NBA Playoff Seeding Predictions

[Connor B]

I did this last year, it is fun to look back months later and see how correct (incredibly off) I was/we were. Feel free to post your own. Obviously I cannot account for trades/injuries that occur from here on but how rosters are now are nonetheless pretty set in stone, if you will, so:

East

1-Cavaliers
2-Bulls
3-Heat
4-Wizards
5-Knicks
6-Hornets
7-Pistons
8-Bucks

West

1-Spurs
2-OKC
3-Clippers
4-Warriors
5-Trailblazers
6-Houston
7-Grizzlies
8-Lakers (just a strange gut feeling)

[Real14]

East

1 Cavs

2 Bulls

3 Heat

4 Knicks

5 Wizards

6 Pistons

7 Hornets

8 Raptors


West

1 Spurs

2 Clippers

3 Mavs

4 Thunder

5 Rockets

6 Grizzlies

7 Blazers

8 Warriors

[Heavincent]

East:

1. Bulls
2. Cavs
3. Wizards
4. Heat
5. Raptors
6. Hornets
7-8. who cares

West:

1. Spurs
2. Thunder
3. Warriors
4. Clippers
5. Blazers
6. Grizzlies
7. Suns
8. Mavs

[Milbuck]

East:

1) Cavs
2) Bulls
3) Raptors
4) Wizards
5) Hornets
6) Heat
7) Hawks
8) Pistons

West:

1) Thunder
2) Spurs
3) Clippers
4) Warriors
5) Mavs
6) Blazers
7) Grizzlies
8) Pelicans

[Smook A.]

Eastern Conference
1) Cleveland Cavaliers
2) Chicago Bulls
3) Miami Heat
4) Washington Wizards
5) Toronto Raptors
6) New York Knicks
7) Charlotte Bobcats
8) Atlanta Hawks

Western Conference
1) San Antonio Spurs
2) Oklahoma City Thunder
3) Los Angeles Clippers
4) Golden State Warriors
5) Dallas Mavericks
6) Houston Rockets
7) Portland Trail Blazers
8) Memphis Grizzlies

[sirkeelma]

East:

1. Bulls
2. Cavs
3. Wizards
4. Heat
5. Raptors
6. Hornets
7-8. who cares

West:

1. Spurs
2. Thunder
3. Warriors
4. Clippers
5. Blazers
6. Grizzlies
7. Suns
8. Mavs

Rockets easily are on the 6-8 seed.

[Smook A.]

Rockets easily are on the 6-8 seed.
Some people are just underrating the crap out of them. They could end up as a top 5-8 seed in the west. Yeah, they lost 3 good players... but that doesn't mean they still can't make it into the playoffs.

[Milbuck]

Some people are just underrating the crap out of them. They could end up as a top 5-8 seed in the west. Yeah, they lost 3 good players... but that doesn't mean they still can't make it into the playoffs.
How is it such a guarantee? You don't lose Chandler Parsons, Omer Asik, and Jeremy Lin (clown him all you want, he's still a good player) and somehow stay just as good.

No one is saying they're going to collapse into lottery-level..it's just that the margin for error in the West is razor thin. Last season the difference between the 8th seed and the 4th seed, where Houston was, was 5 games. 5 games.

You seriously don't think losin Asik, Parsons, and Lin and replacing them with Trevor "contract year" Ariza could potentially cost you 5-6 games?

And then we factor in teams like Phoenix who will get Bledsoe back...Pelicans who were crushed by injuries last year but are now healthy and added Asik..who knows?

Houston has a good shot..all my bullshit aside they probably make it..but suggesting it's a certainty doesn't make any sense.

[Smook A.]

How is it such a guarantee? You don't lose Chandler Parsons, Omer Asik, and Jeremy Lin (clown him all you want, he's still a good player) and somehow stay just as good.

No one is saying they're going to collapse into lottery-level..it's just that the margin for error in the West is razor thin. Last season the difference between the 8th seed and the 4th seed, where Houston was, was 5 games. 5 games.

You seriously don't think losin Asik, Parsons, and Lin and replacing them with Trevor "contract year" Ariza could potentially cost you 5-6 games?

