We don't really know what NZs situation will look like which makes it tough to predict them.

There’s probably four groupings:

Group A - Championship ready
1. Perth - until such time they don’t make the finals they shall be considered a finals team
2. Sydney - stacked
3. Hawks - until such time as a Goorj coaches team don’t make the finals they shall be considered a finals team

Group B - Contenders
4. Melbourne - lost some talent, gained Delly
5. New Zealand - full team all home games they’re stacked, if they are disadvantaged then they could finish anywhere 5-10

Group C - Challengers to scrape in
6. South East Melbourne - I had them top 4 last year and they got it done, so 6th looks like they are hard done by. They only slip because how do I put them above the reigning champs, a stacked nz side, a stacked Sydney side, forever in the finals Perth or Goorjs Hawks?
7. Adelaide - Money making Mitch, keeping Humphries and hopefully the right fitting imports, they could beat anyone anywhere. Watch for inconsistent play and a team trying to get its feet under a late starter new coach and defensive woes next to the basket when IH isn’t playing saviour.
8. Brisbane - Patterson at his best plus Sobey and they can beat anyone anywhere as well. No more Lemanis coaching magic.

Group D - Fighters
9. Cairns - Machado again must carry the weight of the town
10. Tasmania - new team has made a good splash, what will the imports deliver? Surely will surprise - but is that enough?

1. Sydney
2. Perth
3. SE Melbourne
4. Illawarra

5. New Zealand
6. Melbourne
7. Cairns
8. Adelaide
9. Brisbane
10. Tasmania

1. Kings
2. Hawks
3. Breakers
4. Wildcats

5. Phoenix (top-6 not officially out yet)
6. United

7. JackJumpers
8. Sixers
9. Taipans
10. Bullets

I may be too kind to New Zealand, but with their new additions of Wetzell, Siva and Martin, they will just make it, along with Perth. Unsure how the Wildcats will go with their new coach and their record of injuries.

United and Phoenix will make a hard run. Could of easily put both Melbourne teams in the top-4. Just not high on United only signing 1 import. Delly will be good but not sure if he can carry the team like Jock Landale did.

Phoenix have a solid crew, but it depends if Dane Pineau can replace Yanni. If Breakers season is affected I'll replace them with Phoenix if healthy.

Looks like most people agree who the top 6 teams are in varying order.

Any of the clubs would have a right to call BS on given the 5/6 slot but someone has to have it!

Lots rate SEM after last year, I had them 3rd or 4th last year and despite losing Sykes think they'll pull together another good year but I can’t find an argument to put them above the others. Maybe Melb fall back a little and NZ get screwed by covid again?

If you’re Brissy with Patterson/Sobey or Adelaide with MM/IH/DJ it’s pretty tough to swallow being rated 7-10 group.

Could be the closest year yet?

2016/17 season was the closest season in my eyes. Crazy to think Cairns finished in second place only in one round. United we're 3rd but dropped to 6th spot. The last two rounds of that season was crazy.

1. Hawks
2. Phoenix
3. Kings
4. Breakers
5. Wildcats
6. United
7. Taipans
8. 36ers
9. JackJumpers
10. Bullets

Its a bit sad when most predictions have Cairns, Tassie and Brisbane as no hope. Do we even have a salary cap anymore and if yes what is it.

Of the bookies are offering odds that reflect 460, Illawarra to make finals would be a safe bet.

Would even be worth sneaking a punt on them making GF.

Anonymous, your list is ridiculous and as for the tripe you write, Anonymous, can't believe you have the smarts to even read.

On the other hand, Anonymous was spot on with his list and if Anonymous switched his 3rd and 10th he'd be just on the mark.

Who is the idiot that has 6ers above SEM?

If fully fit, the Sixers will make the playoffs even if top 4.

The starting 5 is better than most provided the imports aren't duds.

If fully fit, the Sixers will make the playoffs even if top 4.

The starting 5 is better than most provided the imports aren't duds.

Way too early - when do pre-season games start?

In saying that Sixers to not make the playoffs seems a lock.

"provided the imports aren't duds."

Isn't that the question over most teams' new imports, every season? And this season, 5 new coaches, as well.

As Ket remarked, "Could be the closest year yet." Could therefore be the hardest to predict, too. Rabbits (out-of-the-hat), anyone?

Yes these are predictions not based on any available data, just that the Australian contingent has improved much from last year alone.

1 . Sydney - depth
2. Illawarra - again lots of depth
3. NZ
4. Perth

5. SE Melb
6. Melbourne
7. Brisbane
8. Adelaide
9. Cairns
10. Tasmania

Looking forward to the season, all hypothetical with a lot of teams having a lot to prove. Pre season kicking off on November 14 will be a good taster and look at new players / rosters.

