The 2019-2020 NBA season officially gets underway on Tuesday, October 22nd. It’s been another wild season of player movement, and the Northwest Division looks like it could be a fun one at the top.

SB Nation provided a full preview of the coming season, and that included each of the experts at SB Nation’s team sites offering projections for the 2019-2020 season. We’ll be breaking down each division with their win total projections compared to the preseason odds.

Utah Jazz: 57-35 — SLC Dunk

The Utah Jazz finish as the best team in the Western Conference at 57-35 and ultimately fall to the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference Finals as the star duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George just prove too much for the Utah Jazz. Vegas has Utah’s over/under at 53.5. That seems high, but Utah should have been above that last year with a weaker roster. The West is better, but so are the Utah Jazz. Don’t bet on the large market contenders, take the small market sleeping giant Jazz.

Denver Nuggets: 54-28 — Denver Stiffs

The Nuggets won 54 games in the regular season last year and added seven more in the playoffs. A team on the rise, Denver is poised for another 50+ win season and another playoff run. Slam the over on Denver as they are ready to compete again this season. With the majority of the roster returning to go along with additions like Jerami Grant and Michael Porter Jr., the Nuggets will surpass that 52.5 number set by the Vegas odds makers.

Portland Trail Blazers: 49-33 — Blazer’s Edge

I think the Blazers will marginally hit the over besting the 47.5 line. Last year, the Clippers grabbed the eighth seed with 48 wins, and the West only improved this summer. For Portland to make the postseason and ideally get home court advantage, they need to win more than 47 games. Western Conference matchups will be more difficult, but the Blazers compensated last season by dominating the East and should do so again this season. Plus, Lillard is against the idea of load management, so no games will be giveaways.

Minnesota Timberwolves: 38-44 — Canis Hoopus

This would mean the Wolves hit the over, which is set at 35.5 wins. It’s really a question of health. If Robert Covington, who missed much of last season with injury, plays 70+ games, I think they hit the over. If he doesn’t, they will struggle. Similarly they need Jeff Teague to stay healthy most of the year because they lack real depth at point guard. The irony is that it’s these two veterans who will have a lot to say about this year’s record, but it’s the development of the youngsters that really matters for the organization and it’s future.

Oklahoma Thunder: 26-56 — Welcome To Loud City

As of this moment the Thunder and projected to win 32.5 this coming season and I think they are going to come in lower than that. After the Thunder ship off a lot of the top tier talent for picks and younger players I think we’ll see them coming in around the 25-27 win mark. I’ll split the difference and say they land at 26-56 and end up with a top 5 pick in the draft.

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