Warriors not thinking of matching wins record
7. Minnesota — It’s time for the Timberwolves to break through, and with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins the best is yet to come.
8. Memphis — New coach Fizdale gets $153 million man Mike Conley to run his offense, which is quite the perk for any rookie head coach. IN THE MIX
9. Dallas — Dirk Nowitzki is 38 years old and still averages 18 points per game. Big question: How will Harrison Barnes handle being a max guy?
10. Houston — Questions about defense are the only reason why the Rockets aren’t higher. If — if — what D’Antoni does works, look out.
11. New Orleans — The Pelicans are already ailing, and the season hasn’t even started. Keeping Anthony Davis on the floor is an absolute must. FACING LONG ODDS
12. Sacramento — The Kings’ new arena is fantastic and DeMarcus Cousins is a superstar, though his new love for 3s actually helps defenses.
13. L.A. Lakers — The last season in which the Lakers were without Bryant was 1995-96. How long ago? Magic Johnson was on that team.
14. Denver — Danilo Gallinari is 28, and he’s one of the oldest guys on this rebuilding team. Rookie Jamal Murray might be a big hit in Denver.
15. Phoenix — The Suns haven’t been to the playoffs in six seasons, and that streak seems likely to reach seven. Earl Watson has a tough job. WHAT TO KNOW
■ SPURS FOR 50: The Spurs won 50 games in each of Duncan’s seasons (excluding the 1998-99 season, which was only 50 games). Duncan might be retired, but the Spurs still seem like a lock not just to win 50 again but also reach the playoffs for what would be the 20th straight season and the 27th time in the past 28 years.
■ BEAT THE EAST: The elite teams in the West feasted on Eastern Conference teams last season. Oklahoma City went 18-12 against the East, the Clippers went 22-8, the Spurs were 24-6 and the Warriors were 27-3 — that is, until the NBA Finals, when they went 3-4 against Cleveland.
■ STRANGE SEASON: Houston got in the playoffs last year at 41-41. Don’t expect that to happen again. The last time a .500 record was good enough for a spot in the West postseason bracket was 1999. Since then, there have been 14 seasons in which a team went .500 or better and still missed the West playoffs.
■ YOUNG MVPs: There have been plenty of instances of two former Most Valuable Players being on the same team, but the pairing of Durant and Stephen Curry in Golden State marks the first time it has happened when both players were under 30. It’s also the first time back-to-back MVPs (Durant in 2013-14, Curry in 2014-15) became teammates since Charles Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon did in Houston in the mid-1990s.
■ POWER PACKED: Over the past five seasons, the teams with the most regular-season wins, in order, are San Antonio (292), Oklahoma City (266), the Clippers (262) and Golden State (261) — all West teams. Eastern Conference club Miami is No. 5 in that span with 251.