Ranking every NBA team by tiers, part 2

The play-in battle and below.

Part 2! Here are the other 13 NBA teams, who project to be scrapping in the play-in area or below:

Fighting to get out of the play-in

LA Clippers

It’s going to be the James Harden experience in LA. Kawhi Leonard is already hurt. With no Paul George, Harden will have the Clippers’ regular cast of role players (plus Derrick Jones Jr.) surrounding him.

It will be tough for this team to hang around in the Western Conference’s cutthroat playoff mix. If Kawhi gets healthy for a long stretch and plays well, like last season, then they could threaten teams on some nights.

I hope they play Kris Dunn, one of the league’s best defensive guards.

Atlanta Hawks

It’s the Trae Young solo show again! He has led elite offenses before and he could do it again. But with Dejounte Murray gone, there’s a talent drain here. They were rough defensively last year and I don’t see how they move that needle. They’re in no-man’s-land as a franchise.

Jalen Johnson is a high-flier and a fascinating complement to Young. Dyson Daniels brings his frantic point-of-attack defense. Zaccharie Risacher is the number-one overall pick, in case you forgot.

Houston Rockets

The Rockets, after years of good drafting and aggressive free agency moves, are sitting on an entire roster of good, solid NBA players. Many of those are young with a wide range of possible outcomes (Cam Whitmore, Jalen Green, Amen Thompson, among others), but coach Ime Udoka has some tough decisions to make.

They should take another step forward. Alperen Sengun is a legit star, an offensive hub who can mash people in the post. Their bench mobs, led by Thompson and Whitmore, are filled with youth and explosiveness — must watch TV — and Green is liable to do anything you could imagine in any given game.

There are puzzles to decipher here, and endless long term questions. But with Udoka’s coaching, especially defensively, there’s more of a high immediate ceiling here than they get credit for.

Golden State Warriors

Similar to Houston, the Warriors are flush with depth. But that depth is mostly of the “average-ish NBA player” variety alongside Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, and there is less of the high upside that populates the Rockets’ roster.

Golden State has the same problem as last year: Beyond Curry, there is no real second offensive option. They are a good team in many other ways. Green remains an excellent defender and can lead them to competency on that end. Curry warps opposing defenses and opens opportunities for everybody. The role guys fill in; Brandin Podziemski slides right into Steve Kerr’s system.

But Golden State needs either Andrew Wiggins or Jonathan Kuminga to take the mantle of a second option. Otherwise, they’ll be struggling to keep up with the West’s depth of talent.

San Antonio Spurs

Victor Wembanyama has arrived, and the Spurs appear to have given him an actual roster this time. Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes are here as seasoned vets to (hopefully) eliminate the dead minutes of borderline pros that hurt them last season. Wembanyama should now play all of his minutes with either Paul or Tre Jones, two pass-first traditional points guards.

To break into the play-in race, they’ll need a leap from a healthy Devin Vassell, who is reportedly out at least until Nov 1. Vassell is key as an off-the-dribble scorer and pick and roll partner with Wemby.

They have long-term questions to answer with the fit of Jeremy Sochan and Keldon Johnson.

If things break right

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls seem to finally know they’re not a real playoff contender, but Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic are still here because they have no trade value. They will now give the keys to Josh Giddey, a profoundly unusual player. The Bulls get to test how an offense looks based around Giddey’s orchestral passing.

Lonzo Ball appears to be coming back. Coby White has ascended. The Bulls hope that Patrick Williams lives up to the massive contract he got this offseason. I’m skeptical.

Detroit Pistons

With some good role players and shooters here now (Tobias Harris, Simone Fontecchio, Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr.), Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey should have a more functional environment than last year’s dumpster fire.

Cunningham is legitimately good, a three-level scorer who can handle a big burden. Jalen Duren, the talented young center, has to figure out how to play NBA defense. Ausar Thompson is a horrible shooter but an out-of-this-world defender. With a surprising amount of depth, new coach JB Bickerstaff has a lot of potential lineup combinations to use.

No more Isaiah Stewart at the four, please.

Portland Trail Blazers

This is one of the funkier rosters in the league. They have to figure out what to do with their three guards (Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe) and three centers (Deandre Ayton, Robert Williams III, Donovan Clingan). Sharpe can jump out of the gym, but is already hurt. Henderson has a lot to prove.

They have an interesting collection of forwards who can defend. Deni Avdija is a real piece on a good team. Matisse Thybulle deflects everything and blocks shots from weird angles. They won’t be good, but Chauncey Billups has plenty of stuff to figure out.

Toronto Raptors

Another middling Eastern Conference team, but one that should play an interesting style. Immanuel Quickley darting side to side and orbiting around Scottie Barnes could make for a good offensive foundation. RJ Barrett seems to have found his happy medium as an opportunistic cutter.

Coach Darko Rajakovic has creative offensive and defensive schemes. They have pieces: Gradey Dick is your classic movement shooter; Davion Mitchell and Ochai Agbaji heat up opposing ball-handlers; Kelly Olynyk and Bruce Brown will make things happen off the bench. Not great, but not bad.

Utah Jazz

We’ve seen proof that coach Will Hardy can produce a roster that’s more than the sum of its parts. He runs one of the best offensive systems in the league.

There is talent here, led by Markkanen and the excellent young center Walker Kessler. I’m intrigued by some of the younger pieces who will get lots of chances — Keyonte George, Taylor Hendricks, Brice Sensabaugh. Johnny Juzang is a deadeye shooter, and Jason Preston is a sneaky good passer.

Charlotte Hornets

They might — might! — be a little better this season. When LaMelo Ball is out there, he is a show, one of the most creative players in the NBA. As ever, he will try to balance his inclination toward being a carnival act with driving winning.

Brandon Miller is legit, a seamless secondary scorer who would fit well in an up-tempo LaMelo-led offense like the one that looked great three years ago. A healthy Mark Williams could finally give them a good center. Their bench is quietly pretty interesting.

Tankfest

Brooklyn Nets

There is an unusually deep cast of tankers this year, but the Nets take the cake. They still have some good role players around for the moment — Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Nic Claxton — but they are impossibly thin everywhere else.

The Cam Thomas-Dennis Schroder backcourt is not for the faint of heart. Their bench disintegrates once you get past Ben Simmons (yikes). Jalen Wilson? Trendon Watford, anybody?

Ziaire Williams was a good flier and I think he can still be a good player.

Washington Wizards

Like last year, they will not be stopping anybody on defense. But with Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly, and Bub Carrington, there is legitimate young talent to keep an eye on. Coulibaly can hang as a stopper against the league’s best. Sarr is a mystery box.

There’s a Jordan Poole reclamation angle here. Things will get bleak fast when Jonas Valanciunas, Malcolm Brogdon, and potentially Kyle Kuzma are gone via trade. I’m fascinated by Johnny Davis, their former first round pick who has shown zero aptitude on an NBA court in two years.