2007-08 Hollinger Team Forecasts

Originally Published: October 6, 2007

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By John Hollinger

Editor's note: This article was updated to account for the impending knee surgery of Charlotte's Sean May.

How will things shake out in the Association this season? ESPN Insider John Hollinger analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of all 30 teams, and predicts each team's finish.

Hollinger's Projected Eastern Conference Standings (INSIDER)
	TEAM	PROJECTED RECORD	PROJECTED DIV. FINISH
1.	Chicago Bulls	55-27	1st in Central
Despite the glaring lack of frontcourt scoring, the Bulls are a threat to be taken very seriously ... MORE
2.	Cleveland Cavaliers	54-28	2nd in Central
People are dismissing the Cavs after watching their unimpressive performance in the Finals ... MORE
3.	Boston Celtics	51-31	1st in Atlantic
The addition of Garnett and Allen means the team is likely to more than double its win total ... MORE
4.	Orlando Magic	49-33	1st in Southeast
With the youth and the addition of Lewis, a five-game improvement doesn't seem outrageous ... MORE
5.	Detroit Pistons	48-34	3rd in Central
Despite the incredibly good fit between Detroit's different pieces, one wonders if this nucleus ... MORE
6.	Miami Heat	43-39	2nd in Southeast
The Heat are an incredibly difficult team to predict this year because they're basically ... MORE
7.	Atlanta Hawks	42-40	3rd in Southeast
Atlanta should win as much as it loses this season, and in this conference that makes ... MORE
8.	Toronto Raptors	40-42	2nd in Atlantic
Every key Raptor except Bosh and Bargnani projects to have a lower PER than a season ago ... MORE
9.	New Jersey Nets	39-43	3rd in Atlantic
The Nets still envision themselves as contenders in the East, but it's time for a reality check. ... MORE
10.	New York Knicks	38-44	4th in Atlantic
The Knicks won't be terrible, simply because Randolph gives them such an offensive force ... MORE
11.	Milwaukee Bucks	35-47	4th in Central
The Bucks should be quite a bit better because they'll effectively add three players to the ... MORE
12.	Charlotte Bobcats	34-48	4th in Southeast
Nobody is talking about the Bobcats, but the way they finished last season people really ... MORE
13.	Washington Wizards	33-49	5th in Southeast
I see Washington in decline for at least a year or two until the youngsters are ready to step up ... MORE
14.	Indiana Pacers	28-54	5th in Central
The Pacers seem headed in the wrong direction, and their reluctance to nuke the roster ... MORE
15.	Philadelphia 76ers	21-61	5th in Atlantic
Despite the good karma from last season's finish, it seems to me the Sixers will need to ... MORE

Hollinger's Projected Western Conference Standings (INSIDER)
	TEAM	PROJECTED RECORD	PROJECTED DIV. FINISH
1.	Houston Rockets	61-21	1st in Southwest
Betting on Adelman and McGrady to achieve postseason success hasn't been a really wise ... MORE
2.	San Antonio Spurs	59-23	2nd in Southwest
Once again, we'll conveniently ignore the Spurs until March 1, then look up and notice ... MORE
3.	Dallas Mavericks	58-24	3rd in Southwest (5th seed)
While I still get this uneasy feeling that 2006 was this team's best shot at a ring ... MORE
4.	Phoenix Suns	54-28	1st in Pacific (3rd seed)
They'll still be a great show, of course, and they'll still be a factor come May. But ... MORE
5.	Denver Nuggets	53-29	1st in Northwest (4th seed)
So while the upside for this group is high, they look more like bridesmaids in this conference. ... MORE
6.	Utah Jazz	50-32	2nd in Northwest
The Jazz have a couple factors pulling them in each direction. On the one hand ... MORE
7.	Los Angeles Lakers	43-39	2nd in Pacific
Nobody's really sure what their goal is or what the timeframe is for achieving it, but they ... MORE
8.	New Orleans Hornets	39-43	4th in Southwest
With improved health and the decline of several potential contenders, I think they'll ... MORE
9.	Golden State Warriors	36-46	3rd in Pacific
The fact the Warriors put it all together for two months last season doesn't necessarily ... MORE
10.	Seattle SuperSonics	35-47	3rd in Northwest
Clearly, we shouldn't expect much of a home-court advantage. But the Sonics will be better ... MORE
11.	Memphis Grizzlies	34-48	5th in Southwest
Yes, they'll be better, but that's hardly saying much. This is a transition season ... MORE
12.	Sacramento Kings	27-55	4th in Pacific
As a result, I'm looking for the worst Kings season yet -- and that's before they break out the ... MORE
13.	Portland Trail Blazers	26-56	4th in Northwest
Blazer fans might be crying into their organic fair-trade soy lattes after the loss of Oden, but ... MORE
14.	Minnesota Timberwolves	22-60	5th in Northwest
The Wolves lost 50 games with Garnett, and clearly they won't be better without him. ... MORE
15.	Los Angeles Clippers	20-62	5th in Pacific
Lots of people expect the Clippers to stink now that Brand is out. I'll take things a step further ... MORE