NBA season preview: We slot the Timberwolves at 59 wins and best in the West. How many does every other team get?

Our team-by-team breakdown of the upcoming NBA season:

WEST

Timberwolves: 59-23 – A major bet on the offense breaking through in a big way with the arrival of sharpshooter Donte DiVincenzo, who appears to be way more than that.

Oklahoma City: 58-24 – Biggest threat to Boston’s reign with its depth of shooting and defense. New big man Isaiah Hartenstein figures to miss at least the first month of the season with a hand injury.

Phoenix: 51-31 – Signing veteran point guard Tyus Jones, an Apple Valley native, for the minimum was the steal of the summer. Monte Morris adds good point guard depth. and new coach Mike Budenholzer knows how to win regular-season games.

Denver: 51-31 – The preseason wasn’t pretty, the bench is limited and Jamal Murray still doesn’t look awesome. But Nikola Jokic sets a high floor by himself.

Dallas: 49-33 – Klay Thompson was the splash offseason, but Nnaji Marshall and Quentin Grimes were equally important in replenishing wing depth.

Memphis: 49-33 – Ja Morant is back and healthy. If the Grizzlies are whole, they’re good. Zach Edey’s play as a rookie could be an X-factor.

New Orleans: 45-37 – The trade for Dejounte Murray is still a head scratcher. There are a number of ball dominant players on the roster and not enough shooting. But Zion Williamson can look like the best player in the world when healthy, which he is to start the season.

Houston: 44-38 – A fun team from a year ago that figures to improve drastically year over year.

Sacramento: 43-39 – DeMar DeRozan’s arrival adds to an already potent offense. Kings figure to play many games in the 130s.

Lakers: 41-41 – J.J. Redick can talk basketball in an insightful way. We’re about to find out if he can coach it in the same manner. Can LeBron James and Anthony Davis stay healthy for another season? If not, the depth doesn’t exist to stem the tide.

Golden State: 37-45 – Added a bunch of quality role players in the offseason, including Kyle Anderson. But the unfairly heavy load is getting too large for Steph Curry to carry all season.

San Antonio: 34-48 – Victor Wembanyama will likely win the first of many Defensive Player of the Year awards this season. But the MVPs will have to wait until the Spurs build more around the Frenchman.

Clippers: 32-50 – No word on when Kawhi Leonard will play this season, and the rest of the roster can’t survive without him. But hey, the photos of the new arena look nice.

Utah: 29-53 – Win games early, decide to trade away many of the players helping the team win, tank to improve a draft pick from middle of the road to middle of the road, repeat.

Portland: 22-60 – Some intriguing young talent in Portland, but how many winners are on the roster?

EAST

Boston: 60-22 – Celtics have the depth and talent to win as many games as they would like to. But a championship hangover will surely lead to a few extra bad regular-season losses this time through.

Cleveland: 52-30 – The Cavs constantly face queries about their postseason potential, but no one questions their ability to win in the regular season.

New York: 51-31 – Karl-Anthony Towns fills New York’s desperate need at center. The Knicks sport an elite starting five. But the depth of this team is in serious question.

Indiana: 49-33 – A fun, run-and-shoot team that will have a healthy Tyrese Haliburton to start the season. Haliburton was special a year ago before injuries slowed him down.

Orlando: 48-34 – So good defensively. Ceiling will be determined by whether Paolo Banchero becomes a superstar and if Franz Wagner remembers how to shoot.

Philadelphia: 48-34 – Added Paul George, but the three-superstar model has yet to really come to fruition in the NBA, particularly in Year 1.

Miami: 47-35 – Seems like an angry, focused Jimmy Butler may appear this season. That version is one of the best players in the NBA. But will he bring it for the majority of the regular season?

Milwaukee: 46-36 – Damian Lillard didn’t look like an All-NBA player last season. If that doesn’t change this year, the Bucks trading for him will look like a franchise-sinking move.

Atlanta: 37-45 – Talented roster, but one that again doesn’t seem poised to defend much. Bound for another trip to the play-in tournament.

Charlotte: 31-51 – Believe it or not, if this scenario came to fruition, the Hornets would nab the final play-in spot as the best of the worst in the East.

Chicago: 28-54 – Will be interesting to see if Chicago just hands newly-acquired guard Josh Giddey the keys to be an on-ball general, and how many wins that leads to.

Detroit: 28-54 – Added some veterans, and Cade Cunningham does look like a star player in the making. Wolves fans will cheer on the Pistons in hopes of getting their first-round pick, which is top-13 protected this season.

Toronto: 26-56 – An expensive roster of middling players that don’t seem to fit well together. That NBA title feels like it was significantly more than five years ago.

Brooklyn: 21-61 – Ben Simmons will again start the year healthy, so that will at least be interesting. Has the talent to win more games than this, but not the incentive.

Washington: 13-69 – The only mission this season seems to be to best position itself to get incoming Duke forward Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 pick in next summer’s draft.

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