NBA Schedule 2016-17: Team-by-Team Record Predictions and Playoff Odds

The NBA has 30 teams, but after Kevin Durant decided to sign with the Golden State Warriors in the summer, it feels like there are only two. 

Those two, of course, would be the Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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The Warriors are essentially an all-star team, featuring the winners of the past three MVP awards (Steph Curry and Durant), the best shooting guard in the game (Klay Thompson) and one of the most uniquely versatile forwards in the league (Draymond Green). 

All the Warriors did last season without Durant was set an NBA record with 73 regular-season wins and reach the NBA Finals, where they blew a 3-1 series lead to the Cavs.

Which brings us to Cleveland. LeBron James remains the league’s best all-around player, and for sidekicks he has superstar-in-the-making Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, who has learned how to sacrifice parts of his game to make the Cavs better. Add in a solid supporting cast, and the Cavs are a legitimate threat to repeat. 

So you’ll have to forgive many NBA fans and pundits for feeling as though next season will simply be a long prologue before the Warriors and Cavs meet for a third straight time in the Finals.

Anything can happen, of course. Injuries. A team’s chemistry imploding. Underachieving. But if all goes to plan, the NBA is going to consist of 28 teams jockeying for position behind Golden State and Cleveland.

Below, we’ll break down where everyone projects to wind up, predicting records and playoff percentages for each team while also taking an early look at each conference and title odds courtesy of Odds Shark.

Eastern Conference

The Eastern Conference, after Cleveland, is fascinating. You could make a strong argument for every team, outside of the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets, reaching the postseason next year.

The Raptors remain one of the better teams in the East. Keeping DeMar DeRozan was crucial, while they replaced Bismack Biyombo with No. 9 overall pick Jakob Poeltl. Jared Sullinger was a sneaky signing and will be a nice addition to the frontcourt. He should improve the team’s rebounding in a reserve role. 

The Boston Celtics didn’t make an enormous splash via trade or free agency, but the additions of Al Horford and rookie Jaylen Brown will make them better in 2016-17. The starting backcourt of Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley was excellent last season. Jae Crowder has taken strides in the right direction since joining Boston, and Marcus Smart is a nice option off the bench.

But Horford was the difference-making acquisition. At least, the Celtics believe that’s the case, as president of basketball operations Danny Ainge noted in July, per Steve Hewitt of the Boston Herald:

He plays the way that great Celtics of the past have played. He plays with a passion that is contagious to his teammates. He’s a player who can fit with all different types of players. He can play outside, he can play inside on both ends of the court. I think he is a player our fans will fall in love with and his teammates will fall in love with, and our coach will fall in love with.

The Celtics don’t have the star power to compete with the top-echelon teams in the NBA. But they’ll be dangerous in the Eastern Conference next year nonetheless. 

The Indiana Pacers should be improved as well. They landed Thaddeus Young, Jeff Teague and Jeremy Evans via trade while signing Al Jefferson in free agency.

The revamped frontcourt is excellent news for Paul George, who was fantastic last season and will have some quality bigs to support him. Teague and Monta Ellis will form a solid backcourt, while Myles Turner will have another season to fulfill his upside. 

If the Pacers jell, they could be the biggest threat to the Cavs in the East. George is a legitimate star, and they have an excellent veteran supporting cast. With so many new faces, however, it won’t be surprising if it takes the team some time to grow into a cohesive unit.

You might say the same for the Atlanta Hawks, who saw Horford and Teague depart this offseason. But the team added Dwight Howard and both Taurean Prince and DeAndre Bembry in the draft. Atlanta also re-signed Kent Bazemore, so it should once again be a quality team. 

But Howard’s play will be the difference between the Hawks’ …

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