The 2015-16 NBA preview is in preparation for the 2015-16 season, which is just a couple of hours away. With the season starting soon it also brings some excitement and anticipation for fans all over the country.
This season, we’ll be taking a look at the different NBA teams and ranking them in tiers. There will be five tiers in total, coupled with the teams projected starting lineup, record and finish in the conference.
These six final teams are the absolute favorites to win the NBA championship both in my opinion and according to gambling odds. These teams are poised to make a run for the title but some will have a tougher road than others. There’s only one Eastern Conference team in this tier and for proper reason. The Western Conference is a tough as ever and five of the six favorites are all from one conference.
6. Houston Rockets
Projected Starting lineup: Ty Lawson, James Harden, Trevor Ariza, Terrence Jones, Dwight Howard
Key bench players: Patrick Beverley, Donatas Motiejunas, Clint Capela, Corey Brewer
Record last year: 56-26 Western Conference finish last year: 2nd
Projected Record: 55-27 Projected Western conference finish: 5th
Houston added Ty Lawson in the offseason by giving up basically nothing. Dwight Howard appears to be healthy and ready to go and James Harden is looking to prove last season’s MVP candidacy wasn’t a fluke. The one issue going against the Rockets this season is the fact that other teams are healthy and got a lot better. The Rockets sneaked up to finishing second in the Western Conference last season partially due to the Spurs resting habits and Kevin Durant missing a huge portion of the season. While the Rockets won’t drop much record-wise, their standings will fall, for sure. The Spurs aren’t going to complacent with finishing in the bottom half of the Conference and the Thunder are hungry and coming for an NBA title. Dwight Howard is in a contract year so this season could mean so much for the Rockets and Howard’s career. James Harden won’t have to put the team on his back as much this season but he will still need to be returning to that MVP candidate level if the Rockets want to win the NBA championship.
5. Oklahoma City Thunder
Projected Starting lineup: Russell Westbrook, Andre Roberson, Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka, Enes Kanter
Key bench players: D.J. Augustin, Steven Adams, Dion Waiters, Kyle Singler
Record last year: 45-37 Western Conference finish last year: 9th
Projected Record: 59-23 Projected Western conference finish: 4th
The Oklahoma City Thunder are coming, so everyone needs to be ready for it. Finishing fourth might actually be the low end of the spectrum for the Thunder but part of that is due to their new rookie coach, Billy Donovan and some new pieces that Kevin Durant has yet to have much playing time with like Dion Waiters, Enes Kanter and Kyle Singler. The Thunder are without a doubt a title favorite but in the top-heavy Western Conference, it will be a struggle on every night to assert their dominance on the court. There’s no doubting the trio of Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka, when healthy, is the best big three in the NBA but that’s the key. Health. That’s what forced the Thunder to play catch up late in the season and forced Russell Westbrook to put on MVP caliber performances on an almost nightly basis. No one quite knows what version of Kevin Durant we will see but hopefully he returns to MVP form and he can carry the Thunder into some great success in what might be his last season in OKC.
4. Cleveland Cavaliers
Projected Starting lineup: Kyrie Irving, Iman Shumpert, LeBron James, Kevin Love, Timofey Mozgov
Key bench players: J.R. Smith, Mo Williams, Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao
Record last year: 53-29 Eastern Conference finish last year: 2nd
Projected Record: 57-25 Projected Eastern conference finish: 1st
The Cavs aren’t starting the season in an ideal position. Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert are going to be missing some time to start the season and Cleveland will have to go into their season opener against the Chicago Bulls with a backcourt of Mo Williams and J.R. Smith. Oddly enough, coupled with LeBron James, that might just be enough to see some early success. Get used to a lot of Kevin Love and LeBron James cohesiveness in the early stages of the season with Kyrie Irving sitting out, recovering from his injury. As Kyrie returns, it’s going to be hard to envision any other scenario besides the Big Three playing at least 15-20 games together before either LeBron James or Kevin Love, or both, take some time off to prepare for the playoffs. In particular, LeBron is approaching the number of minutes that usually commands for a rest before the playoffs in a very Spurs fashion. It’s proven to work so why not use it when you’re dominating a weak conference. The East, as a whole compared to the Western Conference, is a joke but there’s one team in the East that is a legit contender for the NBA Championship and the Cleveland Cavaliers will hope to make it back in the NBA Finals for the second straight year.
