The 2024-25 NBA season is upon us!

It’s time for our annual tradition of previewing the season, division by division, by asking two very important questions for each team:

What’s the case for the Over?
What’s the case for the Under?

LET’S GET IT.

5. Los Angeles Clippers — 35.5 wins

Paul George left for Philly and Kawhi is already out indefinitely. By gawd, that’s James Harden’s music.

What’s the Case for the Over?

There is absolutely no incentive to tank. In fact, the opposite is true here.

Kawhi, although currently dealing with his usual unavailable to play issues, is still one of the best two-way players in the league when he’s on the court.
Harden is still very capable of being THE system as he likes to put it. He’s going to have all the room to cook.
Norm Powell can get some more run. A perennial Sixth Man of the Year candidate, Powell can start, put up some more shot attempts and score 20+ points a game.
Remember Terance Mann’s 39-point game in the playoffs vs. the Jazz? (How the hell was that 3.5 years ago!?)
Mo Bamba in LA! 35-year-old Nic Batum is BACK. So is 39-year-old P.J. Tucker! (Wait, P.J. Tucker wasn’t a Clipper before last season? Coulda fooled us.) The Clips have also taken fliers on some of the problematic sons of the NBA: KPJ, Josh Primo and Kai Jones.

For as bland of a season as they had last year, the Clippers still somehow managed to find a way to ironically go Over.

What’s the Case for the Clippers Under?

This number has already dropped considerably.

Kawhi starting the season down and out is not great, Bob!
Harden-ball in the Year 2024-25 of our basketball gods. Sweet jebus.
What knockdown 3-point shooting does this team have?
They want to be a more defensive-oriented team… but with Harden at the helm? There is a leadership structure here that feels lackluster.

The Clippers haven’t won fewer than 40 games since the 2010-11 season (!!).

Final Clippers Prediction: At least the new stadium is super cool! Under 35.5 wins.

4. Los Angeles Lakers — 43.5 wins

J.J. Redick, The Lake Show is in your hands.

What’s the Case for the Over?

When LeBron, AD and Rui played together last season, the Lakers went 34-19 — good for a 53-win pace.

The King and The Brow looked great in the Olympics and they got that sweet taste of winning again. LeBron is an ageless wonder and AD still wreaks havoc on defense nightly. Both have been healthy! (Knocking on all the wood.)
It was the litany of injuries to the role players that held the Lakers back last season. The lack of continuity and stability within the lineups. (And the lack of competence from Darvin Ham.)
J.J. is already going with the correct starting lineup: D-Lo, Reaves, Rui, LeBron and AD. Reaves was an Iron Man last season and has room to grow with J.J. guiding him.
Did you see Dalton Knecht light the preseason on fire in that Suns game!? He was draining 3s left and right and scored 20 straight points. He could be the real deal shooter that this team needs.
What if Cam Reddish finally puts it together? We’ve been asking that for about 5 years now, but old habits die hard.

A deep cut: Christian Koloko thunderous blocks back in Toronto were a league pass treat we haven’t forgotten. And how awesome is the Quincy Olivari story!? There are some good vibes here.

What’s the Case for the Lakers Under?

LeBron and AD both played 71+ games last year and the Lakers only managed 47 wins.

Getting that kind of repeat health for a guy turning 40 and a guy previously thought to be made of glass seems unlikely.
Redick is a first-year head coach in the game’s biggest market under the media’s most scrutinized microscope.
The Bronny Circus and hysteria simply ain’t helping things. It’s a cool story, but it probably is not adding up to any wins.
The Lakers have gone Under in four straight seasons.

This number of 43.5 for the Lakers seems pretty low. Like Vegas bait.

Final Lakers Prediction: You know already know what it is. Over 43.5 wins.

3. Golden State Warriors — 43.5 wins

We always said that the Warriors dynasty couldn’t be declared dead so long as Steph, Klay and Draymond were repping the blue and gold. The time has officially come at long last.

What’s the Case for the Over?

It was time to move on and the both parties will be better for it.

