On Thursday, we opened up a discussion on the Western Conference, asking for your early predictions on the playoff race in the NBA’s more competitive conference. Today, we’re shifting our focus to the East.
Three Atlantic teams appear poised to enter the 2018/19 season as the odds-on favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference. According to the early odds at sports betting site Bovada.lv, the Celtics are the clear frontrunners, as they re-add Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward to a roster that came within one game of the NBA Finals.
Boston is followed by the Raptors and Sixers. While the Raptors have continually come up short in the postseason, they racked up 59 wins last season, and probably increased their ceiling by replacing DeMar DeRozan with Kawhi Leonard. The 76ers, meanwhile, will bring back a roster similar to last year’s, but will be banking on further improvements from young stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.
No other Eastern team has better than 15-to-1 odds to represent the conference in the NBA Finals, but there are a few interesting clubs worth keeping an eye on.
The Pacers didn’t lose any major pieces, and have added Tyreke Evans and Doug McDermott to a squad that finished fourth in the East last season. The Bucks may have the best player in the conference in Giannis Antetokounmpo, and a new head coach should create more stability in Milwaukee. The Wizards underperformed last season, but have a pair of All-Star guards and a newly-added eight-time All-Star center in Dwight Howard.
The Pistons and Heat are both strong candidates to earn playoff spots as well. Detroit will have a full year of Blake Griffin, health permitting, and brought aboard Dwane Casey, the reigning Coach of the Year. Miami has one of the deepest teams and most talented coaches in the conference.
Those eight teams may enter the year as the favorites for playoff spots, but there are several other contenders. The Cavaliers don’t have LeBron James, but there are still plenty of solid players on their roster, including All-Star forward Kevin Love. The same is true of the Hornets, who have a handful of solid role players surrounding their lone All-Star, Kemba Walker.
Young teams like the Knicks and Nets could make a little noise in 2018/19, as could the Bulls, who have added Jabari Parker and Wendell Carter to a group that already featured Lauri Markkanen, Zach LaVine, and Kris Dunn.
The Hawks and Magic still appear lottery-bound, but perhaps new head coaches can spark an unexpected run in Atlanta or Orlando.
What do you think? Which eight teams do you expect to earn postseason berths in the East? Are the Celtics your early pick to come out of the conference, or can the Raptors, Sixers, or another team upend them?
Jump into the comment section below to give us your early thoughts on the new-look Eastern Conference.
Pacers tbh
Boston, Toronto, Indiana, Washington, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Detroit, Miami, Cleveland.
Detroit, Miami, Cleveland, and Charlotte should fight for the 7th and 8th seeds. I have Philadelphia lower because they were a borderline playoff team until they got Marco Belineli and Irsan Illyasova. J.J. Redddick is their only 3 point shooter now. (Covington?) Washington’s frontline is improved and Brook Lopez will help Milwaukee.
Dario shot 39% from 3 last year and improved his shot as the year went along. Covington shot 36% and made the most catch&shoot 3s in the league last year.
Wilson Chandler (36% 3p%) and Mike Muscala (37%) will help fill some of that bench void left by Marco & Ersan leaving, with Muscala providing some of that stretch 5 element off the bench. Also, Furkan Korkmaz is going to get some run this year and he’s a natural shooter as well. Not inclduing Landry Shamet or Shake Milton who are both good shooters bc they probably will hardly play this year, but I think the team has more shooters than you give credit for and with bult-in improvement from Simmons, Embiid and Fultz will have this team headed for a top 3 seed.
Chandler had his worst season in a long time and was replaced in the starting lineup because of it, and is why he got traded. Muscala may or may not make it in the rotation. Shmet and Milton will be in the G League. Dario and Reddick will have to shoot the 3’s. I just remember last season before the Sixers had their win streak, they were either 8 seed or on outside looking in. It wasn’t until they got Illyasova and Belineli they went on the winning streak. And Embiid was injured to boot. I just think Boston and Toronto are strong top seeds. Philly got lucky and got the easy schedule at the end of last year. I think Indians and Washington have improved enough to be 4 and 5 and Milwaukee is close. I strongly disagree with those putting the Pacers the 7 seed. The Pacers have the most depth in the conference. Oladipo is better than Simmons. Embiid and Turner are good, but oft injured. Pacers have Sabonis too. The Pacers get the edge in veteran leadership.
