Fansided

Picking every NBA over/under win total

By Brad Rowland

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) takes the court prior to the game against the Atlanta Hawks at the Cintas Center. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) takes the court prior to the game against the Atlanta Hawks at the Cintas Center. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports /
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New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) shoots the ball while Indiana Pacers forward Lavoy Allen (5) defends in the first quarter of the game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The New Orleans Pelicans beat the Indiana Pacers by the score of 110-105. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) shoots the ball while Indiana Pacers forward Lavoy Allen (5) defends in the first quarter of the game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The New Orleans Pelicans beat the Indiana Pacers by the score of 110-105. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /

New Orleans Pelicans – Over/Under 48.5 wins

The Pelicans are similar to the Bucks in that the hype has gotten out of control, and the buzz around New Orleans is even more unreasonable. Simply put, Anthony Davis is the best young player in the league, and it isn’t difficult to decipher the hype that he generates as it translates to the rest of his team. However, the roster isn’t really improved from a year ago, and Davis was already awesome in leading New Orleans to a playoff appearance.

Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans are very important if you think the Pelicans are going over this win total, and I don’t fully believe. Holiday just can’t seem to stay on the court, and even when he plays, his defensive upside can’t fully manifest if he isn’t healthy. Evans is a divisive figure who has almost become underrated while people bash him, but he can’t be a number two option on an upper-tier West team, so that’s scary.

With all of that out of the way, there is a path to New Orleans going over, and it includes health from Holiday (and Ryan Anderson) with some general improvement elsewhere. I don’t understand the direction of the front office in full, as they spent big on Omer Asik and Alexis Ajinca, but when you have Davis, nothing seems impossible. The smart play is the under, but feel free to stay away completely.

The Pick: Under (47-35)

New York Knicks – Over/Under 29.5 wins

I think this is a good line. On one hand, the addition of a healthy (we assume) Carmelo Anthony can’t be overstated, as he is still a very good NBA player despite his prominent flaws. Anthony is an elite scorer by any estimation, and New York was unwatchable offensively when he was injured last season. Unfortunately for the Knicks, though, the offense isn’t the only thing that I’m worried about here.

Robin Lopez will help immensely around the rim, but New York will still play a below-average defender at one forward spot with Anthony and at point guard with Jose Calderon. Beyond that, Arron Afflalo has slipped noticeably on defense in the recent past, and the depth really isn’t there, including rumors that Kristaps Porzyngis could start (!) at power forward right out of the gate.

The Knicks will be better than you think, but with Derek Fisher at the helm and uncertainty about the roster remaining, I can’t predict 30 wins.

The Pick: Under (28-54)

Next: Thunder and Magic

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