And then we factor in teams like Phoenix who will get Bledsoe back...Pelicans who were crushed by injuries last year but are now healthy and added Asik..who knows?

Houston has a good shot..all my bullshit aside they probably make it..but suggesting it's a certainty doesn't make any sense

I never said it was a guarantee. I said they could end up as a top 5-8 seed in the West. Yeah we lost 3 good players. Jeremy Lin, Omer Asik, and Chandler Parsons. We replaced Chandler Parsons will Trevor Ariza. IMO, Ariza is a slightly better defender than Parsons was last season with the Rockets. You can call him "contract year" if you want to, but he can still give the Rockets about 12-14 every night. Add in the good defense and he's not a bad replacement. Motiejunas isn't a very good defender or rebounder but when he was given the time last season, his offense was pretty good. I was thinking that he could move to the PF spot because he can shoot threes. He can our stretch 4.

Omer Asik was a very solid backup for Houston in 2013-14. He grabbed rebounds and most importantly, brought in very good defense. He also missed 34 games on the season. We went 22-12 without him. The backup center for Houston next season will either be Joey Dorsey or Donatas Motienjunas. Don't say "Haha oh it's Joey Dorsey, he's going to be shit hahah"... Didn't watch any games from the Euroleague but I went on the forum when we acquired him. He's a fan of the team he played on last year. Said he's a soild defender and good rebounder. That's good. Of course he's not going to be as good as Omer Asik but I say he's going to fill his role pretty nicely.

At point guard, Beverley is going to be starting. Backups will be Isaiah Canaan and Ish Smith. I'm going to say the 2 year man, Isaiah Canaan, is most likely going to be Beverley's backup. He's not going to replace Lin perfectly but I have some faith that he'll do alright. Anyway, going into next season, I also see some of our guys improving. James Harden's defense still looks horrible. 1 thing I noticed him doing well in the FIBA tournament was that he made more jumpers. His step back shot looks more improved. The next guy I see improving is Terrence Jones. In his 2nd season, he put up 12/7/1 and he's only 22 years old. I can him putting up... 14/7 next season. Been hearing he's been working on his post game and jumper in the offseason which is a plus.

Also going into next season, I think we'll be seeing a slightly better Dwight Howard. He looked great towards the end of the season and of course the playoffs where he was putting up Orlando Dwight numbers. Troy Daniels, that kid who was raining 3's in the playoffs, will be an upgrade from the Francisco Garcia of last season. Garcia was bad last year. Couldn't make a jumper at all. Daniels was looking great everytime he got minutes. I think he could give Houston something like 2-3 three pointers every night, which would be fantastic.

Also I just wanted to add in something...
Patrick Beverley was a first year starter.
Terrence Jones was a first year starter.
James Harden was a second year starter.
Dwight Howard was in his first year in Houston.
Houston Rockets were the fourth youngest team in the NBA.

And finally, the last thing I wanna say is that got a little more veteran leadership. We traded for Jason Terry, a guy who has been in the league playing in the NBA since 1999. He been to the NBA Finals 2 times and won a championships. What I'm saying is that he knows how to win. Francisco Garcia can also bring some veteran leadership. All in all, I don't think the Houston Rockets became that bad of a team after the loss of Chandler Parsons, Jeremy Lin, and Omer Asik. I think at the end of the season we'll win 51-52 games if all the main guys can manage to play a full season without any injuries.

[UK2K]

We should do a ISH playoff seeding and see if as a collective we know what were talking about, or we're all just as dumb as everyone else.

I know where I stand, but...

[UK2K]

I never said it was a guarantee. I said they could end up as a top 5-8 seed in the West. Yeah we lost 3 good players. Jeremy Lin, Omer Asik, and Chandler Parsons. We replaced Chandler Parsons will Trevor Ariza. IMO, Ariza is a slightly better defender than Parsons was last season with the Rockets. You can call him "contract year" if you want to, but he can still give the Rockets about 12-14 every night. Add in the good defense and he's not a bad replacement. Motiejunas isn't a very good defender or rebounder but when he was given the time last season, his offense was pretty good. I was thinking that he could move to the PF spot because he can shoot threes. He can our stretch 4.

