Way Too Early 2018-2019 NBA Power Rankings

6. LOS ANGELES LAKERS

ESPN Projected Record: 46-36

538 Projected Record: 46-36

My Projected Record: 52-30

Players To Watch: The Whole Team, except Ivica Zubac, C, and Travis Wear, PF

Ah, the All-Time Meme Squad. Signing Lance Stephenson was funny enough, but signing McGee, then Rondo, then Michael Beasley? To the team that already has Lonzo Ball’s circus, and Kyle Kuzma’s antics? The team might look to be nothing more than a novelty act to ensure fan interest while LeBron bides his time in formulating yet another super team, but when you look at the team that LeBron carried to the Finals last season, this team is going to be miles better defensively and be a smarter team overall. McGee and Beasley might not be the players with the most tightly-screwed heads, but having Rondo and LeBron on the same team, along with Ball’s underrated basketball IQ and feel? Now that is going to make for some fun basketball, and if Brandon Ingram takes the next step feeding off the King, the Lakers are going to be a lot better than people realize.

5. TORONTO RAPTORS

ESPN Projected Record: 55-27

538 Projected Record: 55-27

My Projected Record: 53-29

Players To Watch: Kawhi Leonard, SF; Pascal Siakam, PF/C

Speaking of teams that are going to be better than expected, the Raptors are going to make a lot of noise, especially if Kawhi proves that the awful season he went through last season is a thing of the past. They are very good defensively – they have Kawhi, Danny Green, O.G. Anunoby, and Pascal Siakam as a switchable 2 through 5, and with Kyle Lowry quarterbacking the offense, along with his underrated defense, that lineup is going to be so good. (x4) With Jonas Valanciunas, Serge Ibaka, Fred VanVleet, and C.J. Miles returning, the Raptors have an insanely deep rotation. Newly promoted coach Nick Nurse has been credited with the vast offensive overhaul the team underwent last season, and he’s going to be tasked to continue the winning culture set by reigning Coach of The Year Dwane Casey. This is a team that has the potential to be Top 5 in both offensive and defensive efficiency, and with LeBron out West, the East is now wide-open enough that they have a shot to finally make the Finals.

4. OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

ESPN Projected Record: 49-33

538 Projected Record: 53-29

My Projected Record: 54-28

Players To Watch: Dennis Schroder, PG; Nerlens Noel, C

The Thunder was noticeably hitting their stride in late January, only for any realistic championship hopes they had dashed by Andre Roberson’s ruptured patellar tendon. But for multiple reasons, the OK3 experiment just didn’t work out. Acquiring Carmelo Anthony, in a vacuum, wasn’t as bad as some fans would say, but they gave up valuable depth (Enes Kanter) that could have made a difference especially during that Jazz series. And even Melo admitted that the fit just wasn’t

3. HOUSTON ROCKETS

ESPN Projected Record: 57-25

538 Projected Record: 54-28

My Projected Record: 57-25

Players To Watch: Carmelo Anthony, SF/PF; James Ennis, SF; Michael Carter-Williams, PG

No one is expecting much out of Melo, but as someone who intently watched the Thunder last season, Melo is going to contribute a lot more to the Rockets than he did with the Thunder. He’s not going to replace Ariza’s versatility on defense, but he’s going to receive more wide open shots, he’s going to receive the ball in much more space than he did just because he has more shooters around him, and the ball will be going to his pocket a lot more often due to the sheer playmaking prowess of both Chris Paul and Harden. For a team that’s ducking the luxury tax (it’s another thing to discuss entirely – for a team that came one win away from making the finals and most probably winning the title, it’s questionable that they won’t pony up to retain the roster), acquiring even something close to what Ariza provides can be enough, but still, it’s hard not to think about just how much defensive versatility they lost with Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute fleeing. They’re still going to be a great team, but clearly, they’ve become worse than last season. The question is: just how much worse are the Rockets from last year?

2. BOSTON CELTICS

ESPN Projected Record: 58-24

538 Projected Record: 53-29

My Projected Record: 58-24

Players To Watch: Gordon Hayward, SF; Jaylen Brown, SG/SF, Jayson Tatum, SF/PF

The Celtics have all the tools necessary to top the Warriors. They have a potentially entirely switchable defense, the most enviable collection of wings in the league, and inarguably one of the top 3 coaches in the league in Brad Stevens. They have elite scorers in Kyrie Irving, Hayward, and Tatum; they have elite secondary scoring playmakers in Brown, Marcus Morris, and Al Horford; they have one of the most tenacious defensive backcourts in Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart. They don’t even have to push all their chips in the regular season; they can afford to ease Irving and Hayward back just because of how well Stevens enables his team to play their best and with how the confidence levels of Rozier and Tatum, among others, remain sky high after balling out in the playoffs where no one expected much out of them especially with their best players out with injury. They are the deepest and most flexible team in the league, and if every one of their core players remains healthy throughout the postseason, the Celtics are going to be heavy favorites to meet the Warriors come June.

1. GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

ESPN Projected Record: 61-21

538 Projected Record: 64-18

My Projected Record: 60-22

Player To Watch: DeMarcus Cousins, C

They have somewhat true depth problems, and if Andre Iguodala suffers yet another injury at an inopportune time, the Warriors may find those concerns legitimate. They are counting on Jacob Evans to be a legitimate contributor, and while the Warriors’ track record of drafting has been impressive, it’s highly unlikely that Evans would provide immediate two-way impact. At least Nick Young was dependable to provide some spacing and, if locked in, he was a defensive pest, too. Jonas Jerebko is a good addition to provide some shooting, but he’s not a defender, and he’s going to be unplayable against the best of ballhandlers. But everytime your roster’s core is made up of three of the best shooters of all time, a perennial Defensive Player of The Year Candidate, and now, once healthy, a nightly 20-10 threat that provides a complementary interior scoring presence to relieve some pressure off the perimeter superstars (as if that was necessary), everything is just nitpicking at this point. There would come a time where the Warriors dynasty is nothing but a distant memory, falling victim to being perceived of as the ones responsible for breaking the league, but they’re just that good – they play a level of basketball unmatched by any team in the planet. And it all started with drafting a scrawny, 6’3 Point Guard out of Davidson. Sometimes, in life, you just never know. And with the Warriors, we never know when we’re ever going to see a collection of talent playing to the best of their abilities to create some of the best brand of basketball anyone’s ever witnessed ever again, so let’s sit back, relax, enjoy the season and the Warriors in all their glory.

Warriors over the Raptors in 6.