The Western Conference is so ridiculously stacked, that honestly every seed besides #1 (which belongs to the Warriors) is debatable. Besides Golden State, no spot is guaranteed and the regular season will be as tough as the playoffs. Here is SneakerReporter.com’s predictions for the 2019 Eastern Conference standings.

1. Golden State Warriors – 65-17

This one’s easy. Golden State will dominate the regular season, even with DeMarcus Cousins missing the first half or so. They’ll dominate the playoffs too, and win another championship. It’s not even worth discussing, because you already know.

2. Houston Rockets – 60-22

Despite losing a few key pieces such as Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute, the Rockets will still be good enough to take the 2-seed again. Reigning MVP James Harden and Chris Paul are a great tandem and with big man Clint Capela being their defensive stronghold, Houston is all set. On the contrary, who knows how Melo will do there.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder – 54-28

Thunder fans rejoiced when they re-signed Paul George, and for more than one more season. He showed his loyalty, and his eagerness to get to work. He and Westbrook have unfinished business, especially after Andre Roberson went down with a knee injury prior to the playoffs. Steven Adams is a top-5 center, and Oklahoma City’s high level of talent is enough for the #3 seed.

4.Los Angeles Lakers – 53-29

The addition of LeBron James, although completely flipping the Lakers in the right direction, isn’t enough to take over the West. Their other players are still young (but very talented), and their other role players like Lance Stephenson and Javale McGee are solid. They should be able to make a deep playoff run, but they probably won’t be capable of topping the Warriors.

5. Portland Trail Blazers – 50-32

The Trail Blazers have underrated star Damian Lillard, who is capable of carrying a team himself. He’s got C.J. McCollum by his side, and Jusuf Nurkić in the paint. Nurkić is all-around dominant, and just 24. He’s still improving, as their whole roster is. They’ve got a great deal of talent throughout their entire roster, and they can take the 5-seed easily.

6. Utah Jazz – 47-35

Donovan Mitchell is good, but still needs some time before he can help Utah make a deep playoff run. In the regular season he and defensive stud Rudy Gobert can secure a solid playoff seed, and other strong pieces like Joe Ingles should continue to contribute well. Utah will be good for years to come.

7. San Antonio Spurs 46-36

The Spurs were just fine without Kawhi Leonard last year, so with a new face like DeMar DeRozan, they’ll be even better. Gregg Popovich is always capable of bringing a team to the playoffs, and they can still make it despite veteran Manu Ginobili having just announced his retirement. The Spurs have solid young guns as well as a great veteran presence, so they can yield the 7-seed with no issue.

8. Denver Nuggets – 43-39

Denver is in the exact same situation as the Jazz – they will be very good in the coming years. They have Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, Paul Millsap, Gary Harris, and a steal in Michael Porter Jr. He was picked 14th overall, despite being arguably the most talented player in the 2018 NBA Draft. The Nuggets will be able to scrape out a playoff spot, but it’ll be a little while before they’re a serious threat.

And about the bottom 7 teams…

9. New Orleans Pelicans – 42-40

10. Minnesota Timberwolves – 41-41

11. Dallas Mavericks – 35-47

12. Phoenix Suns – 34-48

13. Sacramento Kings – 30-52

14. Memphis Grizzlies – 25-57

15. Los Angeles Clippers – 22-60

The Eastern Conference is up for grabs, now that the Cavaliers have been weakened due to LeBron’s departure to Los Angeles. Next year’s playoffs will be a competitive one, but there are a few teams who stick out more than others. With that being said, here are our predictions for how the regular season will end up.

1. Boston Celtics – 62-20

The Celtics will presumably be healthy for the first time with their whole post-rebuild squad, which includes Kyrie, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward, Jayson Tatum, and Al Horford. That is a lot of talent, and if it weren’t for The King they’d have been in the Finals for the past two seasons. Brad Stevens is a brilliant coach, and there’s no doubt they’ll be the 1-seed.

2. Toronto Raptors – 58-24  

Kawhi Leonard on the Raptors means they are even better than before. His addition puts them on the Celtics’ tier, meaning they will make up the top seeds and have the deepest playoff runs. It’s too early to predict how good Toronto will be, but with Leonard, Lowry, and many other impressive pieces it is hard to believe they won’t be.