Omer Asik was a very solid backup for Houston in 2013-14. He grabbed rebounds and most importantly, brought in very good defense. He also missed 34 games on the season. We went 22-12 without him. The backup center for Houston next season will either be Joey Dorsey or Donatas Motienjunas. Don't say "Haha oh it's Joey Dorsey, he's going to be shit hahah"... Didn't watch any games from the Euroleague but I went on the forum when we acquired him. He's a fan of the team he played on last year. Said he's a soild defender and good rebounder. That's good. Of course he's not going to be as good as Omer Asik but I say he's going to fill his role pretty nicely.

At point guard, Beverley is going to be starting. Backups will be Isaiah Canaan and Ish Smith. I'm going to say the 2 year man, Isaiah Canaan, is most likely going to be Beverley's backup. He's not going to replace Lin perfectly but I have some faith that he'll do alright. Anyway, going into next season, I also see some of our guys improving. James Harden's defense still looks horrible. 1 thing I noticed him doing well in the FIBA tournament was that he made more jumpers. His step back shot looks more improved. The next guy I see improving is Terrence Jones. In his 2nd season, he put up 12/7/1 and he's only 22 years old. I can him putting up... 14/7 next season. Been hearing he's been working on his post game and jumper in the offseason which is a plus.

Also going into next season, I think we'll be seeing a slightly better Dwight Howard. He looked great towards the end of the season and of course the playoffs where he was putting up Orlando Dwight numbers. Troy Daniels, that kid who was raining 3's in the playoffs, will be an upgrade from the Francisco Garcia of last season. Garcia was bad last year. Couldn't make a jumper at all. Daniels was looking great everytime he got minutes. I think he could give Houston something like 2-3 three pointers every night, which would be fantastic.

Also I just wanted to add in something...
Patrick Beverley was a first year starter.
Terrence Jones was a first year starter.
James Harden was a second year starter.
Dwight Howard was in his first year in Houston.
Houston Rockets were the fourth youngest team in the NBA.

And finally, the last thing I wanna say is that got a little more veteran leadership. We traded for Jason Terry, a guy who has been in the league playing in the NBA since 1999. He been to the NBA Finals 2 times and won a championships. What I'm saying is that he knows how to win. Francisco Garcia can also bring some veteran leadership. All in all, I don't think the Houston Rockets became that bad of a team after the loss of Chandler Parsons, Jeremy Lin, and Omer Asik. I think at the end of the season we'll win 51-52 games if all the main guys can manage to play a full season without any injuries.
You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Smook A. again.

Let the haters hate. The day of reckoning will come.

[TheMarkMadsen]

OKC
SAS
LAC
GSW
POR
DAL
LAL
HOU


Cavs
Bulls
Wizards
Heat
Raptors
Knicks
Hornets
Cats

[Real14]

Now you understand what I be going through on here Smook. People will underrate your team in a second.

[Legends66NBA7]

People still don't understand how seeding works or is it just the East ?

[All Net]

Warriors should be top 4

Its a joke they were 6th seed last year.

[LEFT4DEAD]

OKC
SAS
LAC
GSW
POR
DAL
LAL
HOU


Cavs
Bulls
Wizards
Heat
Raptors
Knicks
Hornets
Cats
:biggums:

[poido123]

Warriors should be top 4

Its a joke they were 6th seed last year.


A better coach and backup PG, they are a lock for top 4.

East I have:

Bulls
Cavs
Wizards
Heat
Hornets
Toronto
Atlanta
Detroit

West

Okc
Spurs
Warriors
Mavs
Portland
Denver
Memphis
New orleans

[All Net]

A better coach and backup PG, they are a lock for top 4.

East I have:

Bulls
Cavs
Wizards
Heat
Hornets
Toronto
Atlanta
Detroit

West

Okc
Spurs
Warriors
Mavs
Portland
Denver
Memphis
New orleans

What you have clips missing the playoffs?

[poido123]

What you have clips missing the playoffs?


Nope just totally forgot them :oldlol:

Replace them with the frizz and bump one spot above portland

[aj1987]

A better coach and backup PG, they are a lock for top 4.

East I have:

Bulls
Cavs
Wizards
Heat
Hornets
Toronto
Atlanta
Detroit

West

Okc
Spurs
Warriors
Mavs
Portland
Denver
Memphis
New orleans
:oldlol:

Some of those teams are really high. There is no chance that the Bulls end up with a higher seed than the Cav's. Denver, Pelicans, and Memphis making the playoffs over the Rockets and Clippers?

[poido123]

:oldlol:

Some of those teams are really high. There is no chance that the Bulls end up with a higher seed than the Cav's. Denver, Pelicans, and Memphis making the playoffs over the Rockets and Clippers?


I'll explain.

Since I know your capable of sensible discussion I'll entertain your question.

Bulls have always performed well in the regular season. This is the strongest bulls team in the last 5 years and added gasol, brooks, McDermott, mirotic, snell, butler and lost boozer and korver of note. The core is still there.

Cavs could have growing pains early, learning new schemes with a new coach and their first year together. The first year heat for example.

Clippers are top 8, just forgot to put them in. Grizz out. Houston lost a big piece in parsons, I could see them slip badly.

[All Net]

Think Mavs are a good bet for 5th if dirk can stay healthy.

[poido123]

Think Mavs are a good bet for 5th if dirk can stay healthy.


They took spurs to 7 last season?

While adding parsons, chandler and jameer I thought they did very well this off season..

[wally_world]

EAST
1 - Cleveland Cavaliers (too much talent, DRose seems rusty, rest of East not strong enough)
2 - Chicago Bulls (will take some early losses trying to integrate Rose back into the team)
3 - Charlotte Hornets (they will play with more edge this season while maintaining their great D)
4 - Toronto Raptors (good regular season team)
5 - Washington Wizards (if healthy would be higher)
6 - Miami Heat (I predict a great start but falls off late in season with rest/injuries)
7 - Atlanta Hawks (capable of beating some big teams, vastly underrated)
8 - Brooklyn Nets (don't expect a rich team like this to tank, would still sneak in playoffs)

Indiana will be competitive. Detroit will have inconsistencies. Orlando will be in the playoff mix.


WEST
1 - LA Clippers (Spurs/OKC had their spotlight, now LAC takes it)
2 - Oklahoma City Thunder (2nd seed but plays like the favourites)
3 - San Antonio Spurs (won't be as motivated as last season, but their coaching/depth will pull thru)
4 - Goldenstate Warriors (more consistency from Splash Bros, playoff success will depend on Bogut)
5 - Portland Trailblazers
6 - Dallas Mavericks (will rest Dirk more in regular season, but Monta/Parsons will keep them competitive)
7 - Houston Rockets (random roleplayer will save their season)
8 - Phoenix Suns (another MVP-caliber season from Dragic)

Memphis remain competitive but they are too thin and reliant on their bigs. Denver will start hot but fall off after AS weekend. Lakers will start rough and decide to tank by faking injuries to old dudes. Sactown would be in the race for 8th seed. Pelicans stand still. Minny will show some good signs by beating a couple of top teams in a shitty season.

[aj1987]

I'll explain.

Since I know your capable of sensible discussion I'll entertain your question.

Bulls have always performed well in the regular season. This is the strongest bulls team in the last 5 years and added gasol, brooks, McDermott, mirotic, snell, butler and lost boozer and korver of note. The core is still there.
You say that the Bulls will be fine after adding all the new players, but not the Cav's? How is that even fair? The Bulls' season depends entirely on Rose. If he sucks, they're gonna struggle to win. Sure, they have pieces, but they'll try too hard to fit Rose in and it's gonna cost them a couple of games.


Cavs could have growing pains early, learning new schemes with a new coach and their first year together. The first year heat for example.
Continuing what I said previously, this Cav's team is nothing like the '11 Heat. The '11 Heat were terrible outside the big 3. This team is perfect for LeBron to maximize his capabilities. They don't have enough defense, but their offense will be scary good.


