MAVS NEWS: Luka Is Hurt, But is Trudging On | DLive's Mom Passes Away| Maxi OUT

[michaeltex]

My regular season rankings:

Tier I 

1. Golden State Warriors - Adding Klay for the whole season should put them as #1 seed even with the role players losses.
IMO, GSW is overrated despite winning the Larry O. Lost a lot of depth, health issues are lurking and Draymon is pissed if he doesn't get his max extension.
2. Denver Nuggets- Great core for Jokic to play around, no more excuses.
Good position, maybe even #1 if everybody comes back healthy and motivated
3. Phoenix Suns - Still a good regular season team. Teams will start to target Paul a lot more. 
They have missed their window. DAL showed their vulnerabilities. Lost some depth. and CP3 was looking old when we last saw him.
4. Minnesota Timberwolves - Could be a juggernaut if everything works out. 
Big question is whether KAT and Gobert can coexist effectively. Would not have rated this high myself. 2nd tier until they prove it.
5. LA Clippers - Title favorites that will lose a lot of games lost due to health management.
Health is always a concern. Will Kawahi come back effectively (again). Still a strong candidate once the playoffs start.

Tier II 

6. Dallas Mavericks - Expecting the same problems to haunt DAL with Luka Hero-ball, Wood is a wildcard.
Luka's conditioning in early season needed for quick start. Wood has some big expectations attached.
7. Los Angeles Lakers - Sneaky candidate to surprise, since everyone is counting them out.
If WB is still on team come January 1st, then LALs are lottery bait again. ( Oh wait, they don't have any picks)
8. Portland Trail Blazers - Lillard can win some games by his own and his core isn't that bad (comparable to DAL).
IMO, this team will either bet surprisingly good or really bad. If the latter, it's fire sale time.
9. Memphis Grizzlies - Not having JJJ to start and adding a bunch of rookies will hold them back.
A lot of these guys are young enough to expect to compete on talent alone. Now that they are more known, wins may come harder.
10. New Orleans Pelicans - Zion health still a concearn, young fellas would have to develop nicely for them to move up.
I'm not a big Zion fan, I don't think he cares enough (yet) but this could be the Cinderella team of this season.
11. Sacramento Kings - Even with an improved roster, it's hard to put them ahead of any team in front.
Maybe more tier III than tier II.

Tier III 

12. Utah Jazz - Still can compete with Donovan and role players, but will tank and move down when they trade him.
Ainge gets a low expectation, freebie season to wheel and deal.
13. Oklahoma City Thunder - SGA will put them a little ahead of the other tanking teams.
14. Houston Rockets - Could develop their rookies into a decent starting unit for next season.
15. San Antonio Spurs - Tank for Wembanyama.

Nice parsing of expectations for next season. Thanks for sharing with everyone.