The Waiver Wire

Does Andre Iguodala make the Nuggets title contenders?

Leading up to the NBA season, Mike Aurigemma and Vinny Ginardi will take a look at this year’s over/under win totals for each team, by division.

Denver Nuggets (Last year’s record: 38-28; Total: 49.5)

Mike Aurigemma:  Andre Iguodala is the perfect fit for this team.  They needed someone who could get up in someones face and defend them on each play.  Iguodala does just that, but more importantly is he is an excellent offensive player in transition.  We all know the Nuggets like to get up and down the floor and with the addition of one of the most explosive players on the break with Iguodala, we should expect more of the same.  Verdict: Over

Vinny Ginardi: I love love love this team. As Mike mentioned, Iguodala makes this team that much better and Javale McGee showed last year that he can produce as long as he has head on straight. Ty Lawson has become one of the league’s best point guards, and like last season, this Denver squad is incredibly deep. Should be a fun team to watch. Verdict: Over

Minnesota Timberwolves (Last year’s record: 26-40; Total: 39.5)

MA:  Health is one thing that could stop the Timberwolves from even thinking about fighting for the playoffs this year.  With Kevin Love already declared out the first month of the year and Ricky Rubio not back yet from his ACL injury, things could get off to a really rough start.  I loved the additions they made with Brandon Roy, Andrei Kirilenko and Dante Cunningham as role players.  The problem is that the stars that those players are supposed to surround will not be there.  I cannot see them recovering from that at the beginning of the year, which is too bad as they team could easily be looking at the playoffs if everyone was healthy.  Verdict: Under

VG: It’s difficult to imagine the Timberwolves having much success early in the season with the injuries they already have sustained. The beginning of last year showed us that Minnesota can be a playoff team when healthy. But without Rubio the team fell apart, and with Love also missing significant time, this won’t be a .500 team. Verdict: Under

Kevin Durant and the Thunder look to get back to the NBA Finals.

Oklahoma City Thunder (Last year’s record: 47-19; Total: 59.5)

MA:  This team as currently constructed should be able to get at least 60 wins.  We know that they will be hungry after the way last season ended and that should get them off to an extremely hot start.  The Thunder also may have wound up with the steal of the draft in Perry Jones III, who fell due to concerns with his knees.  He should help add some more firepower to an already explosive lineup.  The only issue heading into this year is the James Harden contract situation.  There is a chance that this could impact his performance, but another intriguing scenario is if they decide to trade him if they are afraid he will walk at the end of the year.  This may be unlikely, but really it is the only thing I can see derailing this team in the regular season.  Verdict: Over

VG: Like the Pacers of the East, the Thunder are built for the regular season (the difference is they are built for the postseason too). The Thunder have the second best player in the league in Kevin Durant and another top 10 or 15 player in Russell Westbrook. Last season the Thunder had a winning percentage of 71.2% so 60 wins this year would mean they would have to play slightly better than last season. I think the Finals loss paired with the many thinking the Lakers are now the team to beat in the West will give Oklahoma City the extra incentive. Verdict: Over

Portland Trailblazers (Last year’s record: 28-38; Total: 35.5)

MA:  The Trailblazers have really fallen from a team that was a seriously tough out come playoff time to a team that many people do not even expect to be fighting for the playoffs.  After deciding to blow everything up, they were able to pick up two pretty good prospects in the draft with both Meyers Leonard and Damian Lillard.  If both of those could pan out or even one of them to pair with Aldridge the Trailblazers will have a bright future.  The only problem I see is the amount of money that they gave to Nicolas Batum this past offseason.  He is a very talented all around player, but I do not see much upside with his game.  Still this team will struggle to find any identity this coming season and there will be some serious growing pains this year.  Verdict: Under

VG: A team I like a lot for no real reason. Given the situation he is in, Damian Lillard has a good shot at grabbing the Rookie of the Year award. J.J. Hickson played exceptionally well down the stretch last season and Nicolas Batum is one of the best young small forwards in the league. With the team building around LaMarcus Aldrige, the Blazers have a bright future, but they could make some noise this year too. Verdict: Over

Utah Jazz (Last year’s record: 36-30; Total: 42.5)

MA:  I do not know if there was a hotter team than the Jazz heading into the playoffs, but unfortunately once they got there it did not end well.  There are a lot of people who are high on the Jazz this coming season, but I just do not feel the same way.  Yes, they finished over.500 last season, but after trading away Devin Harris I just do not think this team will be able to finish over .500 this coming season.  I did not see much improvement as Marvin Williams has always been an overrated role player and I do not think him or Mo Williams will help improve this team.  Verdict: Under

VG: Last year, the Jazz ranked in the top five in points and rebounds per game. There aren’t many teams out there who can compete with the front court depth Utah has in Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Enes Kanter, and Derrick Favors. Gordon Hayward really improved in his second year and while I’m not huge fan of either Mo Williams or Marvin Williams, they are still quality players to help fill out the roster. Utah’s a deep team whose size will give opponents too much to handle. Verdict: Over