But at the same time, it’s nice to have a broad appeal. And my grandmother always taught me that you attract more flies with honey than vinegar. I think that means I’m supposed to be nice. So in an effort to be nice, I’m going to offer a positive spin on all thirty teams.

You know how Jon Gruden spends 70 percent of his Monday Night Football broadcasts explaining why he likes this guy (whoever that guy is)? That’s what I’m doing. Imagine the 30 NBA teams are undersized undrafted linebackers and I’m Jon Gruden.

If you want a refresher on last year’s series, you can find it in these three parts. Like Your Team Sucks, we’re going to start with the 10 worst teams from a year ago, but again, we’re going to save Cleveland for the end.

Milwaukee Bucks

Last year was a season from hell, but this year has many reasons for optimism. Jabari Parker might be the most NBA-ready rookie to enter the league in the last five years, and he’ll form a pairing with Giannis Antetokounmpo that has so much length on the wing that the whip-around passing that has become so commonplace in the league these days will prove nearly impossible. If defenses can somehow penetrate their long-armed defense, Larry Sanders and John Henson will be waiting in the paint to place a lid on the basket. New coach Jason Kidd made somewhat of a name for himself last year in Brooklyn by placing an emphasis on flexibility, rather than conforming to his veteran’s tendencies. Now he’ll be able to instill those values into young players.

Your NBA Team Sucks - A Glass Half-Empty Season Preview (Part II)

Uh-oh. Not again.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

Welcome to Part II of Your Team Sucks - explanations for why each team in the league is comically worse than you think they are. If you missed Part I yesterday, you can find it here.

Part I covered the 10 worst teams in the league last year (save for Cleveland, who we'll save for Part III tomorrow), so this will cover the 10 teams in the middle, including our first batch of playoff teams from a year ago. But we start with a few more lottery teams first.

New York Knicks

They were 24th in defensive efficiency last season. In order to improve this, they traded Ray Felton for the one point guard in the league who might actually be worse defensively - Jose Calderon. They also dealt their only serviceable defensive player in the same deal - Tyson Chandler went back to Dallas and all they got in return was Samuel Dalembert. This means that New York’s big man rotation is Dalembert, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Andrea Bargnani. There’s no possible way that they improve defensively.

The Way-Too-Long NBA Preview (Part II)

Chris Paul is ready to lead the Clippers to Los Angeles relevance.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

I began the end of the SuiteSports 2013-2014 NBA Preview yesterday with Part I of the Way-Too-Long Preview. This is Part II, the final installment.

Because the season starts today.

All the previous publishings can be found on the sidebar on the right-hand side, or you can just plow ahead with the 15 teams I didn't cover yesterday. Again, there is no secret code to be unlocked to derive meaning from the order. I pulled them out of a hat and then made sure my Finals pick was at the end. That's it. Now read it.

Because it's basketball season.

Los Angeles Lakers
2013 Record: 45-37
Over/Under Wins: 36.5
Odds to Win Championship: 40/1

Scouting Report: The Lakers’ odds to win the championship are hysterically funny. Compared to, say, the Pistons, their over/under line for wins is actually four lower (Pistons are at 40.5), but their odds to win the title are significantly lower (Detroit is at 75/1). This basically means that people are still betting on the Lakers to win the title in greater numbers than those betting on Detroit or other teams projected in that win range, like New Orleans (39.5; 100/1) or Atlanta (39.5; 150/1). Lakers fans, man. Gotta love ‘em.

The Way-Too-Long NBA Preview (Part I)

Dwight Howard has Houston thinking Championship.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

NBA season is right around the corner. Over the last two weeks, I've offered a pessimistic NBA preview (in three parts), and an optimistic NBA preview (also in three parts). This is the realistic NBA preview. In some instances, this will be a (paraphrased) repeat of what I said was the team's worst-case scenario; for others, a repeat of what I said was the team's best-case scenario. For others still, a totally new angle on what the season will be like.

In the interest of making things as confusing as possible, I've arranged the teams in random order (except for the teams I saved for last in today's Part I and tomorrow's Part II, but you'll get to that later). Do not try to discern a pattern for why a team is placed where - you won't find one. In each section, I've listed the team's record from last season, and two Vegas lines - their over/under for wins this season, and their odds to win the NBA title. You know, in case you live in a place where gambling is legal. 

Brooklyn Nets
2013 Record: 49-33
Over/Under Wins: 52.5
Odds to Win Championship: 10/1

Scouting Report: This team is going to be a lot like the 2010 Celtics, and not only because they prominently feature Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. It’s a team of veteran guys that realizes they don’t need to kick ass and take names on all 82 nights – they’re perfectly aware that they can go through the motions for days or even weeks at a time and still comfortably make the playoffs. All that really matters for them is if they can identify a clear rotation that will work come playoff time.

I Like This Team - A Glass-Half-Full NBA Preview (Part II)

The Return of Derrick Rose has Chicago thinking Championship.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

We're continuing with our optimistic NBA preview after dolling out 30 helpings of hate last week with Your Team Sucks. If you missed Part I of I Like This Team, you can find it here. In Part II, we're covering the middle of the standings from last season, including a handful of teams that many would find it hard to be optimistic about. But not me! My rose-colored glasses don't discriminate here. Let's start off with a bleak one so you'll get what I mean:

Philadelphia 76ers

They actually have a future! They could end up with two lottery picks next year (their own and New Orleans’), and they have two lottery picks from the 2013 draft (Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams). It’s basically impossible to have four lottery picks in two years and whiff on all of them. Someone in there is going to develop into an All-Star caliber player or close to it. If they can keep Thaddeus Young invested in staying in town, and if they can continue to develop Evan Turner, they’ll have the makings of a future playoff team.

Best-Case Scenario: Nerlens Noel recovers from his ACL injury by mid-February, giving him an opportunity to get NBA game experience, but it's so late in the season it doesn't really affect Philadelphia's spot in the standings (or, more importantly, the lottery). Michael Carter-Williams takes his lumps but slowly develops, and Thaddeus Young continues to do Thaddeus Young things. With a former San Antonio assistant as the head coach, those three players (along with Evan Turner) use their length and quickness to plant the seeds of a future lockdown defensive squad.