Eastern Conference Predictions

With the new NBA season just under a week away, I decided to do some predictions for it. In this article, I’m going to begin with my prediction for the Eastern Conference standings. Let’s get it!

Full Predictions:

1. Boston Celtics

Boston is soooo loaded. They have five potential All-Stars. I think they would have a chance against Golden State. Defensively, they match up so well with switchable guys like Brown, Tatum, Hayward and Horford. Kyrie has already shown he can get buckets on the Warriors on the biggest stage. They’re gonna win 60+. Hayward is gonna look amazing with Stevens. In 2016–2017, he was in the 87th percentile in pick and roll, the 84th percentile in spot ups, the 85th percentile in cuts, and the 83rd percentile off screens. He’s good at a lot of different things and it’s gonna be fun watching what Stevens does with him. Brown and Tatum are terrific young wings. Tatum has shown with his shot-making that he has superstar ability. Boston is going to wreck shit.

2. Toronto Raptors

Even with how great I think Boston is, I think I may pick the Raptors to win the East. Kawhi Leonard is that good. People are sleep on him because he played for the Spurs (not sure how many people actually watch them) and he was hurt last year. So far in the preseason, he’s moving really well so I think he’s fully healthy. The last time he was fully healthy he averaged: 25.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 3.5 APG and shot 48.5% from the field, 38% from three, and 88% from the line. He’s sooo much better than DeRozan. And that’s no slight to DeMar, it’s just that Kawhi is a top five talent. Kyle Lowry is always good and his pull up ability is phenomenal. Lowry was fourth in the league in pull up three point percentage among those taking at least three a game. This opens up so much for the offense. The defense is gonna be elite and maybe even better than Boston as Lowry is a better defender than Irving. Watch out for the Raps this year.

3. Milwaukee Bucks

All in on Giannis and Coach Bud. Under Budenholzer, the Atlanta Hawks were seventh in three point attempts last year. The Bucks were 25th. With a guy as amazing as the Greek Freak, you need to surround him with shooters in order to optimize his ability. The Bucks did that by adding Brook Lopez and Ersan Ilyasova and making Budenholzer their new head coach. Giannis is going to put up MVP level numbers this year in this offense. Khris Middleton is another great talent that Milwaukee has and should put him really good numbers as well. I like Philly but they don’ have Giannis so I’ll put the Bucks ahead.

4. Philadelphia 76ers

Markelle Fultz could make the 76ers even better. He could be that secondary ball-handler and off the dribble shooter that the Sixers needed last year. He’s still an unknown but if he plays well, the Sixers could be a finals contender. Philly is still really good without him however. Last year, of lineups that had at least 300 minutes played together, the 76ers had the best net rating with the lineup of Simmons-Redick-Covington-Saric-Embiid. They’re really good but the East is going to be tough this year. I think they’ll be a better team than last year even though their seeding goes down.

5. Indiana Pacers

Victor Oladipo was great last year and you can make the case that he was the best guard in the East. His true-shooting percentage jumped and this happened because he got better at finishing at the rim. In his year with Oklahoma City, Dipo shot 61% on attempts 0–3 feet from the basket. Last year, he shot 69%. This had a lot to do with how Indiana used him differently than OKC but also, a lot of credit should be given to him for his growth. That credit was given as he won the Most Improved Player of the year award. Indiana leaned on him a little too much and that’s probably why they couldn’t get past the Cavs in the first round (that and LeBron James). So, the Pacers went out and got another ball-handler in Tyreke Evans. Evans had a career year last year and his ability to make plays off the dribble should help Indiana a lot. Ultimately, I just don’t think the Pacers have the same star power that the teams above them have but they have a really good team that will be a tough out.

6. Washington Wizards

John Wall has been the engine that makes this team go the past couple of years but Bradley Beal is increasingly receiving more and more responsibility. His shooting went down some last year without Wall for half of the year but he increased his play-making to compensate. He averaged a career high 4.5 assists per game last year. When healthy, Wall is still the guy but he defintely can shoulder some more of the responsibility to Beal. Speaking of Wall, look at this:

This picture shows the stats for the player under the playtype “Cuts”. John Wall only cut .1% of the time that he was on the floor. That’s crazy. Movement is key in today’s offenses, just ask the Warriors. If Wall moved off the ball more, he’d be able to get easier buckets. But alas, I feel that Washington coaches have already pointed this out. Wall has played only one way his whole life. The ball is always in his hands. Maybe this year we’ll see some change.

7. Detroit Pistons

Some people are down on the Pistons and I get it but I think they can make it work. Blake’s still really good and Andre Drummond is just entering his prime. Reggie Jackson isn’t exactly prime CP3 but he’s still better than Ish Smith and would given them much better spacing on the court. Super small sample size but in 32 minutes last year, the Pistons had a net rating of +26.7 with the lineup of Jackson-Reggie Bullock-Stanley Johnson-Griffin-Drummond. We should see that lineup a lot next year with all parties healthy. Also, Luke Kennard is a great young guy in his second year that can provide much needed shooting for lineups. I think the Pistons have too much talent to miss the playoffs.

8. Charlotte Hornets

I’m biased I will admit but I think the Hornets can sneak into the playoffs. Barring a Jimmy Butler trade, the Hornets will have the best player (Kemba Walker) among the remaining teams. Kemba is always being underrated but his growth the past couple year has turned him into a legit star. His ability to launch threes at a high clip off the dribble (7.5 attempts a game last year on 38.4% shooting) opens up the offense for the Hornets. Dwight was really productive last year but the Charlotte pick and roll has always been great with screen setting master Cody Zeller. New coach James Borrego has the Hornets running a newer, up-tempo offense which should fit better with the skillsets of wings like Malik Monk, Jeremy Lamb, and Miles Bridges. Monk should be in for a breakout year as he is finally full healthy. Lamb was really good last year and he should be featured more this year. Look for them to shoulder some of the scoring load from Kemba. Bridges looks really fun from what has been seen in summer league and preseason. He’s shooting really well from three in the preseason and while it shouldn’t be expected for him to shoot 50% from three this year, his shot-making could be crucial to open things up for the Hornets. The thing that could derail this is if Kemba is traded mid-season but from all reports it seems like he’ll likely re-sign. The Hornets aren’t championship contenders by any means but they should be fun to watch at the very least.

9–15:

Miami will be a playoff team if they can get Jimmy Butler. But, if they can’t, I think they don’t have enough star power to make the playoffs. Also, minutes given to Hassan Whiteside and Dion Waiters will hurt them. Cleveland sucked so much without Bron last year and I don’t think rookie point guard Collin Sexton will change that. Kevin Love should put up numbers but I don’t think they’ll sniff the playoffs. Chicago has a lot of fun pieces but I don’t think they fit that well together. Also, Lauri Markkanen is missing time which will make them worse. Kenny Atinkson and Sean Marks are doing good things in Brookyln but they’re still short on talent. Hopefully, D’Angelo Russell looks good and they continue to grow. Orlando doesn’t have a point guard good enough to help their big men grow. Also, there is a logjam in the frontcourt that could solved with a trade (Looking at you Aaron Gordon). They won’t be contending for a playoff spot. It doesn’t seem like Kristaps Porzingis is going to play this year so the Knicks are going to be really bad. This season really doesn’t matter for them though as they’re trying to develop talent. Atlanta has a clear direction but they’re in a rebuilding state. They’re going to lose a lot of games this year but Trae Young and John Collins will be super fun.