At any given time, it's interesting to look back at people's predictions about the present. And with the basic end of this year's regular season, the team's record is fixed, if we look back at the prediction of espnon, the authoritative sports media ESPN in the United States, before the start of last year's season, I don't know if you remember it?
According to their predictions, the team rankings for this year's NBA regular season are as follows
Eastern Team:
1. Brooklyn Nets (58-24) 2, Milwaukee Bucks (57-25) 3, Philadelphia 76ers (50-32) 4, Miami Heat (49-33) 5, Atlanta Hawks (47-35) 6, Boston Celtics (45-37) 7, New York Knicks (44-38) 8, Charlotte Hornets & Chicago Bulls (40-42) 10, Indiana Pacers (40-42, winner-loser relationship) 11 Washington Wizards (36-46) 12, Toronto Raptors (35-47) 13, Cleveland Cavaliers (26-56) 14, Detroit Pistons (25-57) 15, Orlando Magic (22-60)
Western Teams:
1, Utah Jazz (55-27) 2, Los Angeles Lakers (53-29) 3, Phoenix Suns (51-31) 4, Denver Nuggets (50-32) 5, Dallas Mavericks (48-34) 6, Golden State Warriors (48-34) 7, Los Angeles Clippers (45-37) 8, Portland Trail Blazers (43-39) 9, Memphis Grizzlies (42-40) 10, New Orleans Pelicans (37-45) 11 Sacramento Kings (35-47) 12, San Antonio Spurs (34-48) 13, Minnesota Timberwolves (31-51) 14, Houston Rockets (22-60) 15, Oklahoma Thunder (22-60)
It's not hard to see that espnant champions hot contenders nets and Lakers, who were infinitely optimistic about the championship at the time, only played 43 wins and 38 losses this season, ranking eighth in the East, and even needed playoffs to compete for playoff spots. And the Lakers are even more outrageous, before the start of the season predicted 53 wins and 29 losses ranked second in the West, this season only played 32 wins and 49 losses, ranked 11th in the West, has been determined not to qualify for the playoffs, these two star-studded giants, ESPN can be described as completely blind, but at that time dared to argue that these two teams on the edge of the playoffs, how many people?
In addition, ESPN is also completely underestimated for these dark horse teams. First of all, let's look at the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers, a bottom-bottom team that is predicted to achieve only 26 wins, have reached the 7th position in the East by themselves this season, with a record of 43 wins and 38 losses, and it is entirely possible to enter the playoffs. The Raptors, who are predicted to have only 35 wins and 12th in the East, are even more outrageous, shooting 48-33 this season, ranking fifth in the East and confirming a playoff spot.
In the West, the Timberwolves, who are predicted to be the third-to-last in the West, with their own competitive performance, are currently 46 wins and 35 losses in the 7th place in the West, although they need to play the playoffs, but entering the playoffs may not be small; and the most outrageous is undoubtedly the Grizzlies, who were predicted by ESPN to still rank ninth in the West at the beginning of the season, playing a 55-25 loss in the Second Place in the West, and are currently one of the most champions.
In addition, the Suns, who reached the finals last year, were also completely looked down upon by the media, and they were predicted to be able to rank third in the West with only 51 wins, playing the best record in team history of 64 wins and 17 losses, ranking first in the league! It was almost a fault-type lead, and it could be said that it hit ESPN hard in the face. Another team is the Warriors, and even though Klay is only predicted to finish sixth in the West after his comeback, they have been at one point in the West this season and are currently third in the West with 51 wins and 29 losses. （ikuet）