OK, so the NBA doesn’t have as much year-to-year parity as the other sports. It just doesn’t – roster turnover simply isn’t the same when you have only twelve guys playing each night. However, the league does have a surprising number of surprises each year. Sleeper teams pop out of the woodwork and play far better than expected, while other seemingly average teams suffer horrible collapses and accumulate losses the way Geno Auriemma accumulates championships.
Truthfully, that was just a really generic way to deflect the blame away from my fairly horrible set of predictions. Let’s review those by division, with the order that each team finished in the league-wide standings first, and my preseason ranking afterwards in parentheses.
ATLANTIC DIVISION
11. Toronto Raptors (ranked 8th)
16. Boston Celtics (ranked 27th)
18. Brooklyn Nets (ranked 18th)
28. Philadelphia 76ers (ranked 30th)
29. New York Knicks (ranked 19th)
Ironic that my Nets landed right on the mark. Grass is green, water is wet, and the Nets are mediocre. Brooklyn slid into the East’s last playoff spot on the last day of the season after nearly blowing it with a pair of dreadful performances against Milwaukee and Chicago, and not a single non-Nets fan seems to be happy about it. Whatever. Haters gonna hate and ain’ters gonna ain’t. Brook Lopez doesn’t need your acceptance.
Truthfully, that was just a really generic way to deflect the blame away from my fairly horrible set of predictions. Let’s review those by division, with the order that each team finished in the league-wide standings first, and my preseason ranking afterwards in parentheses.
ATLANTIC DIVISION
11. Toronto Raptors (ranked 8th)
16. Boston Celtics (ranked 27th)
18. Brooklyn Nets (ranked 18th)
28. Philadelphia 76ers (ranked 30th)
29. New York Knicks (ranked 19th)
Ironic that my Nets landed right on the mark. Grass is green, water is wet, and the Nets are mediocre. Brooklyn slid into the East’s last playoff spot on the last day of the season after nearly blowing it with a pair of dreadful performances against Milwaukee and Chicago, and not a single non-Nets fan seems to be happy about it. Whatever. Haters gonna hate and ain’ters gonna ain’t. Brook Lopez doesn’t need your acceptance.