I see Indiana, Washington, and Milwaukee as 3,4, and 5 Philly 6. Not Philly 3.
Well you just said it yourself I don’t think it’s all on Belinelli and Ersan, the schedule softened up considerably. They had one of the toughest first half schedules, it wasn’t “lucky” as you put it, it got soft because their early season schedule was absolutely grueling. Redick, Covington and Saric is plenty of shooting in the starting lineup around Embiid and Simmons.
Chandler isn’t going to be relied upon as a huge contributor, he’s actually just a very nice fit as a solid 3&D guy who can play off Simmons and JoJo. Muscala will almost certainly be in the rotation as will Korkmaz. I’m not saying their shooting is gangbusters but you’re undervaluing Covington and the other shooters. I still think the Celtics are the clear favorites in the East though they’re very deep.
Also kinda funny you’re harping on shooting with the Sixers when the Bucks have absolutely terrible shooters outside of Ersan and the Wizards aren’t far behind. The Sixers were a much better 3pt shooting team than both of those teams even before Marco and Ersan arrived. You’re acting as if those two are incredible players when they’re really not, granted they were hot at the end of the year but you said it yourself the level of competition was trash. Btw Bellinelli is an awful defender so whoever is in place of him (Korkmaz, Chandler, Zhaire Smith) will almost certainly be a plus for them in that aspect.
Boston, Philly, Toronto(seeds 1-3) are locks.
Washington and Milwaukee(seeds 4-5) are more likely than not.
Indiana, Charlotte, and Detroit(seeds 6-8) round out the top 8.
1.Boston
2.Philly
3.Milwaukee
4.Toronto
5.Indiana
6.Washington
7.Detroit
8.Miami
9.Cleveland
10.Chicago
11.New York
12.Charlotte
13.Brooklyn
14.Orlando
15.Atlanta
This list looks solid. Embiid still injury risk….Simmons can’t shoot…2 might be high. Toronto might not jell under new coach….Leonard’s health is big unknown. My Pacers are not going to be an easy out. They play hard every minute and Evans,McBuckets and rookie PG make them better!
I agree. I think Indiana will be the three seed, maybe two
Sixers didn’t lose anyone significant that they couldn’t replace or upgrade (Belinelli,Ilyasova,TLC,Anderson Holmes for Muscala,Chandler, Smith and Bolden). Fultz should be ready to go plus I’m banking on Simmons to improve next season. Pacers look better but so do the Raptors and if Leonard is healthy I can see him put up MVP numbers.
Philly will get in trouble because of their perimeter shooting. If they get behind and have to rely on the 3, they have a problem. Embiid still hasn’t played a full season. Simmons and Fultz being 2 guys they have to rely on is a problem. They flat out can’t shoot. Belinelli and Illyasova will be bigger losses than people think. For Indiana don’t forget, if the referees call the goaltend on LeBron at the end of game 5, the Pacers win the series in 6 games. They won the season series 3-1 against the Cavs.
I might flip Cleveland and Chicago, but otherwise it looks on point. Good work.
“Miami has one of the deepest teams and most talented coaches in the conference..”
Ehhhh I disagree. I’d say Detroit, Indiana, and Boston all have better coaches.
Top group: Celtics Raptors Sixers
Middle group: Bucks Wizards Pacers Heat
Bottom group: Pistons Hornets Bulls Cavs
Wildcards are Bucks and Pistons, both could jump to the higher group.
Still recovering from the Superman-GeneralZod fight: Knicks & Nets
Still in the middle of the Superman-GeneralZod fight: Hawks and Magic.
I think people are selling the Cavs a bit short. Kevin Love led a much worse T-Wolves team to a 40-42 record before the Cavs trade. I think the Cavs could easily get 45-47 wins in the East. This is not like the last time LeBron left the Cavs. They still have some decent players remaining.
Agree. Plus. Kevin Love had a better scoring efficiency than both Kyrie and LeBron last year. Vastly underrated. In fact KLove was in the top ten for scoring efficiency in the league last year.
