Ultimate guide to the 2015-16 NBA season

MORE than half of NBA GMs are predicting a Cleveland Cavaliers championship. But where will the other 29 teams finish?

SUPERSTAR playmaker LeBron James sparks the NBA’s highest-paid line-up in his quest of a long-sought title for his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers when the league opens its 70th season on Wednesday.

But the $115 million squad will be challenged to lift the trophy next June by a handful of top foes, most notably the team that scuttled their championship dreams four months ago, the Golden State Warriors.

Opening night features Cleveland at Chicago and Golden State unfurling a championship banner against visiting New Orleans.

Plenty is expected from James this season as Las Vegas oddsmakers have made the Cavaliers 5-2 favourites to claim the title and 53.6 per cent of NBA general managers think the Cavaliers will win the crown.

James made his fifth NBA Finals appearance in a row last June, the first four with the Miami Heat before jumping back to the club he spurned in 2010 for the South Florida sun. The four-time NBA Most Valuable Player and two-time champion was undone by injuries to teammates, unable to carry the team to glory, and injuries still weigh upon Cleveland four months later.

“Internally, the motivation for us is to not repeat what happened last year, which is to get so close, but not be able to seal the deal,” said Cleveland’s James Jones.

Golden State, expected to repeat as the Western Conference champions, boast the same veteran line-up led by sharpshooter Steph Curry that produced a club-record 67 wins last season.

The question for the Warriors is can they become a dynasty. Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers teased that they had luck to win the Western Conference last year without facing his club or San Antonio and a pre-season war of words erupted, one Warriors’ Australian big man Andrew Bogut plays down.

“Most of the comments made by us were tongue in cheek, just joking around,” Bogut wrote in an NBA blog. “We didn’t take it too seriously. It’s just interesting hearing it from a team that hasn’t been there.”

The Spurs, seeking their second crown in three seasons, combine Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan with newcomer LaMarcus Aldridge for another run at the top while Oklahoma City expects Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to be healthy from the start as they seek a return to the NBA Finals. Add James Harden-led Houston and the West again figures to be tough.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Kevin Durant is back to reclaim his mantle as one of the league’s top players.

NORTHWEST DIVISION

1. Oklahoma City Thunder

With Kevin Durant back from injury and new coach Billy Donovan at the helm the Thunder look set to improve on last season’s 45-37 run that wasn’t good enough to make the playoffs in the West three years after they reached the NBA Finals. The efforts of a healthy Durant and prolific point guard Russell Westbrook should see the Thunder back in the post-season.

2. Utah Jazz

The emergence of towering French centre Rudy Gobert as a defensive force helped propel the Jazz to 38-44 last season. But with Dante Exum rehabbing a knee injury and a youthful line-up it’s not clear if Utah, who won 20 of their last 31 games, can pick up where they left off.

3. Minnesota Timberwolves

Minnesota’s young team — including the past two number one draft picks in Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins — opens the season under a pall after the death from cancer of coach “Flip” Saunders. It will be up to interim coach Sam Mitchell and veteran Kevin Garnett to keep things steady, help Wiggins build on last season’s rookie of the year campaign and hopefully see an improvement on last year’s 16-66 record.

4. Denver Nuggets

Point guard Emmanuel Mudiay — who opted to hone his skills pre-NBA in China, rather than a US college — is being touted as a rookie of the year contender and new coach Mike Malone is out to shake the Nuggets out of the 30-52 malaise of last season.

5. Portland Trail Blazers

Star point guard Damian Lillard finds himself surrounded by a new supporting cast after an all-change off-season. Four of the five starters that led Portland to a 51-31 record and first-round playoff appearance have departed — including LaMarcus Aldridge as a free agent to San Antonio.

Can the Warriors go back to back?

PACIFIC DIVISION

1. Golden State Warriors

Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Co. return to try to replicate a dazzling 67-15 campaign capped by a Finals triumph that ended a 40-year title drought. The absence of head coach Steve Kerr because of complications from back surgery is the only dark spot on the Warriors horizon — apart, of course, from all the teams anxious to prove their sensational run to the crown was a fluke.

2. Los Angeles Clippers

After flirting with the Mavericks, free agent DeAndre Jordan opted to return to the Clippers, who followed up a 56-26 regular season with another disappointing playoff exit in the West. With Jordan set to produce again alongside Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, newly acquired Paul Pierce brings the grit that could help Doc Rivers’ team make it further.

3. Phoenix Suns

Newly arrived Tyson Chandler should be a steadying presence on defence and in the locker room — where the stage is set for drama after Markieff Morris’s objections to the Suns’ decision to trade his twin brother, Marcus. If the Suns can keep things on an even keel, a breakout season for 25-year-old guard Eric Bledsoe could see them improve on last year’s 39-43 campaign.

4. Sacramento Kings

A restocked roster — including the addition of Rajon Rondo, Marco Belinelli and Caron Butler — gives coach George Karl plenty of options in his stated goal of reaching .500 a season after the Kings finished 29-53.

5. Los Angeles Lakers

Kobe Bryant’s likely final season will look much the same as the previous two as the ageing star fights fatigue and tries to avoid another season-ending injury. Bryant will have some new young talent around him, but it probably won’t be enough to prevent the Lakers — 21-61 last season — from missing the playoffs for a third straight season.

Patrick Mills and the Spurs are hopeful of another title run.

SOUTHWEST DIVISION

1. San Antonio Spurs

LaMarcus Aldridge arrives to share the load with ageing stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. With Kahwi Leonard still developing, the Spurs look set for another playoff run, even if coach Gregg Popovich’s habit of resting key players when he deems necessary means they might not be looking at improving on last season’s 55-27 regular-season mark.

