Jalen Suggs, Orlando Magic.
After the offseason moves and with the NBA regular season about to start. Here are my Eastern conference predictions for how the teams will rank and who I think will represent the East in the NBA finals.
Even if Kyrie Irving doesn’t wind up suiting up, the Nets are still immensely talented and should end up as the first seed by the season’s end. They should be able to mask most of their struggles on defense by being nearly impossible to stop on offense. Kevin Durant will finish in the top three for NBA’s Most Valuable Player.
I expect the defending champs to put together another strong season while relying on former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and team chemistry over having an abundance of stars. The loss of P.J. Tucker will be more obvious once this team gets back into the playoffs. But for the regular season, you can count them in on fighting for the top seed.
After a disappointing first-round elimination coming off the heels of an NBA finals loss, the Heat re-tooled its roster, adding more defensive-minded players with a gritty reputation as competitors. Kyle Lowry and P.J. Tucker should instantly impact the starting lineup while Markieff Morris and a hopefully healthy Victor Oladipo upgrade the bench unit.
Last year I had Philly coming out of the East, but my oh my, things can change quickly. Until the Ben Simmons situation is finally resolved, I can’t predict them to be any higher than fourth. Joel Embiid should have another stellar season and the rest of the team is solid enough to keep them just below contender status but above the rest.
This prediction has an asterisk due to what the roster will look like at the end of the season. One thing I’m pretty certain of is Ben Simmons won’t be on it.
The Hawks will be out to prove that last season was no fluke, though I don’t expect any Cinderella playoff upsets this time around. Teams won’t take the Hawks lightly, and Nate Mcmillan should have them ready for that. I expect a close battle for fifth through seventh-place, throughout the season, with Atlanta finishing slightly ahead.
The Bulls will be back in the playoffs. Like the Nets, I expect defensive problems for this team, but where last season they didn’t have enough offensive weapons, this year they have plenty.
I was not a fan of Lonzo Ball when he first came into the league. It’s become obvious that he’s put work into his game and has come around to being a solid point guard who still has high upside. He should get plenty of easy assists with Zach Lavine, Nikola Vucevic, and newly acquired Demar Derozan.
The rest of the league will be better prepared when playing the Knicks this year. Coach Tom Thibadeau will keep them playing tough defense. The addition of Kemba Walker should give them added on-court leadership that they in the playoffs last year. I don’t have them getting out of the first round, but they should put together a more competitive showing.
It may take a little time for Jaylen Brown to get back to full strength, which will show in early season losses. Once the team gets healthy I think they will put together a solid season. He and Jayson Tatum need to not just grow individually and statistically, but they also have to start growing as leaders and making teammates around them better. Their development will be the difference between this team being able to finish higher or squeaking into the playoffs. The Celtics are typically a very proactive franchise so they likely make a mid-season trade to improve the roster.
The Pacers seem to have a lot of talent, they just haven’t had that talent go to the next level yet. Rick Carlisle’s coaching style along with a healthy Caris Levert should help them hover above .500 for most of the year.
At the least, Indiana qualifies for the play-in game. It would not surprise me if they ended up having a breakout season. Incremental improvement is my safe pick though.
Charlotte will be a fun team to watch but is another star away from being a playoff team. Once the front office realizes they aren’t quite there, I expect them to try and start looking to move Gordon Hayward. They need a younger player who could develop along with LaMelo Ball’s timeframe.
Toronto’s coaching is good enough to win some games. They have enough players remaining from their 2019 championship team to where they should stay competitive enough to avoid the NBA cellar. Overall the Raptors are in limbo and close to a complete rebuild. It might be best to cash out Pascal Siakam and get a younger team together.
A team that squeaked into the playoffs and is already in rebuild mode. Talk of a Bradley Beal trade seemed to go quiet when the team had a late-season surge and made the playoffs. Don’t be fooled; as soon as the Wizards have a rough start, which I expect them to have, the rumors will heat up again. Like Ben Simmons in Philadelphia, I expect Beal to be on a different roster after the trade deadline.
Player development will be the goal for Detroit this year. Cade Cunningham developing chemistry with backcourt mate Killian Hayes while Jerami Grant fills up the stats is what the Pistons need to accomplish this year.
The Magic are likely going to just let Jalen Suggs run wild. After trading away their two best players at last year’s deadline, player development will be the primary goal for 2021-22. A high lottery pick will likely be the franchise’s reward for probably ending up as one of the five worst teams in the league when it’s all said and done.
The re-signing of Kevin Love is looking worse by the year. My original thought was that they wanted to retain him as a future trade asset, without realizing injuries and age have greatly reduced his value. Attaching Collin Sexton to Love’s contract might be an excellent way to get some value back so that the team can further build around its young core.
I have the Miami Heat beating last year’s defending Eastern Conference champs in the semi-finals and then beating the Brooklyn Nets in the Eastern Conference Finals. On offense, they might be a juggernaut of terror, but defense is what wins in the playoffs, and Miami has the defenders to do just that.
They also have a coach that has been to the finals five times along with a leader in Jimmy Butler, who is about as fearless as they. In the offseason, Miami added veterans with championship pedigree and will be a nightmare matchup, come the playoffs.
Who do you think will win the east? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.