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2023-2024 Western Conference Regular Season Prediction Contest

PHX
DEN
GSW
SAS
SAC
DAL
UTA
LAC
MIN
OKC
LAL
NOP
POR
MEM
 
DEN
PHX
MEM
MIN

SAC
NOL
LAL
GSW
OKC
UTA
DAL
LAC

HOU
SAS
POR

Jazz should be competing for the Play-in. Utah's weakness is figuring out the PG position and on-ball creation in general. Without Mike Conley orchestrating last year, the offense got bogged down. Jazz probably also need Ochai to emerge as a volume shooter--like 8 3PAs a night with 3 makes. Jazz have a log-jam in the backcourt. If Keyonte starts to emerge, look for a trade to happen sooner rather than later, probably involving either Sexton or THT. Also, see if there are trade rumors involving Brandon Ingram this year and if the Jazz are mentioned.
NOL -> NOP
 
Why do people regard Californian teams so highly? LAL might have made good moves in the offseason so they might surprise. LAC is a bunch of soon-to-be retirees and GSW:s best days are over, as seen last season. I am really struggling with my own list but I am really surprised by this general consensus with LA-teams and GSW.
 
Why do people regard Californian teams so highly? LAL might have made good moves in the offseason so they might surprise. LAC is a bunch of soon-to-be retirees and GSW:s best days are over, as seen last season. I am really struggling with my own list but I am really surprised by this general consensus with LA-teams and GSW.
GSW had an off year due to the punch incident which they did admit to affect their morale, so they will likely rebound now that Poole is gone. They won a chip 2 years ago, so people are counting last year as an exception. Steph showed in the playoffs that he still has it.

Lakers had a really good spring and a solid offseason. If they get good health from AD and Lebron they will be near the top for sure, but they will also likely be much improved whenever they have to play without those two.

Clippers I wouldn't trust too much because of their stars injury history and we all know Westbrook is not the guy he once was. But Kawhi is still one of the best players when healthy and PG13, while maybe slowing down a bit, is still a handful.
 
DEN
GSW
PHX
LAL
MEM
DAL
MIN
LAC
SAC
UTA
OKC
HOU
NOP
POR
SAS
 
DEN
PHX
SAC
DAL
LAC
GSW
MEM
LAL
OKC
UTA
MIN
NOP
POR
SAS
HOU

If Zion is ever healthy, NOP could be amazing. But he's this generation's Greg Oden.
MEM could also be great if Ja can just learn to keep his finger off the trigger - but they will lose a lot of games before he returns.
GSW is finally going to start showing their age, I think.
I don't think MIN will get their **** together enough to make any noise. Maybe a good coach could get them to do it, but they don't really have one.
SAS isn't ready to shock the world, but they will.
I'm betting this is the year Luka finally puts it all together and proves he's more than the best player on a bad team.
 
Rules 1-5 are the same as last year, 6 is new. Everyone should read #6 carefully.

1. Post your regular season prediction for all 15 teams.

2. All predictions are frozen at midnight 2023-OCT-22 (after the preseason, before the season). Any changes are okay before then. I will compile my list on OCT-22.

3. Your score is based on the net difference between your prediction and standings. For example, if you pick the Clippers to be first and they are in fourth, you receive 3 points for the Clippers. Low score wins.

4. Ranking is based on win% only.

5. Tied teams each receive an averaged score. For example, two teams tied for 5th/6th place are each scored as 5.5. Three teams tied for 10/11/12 are each scored as 11.

6. Order the teams with the following 3-letter abbreviations, without numbers, punctuation, etc.. I will add 1 point to the score each team in an entry (up to 15 points) that I need to fix.

DAL
DEN
GSW
HOU
LAC
LAL
MIN
MEM
NOP
OKC
PHX
POR
SAC
SAS
UTA

I expect to update on the third weekend of each month.
DEN
PHX
SAC
LAL
OKC
MIN
GSW
LAC
MEM
DAL
HOU
NOP
UTA
SAS
POR
 
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