Eastern Conference Predictions

[TheTwoWallaces]

1. Brooklyn Nets: 62-20
SGA, Ayton, and Williams are all back as Champions. Veterans like Vezenkov, DePaula, and Richardson all provide enough support. However, if they want to guarantee another finals run, they might want to think about adding some cheap depth. You don't want a thin roster to ruin their chances when they have a core this talented.

2. Cleveland Cavaliers: 60-22
The all-in all-offense Cavs have a dominant regular season as MPJ wins MVP. Not bad! But the defense is too mediocre for a deep playoff run. This team starts to mirror the 7SoL Suns, Lob-City Clippers, and Harden Rockets as high-offense high-win teams that can't get it done in the postseason. Still, I think their GM views 60 wins and an MVP as a succesful campaign.

3. Charlotte Hornets: 57-25
The Jovic Era has arrived! Too early you say? You'll see! Collins/Hayes is a good frontcourt and Sexton/Vaughn play above their ratings with Jovic controlling the offense. The pieces aren't all there yet, but Jovic is ready to take the league by storm. Okay maybe 57 wins is too high, but it is possible!

4. Boston Celtics: 52-30
The Celtics are stuck on a post-champion treadmill of sorts. Fox and Bridges are great and will win them 50 games, but no one's getting any better or younger.

5. Miami Heat: 52-30
Smith, Bird, Johnson, Eason, Koumadje with Williams off the bench. You know the drill. 50 wins. Next.

6. Washington Wizards: 50-32
All aboard the Wizards Train! A CSL super-team has formed right before our eyes. Can a Big 4 of Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, Dragan Bender, and Laurynas Birutis get it done in the East? Why not! It would be fun if they did so I'm all for it. Coffey, Midtgaard, and Alvarado are great complimentary pieces. Alvarado reminds me of the Rondo to the Mitchell/Tatum/Birutis version of Allen/Pierce/Garnett.

7. New York Knicks: 46-36
Luka wins them games. The all-defensive cast around him helps, but the lack of two-way players on a thin roster means these Knicks lack the dynamism to compete with the big boys in the conference. Could Luka flirt with 40ppg?

8. Atlanta Hawks: 44-38
Another year of development for Okoro, Giddey, and Marshall means a few more wins for the Hawks. Midtgaard might be gone but newcomers Moses Brown and Joshua Smith add some experience and inside scoring. But unlike the Wizards the Hawks failed to acquire a star during the offseason and now find themselves on the dreaded treadmill.

9. Orlando Magic: 41-41
ANT shows that he's the Man in Orlando while Mark Williams has a small sophore slump. The Ball/Russell/Edwards backcourt overwhelms enough teams to win 40 games, but the lack of wing depth costs the Magic just a few too many games. Still, the talent is there and the Magic become a team to avoid in the playoffs.

10. Philadelphia 76ers: 40-42
The Sixers are solid 1-5 and can hang with anyone. But Maxey shoots them out of too many games and Collins/Adebayo struggle against the Aytons of the world. Swanigan thrives in RhoxxyBall and has the best season of his career.

11. Detroit Pistons: 38-44
New acquisition James Wiseman gets some DPOY votes as the Pistons climb out of the CSL basement with big seasons from Jalen Johnson and Kevin Porter. However, they lack a true PG and struggle down the stretch to finish below .500.

12. Chicago Bulls: 32-50
Sekou Doumboya and Jordan McLaughlin each average 20+ppg and Hunter takes a leap with his instruction work. However, their lack of depth and inside presence means they get dominated by the big dogs in the East. Which is fine as Marcos focuses on laying the groundwork for the rebuild.

13. Toronto Raptors: 28-54
The Raptors are bringing everyone back. The problem is that they were a sub .500 team last season. With Washington, Charlotte, and perhaps Detroit all much improved this season, the Raptors find themselves sliding down the Eastern Conference Standings.

14. Indiana Pacers: 27-55
If their new GM is active, they could easily finish the season with more wins. The Pacers bring back the same impressive if underperforming Starting 5, but new Pacer Jalen Suggs and sophomore Deni Avdija prove that the future is bright in Indianapolis. If their GM is active, the Pacers should be sellers on the market.

15. Milwaukee Bucks: 24-58
The Bucks are going to bottom out this season. Troy Brown and Grant Williams are good enough to wins some games but even the play-in tournament looks out of reach. Which is fine for the Bucks, who are positioning themselves for at least one or two seasons of rebuilding. That said, 24 wins is pretty high for 15th place, which speaks to the quality of the Eastern Conference.

