And now, for the inevitable...
| Rank | Team | Projected 2017-18 nERD | 2016-17 Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Charlotte Hornets | 54.9 | 36-46 |
| 9 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 55.9 | 31-51 |
| 8 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 56.1 | 47-35 |
| 7 | Boston Celtics | 58.6 | 53-29 |
| 6 | Toronto Raptors | 59.6 | 51-31 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Clippers | 63.5 | 51-31 |
| 4 | Houston Rockets | 67.9 | 55-27 |
| 3 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 69.9 | 51-31 |
| 2 | San Antonio Spurs | 70.5 | 61-21 |
| 1 | Golden State Warriors | 84.9 | 67-15 |
The Expected
The Warriors destroy everybody by a wide margin. End of discussion.
The Unexpected
So why the heck are the Charlotte Hornets ahead of Washington? Simple: nERD loves bigs, and this summer, the Bugs acquired a good one in Dwight Howard. Yeah, John Wall and Bradley Beal are expected to have fantastic years for the Wizards, but the numbers feel the Wiz can only go so far with Marcin Gortat in the middle.
nERD also feels that despite losing future Hall of Famer Chris Paul to conference rival Houston Rockets, the Los Angeles Clippers will thrive. If new arrivals Danilo Gallinari, Patrick Beverley, and Lou Williams can make some noise, so will the Clips.
Grabbing Jimmy Butler was a massive get for the Minnesota Timberwolves, but their leap into the top-10 of our power rankings is mind-blowing, considering their nERD score last year was a below-average 46.2. But with Butler, Jeff Teague, and Taj Gibson joining the team -- and with Karl-Anthony Towns expected to be among the elite players in the league -- numero nueve feels just about right.