Steph, as he showed the entire planet in the Olympic Gold Medal Game, is very capable of still going Supernova Mode at any given moment.
The Steph and Draymond 2-man game is still at it. With Steph and Dray last season, the Warriors had a 31-21 record — on a 49-win pace.
Veterans have arrived! Kyle Anderson and De’Anthony Melton are the exact type of plug and play type of players the Dubs have needed for years now.
Podz showed great promise as a rookie. Kuminga made strides last season. Moody flashed some promise. Even TJD was ballin for a bit.
If you had to replace Klay’s 3-point shooting, then Buddy Hield, one of the best high-volume shooters in the history of the game, would be the one to do it.

The Warriors could be more whole this season from a health standpoint. Wiggins and GP2 (and Draymond but for a different kind of health) missed a lot of games last season.

What’s the Case for the Warriors Under?

It’s going to be weird and wacky without Klay.

If Steph misses time, there is not much room for error here. He also did have a slight dip last season and other than the last two Olympics games, he struggled.
The Warriors are also always at a severe disadvantage anytime Draymond misses games for whatever the reason might be. His gasket has not gotten any better as he’s gotten older.
The depth toward the end of the bench on this team seems to be lacking compared to a lot of other teams.
Everyone appears to have turned on Steve Kerr. When there is a riff with the coach, things can get rocky real quick.

This team straight up missed the playoffs season. That seems worth mentioning.

Final Warriors Prediction: We like the vets they added too much. Over 44.5 wins.

2. Sacramento Kings — 46.5 wins

DeRozan’s next stop is the Sac to light the beam.

What’s the Case for the Over?

The Kings won 46 games last year and replaced Harrison Barnes with DeMar DeRozan.

Sacramento now has the two marquee clutch players in the game in Fox and DeRozan. A lot of pressure was riding on Fox late in games last year and DeRozan will alleviate that.
DeRozan has also played on enough teams with different styles to be able to mesh here right away. A true professional. The master of the midrange!
Sabonis has another offensive weapon to utilize on offense.
Keegan Murray and Malik Monk heat checks! YES PLEASE.
We always appreciated Jordan McLaughlin’s underrated efforts in Minny. He’s a solid guy to have coming off the bench.

Somehow, over the last 19 games of last season, the Kings were 3rd in defense. If they can build on that.

What’s the Case for the Kings Under?

Defensively… Eh! We still don’t fully buy it.

It’s fair to be concerned about the defense, especially stopping bigger teams from having their way with them.
The backup big situation is rather dire. Forgive us but we’ve never been moved by Alex Len.
The Kings are without rookie Devin Carter for several more months after summer surgery to repair a torn labrum.
There are some WHO HE!? characters here… Colby Jones, Orlando Robinson, Terry Taylor, Brodric Thomas…. If we don’t know, that’s saying something.

The Kings record last season against teams .500 and above: 25-31.

Final Kings prediction: Feels like we have too many Overs — puck it we ball. Over 46.5 wins.

1. Phoenix Suns — 47.5 wins

Last we saw them, they were getting embarrassed by the T-Wolves in the playoffs.

What’s the Case for the Over?

The roster improved around the edges and KD and Book grew together at the Olympics.

Book was the unsung hero in France and he was learning from the best in the game every day. The chemistry with KD will be at an all-time high.
Bradley Beal.. If he cares at all, he has got to feel like he has everything to prove. Because he does.
Tyus Jones is exactly what this team needed. A point guard to set the table when the table needs setting.
Other no-nonsense vets include: Monte Morris, Royce O’Neale and Mason Plumlee. And did you see Ryan Dunn in the preseason!?
Coach Bud is a fantastic regular season coach. Say what you will about the playoffs as we all have, but the regular season is a different story.

The Suns were the worst 4th quarter team in the NBA last season and they still won 49 games.

What’s the Case for the Suns Under?

The Suns will have the long game in mind, wanting to prioritize being ready for the playoffs.

If it starts out badly… who knows with KD’s history…
It honestly doesn’t seem like Bradley Beal cares at all.
Nurkic shooting 3s doesn’t seem like the best idea. Nurkic at all is our least favorite part of this team.
Defensively, there are still plenty of questions to be had.

KD’s bill of health hasn’t exactly been clean and the same goes for Booker and Beal. Seems kind of important.

Final Suns Prediction: Another one where everyone is on it. What could go wrong? Over 47.5 wins.

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Season Preview Division by Division

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