The 2015-16 NBA preview is in preparation for the 2015-16 season, which is just a few days 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.
In this tier, a lot of the teams will be kind of log-jammed together. The Celtics, Knicks, Pistons and Bucks are all teams that could shuffle based on different things like injuries or a player who takes a big step in the right, or wrong, direction. It’s a very east-heavy tier for obvious reasons with the top-heavy talent out in the Western Conference.
Don’t be discouraged though if you’re a fan of any one of these teams. They are all contenders for the playoffs and again, it’s just a prediction, not something set in stone.
18. Boston Celtics
Projected Starting lineup: Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, David Lee, Amir Johnson
Key bench players: Isaiah Thomas, Kelly Olynyk, Evan Turner, Tyler Zeller, Jonas Jerebko
Record last year: 40-42 Eastern Conference finish last year: 7th
Projected Record: 38-44 Projected Eastern conference finish: 10th
The Boston Celtics weren’t able to make a big move this offseason. They reportedly tried during the NBA draft but Michael Jordan apparently saw something in Frank Kaminsky he didn’t think was worth six draft picks. Regardless of the lack of big moves, they made some small moves by bringing in rookies Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter, gave up essentially nothing to get David Lee in a trade and they also signed Amir Johnson away from division rival Toronto Raptors. Johnson joins a Celtics squad that was near the bottom of every rim protection stat and while he’s not rejecting shots like DeAndre Jordan, Dwight Howard or Andre Drummond, he does make an impact and forces attacking players to reconsider coming at him. David Lee comes in and he is expected to be the starter and there is small hope that he can return to his All-Star ways, or at least close to it, just one year after being benched by the Warriors. The Celtics pass the ball well, they share it just about better than every team in the NBA and their best asset is quite possibly their coach, Brad Stevens. Not to mention Isaiah Thomas is an early favorite for sixth man of the year and the diminutive guard could lead this team in scoring, coming off the bench. All these appear to be good signs for Boston to make a return trip to the playoffs but there are some factors in their way. Much like the Brooklyn Nets, the C’s made the playoffs with the help of some big injuries in the Eastern Conference to guys like Chris Bosh and Paul George, which dropped two playoff teams from the year before. Just about every team in the Eastern Conference is coming into the season relatively healthy and that could just mean bad things for a young team that is very talented and has assets which could make this prediction mean nothing if Boston makes a mid-season deal.
17. Detroit Pistons
Projected Starting lineup: Reggie Jackson, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Marcus Morris, Ersan Ilyasova, Andre Drummond
Key bench players: Brandon Jennings, Stanley Johnson, Aron Baynes, Jodie Meeks
Record last year: 32-50 Eastern Conference finish last year: 12th
Projected Record: 39-43 Projected Eastern conference finish: 9th
The Detroit Pistons are making slow strides at an attempt to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2009. They moved on from Greg Monroe and made deals in the offseason to bring in guys that compliment their expected future max player, Andre Drummond. The big man in the middle for Detroit pulls down rebounds like nobodies business, he protects the paint well and he’s improving, almost daily it seems, with his post scoring. They will be without Brandon Jennings possibly until Christmas or early January but they should be fine with their new $80 million man Reggie Jackson pushing the ball. Be ready for some four-out sets from Stan Van Gundy, much like he used to do in Orlando with Dwight Howard. This team is getting built similarly to how those Magic teams were built with a decent shooting point guard who runs the pick and roll well and some shooters, like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Marcus Morris, Ersan Ilyasova and Jodie Meeks, just sitting around the perimeter waiting for his kickouts for open threes. Detroit’s biggest issue might be the fact that it just doesn’t seem like they’re ready to take that next big step towards the playoffs. They’re close and maybe when Brandon Jennings returns, they can deal him for a piece that could help them make that playoff push but for now, the Pistons might be unsuccessfully fighting for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
16. New York Knicks
Projected Starting lineup: Jose Calderon, Arron Afflalo, Carmelo Anthony, Kristaps Porzingis, Robin Lopez
Key bench players: Derrick Williams, Kyle O’Quinn, Jerian Grant, Kevin Seraphin
Record last year: 17-65 Western Conference finish last year: 15th
Projected Record: 41-41 Projected Western conference finish: 8th
The Knicks in the playoffs? No way. Well. Yes. And it could have happened last year if Carmelo Anthony’s season wasn’t one big excuse just to get to the All-Star game and then rehab his injuries for the remainder of the season. Last year, New York did all they could to tank the season and try to get the best draft pick possible to possibly select one of the star collegiate big men in Karl Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor. Well, they fell short of that goal and with the fourth overall pick they selected Kristaps Porzingis, a player who may have a higher ceiling than either of those two big men. Knicks fans, including Stephen A. Smith, initially hated the pick but as the summer went on and Kristaps talked more about how he knew he wasn’t good, he wasn’t big enough and he had things to improve, the fans started to come around. Melo fell in love with the kid and the rookie is expected to be the starting power forward this season. Couple the rookie with new, real NBA players, unlike the roster they had last year, and the Knicks could sneak into the playoffs. Robin Lopez is a legit rim protector, Arron Afflalo is a good wing compliment to Carmelo Anthony, as he’s proved in the past. Derrick Williams can come off the bench to provide some spark and fun plays but possibly the steal of the offseason was the Knicks bringing in Kyle O’Quinn on a cheap contract. O’Quinn is a great player and he can play both big positions, which will help when New York wants to go small or even if they want to go big with a frontline of Porzingis-Williams-Lopez. They will most likely be one of the teams to improve the most from last year so if they are knocking on the door of the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, don’t be surprised.
