We're only a week away from the start of the NBA season. Season-long fantasy hoops drafts are going on, there's last-minute work being done to prepare for a constant stream of daily fantasy basketball slates, and fans are getting geared up to watch the regular season kick off.
Despite the fact that we tend to get fewer surprises in the NBA playoffs than we do in other sports, there have still been 23 teams to see at least one playoff berth in the last three seasons. Sure, the top teams like the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets may be virtual locks, but things get cloudy quickly after the top tier.