NBA Playoff Predictions

Eastern Conference:

1. Cleveland Cavaliers: Even this early into the NBA season, it’s evident that the Cleveland Cavaliers are overwhelming favorites to be the East’s number-one seed and to advance to the NBA Finals. Their Big Three is finally emerging into what NBA fans expected. Kyrie Irving has become a top outside scorer and isolation player, Kevin Love is finally dominating in the post as well as from three-point range, and LeBron James is having the league’s most well-rounded season with a near triple-double average in points, rebounds, and assists.

2. Toronto Raptors: The Toronto Raptors are truly an elite NBA organization. DeMar Derozan has emerged as a scarily good midrange and post scorer, while Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas seem to both be hitting their primes this season. Expect them to be good for three reasons: they have a Cleveland-esque diversified Big Three, they have several young and emerging talents like Jakob Poeltl and Patrick Patterson, and they also have key trade pieces to acquire talents who will soon be on the trade block, such as Nerlens Noel.

3. Charlotte Hornets: The Hornets have probably been the most surprising story of this NBA season. The return of defensive whiz Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has led them to be the East’s best defensive team, and with their slow but steady offense led by emerging superstar Kemba Walker and supported by solid three-point shooters at all five positions, Charlotte will likely make an unexpected leap from their solid standing last season.

4. Atlanta Hawks: Atlanta has had the fortune of having an NBA franchise that is consistently above average, and they have been rightfully equated to being a Spurs-like organization with perennial playoff appearances and many well-rounded role players. Under coach Mike Budenholzer, the Hawks—despite having no superstars—have played solidly on both sides of the floor, and Atlanta has had by far the most consistent spacing in the Eastern Conference for the past five seasons. For this reason, despite losing key talents Jeff Teague and Al Horford in free-agency, the Hawks’ slightly worse lineup will nonetheless be a strong Eastern conference playoff team.

5. Boston Celtics: Following the 2013 NBA Season, the Boston Celtics made a fateful decision to rebuild their aging franchise to eventually become a young, top-tier Eastern Conference team. It appears that this ascension is becoming a reality, and that the pieces that will compose a title-contending Celtics lineup have been acquired. Nonetheless, the Celtics still have a ways to go; they run a very unimpressive offense, relying instead on a strong defense to win games. The Celtics also started the season with a surprising lack of overall effort, and their playoff seed will depend on their consistency in the coming months.

6. Indiana Pacers: It’s true that the Pacers have been looking quite shaky this season; the recently acquired Jeff Teague began with his field-goal percentage hovering around a horrendous 20 percent and Monta Ellis’s constant problem of over-dribbling and taking bad shots is still a major issue for Indiana as he turns over and ignores passing to an open shooter on a consistent basis. However, look to see the more consistent shooting guard CJ Miles inserted into the starting lineup to rectify this problem, and for the combined and always improving force of Paul George and Myles Turner to push the Pacers to a respectable playoff seed.

7. Chicago Bulls: It would be an understatement to say that the Bulls were a wild card to make the playoffs this season. Despite having three talented starters in Dwyane Wade, Jimmy Butler, and Rajon Rondo, many doubted their ability to shoot the perimeter and run a well-spaced offense. This perception has been turned upside-down as Wade and Rondo have developed respectable three-point shots, which will likely push the otherwise strong Bulls over the cusp of being a successful NBA team.

8. New York Knicks: The Knicks are by far the most volatile NBA franchise this season. It is unclear whether they have good offensive spacing or defensive prowess, but they have been chosen to be included in this list for their raw talent. If the offensive juggernauts in Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis continue their strong performances, and if Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah learn to better space the floor and defend on switches, the offensively gifted Knicks could become favorites for the East’s eighth seed.

Western Conference:

1. Golden State Warriors: The NBA’s best team only got better in the offseason by picking up Kevin Durant. Even after a comparatively sluggish start, the Warriors will get back on track and easily take first in the more competitive conference. With three of the best players in the association in one starting lineup, this squad may be as historic as last year’s. KD is already tearing it up, and with Steph Curry finally getting back on track, along with Draymond Green being the rock he usually is, the Warriors have no real competition in the West.
2. Los Angeles Clippers: The Clips have been very good for a while now, with what is most likely the best big-man combo in the association, combined with a top-three point guard in Chris Paul. This year, everything is coming together, with DeAndre Jordan evolving into one of the best centers and Blake Griffin being the second-best power forward. Add to that the league’s best sixth man in Jamal Crawford, and the Clippers are built for success. If none of their core succumbs to injury, they could give the Warriors a run for their money in the standings, if not the in playoffs themselves.
3. San Antonio Spurs: The Spurs are coming off of a great final year for Tim Duncan, in which they still could not reach the Conference Finals. However, with Durant now on the Warriors, they have a shot at returning to their former levels of greatness. With the younger Pau Gasol at center and Aldridge free to produce, the Spurs have the best frontcourt in the league when you factor in Kawhi Leonard, who has become one of the NBA’s best players. If the Spurs can get production out of aging veterans like Parker and Ginobili and continue to receive support from their bench, they will perform handsomely.
4. Oklahoma City Thunder: While the Thunder comes off great finishes in the past couple of years, they are a very changed team. With the crushing loss of Durant, they must rely much more heavily on Russell Westbrook, and so far Oladipo has taken too many shots without living up to expectations in the least. If the Thunder is to live up to their position on this list, they cannot afford any injury, and both Kanter and Adams must perform better than they are now.
5. Utah Jazz: The Jazz are an oft overlooked organization in a top-heavy West, with a frontcourt to rival the Spurs. Favors, Hayward, and Gobert are all near–All Stars who make up the core of a team that could easily challenge the Thunder for the fourth seed in the conference, but could also find themselves mired in a competition for the seven spot. Expect them to win around 50 games and make a solid playoff run, revenge for last season during which the Jazz missed out on the playoffs only because of a loss to Kobe Bryant in his last NBA game.
6. Houston Rockets: Playing James Harden as a point guard may have been the best decision of this year, as he is, at the time of writing, averaging around 13 assists per game to go along with his usual 30 points-per-game (ppg). However, the Rockets’ depth is basically nonexistent, with Patrick Beverley being the only contributing bench player. Additionally, they have only two players averaging above one per game in steals or blocks. With contributions from a solid frontcourt of Capela and Anderson, the Rockets will be a contender for sure, but their defense does need shoring up, as always.
7. Portland Trail Blazers: After the loss of Aldridge, the Blazers have never really been the same. Even as Lillard has outgrown the shadow of his former teammate, his squad has become very mediocre, with the awful defender CJ McCollum as his best alternative. Although the Blazers are almost guaranteed a playoff seed, the only way the Blazers can climb higher on this list is if they pull off a blockbuster trade for DeMarcus Cousins or one of the Sixers’ big men. Otherwise, their lack of frontcourt prowess will prove problematic, both in securing a high playoff seed and in making a playoff run that doesn’t end in the first round.
8. Minnesota Timberwolves: One of the youngest organizations in the NBA, the Wolves’ patience has paid off big time with current and future stars Towns, Wiggins, and Dunn. Wiggins especially has turned a corner, with 27 ppg at the time of writing. Karl-Anthony Towns, of course, was named Rookie of the Year. If their core can stick through the tough grind of an NBA season intact, they have a good shot at beating out a Swaggy-P-led Lakers team for the eighth seed in the West.