Post by Andrei Kirilenko on Dec 7, 2018 10:08:32 GMT
D5 Season 8 Predictions
It was an exciting offseason in D5, and there are a lot of new faces on a lot of new teams. The theme of the offseason was "super teams", with Kevin Durant joining the Hornets and DeMarcus Cousins joining the Bulls. On the other end of the spectrum, we saw the San Antonio Spurs jump 12 spots in the draft and land the #1 pick, eventually trading it for the #2 pick in Luka Doncic. Some teams stayed the course, such as the Nuggets and Bucks, whereas other teams made big moves, such as Toronto acquiring Kyrie Irving and Orlando signing Otto Porter. With all of the events that have happened, I wanted to take a shot at making some predictions for the upcoming season.
Prediction: The D5 Championship will come from the East
As the Golden State Warriors look to achieve D5's first-ever 3-peat, Chris Mullin will have tougher competition than ever. The Chicago Bulls are D5's most talented team this year, with a ridiculous average rating of 90 in their starting lineup. The Bulls are closely followed by the Charlotte Hornets, who have an average rating of 89.2 in the starting lineup. These two teams look to be the head of the class this year, barring injuries, with the Warriors coming in at a measly 87.6 average rating for the starting lineup. Three of the top 5 teams are from the East this year (1. Chicago, 2. Charlotte, 3. Golden State, 4. Denver, 5. Milwaukee), with both of the top 2 teams being from the East. As such, I predict an end to the Warriors' reign and the title coming back to the Eastern Conference.
Prediction: Only 1 team will be disappointed in the West
There are 8 playoff spots up for grabs in the West, and there are really only 9 teams with the talent to take them. I think 6 teams are locked into the playoffs based on their talent (1. Golden State, 2. Denver, 3. Houston, 4. Minnesota, 5. Sacramento, 6. Memphis) with the final three spots (7. LA Lakers, 8. OKC, 9. Portland) all being very similar in talent. The 10th team, the Dallas Mavericks, has a massive drop-off in talent from the 9th Portland Trailblazers. As such, there are 3 teams competing for the 2 final playoff spots in the West. Only 1 team will go home disappointed.
Prediction: The 8th seed in the East is a crapshoot
The top 7 teams (1. Chicago, 2. Charlotte, 3. Milwaukee, 4. Orlando, 5. Toronto, 6. Boston, 7. Miami) in the East are separated from the 8th team by quite a margin. There are 5 teams fighting for the 8 seed (8. Brooklyn, 9. New York, 10. Indiana, 11. Cleveland, 12. Washington), all being extremely close in talent. It is a toss-up as to who will claim the 8 seed, but certainly Washington has the most motivation, as the Wizards do not own their own 1st. The Cavaliers always look to compete, and Billy King may be looking to lead New York to the playoffs for the first time in a long time. The Nets and Pacers may end up watching from the sidelines.
Prediction: The Pistons will finish last again
Or should I say finish 1st? The Detroit Pistons did well in the lottery this year, getting the #2 overall pick. The team is set to lock up the best odds again this season, as the average starter on the Pistons is rated a 73.8. That's always 2 whole rating points lower than the next worst team, the Philadelphia 76ers. The tankathon is the Pistons to lose. Rounding out the tankers are (30. Detroit, 29. Philadelphia, 28. Phoenix, 27. Utah, 26. LA Clippers). Out of these, only Phoenix does not own its own pick.