I think it's pretty likely that the bottom 5 will be the Sixers, Lakers, Nets, Suns, and Wolves in some order. Outside of major injuries, the only team with the potential to crack that group in my opinion is Denver.
Within that group, the only things I'm confident on is that the Sixers will be close to the bottom of that bottom 5 and the Wolves close to the top (and the most likely to break out of the group). It's conceivable Brooklyn could wind up worst or 5th worst, but more likely between 2-4 and very likely not any better than bottom 5. Which is pretty good for us, all things considered.
I'm not too worried about Denver. They have more talent than the other bottom feeders, aren't far out of the playoffs, and have legitimately been playing pretty well recently. They struggle to close games, but they're more of a 30-32 win team than a 20-25 win team.
They're also off my danger list. I wouldn't even expect them to be big sellers at the deadline.
I agree with the above that we shouldn't rule out Philly. The league is watching them too closely for them to tank. They're simply going to lose because they suck. But they suck less than they used to.
I can't figure out LAL. On paper, they look a lot better than they do on the court. Players don't tank, the front office does. If they stay healthy, they could win a few.
I was way wrong on Minnesota. I thought they were a sleeper playoff team. They're bad, but I don't think they will challenge for the bottom.
We're halfway through the season and it looks like there will be a battle for the bottom four.
Mike