As the 2023-2024 NBA preseason comes to a close, and with the NBA regular season right around the corner, it is a perfect time to do season predictions and previews for each of the 30 teams in the NBA. Thes predictions and previews will be divided into the 6 divisions of the NBA; Pacific, Northwest, Southwest, Atlantic, Central, and Southeast. How will some teams live up to the expectations they set last year? How will some teams fall? Let’s start the mini-series with the Pacific Division.
Golden State Warriors:
Golden State is coming off of a year filled with turbulence. They came into last season as the defending champions, but left the year as the 6th seed in the west and a second-round exit in the playoffs. They did have a big offseason however, acquiring Rudy Gay, Dario Saric, and Corey Joseph all for 1 year, they re-signed Draymond Green for 4 years, and acquired Chris Paul in a trade with the Washington Wizards. The acquisition of CP3 raises questions about how well the team will do with him rather than Jordan Poole, who they traded him for. Overall, the Warriors will do well, but they shouldn’t expect to be winning a championship, not this year. If they want to win it, they are going to want to potentially try to trade CP3 for some draft capital or key role players, and keep the defense at its best, which was a huge weak spot last season that was exposed in the playoffs by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Record Prediction: 45-37
Los Angeles Clippers:
The Los Angeles Clippers are coming off of a year that was a little short of expectations, but also reached them exactly. Last year, the Clippers stood at a record of 44-38, and ended up landing the fifth seed in the Western Conference. Their 2 superstar players Kawhi Leonard and Paul George both missed a lot of last season, so if they want to compete for an NBA championship, they both need to play consistently, and at the same time. Over the offseason, they only got 1 new player, and that was Kenyon Martin Jr, who was acquired in a massive trade that included former Grizzlies player Dillon Brooks. Honestly, I expect the Clippers to do just as well as they did last year, and on the chance that they do better, it will be because of the play of their 2 stars, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.
Record Prediction: 45-37
Los Angeles Lakers:
The 2022-2023 season for the Lakers was incredible. After starting off the season rocky and slow, with less than a 1% chance of making it to the playoffs, they ended up as the Seventh seed in the Western Conference, after having the best record post the all-star game. With playoff series wins against 2 teams that were both higher seeded than them, the Lakers made their way to the Western Conference Finals against the Nuggets, where they would end up getting swept. This was huge, and it was due to all of the midseason moves that the Lakers made last season at the trade-deadline. This past offseason, they continued to make lots of moves. They signed 6 new players; Jaxson Hayes, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish, Gabe Vincent, a UCSB Alum, and Christian Wood. Additionally, they had key resignings, with Anthony Davis, which was the largest contract extension in NBA history, he will make $60,000,000 in a few years. They also resigned Rui Hachimura, D’angelo Russell, and Austin Reaves. Every single signing was a great move for them, bolstering the bench, defense, and playmakers. LeBron is going into year 21, but based on how he has done when healthy the past few years, it seems like he is going to be incredible as always. If he and Anthony Davis can stay healthy and together consistently throughout the season, they can contend for the Lakers’ 18th banner. You should be able to expect what they had at the end of last season throughout the whole season if they can stay healthy. Again the biggest issue for this team will be health, if healthy it’s one of the best teams in the NBA, if not, they will be at or below .500.
Record Prediction: 50-32
Phoenix Suns:
Last year, the Phoenix Suns acquired superstar Kevin Durant in a massive trade halfway through the season. They ended up with the fourth seed with a 45-37 record. They were the only team in the playoffs to win more than one game against the eventual champions Denver Nuggets. They must not have been satisfied with the outcome, as they acquired Washington Wizards superstar Bradley Beal in a massive 3 team trade with the Wizards and the Pacers, where they would acquire players Grayson Allen, Jordan Goodwin, Keon Johnson, Nassir Little, Jusuf Nurkic, along with the previously mentioned Bradley Beal. Not only that but they had multiple great signings with Udoka Azubuike, Bol Bol, Yuta Watanabe, along with others. With the new star Trio of Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, and Kevin Durant, they should be expected to lead the team to great heights (if healthy). However with Kevin Durant’s age, it is a little unsure whether he will be able to play a full season. Another note is that it is not too certain on how Bradley Beal’s primary ball handler playstyle will fit in with the rest of the team and the superstars. With that being said, the Suns should be seen amongst the top contenders of the NBA this season.
Record Prediction: 55-27
Sacramento Kings:
The 2022-2023 season for the Sacramento Kings was nothing short of spectacular. Coming into the season, they were expected to do what they usually do as an organization, be a mess and end up around the 10th or 11th seed. However early on in the season they proved this assumption wrong. They had one of the best offenses in the league, and it helped them end up ending their 16 year playoff drought. By the end of the season, the Sacramento Kings were the third seed in the west, and faced off against the sixth seeded Golden State Warriors. Even though the Warriors were the lower seed, they still won it, but it took all 7 games for them to do so. Even if the season ended on a wrong note, it was still a great season regardless. They didn’t have any real expectations so even if they made the play-in tournament, it would have been great for them. Over the offseason to build off of what they did in the regular season, they didn’t really do too much to improve. They resigned star big man Domantas Sabonis, and signed a few new plays but it wasn’t anything that was going to propel them into the contenders category. As they go into the new season, it should be expected that they have about the same record as last year, if not even a little worse, as the new Western Conference is full of teams that are much better than last year that should expect to compete for the playoffs. Overall the Kings should have a pretty good season this year, most likely a fourth or a fifth seed in the west.
Record Prediction: 48-34