[Silogical]

The regular season is a grind you dont see very many surprises. These predictions are filled with surprises.

I like the CHA in the playoffs prediction but not 3rd overall. WSH 50!

I think BRK BOS NY PHI are good predictions the rest seem off 5-15 games.

[blackice]

Man the league is not high on my Raptors! This is a great preseason prediction article TheTwoWallaces, I voted for Rizzo to repeat. Too much talent, and an elite coach. I actually like our front court against them but maybe that's my ego talking. I think the Cavs are overrated, a lot of scoring, not enough defense, a meh front court and I think the best way to get Porter going is to surround him with low USG% defenders and spacing and not more ball handlers and not Kyle Kuzma and Romeo Langford who need the ball.

Silogical is always elite, I agree. Hard to see them out of contention. I think Dylan is a season or two away from truly competing and hardenwithnod is the surprise of the offseason and could very well make a run if everything clicks.

Goodstuff.

[drumr]

We have more two-way players in our rotation overall than Brooklyn but until we beat them doesn't mean anything. Langford, Korkmaz, Kuzma, and Landale are all good positional defenders 85% or higher (not Landale) drive stoppers and generate turnovers. They have the edge on shot-blocking with Williams/Ayton, but we certainly aren't no defense lol. My regret though is I missed Desmond Bane by 250,000 and he wanted to be in Cleveland. Would have loved to add one more man defender. TBS I don't think we win 60 games.

I think the Wizards have a serious chance at 60 wins if they get the offense figured out fast. That team is going to get so many steals they might win from just getting up more shots. Alverado, Lee, Mitchell, and Coffey should give perimeter-based offenses hell and kick start a lot of transition points for them. Feel they should lead there with Chicago.

I think Manu is going to surprise everyone, but maybe it is a stealth tank lol

Charlotte can do anything. I can see them upsetting someone, or making a wild Finals run, or Jovic getting a midseason boost and just taking the league over like Lebron and getting his 1st.

[Andrewu91]

I feel dissed every year but I always end up 6th so I'll take it.

Who needs 2 way players when you can watch 50ppg and elite defense

[drumr]

I feel dissed every year but I always end up 6th so I'll take it.

Who needs 2 way players when you can watch 50ppg and elite defense

I was kinda cracking up a minute ago over this. You're basically how some think I should build around Porter, but still say it's why you're stuck at 5th or 6th. Damn if you do or don't right? lol. I love sports commentary it's unhinged lol. I wish we had a podcast for the league again but as a commish elsewhere lord is it a lot of work and I get it.

[TheTwoWallaces]

I think you're comparing different comments from different GMs. I'm a fan of taking the load off Alpha scorers but other GMs are fans of leaning into Alpha scorers. Just different approaches, not unhinged

[Andrewu91]

I feel dissed every year but I always end up 6th so I'll take it.

Who needs 2 way players when you can watch 50ppg and elite defense

I was kinda cracking up a minute ago over this. You're basically how some think I should build around Porter, but still say it's why you're stuck at 5th or 6th. Damn if you do or don't right? lol. I love sports commentary it's unhinged lol. I wish we had a podcast for the league again but as a commish elsewhere lord is it a lot of work and I get it.

Word.

And there are podcasts still here on occasion. I think Doug started running one again.

[KW]

1) BRK - no other team has given me any reason to believe they won't cruise through the East again
2) BOS - it's not broken
3) CLE - made nice moves toward contention over the last season +
4) MIA - vote of confidence in Silo more than the talent on the team
5) NY - Luka
6) WAS - made a huge splash this summer!

-

7) ATL - steadily building. could see a huge year 3 from Perry
8) MIL - I think this team downgraded significantly but Manu has his ways
9) CHA - don't think there's quite enough around Jovic yet, but could see him start to bring Charlotte out of the cellar anyway
10) ORL - already a playoff caliber roster but this offseason was fumbled badly

-

11) TOR - this team is a piece or two away, that piece needs to be found somehow
12) PHI - a ton of young talent (plus Bam)
13) IND - I guess teams without GMs are allowed to go over the cap???
14) CHI - I get the feeling there's more tearing down to be down here. the current roster is play-in caliber but I don't expect them to stay there
15) DET - building, but still several pieces short, namely on offense

[KW]

I feel dissed every year but I always end up 6th so I'll take it.

Who needs 2 way players when you can watch 50ppg and elite defense

I was kinda cracking up a minute ago over this. You're basically how some think I should build around Porter, but still say it's why you're stuck at 5th or 6th. Damn if you do or don't right? lol. I love sports commentary it's unhinged lol. I wish we had a podcast for the league again but as a commish elsewhere lord is it a lot of work and I get it.

