Looking at the Eastern Conference, two teams stand out among the pack – at least in the betting lines.
In the NBA futures odds posted by FanDuel for next year’s championship, the Cavaliers (+750) and Knicks (+800) are the clear favorites.
That seems to be more of a process of elimination, rather than those teams dramatically improving this offseason.
The Celtics have spent the offseason shedding salary since star forward Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles during the playoffs.
Another perennial playoff contender, the Bucks, lost Damian Lillard in similar fashion and then waived him, allowing them to sign free agent Myles Turner. However, the oddsmakers peg them just eighth among Eastern Conference teams with even Boston ahead of them.
The defending conference champions, the Pacers, sit below both of them after losing Turner, as well as star guard Tyrese Haliburton for all of next season due to his Game 7 Achilles tear.
The Magic (+1700) rank third in the conference, followed by the Hawks (+3000), Sixers (+3500) and Pistons (+4000).
The merits of the favorites are obvious. Cleveland won 64 regular season games but couldn’t get past Indiana in the postseason. New York suffered a similar fate in the conference finals.
The Knicks made a head coaching change, but otherwise the rosters of the two conference favorites remained pretty much intact.
Orlando was snake-bit by injuries last season but have two star forwards in Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. The Magic made arguably the biggest trade among Eastern teams this offseason, adding Desmond Bane to their backcourt. The Hawks also made a major deal, acquiring Kristaps Porzingis to upgrade their frontcourt.
That brings us to today’s topic: Do you agree with the oddsmakers that the Cavaliers and Knicks are the top teams in the East? If not, which team or teams do you believe can challenge them for conference supremacy?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.
Cavs easily. Then whoever won the west, even easierly.
You have no idea what’s gonna happen with injuries, trades, etc.
It’s pointless to even guess, let alone pretend you know what’s up.
Cavs and knicks will win plenty of regular season games. Deserve to be favoured. Both will be judged on playoffs. I like the Magic’s roster construction if healthy, lots of versatility both ends. My dark horse is Atlanta. Could see the Hawks being the pacers of last season.
MaGic and hawks are my sleepers for the east.
Mine too.
TOP 4
1 Cavs (young and improving, competition is weak)
2 Knicks (whole is less than sum of parts, distant 2nd)
3 Magic (on the rise, Suggs returns, Bane is a hit)
4 Pistons (on the rise, Ausar Thompson breaks out)
CRAPSHOOT
5 Heat (high bottom, low ceiling)
6 Celtics (heart of a champion, talent of a play-in)
7 Hawks (can’t win a playoff series with Trae)
8 Pacers (Haliburton and Turner losses too great)
9 Bucks (1 man gang..unti he’s gone?)
10 Raptors (dark horse)
WON’T TANK, BUT RESULT WILL BE THE SAME
11 76ers. (Embiid and Grorge are washed)
12 Bulls (Evil Genius GM to seek more young talent)
TANKING
13 Hornets (awaiting next batch of PHO Suns rejects)
14 Nets (featuring 5 rookie Euro point guards)
15 Bullets (under supervision of US National Guard)
Nice tiers ……. I have it quite similar.
I’d include the 76ers under crapshoot, I’d put the BULLS with the tanking teams.
Every season the Pacers have a way of beating expectations. Everybody should have learned that they are much more than Haliburton. Siakkam is a quiet superstar. They have lots of great young players that are improving fast.
McConnell and Nebhard will step in for Haliburton. Nesmith Topin and Mathurin are coming fast. They probably get bounced early but they will be in hunt
More than Siakam, Nemhard etc ….. it’s Carlisle – he’s always been among the upper-tier coaches, but the past few seasons, he has seemed to have fully embraced just letting his players fly on offense, while putting a shorter leash on defense.
This is why I won’t discount the PACERS fight for at least a play-in spot.
100%.
Memories are short, aren’t they? Less than 2 months ago, Pacers were proving to all the doubters (including me) that they were the 2nd best team in the NBA.
Cavs Magic Pistons Bucks Knicks Hawks Celtics Heat Raptors Pacers
ok, a hundo on the magic, hawks, and pistons it is.