1. Hawks - Coaching and depth. Trice would have made them just about a lock for #1, but I still think they get there.
2. Kings - great depth (especially once DJ is back), imports look good. Some ??? on frontcourt rotation and how much some of the new guys will be able to contribute.
3. Wildcats - on paper they are a step back from last season (minus Mooney), but good enough to make the top 4 still assuming the new regime carry over the toughness that has been a trademark of this team since forever.
4. Breakers - I think any of the next 3-4 teams could make the top 4. If the French duo are both solid and NZ gets their home games, I think they will make up for last year's disappointment and sneak in, but I think this spot will come down to the final game of the season.

---

5. Phoenix - Could easily finish as high as 2nd based on talent. We haven't really seen a player like Zhou Qi in our league with the way the game is played and called, he either dominates and the Phoenix are dangerous, or struggles to stay on the court in which case a lot depends on Broekhoff bouncing back, Munford being quality, and Creek keeping his name out of the press. Gliddon knocking down some shots would be good too.
6. United - You can't afford to take your foot off the gas and be cheap following a title and expect to make top 4. I love Delly, but United will be hoping he shows more than he did in Tokyo, because United appear to be a weapon or two short this season. I expect a year to recoop and not bleed cash on overpriced imports, before they go out and snag whichever imports have the biggest season for other teams in the NBL for 22/23.
7. Sixers - Added some bits and could be better than this - on paper they are probably better than United, but I expect the usual Adelaide shenanigans at some point and expect they underachieve.
8. Bullets - New coach and decent amount of talent, but unless the new coach is able to work out some of the kinks that have plagued the Bullets since re-entering the league, I think it's another disappointing season and time to look to rebuild.
9. Taipans - I think they'll be competitive and I respect Forde quite a lot after last year. Just hard to see them finishing above the other teams ranked higher on this list unless Forde is able to get more from Noi/Majok/Pinder. I think the imports are solid, but its going to come down to how well the locals can perform also with how deep the league continues to be.
10. JJs - I think they will be fun to watch, but they're going to have role players needing to take on probably bigger roles than you'd like (Weeks, Steindl, McVeigh, McDaniel). Goal should be to establish themselves and put bums in seats, and I think with the imports they've got that will be the case, I just don't think it will lead to too many wins year #1.

After #4 it feels like we are screwing each club by a few positions.

I'm high on NZ and SEM and couldn’t even fit them in my top 4.

SEM could improve.

1) Creek is free of off court complications.
2) Broekhoff has had time to recover and hopefully in a better space.
3) Le'Afa should improve with more minutes.
4) Their Chinese centre may be very good at this level.

Losing Wetzell, Sykes is a big out though.

What is Exum played?

[Why are people pickin sem, they are not any better than last season.]

Yeah, I mean, they were only 17 points up a the semi final decider...

Wait a second.

I expect the Hawks to go very well this year. Good squad and great coach. Just hope their fans really get behind them (assuming they're allowed to attend games)

Perth will be interesting, waiting to see how Scomo performs.

Qi and Pineau should be much better than Wetzell

Or Wetzell and Karena

There's several strong rosters and the bookie odds reflect this.

But only one of those rosters has the GOAT NBL coach. So my pick this year is the Hawks.

After that, it's very difficult picking the other top 4 teams.

"Qi has size compared to Yanni. I rate Phoenix over the Breakers any day. Where did the Breakers finish last season, Oh that's right 8th...

Breakers need to perform before any high expectations given to them."

The NZ Breakers weren't disadvantaged at all last season were they?

NZ know what they're in for at least this season, last season there was so much uncertainty and the league was adjusting on the fly.

Factor in that they will potentially have a full and balanced roster.
Last season Loe had just had a child and stayed in NZ for a large portion and WMW is with the team from the get go and no Fatterson stinking up the gym.
Peyton Siva is a stud import and Jeremiah Martin doesn't look terrible either.
Delaney was All NBL second team and Bach was solid and there won't be any offensive Black Holes with the surname Webster.

Not saying they're going to win it all as they're still up against it and a lot of teams have also improved their rosters but they are looking pretty stacked with talent.

Yeah everyone is quick to forget the Breakers had about the biggest disadvantage any team has had in the history of the league last season.

1. Illawarra
2. Sydney
3. Perth
4. Melbourne
5. New Zealand
6. S.E. Melbourne
7. Brisbane
8. Adelaide
9. Tasmania
10. Cairns

The NZ Breakers weren't disadvantaged at all last season were they?

Yeah everyone is quick to forget the Breakers had about the biggest disadvantage any team has had in the history of the league last season

Speaking of breakers - apparently Tai Webster is now vaccinated so he can play in Israel....

apparently Tai Webster is now vaccinated so he can play in Israel....

Tell me you're kidding.