NBA: 2020-21 regular season win predictions

Western Conference’s top 4:

1. Utah Jazz (50-22)

After a frustrating 2019-20 campaign where the team always seemed on the cusp on breaking out, I believe that the Utah Jazz will finally put it all together this season. Depth was the biggest issue for them last year – Rudy Gobert’s on/off differential of 10 points per 100 possessions was the 9th largest in the league – and that should be alleviated with the signing of Derrick Favors. In fact, you can make the argument that the Jazz have the best eight-man rotation in the league. Mike Conley finally started to figure things out post-hamstring injury. Bojan Bogdanovic is back. And now that Gobert and Donovan Mitchell have gotten paid, they’ll set aside personal differences to focus on the task at hand.

2. LA Clippers (48-24)

The inexplicable 3-1 collapse against Denver and the fallout that transpired have obscured just how formidable the LA Clippers really were last season. They played at the quality of a 56-win team despite the coasting and the extended absence of Paul George. They got up for nearly every national TV against a big opponent (pre-bubble). Replacing Montrez Harrell with Serge Ibaka addresses two key weaknesses: rim protection (though Ivica Zubac is really underrated) and outside shooting. To me, this team is the Finals favorite assuming Jerry West, Lawrence Frank, and co. have another move up their sleeve.

3. Los Angeles Lakers (47-25)

Any team featuring LeBron James and Anthony Davis is going to be dominant, but I believe that the Los Angeles Lakers will take it easy this time around. They are going to roll out a brand new starting lineup (Avery Bradley, Danny Green, and JaVale McGee all gone), so it’s reasonable to expect that the group won’t come storming out the gates like last year. Dennis Schroder and Montrezl Harrell are nice stopgaps – in the regular season at least. Let’s just fast-forward to the playoffs with these guys.

4. Dallas Mavericks (46-26)

We know the Dallas Mavericks – with Luka Doncic and Rick Carlisle – are going to be incredible offensively no matter who else is on the floor. Last year they were the most prolific team in league history, at 116.7 points per 100 possessions (pre-bubble), while out-pacing number-two (the Clippers) by 3 points per 100. The two questions are defense and clutch performance. The addition of Josh Richardson gives them another capable body on the wing alongside Dorian Finney-Smith. An optimist will point to Luka’s crunch-time play in his rookie season in favor of (positive) regression for Dallas in 2021. On the other hand, the team still has to prove that this poor late-game offense was just a one-year aberration.