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#Rank. TEAM (2014-15 offensive & defensive ranks) - explanation:
1. SA (d: 3, o: 7) - Duncan and West combine to make about 7 million dollars next season; Aldridge solidifies their ability to contend long-term and rightfully makes them title favorites right now. Splitter, Belinelli, and Joseph were necessary sacrifices and they still maintain depth; Parker has definitely lost a step though.
2. GS (d: 1, o: 2) - Loss of Lee won't hurt what they are about all too much: capable, versatile defenders, team defense, ball-movement, stretching the floor, and attacking the basket.
3. Cle (o: 4, d: 20) - dramatic defensive improvement as a team post Mozgov-Shumpert additions; adding Mo-Will and losing Smith is another upgrade; with a healthy Love, Irving, and Varejao there is no telling how good they can be.
4. OKC (o: 12, d: 16) - with Durant out, Westbrook carried the load at a historic level; reliance on isolation offense has been their undoing for their entire existence together; can Kanter's inside presence along with a fresh coaching point of view be enough to put them over the top?
5. LAC (o: 1, d: 15) - they really choked away the series against Houston; their hope must be that Pierce and Stephenson will give them enough of a wing threat to actually become a legitimate contender.
6. Hou (d: 7, o: 11) - winning two rounds not a bad way to end a season- without their defensively-stout point guard Beverley on top of that.
7. Mem (d: 4, o: 13) - losing Koufos and Leuer takes a bit of luster out of their front-line but still as fundamentally-sound/balanced as any team in the league.
8. Mia (d: 19, o: 21) - Bosh missed nearly entire season; give Dragic a full year and Whiteside another season to improve. Green will help wing athleticism/depth. Wade's knees are always a question mark but if healthy enough by post-season time then they will be legitimately scary.
9. Chi (o: 10, d: 11) - Offense likely can't get worse under Hoiberg; full season potentially for Rose will hopefully mean rust-free; how will they utilize all of their front-line depth?
10. Atl (o: 6, d: 6) - Carroll was their "glue guy"- now gone; Splitter solidifies their front-line.
11. NO (o: 9, d: 22) - Gentry wants to push the pace so Davis can thrive (4th slowest team in basketball in 2014-15); can Holiday get his groove back or is he damaged goods?
12. Was (d: 5, o: 18) - Same team minus Pierce. Can Porter in the starting line-up help give their mediocre offense a jolt?
13. Dal (o: 5, d: 18) - Pachulia replacing Chandler hurts; from Rondo to Williams nice upgrade offensively though. Matthews for Ellis gives them a more consistent two-way player but less upside offensively.
14. Mil (d: 2, o: 25) - Monroe gives them a bread-and-butter option for what was a very helter-skelter offense last season; good depth; great team defense with versatile defenders.
15. Tor (o: 3, d: 24) - Williams was their microwave guy off the bench- now gone. Carroll gives them a nice perimeter defender and solid all-around player but will miss L-Will's ability to give them an extra creator.
16. Ind (d: 9, o: 23) - Identity will change drastically in 2015-16; with Hibbert and West gone, and Ellis and Budinger added, they will go from slow to fast and from physical to finesse. Offense will improve immensely with George back for an entire season; Budinger/George/Copeland will make for an interesting group to fill the 3-4 spots; Rebounding and possibly defense to take a big hit for the purpose of salvaging offense.
17. LAL (o: 24, d: 29) - Bryant probably has at least one more season in him and is definitely motivated not to go out on as low of a note as the last few seasons have ended; Randle will add athleticism/energy; Hibbert provides a viable option and huge presence to improve their awful defense. 6th man of the year L-Will added as well as lottery-pick Russell.
18. Uta (d: 12, o: 15) - huge improvement defensively from the first to second half of 2014-15 anchored by Gobert; Exum will be the variable as to how much they can threaten as a team.
19. Pho (o: 14, d: 17) - adding former DPOY Chandler helps but his star is fading; still have a roster of capable players but nothing really stands out about any of them except Bledsoe- who will be playing one position bigger than his natural spot.