15. Utah Jazz
Projected Starting lineup: Trey Burke, Alec Burks, Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert
Key bench players: Raul Neto, Rodney Hood, Joe Ingles, Trevor Booker
Record last year: 38-44 Western Conference finish last year: 11th
Projected Record: 45-37 Projected Western conference finish: 8th
After the All-Star break, the Utah Jazz finished last season as the best team in the NBA record-wise and in total team defense. Utah’s defense has been touted heavily and it’s primarily focused on their center, Rudy Gobert, otherwise known as the stifle tower. Their defense is real and their coach, Quin Snyder, is a no-nonsense type of coach, perfect for a young, upstart team. They made no big offseason moves but they did bring in international gurd Raul Neto, who’s expected to play some minutes at the point guard and they also drafted Trey Lyles out of Kentucky. Their main goal this season should be developing either Gordon Hayward or Derrick Favors as the next NBA star if they want to be considered a real threat in the NBA. All the best teams do it with stars and the Jazz have the potential to have two stars in their organization. The loss of Dante Exum just flat-out stinks but it will force Trey Burke to finally do something because he hasn’t quite lived up to the hype he had coming out of Michigan. He’s going to be the mad leading this squad, so he needs to start acting like it because in a stacked Western Conference, the entire team needs to step up if Utah wants to sneak into the playoffs.
14. Milwaukee Bucks
Projected Starting lineup: Michael Carter-Williams, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker, Greg Monroe
Key bench players: O.J. Mayo, John Henson, Chris Copeland, Greivis Vasquez
Record last year: 41-41 Eastern Conference finish last year: 6th
Projected Record: 44-38 Projected Eastern conference finish: 7th
Everyone is beyond hyped and excited for the Milwaukee Bucks this season. They went into the playoffs last season as a sixth seed and they showed they can be tough when the Chicago Bulls came at them on more than one occasion. They stole two games from Chicago and some people were worried for the Bulls in the playoffs. Chicago ended their season but it just made everyone put the Bucks on notice. They made one of the biggest signings in the offseason by bringing in Greg Monroe, they are returning last years favorite for rookie of the year, Jabari Parker, from an injury and the kept young star Khris Middleton for a few more seasons. They got new jerseys, an agreement on a new arena and even an alternate court, the first team in NBA history to do so. Jalen Rose calls them ‘team futuristic’ because of their length and ability to defend multiple positions from the top to the bottom but this could all setup for a big let down in Milwaukee. Monroe isn’t a defensive stopper in any capacity and him being their best true big man is a little questionable, Giannis Antetokounmpo doesn’t do one thing extremely well but he does do a lot of good things for Milwaukee and their offense struggles at times to score on the perimeter. Michael Carter-Williams might be key for the Bucks this season because if he still is struggling to shoot outside of 15 feet, he could limit the Bucks offensively. They’ll get into the playoffs but it will be hard for them to be any higher than a five seed.
13. Atlanta Hawks
Projected Starting lineup: Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, Thabo Sefolosha, Paul Millsap, Al Horford
Key bench players: Dennis Schroder, Tim Hardaway Jr, Tiago Splitter, Kent Bazemore
Record last year: 60-22 Eastern Conference finish last year: 1st
Projected Record: 45-37 Projected Eastern conference finish: 6th
The Atlanta Hawks caught everyone by surprise last season. They went from the eighth seed one season before to finishing as the top seed and getting 60 wins for the first time in franchise history. All went well for Atlanta, including finishing the month of January with 19 consecutive wins, which was also an NBA record. They didn’t let any off-court distractions like the Danny Ferry issue or Thabo Sefolosha situation in New York affect their performance on the court. Until they clearly were affected by the loss of Sefolosha as players like Kyle Korver and Paul Millsap were fighting injuries throughout their run to the Eastern Conference Finals. They were essentially a shell of themselves as Cleveland was preparing for the NBA Finals. In the offseason, the Hawks were forced to either keep DeMarre Carroll or Paul Millsap and they elected to keep Paul and let their best perimeter defensive player head north to the Toronto Raptors. This could affect the way they play on the perimeter as guys like Sefolosha, Kent Bazemore and newly acquired Tim Hardaway Jr will step in, but can they help the loss of Carroll? It could be tough. They still have their big 3 of Millsap, Jeff Teague and Al Horford – who is in a contract year – so their season won’t be a total step down from last year but it won’t be as successful. The NBA will be ready for Atlanta.
