Team Ceilings for 2014-15

[ambchang]

What are the absolute ceilings for the 30 NBA teams this season? I am talking about no injuries, every thing goes right, ideal matchups in playoff levels of luck. Obviously doesn't include things like suddenly getting a trade of Lebron + Westbrook for a 2nd round pick, or all players in the other 29 teams died in separate accidents level of improbable events, but just what would transpire if everything goes well scenario.

Here are my takes:
ATL - ECF. With the coaching of Bud and the return of Horford, the Hawks can make some noise in the weak Eastern Conference
BOS - 10th to 11th seed in the East.
BKN - 2nd round. Providing Williams can get back to decent form.
CHA - 2nd round. This is really how weak the East is.
CHI - Finals. Can't see them beating whoever comes out West
CLE - Champs. I am not really sold on them, but best of the best case, I think they can possibly win it all.
DAL - WCF
DEN - 7th or 8th seed. First round loss. Really stretching it though.
DET - 1st round loss.
GSW - Champs. All the pieces are there, but they also have a lot of unknowns. Bogut's health is key, and Kerr's coaching can make or break this team as a championship level team.
HOU - 2nd round.
IND - 2nd round.
LAC - Champs. Not likely, but possible.
LAL - 10th seed in the West.
MEM - 2nd round
MIA - 2nd round
MIL - 10th seed
MIN - 10th seed
NOR - 1st round
NYN - 2nd round
OKC - Champs
ORL - 12th seed
PHI - Just miss playoffs, but likely to be bottom feeder
PHO - 1st round
POR - 2nd round
SAC - 10th seed
SAS - Champs
TOR - 2nd round
UTA - 12th seed
WAS - ECF

[lefty]

Spurs ceiling: game 6

[Trainwreck2100]

Gonna have to disagree on gsw their best players have very little big game experience.

[D-Wade]

I think the Hawks can give the Cavs problems. All the nutcases are gone, they move and shoot the ball much like the Spurs. They'll likely be the Wizards to Lebron's Cavs Pt1.

[spurraider21]

i feel bad for Horford... he's a power forward who's been playing out of position his entire career, but i think he and millsap will work together well. i like teague, and korver is a weapon + an underrated defender (nothing special, but solid) but they're terrible after that at the wings. if Thabo plays like he did a couple of years ago, he'd be a good starting 3. instead they have Demarre Carrol and kent bazemore... no bueno

[urunobili]

Dallas can ring tbh

[benefactor]

Dallas can ring tbh
Agreed. No one makes chicken salad out of chicken shit like Carlisle does.

[scanry]

CLE, LAC, OKC, GSW & SAS could all become Champs tbh. I'm not sold on Dallas tbh. I don't know if they can beat OKC, LAC or CLE tbh. The do match up very well against the Spurs though.

[Silver&Black]

I know this is a "best case scenario" topic....

But...Lakers 10th seed? A lil' high imo.

[unforeseen]

As long as Kobe doesn't ring.

[Chinook]

Golden State will be lucky to make it to the second round. I'd put Portland and definitely Dallas above them.

[Cry Havoc]

Golden State will be lucky to make it to the second round. I'd put Portland and definitely Dallas above them.

Injuries happen. Teams get hot. I would take GSW over Portland, but Dallas is obviously going to be tough. All players healthy, that would be a hell of a series.

[Chinook]

Injuries happen. Teams get hot. I would take GSW over Portland, but Dallas is obviously going to be tough. All players healthy, that would be a hell of a series.

I was talking about chances to ring in general, not hypothetical series.

As far as that goes, I actually think Portland matches up very well with GS in a series. They have two decent defenders to throw at the Splash Bros. while the Warriors have no one to throw at Aldridge. The Blazers aren't the Spurs in terms of match-up issues they can cause, but they also aren't guard-oriented. Dallas may have messed up not going for Ariza and change over Parsons. The Mavs have the talent and the coaching to make up for it, but I'm not sure they match up as well with Golden State as Portland does.

[Malik Hairston]

Atlanta- ECF
Boston- 10/11
Brooklyn- 1st round
Charlotte- ECF
Chicago- Finals
Cleveland- championship
Dallas- WCF
Denver- 9th
Detroit- 1st round
Golden State- 2nd round
Houston- 2nd round
Indiana- 10/11
LA Clippers- WCF
Lakers- 10/11
Memphis- 2nd round
Miami- ECF
Milwaukee- 10/11
Minnesota- 10/11
New Orleans- 1st round
New York- 1st round
OKC- Chanpionship
Orlando- 10/11
Philly- 10/11
Phoenix- 1st round
Portland- 2nd round
Sacramento- 9th
SA- Championship
Toronto- 2nd round
Utah- 10/11
Washington- ECF

[ambchang]

I know a lot of people are in awe with the Mavs, but I am not overly sold on them.

They now have great interior defense in Chandler, but their perimeter defense is suspect at best. Parsons, Ellis, Felton and Harris are not going to stop anyone, and that puts enormous amount of pressure on Chandler. As good as Chandler is defensively, he can't do it all by himself. Even the greatest of the great defensive big men had some perimeter defense around them.

Duncan has Green/Kawhi, and Ibaka had Sefolosha and still has Westbrook.

Of course, I may be overlooking Carlisle and his great coaching, but he can't really turn the Mavs perimeter defense into anything elite, or at least I can't see it.

They shouldn't have any issues on offense though. Dirk and Ellis can create for themselves and others, Felton can also do that to a degree. Parsons can finish out in the perimeter and CHandler can do that inside and on the break. Add in Carlisle's schemes, and they would be a fantastic offensive team.

