It’s the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Season, and fans worldwide are excited for basketball to make its return after just a short break in the action after last season’s spectacular off-season with the Milwaukee Bucks winning the NBA Championship. With things moving forward and the season opener merely hours away, we’ll take this time to provide some insight on the teams and how they’ll stack up this year with a projection of worst to projected favorites coming out of their conference. In this installment, we discuss the Eastern Conference.
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15. Detroit Pistons
With their recent addition of this year’s 1st Pick in the NBA Draft in Cade Cunningham, the Pistons are in a state of full rebuild, moving on from much of the veteran presence that they had on their roster. In no effort is this discrediting Cunningham, for he has the potential to be a household name in this league for years to come. However, the Pistons will have to go through some trials and tribulations to get to a place where they have an established identity as well as allowing these guys to get into the swing of playing as NBA caliber team.
Prediction: 20-62
14. Orlando Magic
Similarly to the Pistons, the Magic have committed to a rebuild as of last year, moving past the likes of Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon, and have put their efforts with a younger roster they hope to develop over time. The Magic have found themselves with a group of very talented players with enormous amounts of potential such as Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony. One of the few things that set Orlando apart from Detroit is simply due to a stronger veteran presence, something that seems imperative in any NBA locker room. Despite some struggle is projected going into the season, the Magic are surely going to be a team to keep eyes on in years to come.
Prediction: 22-60
13. Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers have been a team that have found themselves towards the bottom of the standings for some amount of years now, and despite having a solid core amongst themselves, have not quite been able to have things pan out and get themselves into playoff contention. Although, over time the young stars on this roster have slowly been coming into their own and fans can only hope that this remains constant. The question lies on just how much better can they get after having had some time to work together this past off season.
Prediction: 25-57
12. Washington Wizards
With quite the blockbuster trade that sent Russell Westbrook to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Washington Wizards find themselves in a situation where the state of their franchise is in a bit of a lull. The Wizards are currently comprised of a group of guys that have been undervalued and overlooked, which ultimately gives you an interesting underdog storyline with the likes of Bradley Beal frontrunning the show. With that in mind it’s hard to fully believe that this Washington group will find themselves being able to put themselves into playoff contention with the pieces that they have at this time.
Prediction: 30-52
11. Toronto Raptors
The Raptors have finally decided to part ways with Kyle Lowry, a household name in the North that is Toronto, and have set course in revolving themselves around the younger pieces that they’ve acquired as well as the remainder of their championship roster back in 2019. The Raptors have a solid roster, but nothing that really jumps out as a stand out player. Although there’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, the Raptors might find some difficulties as the season progresses especially when facing teams that have 2-3 stand out names on their respective rosters. With that in mind, these are big years for the likes of Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam, and it’ll be very much interesting to see how they perform as the season goes on.
Prediction: 32-50
10. Charlotte Hornets
We said it last year and we’ll say it again this year: the Hornets are going to be an exciting team to watch all season. They’ve got a fun roster to watch, and having LaMelo showcase to the league that he’s more than comfortable on the NBA floor, there’s a lot in store if your a Hornets fan. Having been bounced out of the Play-In Tournament last season, surely they organization hopes to find themselves in a position to go further this time around, and basing things off the preseason, the Hornets seem quite capable of doing just that.
Prediction: 35-47
9. Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers in years past have found themselves to be quiet contenders of sorts. There’s nothing inherently flashy about their basketball, but it’s worked. They found themselves falling a bit short as of last year, having not making it to the Playoffs and falling one game away from being able to compete into the post-season. The Pacers organization can only really hope to try and continue to aim for the Playoffs and making deeper runs before questions start rumbling about their roster.
Prediction: 39-43
8. New York Knicks
The Knicks last season had their struggles come Playoff time, but are prepared to reintroduce themselves this coming season with the likes of Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier being acquired over the off season. The team has been able to cement themselves as a Playoff caliber team last year a Most Improved Player Award worthy performance in Julius Randle and hope to take what they’ve learned and apply it coming into 2021-22. The only thing the Knicks really need at this point is more Playoff experience, and with that as time goes on, will hope to be a high contender for the Championship.