2. Houston Rockets

The addition of Ty Lawson gives Houston a playmaker to complement James Harden — provided Lawson overcomes personal issues that led to two drink driving arrests. With big man Dwight Howard healthy the Rockets, who parlayed a 56-26 season to a surprise run to the West finals, could go deep again.

3. Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies’ physical, inside style will again rely on the front court pair of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, who led the Grizz to a 55-27 record and the Western Conference semi-finals — where the old-school body-banging game couldn’t keep Golden State at bay.

4. New Orleans Pelicans

New Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry, tasked with improving on a 45-37 season, has long been an advocate of fast-paced offences and the exciting Anthony Davis should thrive in his system, which will also play to the strengths of three-point shooter Ryan Anderson.

5. Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks’ big plans for improving on a 50-32 campaign that ended with a first-round playoff exit were scuppered when free agent DeAndre Jordan backed out of a commitment to Dallas to re-sign with the Clippers. New signing Wesley Matthews was still recovering from an Achilles injury as the season approached and veteran Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki could find it tough sledding in north Texas.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Kyle Lowry has been sensational in the preseason.

ATLANTIC DIVISION

1. Toronto Raptors

After racing to a surprising 37-17 start last season, the Raptors had a 12-16 finish en route to a 49-33 season and were swept out of the playoffs in the first round by the Washington Wizards. The addition of Cory Joseph from San Antonio should help the Raptors’ sluggish ball movement and Kyle Lowry’s pre-season form has been impressive.

2. Boston Celtics

The Celtics made the playoffs last season with a late push to a 40-42 record in coach Brad Stevens’ second campaign, but lack of star power could hinder their efforts to go further in the post-season.

3. Brooklyn Nets

The high spending aimed at fulfilling Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s bold 2010 guarantee that the Nets would win an NBA title by 2015 is over. But while the Nets may find it hard to produce much offensive pop, they still harbour hopes of bettering their 38-44 record of last season and reaching the playoffs for a fourth straight time.

4. New York Knicks

Coaching great Phil Jackson has yet to turn things around as an executive, and draft pick Kristaps Porzingis won’t be an immediate difference-maker. At least a healthy Carmelo Anthony might help them improve on a club-worst 17-65 campaign.

5. Philadelphia 76ers

With centre Joel Embiid expected to miss a second straight season after another foot surgery, there’s little light at the end of the tunnel for the 76ers. With little prospect of much improvement on last season’s 18-64 record, they will be hoping young players Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor will be able to develop even as the defeats pile up.

You can count on Delly getting his hands dirty for the Cavs’ cause.

CENTRAL DIVISION

1. Cleveland Cavaliers

Superstar LeBron James will again be the key as he tries to take the Cavaliers back to the NBA Finals and — this time — all the way to a title. Improving on a 53-29 mark will be of no consolation if the Cavs don’t go all the way.

2. Chicago Bulls

New coach Fred Hoiberg faces a challenge with early season injuries, with Derrick Rose on the mend from a broken orbital bone and Mike Dunleavy sidelined after back surgery. His up-tempo approach will also require adjustment from big men Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah as they seek to improve a 50-32 record.

3. Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks will try to build on 41-41 season in which their unexpected run to the playoffs under new coach Jason Kidd owed much to the stingiest defence in the East.

4. Indiana Pacers

The Pacers welcome Paul George back after a year-long injury absence, but he is still adjusting to a new role at power forward. If he can thrive there, and if George Hill and Monta Ellis produce offensively, the Pacers could find themselves better than last season’s 38-44 and back in the post-season.

5. Detroit Pistons

Center Andre Drummond will be in the spotlight in new coach and president Stan Van Gundy’s revamped roster. Sweeping personnel changes could see the Pistons better last season’s 32-50 mark, but it could be too soon for the new-look line-up to put the Pistons back in the playoffs for the first time since 2009.

Paul Millsap and the Hawks are hoping to back up a 60-win season.

SOUTHEAST DIVISION

1. Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks will try to build on the an impressive 60-26 campaign that marked the club’s first 60-win season. The re-signing of Paul Millsap will aid that cause, as will the arrival of ex-Spur Tiago Splitter. But the departure via free agency of DeMarre Carroll leaves a void and the Hawks could be hard-pressed to again finish with the best record in the East.

2. Washington Wizards

The departure of 37-year-old Paul Pierce helps open the door for a faster paced offence, although his resolve in clutch situations could be missed. The back-court of John Wall and Bradley Beal is one of the best in the league and a key asset as the Wizards seek to improve on last season’s 46-36 record and second-round playoff showing.

3. Miami Heat

After a disappointing 37-45 campaign, Miami at last have the line-up they wanted in February, when they acquired Goran Dragic only for Chris Bosh to be sidelined by blood clots. Bosh is back, but veteran Dwyane Wade remains a question mark after missing 20 games last season and the Heat will likely again have to manage his time to keep him healthy for a playoff push.

4. Charlotte Hornets

The Hornets will be coping for at least six months without top defensive player Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who needed surgery on a shoulder injury suffered in the pre-season. It’s a blow for a team that made moves to bolster an indifferent offence that ranked near the bottom of the NBA in most categories as the Hornets plummeted from a playoff team to a lottery outfit.

5. Orlando Magic

New coach Scott Skiles will have the task of developing a starting line-up with an average age of 24. His priorities will include cutting down turnovers and inspiring his players to attack on offence in a bid to better last season’s 25-57 record.

Originally published as Ultimate guide to the 2015-16 NBA season