The 2017-2018 NBA season starts on Tuesday, and it looks set to be a very interesting season. The 2017 offseason was probably the craziest in history as far as trades and players moving from team to team are concerned. Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward to the Celtics, PG and Melo to OKC, and Isaiah Thomas to the Cavs were all major moves for teams trying to compete with the practically unbeatable Golden State Warriors. That being said, here are my predictions for the 2017-2018 NBA playoff standings.

Western Conference

1) Golden State Warriors: 

Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green. Do I need to say more?

2) OKC Thunder:

The Thunder were the 6th seed last year but added two all-star caliber players to their team without giving much up. OKC is probably the biggest threat to Golden State

3) Houston Rockets:

Another team that added talent to their roster is the Rockets. They traded for All-Star Chris Paul. The question in Houston is how James Harden and CP3 will share the ball, but, in preseason, the pairing has looked quite good.

4) San Antonio Spurs: 

The Spurs have MVP candidate Kawhi Leonard as their main star. He led them to a 61 win season last year, which is very impressive as the team lacks another true star. The Spurs always seem to be high in these rankings, but offseason acquisitions from the Thunder and Rockets leave them falling as they failed to make a major move.

5) Minnesota Timberwolves: 

The Timberwolves traded for all-star Jimmy Butler this offseason without giving up anything of importance. Their new big 3 of Karl Towns, Andrew Wiggins, and Jimmy Butler will make them a tough team to beat out West.

6) Denver Nuggets:

The Nuggets added all-star Paul Millsap in free agency this summer, and they looked pretty solid in preseason. They will be a very tough matchup for anyone in the west (Excluding the over-powered Warriors).

7) Portland Trail Blazers: 

The duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum was able to launch the team to a 41-41 record last year, good enough for the 8th seed. CJ McCollum took a big step last year in becoming a true star, averaging 22 points per game. They got swept by the Warriors in the first round last year and did not make any big offseason moves, so I have them at the 7th seed only because the team below them lost one of their best players in Chris Paul to the Rockets.

8) LA Clippers: 

If they are the 8th seed, they will play the Warriors in the first round meaning they will almost surely get swept, but rookie signing Milos Teodosic from Europe has looked great in preseason with his passing skills so Clippers fans have something to be excited about.

Eastern Conference

1) Cleveland Cavaliers:

Last year the Celtics overtook the Cavs for the 1 seed, but this year I see the Cavs taking it back. They improved their roster this offseason by adding many great bench players and have maybe the deepest lineup in the league now. They added all-star Isaiah Thomas but lost another all-star Kyrie Irving to the Celtics. I see the Cavs defeating the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals and going to a fourth straight NBA Finals appearance against the Warriors.

2) Boston Celtics: 

The Celtics improved this offseason by adding two all-stars in Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward but lost star point guard Isaiah Thomas. The Celtics also had the Brooklyn Nets’ first round pick this year, where they selected Jayson Tatum with the 3rd pick in the draft. Tatum has potential to be a future all-star and is definitely someone you want to keep an eye on.

3) Washington Wizards: 

The leaders of the Wizards, John Wall and Bradley Beal both improved a lot last season. They took the Celtics to 7 games last year in the playoffs but failed to make any major moves in the offseason.

4) Toronto Raptors:

Stars Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors to the 3 seed last year but failed to perform in the playoffs, getting swept by Cleveland. I believe they will be in a close battle for the 3 seed in the East, with either side only missing out by only a few games.

5) Milwaukee Bucks: 

Giannis Antetokounmpo is the heart and soul of this Bucks team. Last year, he led them to the 6th seed, but Giannis only keeps getting better as a player, and the East is getting weaker. The Bucks could make a playoff run if Giannis is able to stay healthy.

6) Miami Heat: 

The Heat were terrible at the start of last season, but they turned it around after the All-Star Break. They failed to make the playoffs by a single game, but their play in the second half of last season would earn them a spot in the playoffs as high as the number 6 seed.

7) Charlotte Hornets: 

The Hornets are led by Kemba Walker who is hoping to finally make an All-Star appearance this season. The Hornets are a pretty mediocre team, but as I’ve said before, the Eastern Conference is pretty weak as of now, so teams like the Hornets will make the playoffs, but probably fail to accomplish anything there.

8) Detroit Pistons: 

The Pistons are another lousy team in the East. They are only in the playoffs because the teams worse than them are bad, and I mean really bad.

Photo Credit: http://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/09/carmelo-russell-westbrook-and-paul-george-already-have-their-own-okc-snapchat-filt