Picking every NBA over/under win total

Chicago Bulls – Over/Under 49.5 wins

Fred Hoiberg isn’t Tom Thibodeau and that might be a good thing. To be fair, Thibodeau served as one of the best defensive coaches in the NBA during his tenure in Chicago, but his management style was interesting at best and miserable at worst, and offensively, the Bulls never seemed to expand in a way that satisfied the fan base.

Enter Hoiberg, who has a full complement of healthy options to work with in his first season. Derrick Rose may not be Derrick Rose anymore, but with the leap Jimmy Butler made and the improvement of Nikola Mirotic, I don’t see a healthy way in which the Bulls can win less than 50 games in the Eastern Conference. Something to watch, though, is what happens with the duo of Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah.

The Pick: Over (54-28)

Cleveland Cavaliers – Over/Under 57.5 wins

I really don’t like this line at all, so my advice is to stay far away. With that said, Cleveland is easily (and I mean, easily) the best team in the Eastern Conference, and they should cruise to the top seed. What that means, however, is that there is a possibility that the Cavs could coast down the stretch, limiting their win total upside, and with Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert on the shelf to begin the year, a slow start could be in the cards as well.

Having LeBron helps, but there are some question marks in terms of the regular season. I wouldn’t fault anyone for going under on this team given the injuries to Irving and Shumpert in addition to the fact that LeBron seems content to go half-speed at times during the regular season these days, but for me, the over is the play if forced to choose a side.

The Pick: Over (58-24)

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