NBA pre-season bold predictions: New Orleans Pelicans will be a top 4 seed

The top of the Western Conference

Other than the Golden State Warriors and maybe LA Clippers, there is plenty of questions about who is going to be sitting atop the Western Conference standings this season. You can probably throw the Phoenix Suns as a possible team but they had a pretty awkward end to last season and that carried over into the offseason. Plus, Chris Paul will be another year older with Father Time bearing down on him.

The Memphis Grizzlies will likely be in the mix as well but they are far from a guarantee with all the young players they continue to rely on – and the injury to Jaren Jackson Jr. that they’ll have to start the season with.

The Denver Nuggets are supposed to be better too, but until we see how Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. look, they’re far from a certainty. The Minnesota Timberwolves improved their roster with the addition of Rudy Gobert this offseason but they also have big questions involving the consistency of Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns.

That’s where a dark horse team such as the Pelicans can creep up in the West standings this season, perhaps similar to the way the Grizzlies managed to pull it off.