Predicting Every NBA Team’s Final 2014-15 Record

Did you expect to find anyone else in the basement than the winless Sixers? Without Thaddeus Young, Spencer Hawes and Evan Turner, this team looks like it'll be worse than even last year's tank-tastic team. Keep listening for those ping pong balls, Philly fans!

The Lakers have actually given the Sixers a run for their money so far as the worst team in the league. With Kobe Bryant missing record numbers of shots and the team's downright atrocious defense, the Lakers look like they're in line for a top pick in next year's draft.

Fortunately, the Bucks will not be the worst team in the league this year. With Larry Sanders back, the Bucks have been frisky on defense so far this season, and with Brandon Knight's continued development into a quality point guard, the Bucks have an exciting young core on which to build.

Poor Indy. Roy Hibbert has held down a lineup devoid of talent outside of himself early in the season, and with George Hill out until December, the Pacers will be trotting out one of the worst starting lineups in the league.

Like the Bucks, the Magic have an exciting young, athletic core from which to build in Elfrid Payton, Victor Oladipo and Aaron Gordon. The magic ingredient, however, will be time, and this team is a couple years away from competing for a playoff berth.

Under new coach Quin Snyder, the Jazz have looked resurgent on offense, forging an identity after failing to do so last season. Gordon Hayward has been a great offensive fulcrum in the early going, and the Jazz are definitely looking to post a better record than last year.

Another team that has had surprising success on offense, the Celtics under coach Brad Stevens are a team obviously developing talent. While Marcus Smart, James Young and Kelly Olynyk might need another season to become solid role players, the Celtics definitely have more talent this season than last.

Unlike the Celtics, the T-Wolves lost a great amount of talent this offseason in Kevin Love. The good news? They replaced him with a raw rookie with a sky-high ceiling in Andrew Wiggins. While this team looked competitive in the early going and even looked like it could pull off 38-40 wins with its fast-paced, intense play, Ricky Rubio's ankle injury will surely cost this team a few wins.

Many looked for new coach Stan Van Gundy to straighten up the Pistons' roster and extract its talent en route to a .500 record, or even a playoff spot. So far, however, it's still been too many big men, Brandon Jennings turnovers and Josh Smith bricked 3-pointers. Until those things change, the Pistons will be lottery-bound.

Just like the Pistons, the Nuggets seem to have too much talent for a 34-win team. So far, though, something clearly hasn't clicked in Denver, as the team is currently 1-5, ranking in the bottom sixth of the league in both offensive and defensive efficiency. While they won't be this bad all season, the Nuggets might not click until it's too late.

I was actually bullish on the Knicks as a sleeper before the season, and my opinions were reinforced with their imprressive win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on October 30. Since then, however, the Knicks look like a carbon copy of last year's squad, except with a less efficient Carmelo Anthony and zero rim protection.

I want to believe in the Kings as much as you do, I know. I believe DeMarcus Cousins is the most talented center in the NBA and can push the Kings to 37 wins, but the roster behind him and Rudy Gay is too thin to make the Kings a .500 team, at least this season. But let's enjoy the Kings' hype while it lasts, okay?

The exact opposite of the Kings, the re-anointed Hornets have looked awful in the early going, even losing to the Lakers. That's now an insult. Lance Stephenson is stealing more rebounds from his teammates than ever and hasn't been able to shoot a lick, and seemingly left all of his good basketball traits in Indy with Larry Bird. Charlotte's defense will carry it through a lot of games, but the Hornets won't live up to their preseason hype.

When a team's as old as the Nets are, every year brings expectations of decline. Granted, the Nets have looked good so far behind a resurgent Deron Williams, but the loss of Paul Pierce and the continued declines of Andrei Kirilenko and the corpse of Kevin Garnett will neutralize any of Williams' added benefits. Look for this team to finish in a similar spot to last season.

Armed with human wrecking ball and future 235-time MVP Anthony Davis, the Pels pulled off an impressive win against the San Antonio Spurs and kept pace with the Cavs this week. New Orleans, however, suffers from a similar syndrome as Sacramento: the Pelicans are armed with a single star player surrounded by average to below-average role players, preventing the team from winning more than 40 games.

Even with Al Horford back, the Hawks still look like a middling team, even in the Eastern Conference. Horford is clearly still recovering from his torn pectoral and has yet to get up to full speed; however, the team just doesn't have enough defensive talent to challenge for a top seed in the East.

