NBA: 2021-22 Regular season preview, projections

There's no doubt that Brooklyn and Milwaukee are the class of the Eastern Conference but Miami, Philadelphia, and Atlanta each think they have enough talent to contend as well. I’m pretty confident in the 1-6 seeds with the possible exception of Boston. Although I wouldn’t say the 7-10 seeds are wide open, I could see plenty of different scenarios playing out. The Bulls, Celtics and Knicks are favorites to earn the final two playoff spots. I think the margin between those teams is razor thin and it’s unlikely all three reach the postseason. Charlotte and Toronto are others to watch.

Eastern Conference:

1. Brooklyn Nets (58-24)

2. Milwaukee Bucks (56-26)

3. Miami Heat (49-33)

4. Philadelphia 76ers (48-34)

5. Atlanta Hawks (47-35)

6. Chicago Bulls (46-36)

7. Boston Celtics (43-39)

8. Charlotte Hornets (42-40)

9. New York Knicks (41-41)

10. Toronto Raptors (40-42)

11. Indiana Pacers (39-43)

12. Washington Wizards (36-46)

13. Cleveland Cavaliers (26-56)

14. Detroit Pistons (25-57)

15. Orlando Magic (20-62)

Although the Lakers are favorites to come out of the Western Conference, the Suns and Jazz are serious contenders like they were a year ago. Beyond that, there are several teams that have noticeable flaws. The Mavericks, Nuggets, Warriors, Trail Blazers and Clippers have elite playmakers but are dealing with injuries and/or roster adjustments heading into the season. Denver is without Jamal Murray and Golden State is in a similar spot as Klay Thompson awaits his return. It's going to be interesting to see which teams can stay healthy and take advantage of an open middle tier.

Western Conference:

1. Phoenix Suns (55-27)

2. Utah Jazz (54-28)

3. Los Angeles Lakers (53-29)

4. Denver Nuggets (50-32)

5. Dallas Mavericks (47-35)

6. Golden State Warriors (46-36)

7. Los Angeles Clippers (45-37)

8. Portland Trail Blazers (44-38)

9. Memphis Grizzlies (43-39)

10. Sacramento Kings (39-43)

11. New Orleans Pelicans (38-44)

12. Minnesota Timberwolves (35-47)

13. San Antonio Spurs (30-52)

14. Houston Rockets (23-59)

15. Oklahoma City Thunder (19-63)

Award Projections:

MVP: Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers)

Defensive: Bam Adebayo (Heat)

Most Improved: De’Aaron Fox (Kings)

Rookie: Cade Cunningham (Pistons)

Coach: Monty Williams (Suns)

Sixth Man: Joe Ingles (Jazz)

Scoring: Jayson Tatum (Celtics)

Conference Finals Predictions:

Eastern: Nets over Bucks

Western: Suns over Lakers

Finals: Nets over Suns

Top-10 Players:

1. Kevin Durant (Nets)

2. LeBron James (Lakers)

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)

4. Stephen Curry (Warriors)

5. Nikola Jokić (Nuggets)

6. Joel Embiid (76ers)

7. Luka Dončić (Mavericks)

8. Anthony Davis (Lakers)

9. Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers)

10. James Harden (Nets)

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Photo Credit: New York Post.