Prediction: 41-41
7. Miami Heat
The Miami Heat are coming off a rather disappointing season last year, having been bounced from the Playoffs early to the Milwaukee Bucks. However there is no real shame having lost to the Champions, its a bit of a head scratcher that the same team that competed in the NBA Finals in 2020 got swept in the first round the year following. This time around it seems as if the Miami Heat have a bit of a clean slate, having made some key acquisitions, as well as allowing the development of some of their younger guys. Adding names like Championship caliber players in Kyle Lowry, PJ Tucker, and Markieff Morris should blend wonderfully with the likes of the younger Heat players in Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson. We’d also be remiss to ever count out the likes of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, which leaves a recipe for an exciting season for the Heat.
Prediction 42-40
6. Chicago Bulls
Having come off the preseason in rather spectacular fashion going 4-0, the new revamped Chicago Bulls seemed to have made waves as we approach the season opener. The bulls seemingly gathered a large amount of talent in the 1-3 positions out of nowhere, with Alex Caruso, Lonzo Ball, and Demar DeRozan all finding a new home in the Windy City. With this in mind it’s hard not to put one of the more hype teams going into the season high up on the list. These pickups will surely prove very nicely in regards to helping Zach LaVine and company from here on out.
Prediction: 44-38
5. Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks made quite a statement last season, making it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. Seemed as if out of nowhere the Hawks just got into a rhythm at the right time. Despite their shortcomings, its hard to say that they won’t carry that momentum over to this season, especially when adding Cam Reddish’s breakout performances in the Playoffs. If anyone in the league underestimated Atlanta before, surely they’ll keep them on their radars now and for years to come so as long as Trae Young is around.
Prediction: 48-34
4. Boston Celtics
Unlike the Hawks, the Celtics found themselves bit by the injury bug come playoff time in their All-Star guard in Jaylen Brown. On the bright side, Brown will be returning off a surgery and is looking more capable than ever to help do his part going into the season. In regards to other players, the Celtics stayed busy revamping their roster to add complementary pieces to both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. With new faces like Josh Richardson and Dennis Schroder, and familiar faces with Al Horford into the mix. This season should prove rather interesting for the Celtics, especially knowing that they’ve finally established their core and added pieces necessary to help them.
Prediction: 49-33
3. Philadelphia 76ers
It has been quite the interesting off season for the Sixers organization regarding the Ben Simmons situation. As of now Simmons remains a Sixer, but seems as though by just barely. It remains to be seen how the Sixers will perform moving forward, whether that be with or without Simmons, but regardless of the front office’s decision, it’s not a stretch to say that the Sixers will still be in contention for the Championship come post season. The only struggle that may arise for Philly is the adjustment period of either bringing Ben Simmons into the mix or finding who’s to take his spot if the case be that Simmons were to be traded.
Prediction: 51-31
2. Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks are coming off a fantastic Playoff run last year that ultimately led to the NBA Championship coming to Milwaukee. Although there’s been much doubt amongst the media and fans alike that the Bucks won’t be able to repeat, I’d like to believe that the chances aren’t as slim as most may think. With a Championship now under their belts, many players are able to now play a bit more freely, not feeling as much outside pressure that others may feel. It should also be stated that in the short time we’ve been able to watch Giannis Antetokounmpo this pre-season, it would appear that Giannis has been working considerably on what he’s been criticized on ever since he came into the league, his ability to shoot. Now that it seems that he feels more comfortable taking jump shots, Giannis might just become a bigger problem for other teams than he already is.
Prediction: 57-25
1. Brooklyn Nets
Similarly to the Sixers, the Nets have been put in an interesting predicament regarding Kyrie Irving and his vaccination status. The Nets organization have come out and said they would no longer be extending Irving’s contract, which although proves detrimental for both parties, doesn’t hurt the team more than it does the player. Whether or not Irving plays, the Nets are still in a position to be the favorites to compete for the NBA Championship out of the East so as long as Kevin Durant and James Harden remain healthy come Playoffs. The Nets have also made some moves in terms of depth, having LaMarcus Aldridge back for another stint, Patty Mills, and Paul Millsap strengthening themselves whenever Durant or Harden are not on the floor.
Prediction: 60-22
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With this all in mind, the 2021-2022 NBA Season commences with their Season Opener, tonight at 7:30pm ET with the Brooklyn Nets taking on the defending champions Milwaukee Bucks followed by the Golden State Warriors versus the Los Angeles Lakers at 10:00pm ET with coverage provided by TNT.
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