3. Los Angeles Clippers
Projected Starting lineup: Chris Paul, J.J. Redick, Lance Stephenson, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan
Key bench players: Paul Pierce, Wesley Johnson, Jamal Crawford, Josh Smith
Record last year: 56-26 Western Conference finish last year: 3rd
Projected Record: 60-22 Projected Western conference finish: 3rd
The Los Angeles Clippers took a bad situation and made it amazing this summer. They lost DeAndre Jordan and a future in which Blake Griffin would have to play center for the Clippers was close to becoming a reality. Then, DeAndre got cold feet, he talked to one of Doc Rivers’ kids, and his teammates staged a less than intimidating hostage situation until they could get DeAndre to sign on the dotted line to return to Los Angeles. What followed, was quite a success story for Doc Rivers who has been long criticized for his moves as a decision maker in the NBA. He brought in a legit bench with Paul Pierce, Wesley Johnson, Josh Smith, Pablo Prigioni and Lance Stephenson joining the Clippers and now Los Angeles is poised to make a big run. They have the talent and hunger to prove everyone wrong so why not have them chase the top of the Western Conference. Chris Paul might be closer to the end but it might be time for him to have one of those CP3 MVP runs one last time.
2. Golden State Warriors
Projected Starting lineup: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green, Andrew Bogut
Key bench players: Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Festus Ezeli, Jason Thompson
Record last year: 67-15 Western Conference finish last year: 1st
Projected Record: 62-20 Projected Western conference finish: 2nd
The defending NBA champions are not getting the respect they deserve. They killed it last season with one of the best point differentials ever, one of the best records in NBA history and a run to the NBA Finals full of adjustments and opportunity which elevated them to elite status. Right now, they are one of the favorites to return to the NBA Finals and with a full returning roster, with the exception of David Lee, they shouldn’t have a problem repeating some of the success from last year. They might lose five fewer games but that’s not really anything big in the grand scheme of things. It’s a buzzer-beater here, a bad night from Klay Thompson or Stephen Curry or just another team got better compared to last year. The Warriors have it all, the MVP point guard, sharp shooting two-way guard, a young, bouncy and improving forward who’s in his contract year, a newly signed gritty, tough do-it-all power forward and a longtime doubted big man who plays great defense, protects the rim and rips down rebounds with ease. Their bench is deep and it got better with the addition of Jason Thompson. The Warriors are serious and they are aiming to prove last year wasn’t all based on luck.
1. San Antonio Spurs
Projected Starting lineup: Tony Parker, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Tim Duncan
Key bench players: Manu Ginobili, David West, Patty Mills, Boris Diaw
Record last year: 55-27 Western Conference finish last year: 6th
Projected Record: 65-17 Projected Western conference finish: 1st
It’s hard to envision any other scenario besides the San Antonio Spurs finishing with the best record in the NBA. They added the prize free agent in LaMarcus Aldridge and added a veteran big man in David West, and they have their main core of guys returning with the exception of Tiago Splitter, Marco Belinelli and Cory Joseph. Those two losses won’t hurt them much and with the new additions, possibly the final run for the coach Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan era, it’s hard to see them doing much less than contend for the NBA Championship. The bench guys could affect them but the Spurs have the best frontcourt in the NBA, two of the best perimeter defenders in Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green and a point guard in Tony Parker who will be out to prove everyone wrong. They’re young and old, they have shooting and defense and they have the best coach in the NBA. What’s not to like with the San Antonio Spurs?
