2. Win 50 games
Last year, the San Antonio Spurs only won 47 games. The last time the Spurs won fewer than 50 games (or its winning percentage equivalent) was 1997, before they had Tim Duncan. Their consistent organizational success is basically unprecedented in any of the major American sports, with the New England Patriots being perhaps the only rival.
It might seem like replacing nine games of Leonard with a full season of DeMar DeRozan should equal at least an extra three wins, but things aren’t quite so simple. Nearly every Western Conference team got better in the offseason, and every game will be a challenge.
The Spurs dependably win the games they are supposed to win, and it’s rare that a bad team will upset them. Their execution and discipline is simply too great for outmatched teams to compete. However, there won’t be a ton of easy games this year.
Last year, the Portland Trail Blazers were the third seed with only 49 wins. The conference was always really just a two-horse race between the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors.
This year, there should be some more parity; the Rockets probably got a bit worse, and teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz have gotten better. Still, it’ll be hard for the Spurs to win many more games than last year. Even though the Spurs have improved, so have most other teams.