The 82-game NBA regular schedule is back after the past two seasons brought truncated regular seasons due to COVID-19.

With the regular season kicking off on Tuesday, let’s make predictions on three teams that will hit the over and three that will go under their projected win total. Over/under win totals were taken from FanDuel Sportsbook.

Over win total

  • Charlotte Hornets - 38.5 wins

Charlotte went 33-39 last season, which would prorate to right about 37.5 wins (round up to 38) over an 82-game season. Reigning Rookie of the Year LaMelo Ball should be even better in his age-20 season.

Mason Plumlee should be an upgrade over Cody Zeller, and the team added more depth by bringing in Kelly Oubre Jr., Ish Smith, 11th overall pick James Bouknight, and 19th overall pick Kai Jones.

  • New York Knicks - 41.5 wins

The Knicks surprised the basketball world finishing 41-31 in 2020-21, earning the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. For the under bet to hit this season, they will need to finish .500 or worse. When healthy, this team easily goes ten deep with quality players, and RJ Barrett should take another jump forward with his game entering his third season.

  • San Antonio Spurs - 29.5 wins

The last time San Antonio didn’t reach 30 wins was 1996-97, the year before Tim Duncan’s rookie season.

Bringing in Doug McDermott and bringing back Bryn Forbes should make the Spurs more of a threat from outside after they finished dead last in both threes made and threes attempted the previous season. The team also went 17-15 in games started by Derrick White in 2020-21.

Under

  • Cleveland Cavaliers - 27.5 wins

Will Kevin Love suit up for Cleveland this season?

Expect Ricky Rubio to get traded sometime during the season. The team does have a plethora of young talent (Colin Sexton, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Isaac Okoro, Jarrett Allen). Still, with an improved Eastern Conference, it’s hard to see this team reaching 30 wins.

  • Dallas Mavericks - 48.5 wins

Call this one a hunch, as Dallas does possess one of the elite talents in Luka Doncic.

It just seems like a downgrade behind the bench as the team no longer employs Rick Carlisle, and Jason Kidd has a career 183-190 record as a head coach. Kristaps Porzingis hasn’t found his niche yet on this team, and he’s also battled many injuries throughout his career.

  • Golden State Warriors - 47.5 wins

Some people expect Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green to recreate their success in winning three championships (two with Kevin Durant in tow). According to NBC Sports, Thompson hasn’t played since June 13, 2019, and may not be ready to play this year until Christmas or later. The team needs James Wiseman (second overall pick in 2020) to take a big step forward in his second year, or else the regrets of not taking LaMelo Ball instead will continue to haunt their fans.