The NBA season is over 1/3 of the way in so let’s take a look into what your team’s expectations are heading into the 2024 year.

     ** East **
1. Boston Celtics; adding Kristaps Porzingis to a lineup with Tatum and Brown, the Cs have a team that can really spread the floor with size.
2. Milwaukee; last season was a disappointment. They now have Dame and Giannis, this team is going to be a problem.

3. Cleveland; they were a tough team last year, getting sharpshooter Max Strus is going to make them tougher.

4. Miami; they will be in the conversation with Jimmy Buckets and Bam Adebayo, but their title window is narrowing.

5. Philadelphia; new coach, new schemes. Philly is talented, but lacks heart.
6. New York; they had some success with Jalen Brunson in last year’s playoffs, this season, the veterans will get a little better.
7. Atlanta; the game of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray is more than enough to push them against other teams.
8. Brooklyn; they have an interesting team, Mikal Bridges has taken to this team like a duck to water.
-Toronto; they lost their best shooter, but they still have Siakam and good defensive movement they’re going to push Brooklyn.
-Chicago; they have enough offense with LaVine and DeRozan, enough to keep them hopeful.
-Indiana; Tyler Haliburton has a good career ahead of him but they still need better 3p defense.
-Orlando;  Banchero has room to grow and with that, there will be some tough games again.
-Detroit; a lot of young players, but nothing that’s going to scare anybody.
-Charlotte; they are a team hoping everything goes perfectly, otherwise they land low.
-Washington; let’s be honest, this team could very well get the number one pick in the lottery.

     ** West **
1. Denver Nuggets; if Jokic, Murray and the rest of their starters stay healthy, they have the ability to return to the finals.
2. Phoenix; they will be neck in neck with the Nuggs to be the best of the west.
3. Los Angeles Lakers; after they made moves late in the season, they took off. That continues into this year.
4. Memphis; they’ll be a pretty decent defensive team that are going to make teams struggle.

5. Golden State; they’re not a top 3 team anymore, but they can still score 130 in a game.

6. Sacramento; this team has a nice chemistry with De’Aaron Fox and Sabonis.

7. Los Angeles Clippers; they’ll do what they can, for as long as their stars can stay on the court.
8. Minnesota; another year in the books for Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, and Karl-Anthony Towns could be a really nice trio.
-New Orleans; it’s tough to make a call on this team because so much relies on Zion, and his ability to actually play, but I’ll fall for it again.
-Oklahoma City; they lack size, as their best rebounder is only 6-8.
-Dallas; it’s just hard for me to believe in Luka and Kyrie working together, unfortunately.
-San Antonio; Wembanyama will very well be a big factor in this team’s Improvement, but they still have a ways to go.
-Utah; Lauri Markkanen and John Collins will keep them in some games but they lack defense.
-Houston; Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks should make somewhat of a difference, but just not enough.
-Portland; losing Dame destroyed this team, insert rebuild mode.

Some good teams getting better and some teams climbing the Vegas Odds & rankings – we will see how the year unfolds.