20. Den (o: 22, d: 26) - Can Gallinari get his groove back? They have Lawson, Faried, Chandler and some decent young pieces; definitely not enough roster strength to challenge in the West at all.
21. Min (o: 26, d: 30) - derailed by injuries to Martin, Pekovic, and Rubio in 2014-15, Wiggins carried a lot of the load. Adding first pick, Towns, combined with some health might be just what the Saunders and Garnett-led Wolves need.
22. Bos (d: 14, o: 20) - Thomas, Sullinger, Turner, Zeller, Bradley, Smart and their youthful roster sparked a run that nobody saw coming to lead them back to the playoffs; add Lee and maybe we will see another solid season out of Boston.
23. Sac (o: 16, d: 27) - With Cousins and Coach Karl at odds and the misfit that Rondo seems to be, it just feels like the Kings are destined for dysfunction.
24. Det (o: 17, d: 21) - Van Gundy dumped Monroe and added a stretch 4 in Ilyasova to help give his team ...his... kind of identity; Jackson had a huge second half of 2014-15 but the team itself isn't quite ready to do much damage.
25. Cha (d: 8, o: 28) - Batum is a versatile and all-around very good player; still don't have the star power to be much of a threat.
26. NY (d: 28, o: 29) - Afflalo and Lopez are two decent starters; with Anthony healthy, the Knicks have pretty much nowhere to go but up next season- not exactly a lot of upside though.
27. Bro (o: 19, d: 23) - D-Will gone; rebuilding seems like it will be the necessary next step. Though rewarding Lopez with 60 million dollars over the next three seasons doesn't seem to make sense for their future- especially given his injury history.
28. Por (o: 8, d: 10) - Only one starter remains (Lillard) from 2014-15; Afflalo gone too; youth movement coming.
29. Orl (d: 25, o: 27) - main bright spot of the franchise is the young starting back-court of Oladipo and Payton but won't be enough in all likelihood to get them out of the league's basement on their own.
30. Phi (d: 13, o: 30) - Noel helped keep the defense half-way decent; their abysmal offense was nearly 4 points worse per 100 possessions than the next worst offensive team.
1. SA (d: 3, o: 7) - Duncan and West combine to make about 7 million dollars next season; Aldridge solidifies their ability to contend long-term and rightfully makes them title favorites right now. Splitter, Belinelli, and Joseph were necessary sacrifices and they still maintain depth; Parker has definitely lost a step though.
2. GS (d: 1, o: 2) - Loss of Lee won't hurt what they are about all too much: capable, versatile defenders, team defense, ball-movement, stretching the floor, and attacking the basket.
3. Cle (o: 4, d: 20) - dramatic defensive improvement as a team post Mozgov-Shumpert additions; adding Mo-Will and losing Smith is another upgrade; with a healthy Love, Irving, and Varejao there is no telling how good they can be.
4. OKC (o: 12, d: 16) - with Durant out, Westbrook carried the load at a historic level; reliance on isolation offense has been their undoing for their entire existence together; can Kanter's inside presence along with a fresh coaching point of view be enough to put them over the top?
5. LAC (o: 1, d: 15) - they really choked away the series against Houston; their hope must be that Pierce and Stephenson will give them enough of a wing threat to actually become a legitimate contender.
6. Hou (d: 7, o: 11) - winning two rounds not a bad way to end a season- without their defensively-stout point guard Beverley on top of that.
7. Mem (d: 4, o: 13) - losing Koufos and Leuer takes a bit of luster out of their front-line but still as fundamentally-sound/balanced as any team in the league.
8. Mia (d: 19, o: 21) - Bosh missed nearly entire season; give Dragic a full year and Whiteside another season to improve. Green will help wing athleticism/depth. Wade's knees are always a question mark but if healthy enough by post-season time then they will be legitimately scary.
9. Chi (o: 10, d: 11) - Offense likely can't get worse under Hoiberg; full season potentially for Rose will hopefully mean rust-free; how will they utilize all of their front-line depth?
