2019/20 Over/Unders: Atlantic Division
The 2019/20 NBA regular season will get underway in just two weeks, which means it’s time to start getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign.
With the help of the lines from a handful of sports betting sites, including Bovada and BetOnline, we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division. In a series of team-by-team polls, you’ll get the chance to weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.
We’ll kick things off today with the Atlantic division…
Philadelphia 76ers
- 2018/19 record: 51-31
- Over/under for 2019/20: 54.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
How many games will the Sixers win in 2019/20?
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Over 54.5 55% (412)
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Under 54.5 45% (339)
Total votes: 751
Trade Rumors app users, click here for Sixers poll.
Boston Celtics
- 2018/19 record: 49-33
- Over/under for 2019/20: 49.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Kemba Walker, Enes Kanter, Romeo Langford, Vincent Poirier, Grant Williams, Carsen Edwards
- Lost: Kyrie Irving, Al Horford, Terry Rozier, Marcus Morris, Aron Baynes, Guerschon Yabusele
How many games will the Celtics win in 2019/20?
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Under 49.5 57% (446)
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Over 49.5 43% (336)
Total votes: 782
Trade Rumors app users, click here for Celtics poll.
Toronto Raptors
- 2018/19 record: 58-24
- Over/under for 2019/20: 46.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
How many games will the Raptors win in 2019/20?
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Under 46.5 59% (417)
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Over 46.5 41% (289)
Total votes: 706
Trade Rumors app users, click here for Raptors poll.
Brooklyn Nets
- 2018/19 record: 42-40
- Over/under for 2019/20: 43.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, DeAndre Jordan, Garrett Temple, Taurean Prince, David Nwaba, Wilson Chandler, Nicolas Claxton
- Lost: D’Angelo Russell, Allen Crabbe, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, DeMarre Carroll, Jared Dudley, Ed Davis, Shabazz Napier, Treveon Graham
How many games will the Nets win in 2019/20?
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Over 43.5 58% (383)
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Under 43.5 42% (274)
Total votes: 657
Trade Rumors app users, click here for Nets poll.
New York Knicks
- 2018/19 record: 17-65
- Over/under for 2019/20: 27.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Julius Randle, Bobby Portis, Marcus Morris, Taj Gibson, Elfrid Payton, Wayne Ellington, RJ Barrett, Reggie Bullock, Ignas Brazdeikis
- Lost: DeAndre Jordan, Mario Hezonja, Noah Vonleh, Emmanuel Mudiay, Lance Thomas, Luke Kornet, John Jenkins, Henry Ellenson
How many games will the Knicks win in 2019/20?
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Under 27.5 55% (389)
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Over 27.5 45% (320)
Total votes: 709
Trade Rumors app users, click here for Knicks poll.
Durant: Knicks “Not As Cool” To Younger Players
Appearing on Ebro in the Morning on Hot 97 in New York on Tuesday morning, Kevin Durant was asked whether he considered the Knicks in free agency before signing with the Nets. While Durant acknowledged that he thought about the Knicks, he clarified that it was “just a thought” and that he didn’t do a “full analysis” on the franchise (link via ESPN.com).
More interestingly, Durant also offered his opinion on the Knicks’ brand in general, attempting to explain why the team hasn’t received serious consideration from star free agents in recent years.
“I think a lot of fans look at the Knicks as a brand and expect these younger players who, in their lifetime, don’t remember the Knicks being good,” Durant said. “I’ve seen the Knicks in the Finals, but kids coming up after me didn’t see that. So that whole brand of the Knicks is not as cool as let’s say the Golden State Warriors, or even the Lakers or the Nets now. You know what I’m saying; the cool thing now is not the Knicks.”
The Knicks created enough cap room for two maximum-salary slots heading into the 2019 free agent period and owner James Dolan expressed confidence in the spring that the team would have a highly successful free agent period. Instead, New York missed out on its top targets and ended up signing second- or third-tier free agents such as Julius Randle, Bobby Portis, Marcus Morris, Elfrid Payton, and Taj Gibson.
