I'm surprised people are so high on the Clippers. They didn't just lose Chris Paul. They also lost JJ Redick, Jamal Crawford and Mbah a Moute, along with Mareese Speights. That's an awful lot of offense to lose. They brought in Patrick Beverly, Lou Williams and Milos Teodosic, but that looks like a downgrade to me at every position. Then add the fact that both Griffin and Gallinari are injury prone, and I see a team that could easily miss the playoffs.
The Clips are much deeper than last year. They replaced Chris Paul with Beverley and Teodosic who combined will fill the gap nicely. Beverley is an All NBA defender. Teodosic is one of the best passers on the planet. Lou Williams will replace Redick without problem. Gallinari is an improvement over Mbah a Moute. And losing Speights doesn't really hurt at all. I think they'll take a step back from last year but just like the Jazz it won't be a severe step back.
The one I don't understand is the Nuggets. They could be a good team. But I'm not sold until I see it. They couldn't play a lick of defense last year and they didn't address that weakness at all this offseason.