NBA Eastern Conference Preview: Cavs, Bulls and the Race for Everything Else
NBA back! (That’s how basketball Twitter talks. Sorry!) Excited? This is the first half of your official unofficial TBL NBA Preview. Today, the Eastern Conference. Tomorrow, the Western Conference. The day after that, a post about whether or not something is a dunk. (It is!) Keep in mind, all previews were written to exist in a world where no injuries take place once the regular season begins. With that in mind…
CONTENDERS
I’ll be quick. There are only two teams from the East that could possibly make the NBA Finals. I mean, there is really only one, but I will concede the possibility that the Cavs could lose to the Bulls. Oh, darn. Spoiler alert!
People have some very high expectations for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The last time anyone expected anything out of the Cavs was way back in 2009-2010. That’s right, you have to time travel all the way back to the LeBron James era. We were all so young and stupid. We’ve had two World Cups since the Cavs have had expectations. That’s more World Cups than Kim Kardashian has children. Really puts it in perspective, no?
Kyrie Irving is a year older and you may recall Anderson Varejao played for the Cavs back when LeBron was there. Well guess what? He never left! Heck, he even played in 65 games last season. Who knew?
The Cavs also added veterans Shawn Marion (36), Brendan Haywood, James Jones, Mike Miller (all 34). Is this Cavs team better than the ’10-’11 Heat team that LeBron took to 58 wins and the Finals? Defensively? No. Offensively? Maybe?
The Cavs are going to be good. Probably one of the best teams in the entire league. I mean, they have the best player on the planet, two other All-Stars and a bunch of veteran role players. It’s a pretty good blueprint and by the end of the season, I bet more than a few teams will hope to replicate it. This is probably the easiest team to predict. This team should compete for the NBA title in June.
2. Chicago Bulls
Last Season: 48-34 | 2nd place | First Round Loss to Washington
Vegas Wins: 54.5
Then we have the Bulls. Tom Thibodeau somehow got a Derrick Rose-less Bulls team to 48-wins last season. It was a testament to how hard the Bulls played and how horrible the East was last season. Well guess what? Derrick Rose is back! And he’s running really fast and jumping really high! The last time Rose was doing that the Bulls had the best record in the East. Rose just turned 26 so he could still be entering his prime.
Last year’s Bulls team was horrid on offense so in the offseason they added Pau Gasol and drafted Doug McDermott. If McDermott is allowed to play, he could provide the team with some much-needed shooting. Seriously, they’re a horrible shooting team. Derrick Rose doesn’t help with the shooting ability, but he helps with the scoring. If Thibs is looking to find minutes for McDermott, maybe he could take a few away from Jimmy Butler who played a mind-boggling 38.7 minutes a game last season. (Tied with Carmelo Anthony for most in the NBA)
OTHER PLAYOFF TEAMS
3. Washington Wizards
Last Season: 44-38 | 2nd place | Second Round Loss to Indiana
Vegas Wins: 50
If you’re looking for an Eastern Conference team that actually could turn into a contender, look no further than the Washington Wizards. They have everything, an exciting young backcourt, new veterans to bolster a playoff rotation, Dan Cortese…
I really like the Wizards. They still have that young, (John Wall is 24. Bradley Beal is 21!) talented core, but they added Paul Pierce who will make clutch mid-range iso jumpers until he’s approximately 64-years old. And they added Kris Humphries who should eliminate the need for Drew Gooden to ever again be involved in a playoff series.
If Derrick Rose is the kind of player who can turn a team into a contender, John Wall isn’t far behind. The main difference is the way their teams win. Rose and the Bulls do it with defense, while the Wizards were the fourth-highest scoring team in the Eastern Conference last season.
The Raptors are going to be good again. They are also young, and just like the Wizards, they got some important playoff experience last season. They return the bulk of a team that came THIS close to beating the Nets in the first round of the playoffs last season. They should be ready to take the next step this year and close out a series. DeMar DeRozan is coming off an All-Star season and played on Team USA in the FIBA World Cup. Man, it sure sounds awesome to be a Raptors fan.
