ESPN offers predictable and obvious take on Warriors standing in Western Conference

A season after the Golden State Warriors won 46 games yet failed to make the playoffs, the NBA's Western Conference is set to be even more competitive with all but two teams arguably pushing for playoff action.

Despite drastically reducing their payroll spending over the offseason, the Warriors aspirations remain the same in hoping to build a contender around 36-year-old superstar Stephen Curry.

Few actually think Golden State can be contenders entering next season though, at least not until they pull off a blockbuster trade or get an even larger jump than expected from young players like Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski.

ESPN experts have provided a rather obvious prediction on where the Golden State Warriors will sit in the Western Conference landscape

The Warriors place outside the contention window has been reiterated in ESPN's predictions for the conference that were unveiled on Thursday. The Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks appear to have separated themselves as the top tier in the conference, having each been slated to win at least 52 games.

That leaves Golden State in a cluster of teams -- eight to be exact -- who have been projected to win between 43-49 games. The Phoenix Suns are predicted to finish fifth with 49 wins, while another Pacific rival in the Sacramento Kings are forecast to avoid the Play-In Tournament with 47 wins.

The New Orleans Pelicans are projected for 46 wins, while the Warriors' 45 wins is just one ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers who are each slated for a 44-38 record. Having lost All-Star forward Paul George in free agency, the L.A. Clippers are predicted to take a tumble and fall to 12th in the conference with a 43-39 record.

Despite an expectation that they'll win one less game than last season, these predicted standings have Golden State eighth and therefore with two opportunities in the Play-In Tournament if necessary.

None of these projected records are outlandish by any means, and eighth in the West seems to be an obvious and balanced forecast for the Warriors. If there's eight teams in such a tight span between five and 12, it makes sense to place them somewhere in the middle as was also predicted here in the last week.