by AAA Sports
Monday, Oct 16, 2023A look at each team's Over/Under number heading into the season:
Atlanta Hawks 42.5 – Quinn Snyder gets a full season as HC, and Snyder’s teams have always performed well in the regular season.
Boston Celtics 54.5 – Celtics looked dominating at times in pre-season, and should be able to pile up wins in a top-heavy East. Top 6 (Tatum, Brown, White, Holiday, Porzingis, Horford) is formidable.
Brooklyn Nets 37.5 – Nets re-tooling around Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and (gulp) Ben Simmons. They’ll focus on defense to produce turnovers and play fast.
Charlotte Hornets 31.5 – Oh boy. Getting to 32 wins might be a stretch for the Hornets. No. 2 pick Brandon Miller won’t be able to save this team.
Chicago Bulls 37.5 – Fish or cut bait time in Chicago, which couldn’t get to .500 with a veteran team last season and could be ready to blow it up if it doesn’t start fast this time around.
Cleveland Cavaliers 50.5 – Last year’s embarrassing playoff loss to NY led to thinking that Allen/Mobley and Mitchell/Garland combinations may not work long-term.
Dallas Mavericks 43.5 – Grant Williams, who could not even get off the bench at times last year in Boston, is the Mavs’ third-best player. And . . . is it time for another Kyrie Irving issue to surface?
Denver Nuggets 53.5 – Only a stacked Western Conference is keeping the number this low. The Nuggets have the best player in the league and they care about winning regular-season games.
Detroit Pistons 28.5 – Pistons will be a factor when they learn how to turn their talent into actually winning games. This year will be all about maturing as a team and getting ready to take a leap in the next few years.
Golden State Warriors 48.5 – Suddenly this team is old, and approaching ancient. Whether Curry, Green (already injured), Thompson and Chris Paul can stay on the court to grind out 49 wins is problematic at best.
Houston Rockets 31.5 – HC Ime Udoka brings professionalism to a team that badly needs it. Adding Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks bring vet talent to the lineup. Could be a surprise team.
Indiana Pacers 38.5 – Pacers don’t want a complete teardown/rebuild, so Myles Turner and Buddy Hield are still here for now. Tyrese Halliburton had better stay healthy.
Los Angeles Clippers 46.5 – Clips say they’ve had it with load management and will now embrace the NBA’s new policy about not resting stars. It will be interesting to see what Kawhi Leonard has to say about that.
Los Angeles Lakers 47.5 – Suddenly this team is deeper than the Mariana Trench, which will enable to (say it softly) rest LeBron James. And they can’t possibly start as slow as they did a year ago.
Memphis Grizzlies 45.5 – Yes, Ja Morant is out for a while, but they seem to play better without him anyway This is another team that needed to mature, and Marcus Smart (in) and Brooks (out) will help get that done.
Miami Heat 45.5 – Can the Heat somehow squeeze out a 46-win season? Ten over .500 seems a heavy lift for a group that doesn’t value the regular season all that much.
Milwaukee Bucks 54.5 – Giannis’s musings about someday finding another home basically blackmailed the Bucks in getting Damian Lillard. Question is – which one gets double-teamed when they’re on the court together?
Minnesota Timberwolves 44.5 – The whole just isn’t the sum of its parts in Minnesota, where the Gobert experiment failed and the Wolves try once last time to get it right – this time with Anthony Edwards driving the car.
New Orleans Pelicans 44.5 – Zion Williamson is healthy and in shape, and if he stays that way and plays in say, 60 games, the Pelicans can get to 45. If not, it’s back to square one.
New York Knicks 45.5 – Tom Thibodeau will keep cracking the whip and try to win EVERY game, Few changes here, and they need Immanuel Quickley or RJ Barrett to step up to maintain franchise momentum.
Oklahoma City Thunder 44.5 – Lots of eyes will be on this juggernaut-in-waiting. They have a legit Top 5 player in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Chet Holmgren getting his feet wet finally.
Orlando Magic 36.5 – The Magic have some depth as they build around Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. Orlando actually finished over .500 (29-28) in its final 57 games last year.
Philadelphia 76ers 49.5 – Say what you want about James Harden, but he’s valuable in the regular season. He may be headed to the Clips, but that will just open the door to explosive Tyrese Maxey. Oh yeah – reigning MVP Joel Embiid also plays for these guys.
Phoenix Suns 51.5 – You know your offense is in good shape when Bradley Beal is your third option (behind Booker and Durant), and if HC Frank Vogel can coax them into playing a little defense, the Suns have a shot at getting out of the West.
Portland Trail Blazers 28.5 – Are the Blazers 28-win bad? They added some interesting pieces in the Lillard fallout – Ayton, Robert Williams, Malcolm Brogdon. Mix in rookie Scoot Henderson with vet Jeremi Grant, and you might have something.
Sacramento Kings 44.5 – Oddsmakers see a moderate drop (Kings were 48-34 last season), figuring that they won’t be overlooked again. They’ll play hard, they’ll run and if they play a little more D than they did last year, who knows?
San Antonio Spurs 29.5 – Won’t take long for wunderkind Victor Wembanyama to learn about physical play. Will the Spurs be bad enough to get the No. 1 pick AGAIN? Shades of Robinson/Duncan.
Toronto Raptors 36.5 – The Raps are running it back. Again. Off-season trade rumors were just that, so we’ll get another seven months of Anunoby, Siakam and Barnes. If things go right, they’re in the 7-8-9-10 Play-In range.
Utah Jazz 35.5 – John Collins will finally get his shot as the Jazz build around him and Lauri Markkanen. They really need Collin Sexton to be healthy for most of the season.
Washington Wizards 24.5 – A new front office produced major rosters changes. Beal and Porzingis out, and outside of Jordan Poole, not a lot coming in.
