The Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia 76ers are among the overrated teams in the 2016-2017 regular season.
The Westgate Las Vegas Superbook announced its projected win totals of each NBA teams for the upcoming season, which may have predicted what many fans and pundits already have in mind. The Warriors, who won an NBA record 72 regular games last season, are still touted to finish at the top with 66.5 wins, while the 76ers, who finished at the bottom of the league standings with a 10-72 record, are listed to record 27.5 wins.
While these are merely preseason predictions, Matt Medley of Amico Hoops believes the numbers given to the Warriors and 76ers could be a little over-the-top and may have overrated the two aforementioned teams.
The Warriors have created a very formidable lineup that could certainly challenge the Cleveland Cavaliers for the NBA championship. After losing to the Cavs in the NBA Finals, the Warriors revamped their roster by adding Kevin Durant and a handful of veterans in David West and Zaza Pachulia in hopes of winning the title back to the Bay Area.
However, while the Warriors may arguably have the strongest starting lineup on paper, they aren't expected to immediately yield good results, especially with three All-Stars wanting to shoot the ball.
"The Warriors will almost certainly win the Western Conference. It's just a matter of how long it will take chemistry to develop with some of the new faces," Medley wrote. "My feeling is the Warriors will be somewhere around 25-27 wins at the midway point and then start to cruise through the second half, finishing close to 60 wins."
Durant gives the Warriors another offensive threat, a prolific scorer who can make his own shots. But his arrival would likely force Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to adjust into a new role. Nevertheless, it would be intriguing to see Golden State's star-studded lineup play this season.
Meanwhile, the 76ers should see an improvement to their record this season, with the franchise finally looking to head into the right direction. After selecting Ben Simmons as first overall in this year's NBA draft, the 76ers were able to bolster their young roster with Joel Embiid and Dario Saric set for their debut.
But even with a promising core of young talents, the 76ers still aren't expected to win that much even on a losing record of 28 wins.
"To believe that they are going to improve 18 full games, with a rookie Ben Simmons as the biggest improvement on the roster, seems far-fetched. They are definitely heading in the right direction, but it's going to take some time for Simmons to grow in this league and I don't expect many wins right out of the gate," Medley noted.
To be fair, the 76ers look like they could actually reach the predicted winning mark for them, but it would depend on how Brett Brown could handle and develop the team's youngsters.
Like the Warriors, it would be intriguing to see the 76ers' young talents take over Philly, but any hopes of them instantly becoming a winning team is far-fetched.