10. Atl (o: 6, d: 6) - Carroll was their "glue guy"- now gone; Splitter solidifies their front-line.
11. NO (o: 9, d: 22) - Gentry wants to push the pace so Davis can thrive (4th slowest team in basketball in 2014-15); can Holiday get his groove back or is he damaged goods?
12. Was (d: 5, o: 18) - Same team minus Pierce. Can Porter in the starting line-up help give their mediocre offense a jolt?
13. Dal (o: 5, d: 18) - Pachulia replacing Chandler hurts; from Rondo to Williams nice upgrade offensively though. Matthews for Ellis gives them a more consistent two-way player but less upside offensively.
14. Mil (d: 2, o: 25) - Monroe gives them a bread-and-butter option for what was a very helter-skelter offense last season; good depth; great team defense with versatile defenders.
15. Tor (o: 3, d: 24) - Williams was their microwave guy off the bench- now gone. Carroll gives them a nice perimeter defender and solid all-around player but will miss L-Will's ability to give them an extra creator.
16. Ind (d: 9, o: 23) - Identity will change drastically in 2015-16; with Hibbert and West gone, and Ellis and Budinger added, they will go from slow to fast and from physical to finesse. Offense will improve immensely with George back for an entire season; Budinger/George/Copeland will make for an interesting group to fill the 3-4 spots; Rebounding and possibly defense to take a big hit for the purpose of salvaging offense.
17. LAL (o: 24, d: 29) - Bryant probably has at least one more season in him and is definitely motivated not to go out on as low of a note as the last few seasons have ended; Randle will add athleticism/energy; Hibbert provides a viable option and huge presence to improve their awful defense. 6th man of the year L-Will added as well as lottery-pick Russell.
18. Uta (d: 12, o: 15) - huge improvement defensively from the first to second half of 2014-15 anchored by Gobert; Exum will be the variable as to how much they can threaten as a team.
19. Pho (o: 14, d: 17) - adding former DPOY Chandler helps but his star is fading; still have a roster of capable players but nothing really stands out about any of them except Bledsoe- who will be playing one position bigger than his natural spot.
20. Den (o: 22, d: 26) - Can Gallinari get his groove back? They have Lawson, Faried, Chandler and some decent young pieces; definitely not enough roster strength to challenge in the West at all.
21. Min (o: 26, d: 30) - derailed by injuries to Martin, Pekovic, and Rubio in 2014-15, Wiggins carried a lot of the load. Adding first pick, Towns, combined with some health might be just what the Saunders and Garnett-led Wolves need.
22. Bos (d: 14, o: 20) - Thomas, Sullinger, Turner, Zeller, Bradley, Smart and their youthful roster sparked a run that nobody saw coming to lead them back to the playoffs; add Lee and maybe we will see another solid season out of Boston.
23. Sac (o: 16, d: 27) - With Cousins and Coach Karl at odds and the misfit that Rondo seems to be, it just feels like the Kings are destined for dysfunction.
24. Det (o: 17, d: 21) - Van Gundy dumped Monroe and added a stretch 4 in Ilyasova to help give his team ...his... kind of identity; Jackson had a huge second half of 2014-15 but the team itself isn't quite ready to do much damage.
25. Cha (d: 8, o: 28) - Batum is a versatile and all-around very good player; still don't have the star power to be much of a threat.
26. NY (d: 28, o: 29) - Afflalo and Lopez are two decent starters; with Anthony healthy, the Knicks have pretty much nowhere to go but up next season- not exactly a lot of upside though.
27. Bro (o: 19, d: 23) - D-Will gone; rebuilding seems like it will be the necessary next step. Though rewarding Lopez with 60 million dollars over the next three seasons doesn't seem to make sense for their future- especially given his injury history.
28. Por (o: 8, d: 10) - Only one starter remains (Lillard) from 2014-15; Afflalo gone too; youth movement coming.
29. Orl (d: 25, o: 27) - main bright spot of the franchise is the young starting back-court of Oladipo and Payton but won't be enough in all likelihood to get them out of the league's basement on their own.
30. Phi (d: 13, o: 30) - Noel helped keep the defense half-way decent; their abysmal offense was nearly 4 points worse per 100 possessions than the next worst offensive team.
