Barring something completely unforeseen, at least one Western Conference playoff team from a year ago is going to fall out in 2019-20 to make room for the Los Angeles Lakers. The way it’s looking, the Oklahoma City Thunder look like the likeliest candidate after the trade of Paul George and all the talk that Russell Westbrook could soon be on the move, as well. Trying to make any kind of educated prediction as to what the 1-8 seeds will look like is a far more difficult task. Things are a big clearer in the East, at least at the top.
So, let’s take a shot at this. With free agency all but behind us and most of the rosters close to finished, here are the 2019-20 NBA playoff seed and win total predictions for each conference.