Atlanta Hawks 42.5 – Quinn Snyder gets a full season as HC, and Snyder’s teams have always performed well in the regular season.
Boston Celtics 54.5 – Celtics looked dominating at times in pre-season, and should be able to pile up wins in a top-heavy East. Top 6 (Tatum, Brown, White, Holiday, Porzingis, Horford) is formidable.
Brooklyn Nets 37.5 – Nets re-tooling around Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and (gulp) Ben Simmons. They’ll focus on defense to produce turnovers and play fast.
Charlotte Hornets 31.5 – Oh boy. Getting to 32 wins might be a stretch for the Hornets. No. 2 pick Brandon Miller won’t be able to save this team.
Chicago Bulls 37.5 – Fish or cut bait time in Chicago, which couldn’t get to .500 with a veteran team last season and could be ready to blow it up if it doesn’t start fast this time around.
Cleveland Cavaliers 50.5 – Last year’s embarrassing playoff loss to NY led to thinking that Allen/Mobley and Mitchell/Garland combinations may not work long-term.
Dallas Mavericks 43.5 – Grant Williams, who could not even get off the bench at times last year in Boston, is the Mavs’ third-best player. And . . . is it time for another Kyrie Irving issue to surface?
Denver Nuggets 53.5 – Only a stacked Western Conference is keeping the number this low. The Nuggets have the best player in the league and they care about winning regular-season games.
Detroit Pistons 28.5 – Pistons will be a factor when they learn how to turn their talent into actually winning games. This year will be all about maturing as a team and getting ready to take a leap in the next few years.
Golden State Warriors 48.5 – Suddenly this team is old, and approaching ancient. Whether Curry, Green (already injured), Thompson and Chris Paul can stay on the court to grind out 49 wins is problematic at best.
Houston Rockets 31.5 – HC Ime Udoka brings professionalism to a team that badly needs it. Adding Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks bring vet talent to the lineup. Could be a surprise team.
Indiana Pacers 38.5 – Pacers don’t want a complete teardown/rebuild, so Myles Turner and Buddy Hield are still here for now. Tyrese Halliburton had better stay healthy.
Los Angeles Clippers 46.5 – Clips say they’ve had it with load management and will now embrace the NBA’s new policy about not resting stars. It will be interesting to see what Kawhi Leonard has to say about that.
Los Angeles Lakers 47.5 – Suddenly this team is deeper than the Mariana Trench, which will enable to (say it softly) rest LeBron James. And they can’t possibly start as slow as they did a year ago.
Memphis Grizzlies 45.5 – Yes, Ja Morant is out for a while, but they seem to play better without him anyway This is another team that needed to mature, and Marcus Smart (in) and Brooks (out) will help get that done.
Miami Heat 45.5 – Can the Heat somehow squeeze out a 46-win season? Ten over .500 seems a heavy lift for a group that doesn’t value the regular season all that much.
Milwaukee Bucks 54.5 – Giannis’s musings about someday finding another home basically blackmailed the Bucks in getting Damian Lillard. Question is – which one gets double-teamed when they’re on the court together?
Minnesota Timberwolves 44.5 – The whole just isn’t the sum of its parts in Minnesota, where the Gobert experiment failed and the Wolves try once last time to get it right – this time with Anthony Edwards driving the car.
New Orleans Pelicans 44.5 – Zion Williamson is healthy and in shape, and if he stays that way and plays in say, 60 games, the Pelicans can get to 45. If not, it’s back to square one.
New York Knicks 45.5 – Tom Thibodeau will keep cracking the whip and try to win EVERY game, Few changes here, and they need Immanuel Quickley or RJ Barrett to step up to maintain franchise momentum.
Oklahoma City Thunder 44.5 – Lots of eyes will be on this juggernaut-in-waiting. They have a legit Top 5 player in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Chet Holmgren getting his feet wet finally.
Orlando Magic 36.5 – The Magic have some depth as they build around Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. Orlando actually finished over .500 (29-28) in its final 57 games last year.
Philadelphia 76ers 49.5 – Say what you want about James Harden, but he’s valuable in the regular season. He may be headed to the Clips, but that will just open the door to explosive Tyrese Maxey. Oh yeah – reigning MVP Joel Embiid also plays for these guys.
Phoenix Suns 51.5 – You know your offense is in good shape when Bradley Beal is your third option (behind Booker and Durant), and if HC Frank Vogel can coax them into playing a little defense, the Suns have a shot at getting out of the West.
Portland Trail Blazers 28.5 – Are the Blazers 28-win bad? They added some interesting pieces in the Lillard fallout – Ayton, Robert Williams, Malcolm Brogdon. Mix in rookie Scoot Henderson with vet Jeremi Grant, and you might have something.
Sacramento Kings 44.5 – Oddsmakers see a moderate drop (Kings were 48-34 last season), figuring that they won’t be overlooked again. They’ll play hard, they’ll run and if they play a little more D than they did last year, who knows?
San Antonio Spurs 29.5 – Won’t take long for wunderkind Victor Wembanyama to learn about physical play. Will the Spurs be bad enough to get the No. 1 pick AGAIN? Shades of Robinson/Duncan.
Toronto Raptors 36.5 – The Raps are running it back. Again. Off-season trade rumors were just that, so we’ll get another seven months of Anunoby, Siakam and Barnes. If things go right, they’re in the 7-8-9-10 Play-In range.
Utah Jazz 35.5 – John Collins will finally get his shot as the Jazz build around him and Lauri Markkanen. They really need Collin Sexton to be healthy for most of the season.
Washington Wizards 24.5 – A new front office produced major rosters changes. Beal and Porzingis out, and outside of Jordan Poole, not a lot coming in.
