NBA Predictions: December 21st updated 2020-21 NBA win total projections

<span class="call_to_action">Related Story:</span> NBA Power Rankings: Preview the Los Angeles Lakers and the rest </a> </div> </div> <p>While off the floor, the league will have a lot to figure out, the on-court product is what we’ll focus on here as we get started on <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/01/nba-predictions-2020-21-win-total/"https://hoopshabit.com/">Hoops Habit</a>‘s 2020-21 season’s win totals for all 30 teams. In spite of the fact that only a few teams had cap space going into the offseason, there was plenty of movement around the league with players like Gordon Hayward and Chris Paul changing teams, and the landscape looks very different from what we saw last season.</p> <p>We’ll go alphabetically and break down each team’s predicted win total and conference standing, and then we’ll overview each conference outlook with each team in standings order by their total number of wins. And remember, the NBA will be playing a 72-game season.</p> <p>Without further ado, let’s get started on the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/01/nba-predictions-2020-21-win-total/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Win totals for the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_416761" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/01/nba-predictions-2020-21-win-total/"https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/imagn-images/2017/07/14010237.jpeg"> <span class="call_to_action">Related Story:</span>&nbsp;Heat: Creating a trade proposal for James Harden </a> </div> </div> <h2>Charlotte Hornets</h2> <p><em>Projected wins: 23 (-3)</em></p> <p><em>Eastern Conference standings: 13th (previously 12th)</em></p> <p><em><strong>What changed:&nbsp;</strong></em>Gordon Hayward has been day-to-day with a fractured finger, and while he may be back in time for the season opener, he likely won&#8217;t be at full strength for some time.</p> <p>The Charlotte Hornets thought they were going for it this offseason but really didn&#8217;t do much outside of short-circuiting their own rebuild. They signed Gordon Hayward to a ridiculous three-year, $120 million contract and had to waive and stretch the final year (worth $27 million) of Nicolas Batum&#8217;s equally ridiculous contract to do it. The Hornets have LaMelo Ball, and that&#8217;s nice, but Michael Jordan&#8217;s team won&#8217;t accomplish much by trying to be competitive this way. They think they&#8217;re going to be good, but they&#8217;re going to be pretty bad. And that makes everything about this so much worse.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/01/nba-predictions-2020-21-win-total/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span>&nbsp;Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_416764" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/01/nba-predictions-2020-21-win-total/"https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/imagn-images/2017/07/14168326.jpeg"> <span class="call_to_action">Related Story:</span>&nbsp;Pistons: 5 takeaways from their chaotic and bizarre offseason </a> </div> </div> <h2>Golden State Warriors</h2> <p><em>Projected wins: 37 (-1)</em></p> <p><em>Western Conference standings: 9th</em></p> <p>The Golden State Warriors have perhaps the highest potential for variance of any team in the league. If <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/01/nba-predictions-2020-21-win-total/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/curryst01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">Stephen Curry</a> gets hurt again, the Warriors may not win a game without him. If he has another MVP-level season, Draymond Green decides to try, Andrew Wiggins cuts the mid-range and figures things out, James Wiseman ends up being a standout rookie and Kelly Oubre Jr. gets unlocked by his All-Star teammates, on the other hand, the Warriors may end up with homecourt advantage for a round or two in the playoffs. That&#8217;s probably the ceiling without Klay Thompson though.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/01/nba-predictions-2020-21-win-total/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span>&nbsp;Houston Rockets and Indiana Pacers </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_416777" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/01/nba-predictions-2020-21-win-total/"https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/imagn-images/2017/07/14732874.jpeg"> <span class="call_to_action">Related Story:</span> Lakers: 3 remaining free agents to target </a> </div> </div> <h2>LA Clippers</h2> <p><em>Projected wins: 46</em></p> <p><em>Western Conference standings: 3rd</em></p> <p>The LA Clippers had quite an interesting offseason themselves. They lost Montrezl Harrell and Landry Shamet, but they acquired Serge Ibaka and Luke Kennard AND got the Detroit Pistons to throw four second-round picks into the deal as a sweetener. They also swapped out Doc Rivers at head coach for Ty Lue, and after Doc’s repeated playoff failures, it’s not hard to see that as a step up. What matters most is that the Clippers still have Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and as always, they’ll go about as far as that duo can carry them in the playoffs.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/01/nba-predictions-2020-21-win-total/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Memphis Grizzlies and Miami Heat </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_416785" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/01/nba-predictions-2020-21-win-total/"https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/imagn-images/2017/07/13803813.jpeg"> <span class="call_to_action">Related Story:</span>&nbsp;Knicks: 3 players that must be traded away </a> </div> </div> <h2>New York Knicks</h2> <p><em>Projected wins: 25</em></p> <p><em>Eastern Conference: 13th</em></p> <p>The New York Knicks should be in their familiar spot this season, at or near the basement of the Eastern Conference. They had a subtle and quiet offseason, but they avoided big splurge overpays when other bottom-feeding teams like the Charlotte Hornets and Detroit Pistons simply couldn&#8217;t help themselves. It may not be particularly exciting to behold, but there&#8217;s something to be said for being a bad team with some patience and vision.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/01/nba-predictions-2020-21-win-total/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span>&nbsp;OKC Thunder and Orlando Magic </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_416789" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/01/nba-predictions-2020-21-win-total/"https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/imagn-images/2017/07/13943693.jpeg"> <span class="call_to_action">Related Story:</span>&nbsp;Sixers: Ranking their projected starting 5 </a> </div> </div> <h2>Phoenix Suns</h2> <p><em>Projected wins: 39 (-1)</em></p> <p><em>Western Conference standings: 8th (previously 6th)</em></p> <p>The Phoenix Suns really went for it this offseason. After coming up just short of the Western Conference play-in game following a perfect 8-0 run in the NBA bubble, they made the most of their momentum by trading for Chris Paul and signing Jae Crowder, Langston Galloway and E&#8217;Twaun Moore. By any measure, it was a successful offseason. It won&#8217;t propel them into title contention, but they might push for homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs at the very least.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/01/nba-predictions-2020-21-win-total/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span>&nbsp;Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_416798" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/01/nba-predictions-2020-21-win-total/"https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/imagn-images/2017/07/14156906.jpeg"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span>&nbsp;NBA free agency tracker: Grades for every deal </a> </div> </div> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">