3. Philadelphia 76ers – 52-30

Philadelphia is still very young, but their raw talent is enough for the 3-seed. Embiid recently said he’s looking to have an MVP-type season, and we’ve got to believe him. He put up 22.9 points and 11.0 rebounds per game last year, and at 24 years old he’s just getting better. Reigning Rookie of the Year Ben Simmons will also have a big season, but they’re even deeper than that. Philly has former #1 pick Markelle Fultz, J.J. Redick, Dario Šarić and more.

4. Indiana Pacers – 50-32

After Victor Oladipo’s breakout season, it became apparent to everybody that Indiana was no joke. They took LeBron to Game 7 last year, and made a fantastic pickup in Tyreke Evans for the upcoming season. Myles Turner, Al Jefferson and Thaddeus Young are also important pieces for them, and they should easily be able to secure the #4 seed.

5. Milwaukee Bucks – 48-34

Giannis Antetokounmpo will continue to dominate on both sides of the ball, and honestly he’s the most likely MVP-candidate from the East. The Bucks did lose Jabari Parker, but picked up an important role player in Ersan İlyasova. Milwaukee will be decent, but no better than the 5-seed.

6. Washington Wizards 47-35

John Wall has been on an underachieving team for most of his career, but unfortunately the addition of Dwight Howard doesn’t change that. Despite being a definite first-ballot Hall of Famer, Dwight no longer is an impact player. Wall and Bradley Beal are a filthy duo, but they seem to lack surrounding pieces that could give them any better than the #6 spot.

7. Miami Heat – 42-40

The Heat are the only team on this list without any star players, yet are still capable of making the playoffs. They do have a lot of all-around talent though, which is why they are good. Hassan Whiteside is, despite what people say, can score the ball and be a good defender. Goran Dragić is solid, Tyler Johnson is very talented and Dion Waiters can step up in big moments. Not too bad.

8. Detroit Pistons 41-41

The Stan Van Gundy-less Pistons should be able to secure the final playoff seed, if you factor in their big men. Andre Drummond is an animal in the post, and Blake Griffin’s game is still evolving. That is arguably the best 4-5 duo in the entire league, and the best since Blake was in Los Angeles with DeAndre Jordan (oh, how times change). Stanley Johnson and Reggie Jackson are decent too, and Detroit really won’t be that bad.

And about the bottom 7 teams…

9. Cleveland Cavaliers – 38-44
10. Charlotte Hornets – 37-45
11. Chicago Bulls – 35-47
12. Orlando Magic – 34-48
13. Brooklyn Nets 29-53
14. New York Knicks 25-57
15. Atlanta Hawks – 17-65

This morning, news broke of new NCAA rules involving their amateur athletes, the NBA draft, and the signing of agents. With the new rules, players who enter the draft but go undrafted will be able to return to their respective school, something that wasn’t previously possible.

The other big change coming involves players who are classified as “elite” being able to hire an agent. This includes both high school and college players, which seemingly is leading the way for the return of players being eligible to be drafted out of high school. Prospects can sign with an agent starting July 1st prior to their final year of high school, and college players are able to sign following every season.

Players used to be eligible for the NBA Draft immediately out of high school, but this changed in 2005 when a new rule arose that required athletes to wait one year after graduating in order to be drafted. In recent years though, players like Anfernee Simmons and Thon Maker have been selected as Post-Graduate students, in which they had an extra senior year.

With the new rules announced today, many have began to suspect that Adam Silver will make a change within the next few years to get rid of the all too common one-and-done method that high-profile prospects do by playing a single college season before entering the draft.

The NCAA released that USA Basketball would be the party to determine if a prospect was “elite” or not, but NBA-insider Adrian Wojnarowski has reported that many are unhappy with the announcement as USAB had no prior knowledge of it. An ideal alternative would be where USAB hosts camps where the NCAA itself (or NBA scouts) will classify the participants, which makes way for international prospects such as R.J. Barrett who are unable to play for their teams.

The NBA and its Players’ Association haven’t agreed to the planned rule changes yet, which comes as a shock to many that the NCAA would release them without this step. The league’s spokesman Tim Frank said they “will review the NCAA’s planned reforms and continue to assess, along with our Players’ Association, the potential for any related NBA rules changes”.