The Thunder's season from Hell got infinitely worse with Russell Westbrook's hand injury, and whether the Thunder will even make the playoffs is now legitimate. So far, the depleted OKC squad looks like it won't be able to play well enough until Westbrook and Kevin Durant return to sniff the eighth seed.

The Mavs were a trendy pick to make a splash in the West this season following the additions of Chandler Parsons and Tyson Chandler. However, this team also lost Jose Calderon, Shawn Marion and Vince Carter, and is struggling mightily on defense thanks to missing the latter two players. With its truly abysmal defense, it's hard to see the Mavs making the playoffs in the loaded West.

Despite the addition of Isaiah Thomas, the Suns' backcourt has looked out of sorts early this season. So far, the Suns have only been average on offense after last year's fun, electric offense. All this means the Suns are primed to regress after career-best seasons last year from Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe, the Morris twins, Gerald Green and P.J. Tucker.

Marcin Gortat's new mohawk symbolizes the new-look Wizards, who fancy themselves as contenders after a breakout season last year and the offseason addition of The Truth. While the Wizards look like they'll build on last year's success, Bradley Beal's injury, the departure of Trevor Ariza's defense and the rise of the Cavs and Bulls will prevent this team from getting to 50 wins since 1978.

No LeBron? No problem. Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and coach Erik Spoelstra have kept their offense humming. Spo is too good of a coach to let this team fall apart, Bosh looks comfortable as a No. 1 option, and Wade finally looks healthy. As long as those three factors stay in place, this team will win at least 45 games.

Like the Wizards, the Raptors broke out in a big way last season behind a dominant starting five. The Raptors brought all of their guys back this year and hit the ground running, ranking in the top fifth of the league in both offense and defense so far. If either the Bulls or Cavs begin to struggle, you can bet the Raptors will be there to take their place.

Another team that relies on a dominant starting five, the Portland Trail Blazers also look like they've benefited from continuity, posting top-10 ratings in offensive and defensive efficiency so far. With a revamped bench, the Blazers look much better on defense than last year. The only problem? The Warriors, Grizzlies and Rockets all look better than last year too, and might deflate Rip City's win total ever so slightly.

Grit n' Grind is timeless, and the Grizzlies will grind their way into the playoffs for another year. Unlike last year, however, Marc Gasol will stick around for the whole season. That, coupled with another year under coach Dave Joerger, may just be enough to make Memphis a contender this year.

Despite having Derrick Rose back, the Bulls are already experiencing myriad injury issues with their starters. A loss to Boston and barely beating the Sixers both raise red flags, as well as the fact that the Bulls rank just 12th in the league in defensive efficiency. I'm sure that Tom Thibodeau and the Bulls will right the ship, but they might not be quite as dominant as many had hoped before the season.

Steve Kerr's new-look, electrifying Warriors were the talk of the league during the season's first week and look like an elite team. Klay Thompson looks like he's worth the max and Harrison Barnes broke out for 22 points the other night, so why just the fourth seed in the West? Well, turnovers continue to plague the Dubs, Andre Iguodala looks old, and the offense is still just mediocre.

Unlike the Warriors, the Clippers have looked mediocre so far. Chris Paul no longer looks like a dominant force at the point, and the wing positions continue to be a major source of concern, especially on defense. However, most of these faults should be mitigated by Blake Griffin's growth into one of the five most dominant players in the league on offense, flashing a complete offensive repertoire.

For all of the early concerns about the Cavs, no other team in the East looks primed to challenge for the top spot in the East. Sure, the Cavs may take a while to figure out David Blatt's system, especially on defense, but this team is too talented to not be an elite team. So far, we've seen flashes of brilliance from LeBron James and co., signalling great things to come.

Just like the Heat, the Rockets were predicted by many to regress due to the departure of Chandler Parsons. Well, it turns out Trevor Ariza might be a better fit for Houston. In addition, the Rockets' new supporting cast of Kostas Papanikolaou and Jason Terry are carrying the bench unit. With both James Harden and Dwight Howard playing even better than before, the Rockets look like an elite team.

Really? Did you think anyone else would be here? The Spurs are still the Spurs, and will be until Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili retire after their 329th championship together. While all other teams come with question marks in the early season, we've learned to never doubt the Spurs. They'll make you pay.