[Cry Havoc]

Also surprised that people are so low on Memphis in this thread. They didn't lose anyone, added VC, and gave OKC fits last playoffs until the refs decided that they would determine the outcome of the series. Going to be a tough out and could easily upset their way to the WCF.

[RD2191]

Also surprised that people are so low on Memphis in this thread. They didn't lose anyone, added VC, and gave OKC fits last playoffs until the refs decided that they would determine the outcome of the series. Going to be a tough out and could easily upset their way to the WCF.
I think they can take anyone out with the exception of the Spurs. They held together nicely last year and were poised for a top seed until Gasol got hurt iirc.

[313]

I don't see Indiana making the playoffs.

[313]

Also surprised that people are so low on Memphis in this thread. They didn't lose anyone, added VC, and gave OKC fits last playoffs until the refs decided that they would determine the outcome of the series. Going to be a tough out and could easily upset their way to the WCF.
I was pissed because I made a thread in like February saying that if they played in the POs Memphis would get the upset, and they almost had it lmao

As usual Memphis will be a tough out, unless they meet us.

[KaiRMD1]

Where does anyone get the idea that Warriors or Clippers could be champs? Warriors have no type of big game experience and just barely lost to the Clippers and the Clippers? Chris Paul is on the team and for all the talk people do of him being a great point guard, guy is prone to fucking up like nobody's business.

[DMC]

I don't see Indiana making the playoffs.
I think Indiana does well in the RS. I think they fold again in the playoffs though. I think losing Paul George might be the best thing for them. They don't need a superstar, they need a solid team and a good coach.

[DMC]

Where does anyone get the idea that Warriors or Clippers could be champs? Warriors have no type of big game experience and just barely lost to the Clippers and the Clippers? Chris Paul is on the team and for all the talk people do of him being a great point guard, guy is prone to fucking up like nobody's business.

Chris Paul tries to be cute and it fucks up his game. He believes the hype, you can see him out there pretending to give a shit about his teammates, but when the pressure is on, he is more than willing to give it all away.

[Chinook]

I just don't think the Warriors have the talent to win the West. Has nothing to do with experience for me.

[lefty]

Lakers - 2 bags

[TD 21]

Atlanta - ECSF
Boston - 10th
Brooklyn - ECSF
Charlotte - ECSF
Chicago - Finals
Cleveland - Championship
Dallas - WCSF
Denver - 9th
Detroit - 10th
Golden State - WCSF
Houston - WCSF
Indiana - 10th
Los Angeles (Clippers) - WCF
Los Angeles (Lakers) - 10th
Memphis - WCSF
Miami - ECF
Milwaukee - 10th
Minnesota - 12th
New Orleans - 9th
New York - 1st round
Oklahoma City - Championship
Orlando - 12th
Philadelphia - 15th
Phoenix - 9th
Portland - WCSF
Sacramento - 12th
San Antonio - Championship
Toronto - ECSF
Utah - 12th
Washington - ECSF

[da_suns_fan]

I think Golden State is going to have a great regular season record and Kerr could land COY but how far can you get when youre offense is so dependent on outside shooting?

[da_suns_fan]

Atlanta- ECF
Boston- 10/11
Brooklyn- 1st round
Charlotte- ECF
Chicago- Finals
Cleveland- championship
Dallas- WCF
Denver- 9th
Detroit- 1st round
Golden State- 2nd round
Houston- 2nd round
Indiana- 10/11
LA Clippers- WCF
Lakers- 10/11
Memphis- 2nd round
Miami- ECF
Milwaukee- 10/11
Minnesota- 10/11
New Orleans- 1st round
New York- 1st round
OKC- Chanpionship
Orlando- 10/11
Philly- 10/11
Phoenix- 1st round
Portland- 2nd round
Sacramento- 9th
SA- Championship
Toronto- 2nd round
Utah- 10/11
Washington- ECF

This looks right.

[313]

I think Indiana does well in the RS. I think they fold again in the playoffs though. I think losing Paul George might be the best thing for them. They don't need a superstar, they need a solid team and a good coach.

True, but I don't think Vogul is that good of a coach. Also even with a good system, they need somebody to able to create their own shot, or a guard who can at least dribble the basketball.

[Malik Hairston]

CJ Miles is a good pickup for Indiana, and even Stuckey could be decent as a 6th man, but they are severely lacking in talent..

Losing George isn't just a problem on offense, he's one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, it's a problem in both areas..

Relying on a 35-year old David West and a broken Hibbert as your primary offensive weapons is not an efficient plan for success:lol..

[DMC]

True, but I don't think Vogul is that good of a coach. Also even with a good system, they need somebody to able to create their own shot, or a guard who can at least dribble the basketball.

If Vogel was that good of a coach, I wouldn't say "they need a good coach". They need a decent PG. They don't need an isolation guy who wants to run iso all night like all other Eastern teams. When a team doesn't have that guy, it can then have ball movement because everyone on the team isn't thinking "get the ball to iso man".

[StrengthAndHonor]

I just don't think the Warriors have the talent to win the West. Has nothing to do with experience for me.
Maybe Steve Kerr makes the Warriors better in the long run – maybe. But I don’t see him stepping in with no coaching experience and instantly making the team better , especially not in a challenging Western Conference.

[Arcadian]

You're giving too many teams title-contender status. In my mind, it's Spurs or Thunder. The Cavs are not winning a championship in their first year after a reload. The Bulls might make the Finals, but will not win. No one else from the east is a contender. I'm not sold on the Clippers or Warriors.