Durant and Kyrie Irving were thought to be at the top of the Knicks’ wish list, but chose to join the crosstown Nets instead. Asked today if Dolan’s comments were a turnoff to him and Irving, Durant dismissed that idea, saying that he didn’t think either he or Kyrie heard them to begin with, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv.
Tension Between NBA, China Continues To Grow
Several days after Rockets general manager Daryl Morey deleted his now-infamous tweet expressing support for protestors in Hong Kong, the NBA and its partners in China don’t appear to be moving any closer to resolving the controversy it created.
Early on Tuesday morning, NBA commissioner Adam Silver followed up on the brief statement issued by the league on Sunday by publishing a new, lengthier statement which sought to clarify the NBA’s stance on the situation. In the statement, which can be read in full right here, Silver offered the following thoughts:
“Over the last three decades, the NBA has developed a great affinity for the people of China. We have seen how basketball can be an important form of people-to-people exchange that deepens ties between the United States and China.
“At the same time, we recognize that our two countries have different political systems and beliefs. And like many global brands, we bring our business to places with different political systems around the world.
“But for those who question our motivation, this is about far more than growing our business.
“Values of equality, respect and freedom of expression have long defined the NBA — and will continue to do so. As an American-based basketball league operating globally, among our greatest contributions are these values of the game.
“… It is inevitable that people around the world — including from America and China — will have different viewpoints over different issues. It is not the role of the NBA to adjudicate those differences.
“However, the NBA will not put itself in a position of regulating what players, employees and team owners say or will not say on these issues. We simply could not operate that way.”
In response to Silver’s latest missive, the Chinese state-run television network CCTV announced it would be suspending its broadcasting agreement for NBA preseason games, writes Arjun Kharpal of CNBC.
As Stephen Wade and Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press explain, the Lakers and Nets are scheduled to play in Shanghai in Thursday and Shenzen on Saturday, and while those games are expected to proceed as planned, they won’t be aired by CCTV. Silver admitted the league wasn’t expecting the network to take those measures, per The Associated Press.
“But if those are the consequences of us adhering to our values, I still feel it’s very, very important to adhere to those values,” the NBA commissioner said.
It’s not clear if the “temporary” broadcast suspension will last into the regular season, but CCTV issued a statement in Chinese (translated by MSNBC) making it clear that it wasn’t happy with the stance taken by Silver and the NBA:
“We are strongly dissatisfied and we oppose Silver’s claim to support Morey’s right of free expression. We believe that any speech that challenges national sovereignty and social stability is not within the scope of freedom of speech.”
According to comments relayed by Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer (Twitter link), Silver still intends to attend Thursday’s exhibition contest in Shanghai and hopes to meet with the appropriate officials there to find common ground with the league’s partners in China. However, he added that he’s a “realist” and recognizes that the issue may not be resolved quickly.
Silver also said that he plans to meet this week with Yao Ming, the former Rockets center who is now the chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association (Twitter link via Rachel Nichols of ESPN).
“I’m hoping together Yao and I can find an accommodation, but he is extremely hot at the moment and I understand it,” Silver said.
While Silver’s latest press release asserted that the NBA’s stance is about more than “growing [its] business,” the commissioner acknowledged to Joel Fitzpatrick of Kyodo News on Monday that the controversy has already affected the league’s bottom line. According to The Associated Press’ report, the NBA’s agreement with Chinese streaming partner Tencent, which has said it will no longer show Rockets games, is worth $1.5 billion over the next five years.
However, Silver insisted that that those business issues wouldn’t affect the league’s support of Morey and others exercising their freedom of expression.
