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Lakers
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Clippers
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Warriors
3 (tie). TWolves
3 (tie). Suns
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Nuggets
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Grizzlies
Expectations are high all over the West, even for a few teams I don’t even project to crack the top seven. A few teams are going to be terribly disappointed come April, and that could have some serious ramifications for the next offseason.
In the meantime, get your popcorn and appreciate the race we might have. It projects to be close enough for the gods of randomness to have a field day. It’s theoretically possible we have 11 teams tied at 44-37 on the last day of the season.
More probably, factors like injuries, shooting variance and unexpected breakout years tilt the playing field in favor of a few teams and away from some others. Nonetheless, the margins among the top seven in particular project to be razor-thin, portending both a regular-season chase for seeds and home-court advantage that could go to the final day of the season, and another topsy-turvy postseason with little to distinguish “favorites” from underdogs.
I’m not picking a seven-way tie, although I was tempted, because I do see at least some small margin between first and seventh in the regular season. But with only five games separating these teams in my projected standings, the capriciousness of random variance could easily offset any difference
My understanding was that the current general consensus is the Lakers, healthy, are built better than the Clippers, healthy.
If this is is the case, the only excuse for the Clippers being higher is expectation of injuries… which should be MUCH more damning towards the Clippers than the Lakers.
The Clippers have been done for like 3 years now. The only year they felt like a legitimate championship contender was the bubble year. I have no idea why people keep bringing them up like they're a serious threat to come out of the west. Some of their games last season with a fully healthy squad were embarrassing.
The media refuses to just give up on the Clippers for some reason