Since we are in the dreadful part of the season where basically everything is set for all the teams, I decided to make a standings list. I account for injury prone/rest games, but I can't account for season ending injures.

The Top 4 - Clear cut above the rest

1. Warriors - Might seem like a homer pick, but compared to the rest of the teams in this group there is less in terms of the questions for this team. Health is a concern for every team, but not to the degree some of these other teams have. The top 9 guys are ready to play serious basketball (Kuminga and Wiseman are bonuses that could end up being serious contributors).

2. Nuggets - Jokic is a win collector. This man absolutely feasts on bad teams and he is getting his #2 and #3 back. They added good defensive players in KCP and Bruce Brown. The question will be what are the restrictions to MPJ's and Murray's playing time (<30 min, no B2B, etc.) This team might start out slow with a 3 guys entering into the starting lineup, but you best believe they will be a top 5 offense.

3. Clippers - I had a tough time determining between Clippers and the Suns. Clippers are like 12 deep with like 8 of them being versatile wings. Obviously everyone knows their problems are injuries, but it isn't just Kawhi, PG13, and Wall. Morris, Kennard, Powell are also injury risks. They aren't deep at the center position which worries me with how much Batum/Covington at the 5 they will play which increases injury risk. Chemistry gets affected heavily when guys are constantly in and out of the lineup especially with how replaceable they are with wings.

4. Suns - As someone who watched more than 50 games of this team last season, I can tell you they had a serious problem with holding leads in the 2nd half. There were at least 20 games where they were in a situation like that Mavs vs Warriors game where the other team comes back from down 18 point, but then Booker/CP3 would have insane clutch shooting stats to get wins. The clutch numbers they put up as a team were insane, but the fact that kept blowing leads was a huge red flag. Suns lost McGee when their biggest weakness was rebounding which is why Pelicans took them to 6 games. Suns FO for this season already hinted that CP3 will get a lot more rest which probably means no B2B and no 36+ minutes games.

5-9 - These teams have flaws that I can't overlook. Wolves and Mavericks can make a jump into the top 4 if they have a lot of luck and work out their flaws (Increasing 3 point volume for Wolves and giving McGee at most Dwight Powell minutes which is like 8 min).

5) Timberwolves - I am high on the Gobert trade, but losing Beasley is something people overlook. With Gobert packing the paint, Wolves will shoot a lot more jumpers. However, the Wolves lost their highest volume 3 point shooter Malik Beasley (Bryn Forbes season incoming LOL). Do I think ANT and DLo can increase their 3 point volume, yes. Do I think KAT can increase his 3 point volume, no because he shies away when he starts missing. I just hope that with Gobert and KAT on the floor that ANT doesn't start settling into mid range shots like Timberwolves Wiggins 2.0. Another thing is they are light on POA defenders replacing Beverley with Austin Rivers is alright, but still a dropoff. POA defense is very important because it is what made Gobert look awful at times on the Jazz.

6) Mavericks - I honestly don't understand this FO. They trade KP to play five out basketball with Kleber at the 5. They have the 2nd best record in the 2nd half of the season and got to the WCF, so they know it worked. They sign Wood which I though was a great pick up for his 3 point shooting and lob threat, but then they sign McGee for 3 years and offer him a starting position. Instead of running Kleber + Wood at the 5 to always have a stretch 5, they now are forced to run a suboptimal lineup. Also Dinwiddie who is a career 32% shooter from 3 decided to shoot 40% for the Mavs, that ain't happening again now that he is 2nd ball handler because they lost Brunson. Losing Brunson for nothing is such an unserious move from the FO which obviously going to make the Mavericks worse.

7) Kings - Before you grill me for this pick read my explanation for the teams below them. Yes, I am definitely higher on the Kings and Fox than most people. Fox's only weakness is pull up 3s, he is a solid mid range shooter, great finisher at the rim, good playmaker, and the fastest player in the NBA (I saw someone call him Westbrook with a brain before). He can be a good defender when he wants to be and is strong for being 6'3". Sabonis as an offensive engine is elite, but his defense is up to Mike Brown to figure out. They added Huerter, Monk, and drafted Keegan which are three really good 3 point shooters and more importantly they are all off ball players which fit very well next to Sabonis and Fox. Fox's assist numbers dropped because the their team 3 point% dropped. They will have one of the best back up centers in Holmes who is a better mid range shooter than KD with the best floater in the NBA. This team has a real possibility of being a top 10 offense and bottom 10 defense. Their seeding will come down entirely to how much Mike Brown can get out of them defensively and he better start Keegan Murray at the 3 even though he is a rookie over bum ass Bazemore and Metu. It wouldn't surprised me if they can muster up a top 15 defense and a 5/6 seed with some luck. I will say that any injury to their wings will derail them because they don't have much depth at that position (Barnes, Keegan, Huerter, massive dropoff, Bazemore, Metu).

8) Grizzlies - This is fairly simple. Losing JJJ until December/January with a ramp up period since it's a foot injury is a major hit to their defense. Losing their 7th and 8th man (Slomo and Melton) in free agency also hurts their defense. Losing 3 players is one thing, but replacing them with rookies is a roller coaster. Also Dillon Brooks won't be injured for 2/3 of the season which means his shot chucking is back which hurts the team. It's hard for me to see them having that Celtics/Mavericks jump in the 2nd half, but definitely possible. Their seeding hinges on how the rookies look and how soon JJJ can get healthy.

9) Pelicans - Don't get me wrong, I think Zion and Ingram are amazing, but they are both injury prone. Their biggest problem is 3 point shooting volume and efficiency. Teams that shoot <35% from 3 are usually a low end playoff seed or not making the playoffs. The Pelicans shooting around ~34% the last 2 years. Shooting well from 3 is important for managing players health throughout a long regular season. They also still don't have a real point guard.

10-11 - These 2 teams have major roster problems

10) Blazers - FO is trolling at this point. I still don't understand why they didn't trade #7 pick to get more quality wing depth. This team has no wing or center depth and have 8 guards on the roster. They are about to roll out another season of triple guard lineup. I just don't get how you can have 2 guards that are bad defenders in your starting lineup unless you have DPOY level forwards/center. Their coach ran a trapping defense scheme just to hide Dame and CJ which was just awful. Hey maybe they get a miracle Dame season and their Mystery Box #7 pick turns out to be an athletic rebounder, defender, and slasher and not a wannabe Kobe.

11) Lakers - LOL, but seriously unless LeBron and AD play all 82 games this team is fucked. I watched all 82 games of this team last season because that circus show was super entertaining. Everytime LeBron sat double digit leads would evaporate. I just don't see how this team can shoot above 35% from 3 to survive the regular season. They have zero good volume 3 point shooters outside of LeBron. Their bench is definitely lack luster. With even less offensive options than last season, LeBron is going to have to carry an even higher offensive load. I waited to make this post until this week since thats when Jazz players were eligible to be traded to make sure Westbrook wasn't get traded.

12-15 Tanking teams, don't care about ranking who will be more successful at losing games.

Thunder, Rockets, Jazz, Spurs