They had some decent players last time too. Like that Kyrie guy
And didn’t Kevin Love have that other guy on the Timberwolves helping carry the team? Ricky something?
I would go this route
1. Boston
2. Philly
3. Toronto
4. Indy
5. Milwaukee
6. Cleveland
7. Washington
8. Miami
9. Detroit
10. Chicago
11. Charlotte
12. Brooklyn
13. New York
14. Atlanta
15. Orlando
Wow. I agree 100%.
1 Celts, 2 Raps, 3 Wizrds, 4 Sixrs, 5 Bucks, 6 Pistons, 7 Pacers, 8 Bulls, 9 Heat, 10 Knix, 11 Cavs, 12 Nets, 13 Hornets, 14 Hawks, 15 Magic.
I’d go:
1. Boston
2. Phili
3. Milwaukee
4. Indiana
5. Toronto
6. Detroit
7. Washington
8. Miami
Toronto will take a fall(Khawi is a great fit for San Antonio but not Toronto)
1. Boston
2. Toronto
3. Milwaukee
4. Philly
5. Indy
6. Miami
7. Washington
8. Cleveland
9. Chicago
10. Pistons
11. Nets
12. Knicks
13. Charlotte
14. Atlanta
15. Magic
1. Boston
2. Indiana
3. Philadelphia
4. Toronto
5. Washington
6. Milwaukee
7. Detroit
8. Cleveland
Boston, Toronto, Philly, Miami, Washington, Milwaukee, Indiana, Detroit, Brooklyn, Cleveland, Chicago, Charlotte, Orlando, Knicks, Hawks if I have to choose right now, but I usually do this before training camp starts and again right after the preseason/before the regular season, and usually look much more in depth, so I might change my mind in the next month
I don’t think my interest in the Eastern Conference has ever been more low than it is now. Celtics will win the conference with ease though.
With ease? Highly doubt it you can’t assume that because you don’t know how good players such as Fultz,Turner,Giannis,Winslow,Adebayo,Sexton just to name a few are going to be. If Turner develops into an all-star which is very possible Indiana can come out of the East easily.
Yes with ease because no other team in the East can match their combination of talent and coaching with Brad Stevens.
Boston
Toronto
Philadelphia
Milwaukee
Indiana
Washington
Detroit
Miami
Miami and Indiana too low, Milwaukee too high.
Boston
Indiana
Washington
Toronto
Philadelphia
Miami
Milwaukee
Cleveland
Washington too high and Philly too low.
Boston
Indy
Philly
Toronto
Milwaukee
Miami
Chicago
Washington
#truth
Chicago? Bit of a stretch there bud, certainly possible but you left out Detroit who’s going to win at least 45-52 games if Reggie,Blake, and Drummond are healthy.
I think a lot of people are selling the Bulls short, that could be an interesting team. If Detroit can’t make the Griffin/Drummond pairing work, or if Miami gets hit by injuries again and decides to blow it up, Chicago could sneak in as a 7/8 seed.
The Griffin-Drummond pairing will certainly work because Casey is looking to utilize Blake as a passer in his offense more than a scorer so that means a lot more looks for Andre.
Boston
Indiana
Philly
Toronto
Milwaukee
Washington
Detroit
Charlotte/Chicago
Leaving out Miami with their three dynamite defenders in Richardson,Winslow, and McGruder? Miami is making the playoffs.
You also left off the Heat…if they can even stay relatively healthy for once, they move up, and especially if they can at least just be bad at the FT line instead of god awful. Heat were the worst team at the FT line by far the last 2 seasons. Cost them countless games, especially in the playoffs against Philly
1 – Philly
2 – Boston
3 – Milwaukee
4 – Washington
5 – Toronto
6 – Indiana
7 – Detroit
8 – Miami
Although Detroit/Miami aren’t teams with playoff level, but they will make it because otherwise would be only 6 teams, so they are the best of the rest.
Indiana is my favorite team, so I’ll put them to beat the Warriors for the championship. No I won’t. I’ll use my head. It’ll be the Warriors over Boston. Last season is the first the Sixers made the playoffs in a while. They are still young and need to prove themselves.
Philly doesn’t have the depth that Boston does. Sorry chum.
Boston is still head and shoulders above everyone else in the conference.