“There is no doubt, the economic impact is already clear,” he told Fitzpatrick. “There have already been fairly dramatic consequences from that tweet, and I have read some of the media suggesting that we are not supporting Daryl Morey, but in fact we have. I think as a values-based organization that I want to make it clear…that Daryl Morey is supported in terms of his ability to exercise his freedom of expression.”
Latest On NBA’s Morey/China Controversy
As we relayed on Sunday, the Chinese Basketball Association and other business in China have suspended their relations with the Rockets in the wake of a Daryl Morey tweet in which the Houston general manager expressed support for protestors in Hong Kong. Although Morey deleted the tweet and the Rockets and the NBA made efforts to walk it back, the league remains in a tenuous spot, writes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
The NBA issued a statement on Sunday, calling it “regrettable” that Morey’s tweet had offended “many of our friends and fans in China” and noting that Morey’s tweet didn’t represent the Rockets or the NBA. However, the league doesn’t intend to fine, suspend, or otherwise punish the Houston GM, sources tell Zillgitt.
Interestingly, the NBA’s statement also looked a little different in Chinese than it did in English, according to Yanan Wang of The Associated Press. In Chinese, the league referred to Morey’s tweet as “inappropriate,” a word that didn’t show up in the English statement. League spokesperson Mike Bass said today that the discrepancy wasn’t intentional (Twitter link via Zillgitt).
The NBA has to walk a fine line in this controversy, since the league typically hasn’t discouraged its coaches, players, and executives from speaking up about political and social justice causes that matter to them. In this case though, it’s clear that the NBA’s business interests in China’s massive market are influencing the league’s decision to distance itself from Morey’s initial comments and to placate its Chinese partners.
Here’s more on the controversy:
- John Gonzalez of The Ringer cited league sources who claim that the Rockets have debated Morey’s employment status and whether to replace him. However, several reporters – including Sam Amick of USA Today, Jerome Solomon of The Houston Chronicle, and Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (all Twitter links) – have heard from sources that’s not the case and that Morey’s job isn’t in jeopardy.
- Morey hasn’t apologized for his initial tweet, but issued a follow-up statement in which he stressed that he didn’t intend any offense and expressed his appreciation for “our Chinese fans and sponsors.”
- Rockets star James Harden, who has participated in promotional tours in China in the past, was among those in damage-control mode this weekend, per an ESPN report. “We apologize. You know, we love China. We love playing there,” Harden said. “For both of us individually, we go there once or twice a year. They show us the most important love.”
- New Nets owner Joe Tsai issued an open letter to fans (via Facebook) providing more context on the situation in Hong Kong and China and criticizing Morey for not being “as well informed as he should have been.” Tsai’s framing of the Hong Kong protests as a “separatist movement,” rather than a fight for civil rights and democracy, echoes language used by the Chinese government. It’s worth noting that no NBA owner is more invested in China than Tsai, the co-founder of Alibaba Group.
- The Chinese Basketball Association has cancelled the G League exhibition games between the Rockets‘ and Mavericks‘ affiliates scheduled to take place in the country later this month, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
- For more analysis on the saga, be sure to check out pieces from Chris Mannix of SI.com, Daniel Victor of The New York Times, and Adam Zagoria of Forbes.
Atlantic Notes: Lowry, Brown, Dinwiddie, Prince
Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun writes that while Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry has now spent seven full seasons in Toronto and helped the team bring home its first championship last season, the 33-year-old’s future after this season is up in the air.
Lowry will turn 34 in March, which means that Father Time will be creeping in to add some slippage sooner rather than later. Wolstat suggests that Chauncey Billups is a decent comparable to Lowry and that Billups, also a five-time All-Star, made his last All-Star appearance at age 33.
The Raptors need to add some young talent around Pascal Siakam, and Fred VanVleet, eight years Lowry’s junior, also will be looking for a new, more lucrative deal with the Raptors this summer.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston reports that Celtics guard Jaylen Brown is looking to hire an agent for the first time in his NBA career to represent him in negotiations with Boston on what Brown hopes will be a long-term deal that’ll keep him with the Celtics.
- Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie sent out an interesting tweet in response to the NBA’s latest take on his plan to convert his contract into a digital investment vehicle. Per Marc Stein of The New York Times, an NBA spokesperson says Dinwiddie’s arrangement “remains prohibited by the CBA,” to which Dinwiddie replied, “This won’t end well lol.”
- Nets forward Taurean Prince is making a case for a rookie-scale extension, especially with his preseason performance against SESI France Basquete, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Prince, who has been praised all summer by teammates, led the team with 22 points. “It’s just proof that the work I’ve put in and that the coaches have put in and the things we’ve been doing as a team have been working. I’m glad we’ve been able to transfer it over to the game.”
Latest On Dinwiddie's Contract Plans
- Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie and the NBA met on Thursday to discuss his plan to convert his contract into a digital investment vehicle, sources tell Charania. The NBA had wanted to nix Dinwiddie’s plan, but the point guard insists it doesn’t violate the league’s CBA and intends to move forward with it. According to Charania, the league will reconvene over “potential next steps.”
Nets Notes: Allen, Jordan, LeVert
- There’s no animosity between Jarrett Allen and newly-added big man DeAndre Jordan, who are embracing their battle for the Nets‘ starting center job, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post details. “It’s going great. Jarrett’s a great young player. He’s proven to be a great rim protector and he’s getting better each year,” Jordan said. “We’re definitely challenging him every day in practice. For us, being able to battle against each other every day is going to be good not only for us individually but great for our team.”
- After signing a new long-term extension with the Nets this summer, Caris LeVert is looking to take his game to another level in 2019/20, writes Howie Kussoy of The New York Post. “I think [his ceiling’s] really high,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said of LeVert, pointing to the guard’s strong start to the 2018/19 season. “He was really dominating, and in the playoffs, he was starting to hit his stride. You could argue he was our best player in the playoffs. … There’s guys that want to be great and guys who are desperate to be great, and he’s in that desperate category. There’s only a few guys like that.”
Nets’ Jaylen Hands To Sign G League Contract
Nets second-round pick Jaylen Hands will sign a contract to join the Long Island Nets of the G League, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
Hands, a 6’3″ guard out of UCLA, was selected by Brooklyn with the No. 56 overall pick in this year’s draft after declaring as an early entrant following his sophomore season. In 2018/19, the 20-year-old averaged 14.2 PPG, 6.1 APG, and 3.7 RPG with a .413/.373/.780 shooting line in 33 games (31.2 MPG) for the Bruins.
Because the Nets already have 15 players on guaranteed salaries and have filled both of their two-way contract slots, a G League contract has long appeared to be the most likely outcome for Hands. Brooklyn will retain his NBA rights while he plays for Long Island, so other NBA teams won’t be able to poach him away. Hands would be eligible to sign with the Nets later in the season or in a future league year.
While Hands may still be in Brooklyn’s long-term plans, recent history suggests that second-round picks who start their careers on G League contracts aren’t locks to eventually join their NBA team. Since 2017, four draftees have signed NBAGL deals and only one (Isaiah Hartenstein) has eventually appeared in at least one game for the NBA team that drafted him.
With Hands’ plans for the 2019/20 season now clear, Hornets second-rounder Jalen McDaniels is the only 2019 draft pick whose immediate future remains uncertain.
Dinwiddie To Meet With League Officials
- Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie will meet with league officials this week to discuss his plan to turn his contract into an investment tool, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The NBA nixed the idea last week but Dinwiddle hopes he can convince the league to reverse its ruling. Dinwiddie wanted to enable investors to essentially buy shares of his three-year, $34.4MM contract.
Atkinson Was Important Part Of Nets' Free Agent Success
- The role of Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson in the team’s successful foray into free agency this summer shouldn’t be overlooked, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post, who points out that both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant praised Atkinson in their initial comments to the media last week.