Clippers are top 8, just forgot to put them in. Grizz out. Houston lost a big piece in parsons, I could see them slip badly.

I still don't see how the Grizz, Nuggets, and the Pelicans are gonna be better than the Rockets.

[kenny817]

Houston isn't making the playoffs

[Legends66NBA7]

People still aren't getting the seeding right.


Warriors should be top 4

Its a joke they were 6th seed last year.

West was strong. You're not guaranteed anything in this league, especially not in the stronger conference if your not at 100% or struggling in being consistent.

[ballinhun8]

You say that the Bulls will be fine after adding all the new players, but not the Cav's? How is that even fair? The Bulls' season depends entirely on Rose. If he sucks, they're gonna struggle to win. Sure, they have pieces, but they'll try too hard to fit Rose in and it's gonna cost them a couple of games.


Continuing what I said previously, this Cav's team is nothing like the '11 Heat. The '11 Heat were terrible outside the big 3. This team is perfect for LeBron to maximize his capabilities. They don't have enough defense, but their offense will be scary good.



I still don't see how the Grizz, Nuggets, and the Pelicans are gonna be better than the Rockets.


The Bulls core is still intact tho. Noah, Butler, Dunleavy, Gibson, Hinrich, Thibs. Sure they added a ton of pieces and bring back Rose but the guys that have grinded over the years are still here. Those guys alone are worthy of a top 4 seed in the East. It will take time to mesh all the pieces but Thibs is the best coach in that conference. He will make sure we don't struggle like the Cavs do. Their whole identity and team mindset have changed. Not so much for us.

[aj1987]

The Bulls core is still intact tho. Noah, Butler, Dunleavy, Gibson, Hinrich, Thibs. Sure they added a ton of pieces and bring back Rose but the guys that have grinded over the years are still here. Those guys alone are worthy of a top 4 seed in the East. It will take time to mesh all the pieces but Thibs is the best coach in that conference. He will make sure we don't struggle like the Cavs do. Their whole identity and team mindset have changed. Not so much for us.
Sure. I don't doubt that they'll be a top 4 seed. I just believe that the Cav's are going to win more games than them. Cav's are definitely gonna end up as the #1 seed.

[T_L_P]

Thunder
Spurs
Clippers
Warriors
Trailblazers
Grizzlies
Mavs
Rockets

[ballinhun8]

Sure. I don't doubt that they'll be a top 4 seed. I just believe that the Cav's are going to win more games than them. Cav's are definitely gonna end up as the #1 seed.


Nah man. You can't say definitely.


If there's one thing we don't like about Thibs, its that he tried too much in the regular season and plays our guys too long.

The two years that we had a relatively healthy Rose and Thibs, we were the best team record wise in the league.

[coolnate202]

Bulls
Cavs
Wizards
Hornets
Toronto
Knicks
Atlanta
Detroit

West

Okc
Spurs
Mavs
Warriors
Portland
Memphis
suns
New orleans

[Demitri98]

1. Cavs
2. Bulls
3. Hornets (people are underrating them)
4. Heat
5. Wizards
6. Raptors
7. Knicks
8. Nets (Lopez will be healthy, D-Will is still a good player and Joe Johnson is, well, Joe Johnson)
Dark horse: Hawks
-----------------
1. Thunder
2. Spurs
3. Clippers
4. Mavs
5. Blazers
6. Warriors
7. Rockets
8. Suns
Dark horse: Grizzlies and Lakers

[Paul George 24]

East:

1) Cavs
2) Bulls
3) Raptors
4) Wizards
5) Hornets
6) Heat
7) Hawks
8) Pistons

West:

1) Thunder
2) Spurs
3) Clippers
4) Warriors
5) Mavs
6) Blazers
7) Grizzlies
8) Pelicans

NO WAY OKC GET THE 1ST SEEDS :no:

[All Net]

I think

Spurs
Thunder
Clippers

Will certainly be top 3 but after that it anybody guess where the rest feel. I hope portland build on last season and begin to push forward as top West contender. Certainly some tough comp.