Hawks are easily the most improved. Knicks and Cavs are returning the most healthy players and are definitely the favorites. As a C’s fan I am hoping that JB unlocks a vicious level and just takes over the narrative that this was ever Tatum’s team.
@justkidding Maybe the Hawks look like the most improved but Porzingis will have to get healthy and he’s not. Look at his history he’s always injured and it gets worse every year.
Even still, he is a massive upgrade over Capela. Hawks have a lot of depth too. Kristaps a wild card but if he’s healthy they are going to threaten the top 4. He likely won’t be though, I have them at somewhere between 5-7 if everything is normal.
If you have the best player in the conference on your team, and both Tatum and Halliburton are likely out for the season, how can you place the Bucks 8th?
Supporting cast to Giannis is terrible. Lopez was better fit than Turner. Giannis can get them 45 wins on his own. Pray Giannis can stay healthy or Bucks are tankers.
Which is why GSW gotta keep Kuminga and hold him out til Dec 15. If Bucks don’t gel, Giannis will request that trade to GSW.
Jimmy+Buddy+Kuminga+Podz+TJD+firsts for Giannis and random salary matches from Bucks. Bucks will flip Jimmy and Buddy to a contender for even more.
johnzable, Bucks are way worse than last year because they lost their 2nd superstar. How are they going to replace Lillard’s 25 pts?
In the past, the Bucks could relay on Middleton, Holliday, or Lillard as a #2 scoring option. This is a whole new ballgame.
Come on. The Heat are better than a Celtic team with Derrick White and Jaylen Brown? LOL ok. Sure. I notice nobody can respond to that poster, how convenient…
Heat are a mess. Have been since they traded Jimmy Buckets. They dont have much outside of Bam.
Celtics still have White, Brown and Pritchard + Simons to fill it up in an offense meant for 3 pts shooters and guys who get to the basket. Yeah their bigs are terrible, but their bigs were terrible with IT4 and they won.
I agree the Hawks have the potential to be a top 4 team in the east.
My top 3 would be Cavs, Magic and Knicks with a BIG EFFING Asterisk on the Knicks bc they are the Knicks and have a guy at pg who really does not make other players better and KAT is terrible at defense. Plus getting rid of Thibs was insanely stupid. Sorry Knick fans, lot of hate towards your organization, but didnt you guys come up with ABC?
I agree a team with Giannis and Turner should be higher than 8th…
> I agree a team with Giannis and Turner should be higher than 8th…
Milwaukee won 48 games with Dame Liliard scoring 25 ppg. Now, Milwaukee doesn’t have a second scorer. Nobody is saying Milwaukee is better than last year.
The loss of Brook Lopez is a huge deal. He anchored their defense, played 32 mpg, 13 ppg, shot close to 40% from outside, and led with toughness. If Myles Turner is an upgrade, it’s not by much.
> The Heat are better than a Celtic team with Derrick White and Jaylen Brown?
This year, absolutely. While the Heat got better by adding Norman Powell, the Celtics are taking the year off. They already have some glaring deficiencies, and they are still trying to offload salaries (like Anfernee Simons). Don’t think tanking is off the table.
Consider:
1) Celtics have no C or PF. Horford, Porzingis, and Kornet are gone. Tatum is out. They have no interior scoring or defense.
2) With Jrue Holiday also gone, this team lacks firepower. Brown and White are not enough when the players at the other 3 positions have never been NBA starters (Anfernee Simons will be gone soon.)
East should be fun this year
I have a lotta Questions that will probably be answered in 10 months organically
Can JAllen thrive w Mobley or do they need to trade Allen
Will Franz fit, ever?
Will Det find that Co-star this year
Can Bam ever fit a Bat-Man suit
Trae- This is it bud, last train
Mil – Whew, collars gettin tight, its gonna be a scary rollercoaster *still see top 6
Tor- The bomb will go off if you go under 60MPH – Can they pull a Keanu?
Pearls of wisdom. I’m killing myself trying to understand the Keanu reference, though?!
From the 1994 classic ~Speed