Word.

And there are podcasts still here on occasion. I think Doug started running one again.

we were planning to do the draft again, but real life got in the way for all of us

[GreenBear]

we were planning to do the draft again, but real life got in the way for all of us

Yeah, we had a draft pod lined up but something came up for one of the guests, and then I got the Flu which knocked me out for a couple weeks.

I wouldn't be opposed to re-scheduling the draft pod with Kyrus and a 3rd guest. It could be interesting now that we have the knowledge of TC for who might boom/bust.

I really don't mind hosting podcasts. I think they're fun and add a different media dynamic to the league. I also would much rather just talk to someone on a pod than on a forum. Especially because I know I'm not always the best at expressing my thoughts on here sometimes.

The biggest headache is scheduling. Between time zone differences and things popping up (life getting in the way), it's tough. That and trying to get different people on is tough. A lot of people might enjoy podcasts but don't want to be on one themselves.

[drumr]

we were planning to do the draft again, but real life got in the way for all of us

Yeah, we had a draft pod lined up but something came up for one of the guests, and then I got the Flu which knocked me out for a couple weeks.

I wouldn't be opposed to re-scheduling the draft pod with Kyrus and a 3rd guest. It could be interesting now that we have the knowledge of TC for who might boom/bust.

I really don't mind hosting podcasts. I think they're fun and add a different media dynamic to the league. I also would much rather just talk to someone on a pod than on a forum. Especially because I know I'm not always the best at expressing my thoughts on here sometimes.

The biggest headache is scheduling. Between time zone differences and things popping up (life getting in the way), it's tough. That and trying to get different people on is tough. A lot of people might enjoy podcasts but don't want to be on one themselves.

I'm down

[KW]

we were planning to do the draft again, but real life got in the way for all of us

Yeah, we had a draft pod lined up but something came up for one of the guests, and then I got the Flu which knocked me out for a couple weeks.

I wouldn't be opposed to re-scheduling the draft pod with Kyrus and a 3rd guest. It could be interesting now that we have the knowledge of TC for who might boom/bust.

I really don't mind hosting podcasts. I think they're fun and add a different media dynamic to the league. I also would much rather just talk to someone on a pod than on a forum. Especially because I know I'm not always the best at expressing my thoughts on here sometimes.

The biggest headache is scheduling. Between time zone differences and things popping up (life getting in the way), it's tough. That and trying to get different people on is tough. A lot of people might enjoy podcasts but don't want to be on one themselves.

I'm down

same- pick a date that isn't a wednesday and i probably can make it work

[bt]

Great stuff Lucas, always fun to read these.

I think most have Brooklyn at the top but I don't have the Cavs, Hornets or even Wizards as high. Heat are still top 2 for min and I like the Hawks to improve on the back of some endurance gains. Bucks to make the playoffs or play in at least and Magic to again be lottery. No idea on the Knicks, depends on Luka's efficiency.

[cb4raptorscb4]

Great insights here. Brooklyn is straight up scary. Honestly they look even better this year after getting FAs like Huerter, James and GDP on minimum.

[WillyJakkz]

Hopefully we'll be #9 or even better!

[mgtr81]

I will comment at the end of the season.

[TheTwoWallaces]

I will comment at the end of the season.

Haha it's weird because I low-key like your new roster. But no one in the East has bottomed out, so someone has to finish last. I don't think any team is gonna be horrible this season

[emplep7]

I think this is a great article as it brings up a ton of discussion points but do think that while some teams have managed to improve their rosters significantly you can’t discount that some GMs are great coaches (Manu being one of them). I also can’t see Milwaukee finishing below Indy, Orlando, Toronto, or Detroit.

Until the teams that have been bottom/mid tier show they can coach their improved rosters they still have an uphill battle.

The east still runs through the same top level teams in Brooklyn, Boston, Miami, and Cleveland IMO.

[drumr]

I think this is a great article as it brings up a ton of discussion points but do think that while some teams have managed to improve their rosters significantly you can’t discount that some GMs are great coaches (Manu being one of them). I also can’t see Milwaukee finishing below Indy, Orlando, Toronto, or Detroit.

Until the teams that have been bottom/mid tier show they can coach their improved rosters they still have an uphill battle.

The east still runs through the same top level teams in Brooklyn, Boston, Miami, and Cleveland IMO.

Well said. I can't vote a Manu team down unless I see it with my own eyes or he tells us it's a rebuild lol