And it is, but there are pretty clearly defined limits to the awesomeness. DeRozan didn’t get to play with LeBron or Kobe or Kevin Durant and “learn how to win” on Team USA. He was a rotation guy, but he was one of the only healthy guys who wanted to play. So really, what is DeRozan’s ceiling and what is the Raptors ceiling? 50 wins and the second round of the playoffs? For a few consecutive season? Maybe they break through and lose a Conference Finals in a couple years? I guess they’ll live.
5. Brooklyn Nets
Last Season: 44-38 | 2nd place | 6-seed | Second round loss to Miami
Vegas Wins: 41.5
Speaking of teams that have players from Team USA, the Nets have Mason or Miles or Madison or Max Plumlee. I’m not sure which one, but he went to Duke should be an integral part of American basketball for the next decade. Obviously, Plumlee is the Nets’ best player, but they also have guys like Deron Williams and Brook Lopez who are pretty good role players when allowed to play alongside someone as skilled as a Plumlee.
Paul Pierce is gone which can be taken as a sign going far in the playoffs is not in the cards. The Nets have the talent and experience to beat the lesser teams in the East, but they’re not going to beat the Cavs or Bulls and the Raptors nearly took them out last year. The important thing to remember is that they have Kevin Garnett, so it will be easy to root against them.
This is the toughest team to predict, maybe in the entire NBA. On the one hand, they lost the best player in the league. On the other hand, they still have Chris Bosh and a dude who wears a Dwyane Wade jersey 2/3 of the season. And the roster is packed with guys who have tons of playoff experience thanks to the last few seasons.
Plus they added Luol Deng and Josh McRoberts will give them some front court depth which they will need because did you see that Udonis Haslem is slated to start? Seriously. Look at their depth chart. I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw that.
Still though! They have some All-Star caliber players and they still play in the East! If Coach Spo is half as good as LeBron James made him appear to be, the Heat should be a playoff team. Same for Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole. It sucks (for the Heat) that LeBron is gone, but we will get to see just how good this supporting cast was that he dragged to four consecutive Finals.
7. Charlotte Hornets
Last Season: 43-38 | 3rd place | First Round Loss to Miami | “Bobcats”
Vegas Wins: 45
14-year old me is super happy to have the Charlotte Hornets back in his life. He also thinks its weird that Michael Jordan has anything to do with them. And don’t even try to explain Lance Stephenson to him.
The Hornets made the playoffs last season and lost to the Heat. Then they added one of the more talented players in the entire NBA. Combine Lance with Kemba Walker and Al Jefferson and you have a legitimate Big Three. It’s an Eastern Conference Big Three that isn’t going to go far in the Playoffs, but it’s a Big Three nonetheless!
8. Atlanta Hawks
Last Season: 38-44 | 4th place | First Round Loss to Indiana
Vegas Wins: 41
The Hawks made the playoffs and nearly knocked off the top seed last season without Al Horford. Sure, the near-upset had more to do with whatever was happening in Indiana than the Hawks becoming a future power, but still. Horford is back and he’s pretty good so I see no reason why they can’t make the playoffs again.
Maybe Playoff Teams
Maybe? Maybe! If everything goes right, these teams could sneak into the playoffs. If anything goes wrong, these teams could tank. Hard.
New York Knicks
Last Season: 37-45 | 3rd place | No Lottery Pick
Vegas Wins: 40.5
Let’s be serious. This is Samuel Dalembert’s team. The Knicks always think they’ll be great, but they never are. Aside from Dalembert, the Knicks biggest acquisitions were a coach with no experience and… well, whatever Phil Jackson is supposed to be. Apparently, he has Melo signed up for the long haul. Other than that, it’s the same old New York pipe dream of drawing premier free agents “next year.”
Detroit Pistons
Last Season: 29-53 | 4th place | Ben Gordon cost them the #9
Vegas Wins: 38.5
What can be said about the Detroit Pistons that hasn’t already been said about your mother? They’re not that bad and Stan Van Gundy wants to have his way with them. