Marc Stein, ESPN Senior Writer 8y

Eight teams facing tough decisions as cutdown deadline looms

All NBA teams, as always, must be down to a maximum of 15 players by Monday at 5 p.m. ET on the eve of Opening Night.

And 22, for the record, are already there. Five teams, in fact, are down to just 14 players, leaving a roster spot open for another early-season move: Houston, New Orleans, New York, Orlando and Phoenix.

Yet that leaves eight teams with some tough decisions to make before the roster cutdown buzzer. Here's a quick breakdown:

Philadelphia 76ers: The Sixers still sported the training-camp maximum of 20 players on their roster as of Sunday night and thus face a whopping five cuts. Expect them to come from the following seven names: Furkan Aldemir, Pierre Jackson, Jordan McRae, T.J. McConnell, J.P. Tokoto, Scott Wilbekin and Christian Wood.

Brooklyn Nets: The Nets are still carrying 17 players, second only to Philly, meaning only two of the following foursome can stick: Justin Harper, Dahntay Jones, Willie Reed and Donald Sloan.

Utah Jazz: With 17 players on Utah's roster, as well as a waiver claim on Phil Pressey, two of the following three names won't survive: Eric Atkins, Chris Johnson and Pressey.

Dallas Mavericks: Given the Mavericks' need for size -- and owner Mark Cuban's fondness for Tunisian import Salah Mejri -- young forward Maurice N'Dour faces the greatest danger with one cut to come.

Detroit Pistons It remains widely assumed that Danny Granger will be the Pistons' final cut to get down to 15.

Indiana Pacers: Granger's old team in Indy also has to make one roster move to get down to 15, and veteran guard Toney Douglas would appear to be under the greatest threat.

Los Angeles Lakers: The final spot on the Lakers roster is poised to go to either Jabari Brown ... or a certain veteran named Metta World Peace.

Memphis Grizzlies: The last spot on Memphis' 15-man squad belongs to either Ryan Hollins or Jarnell Stokes.

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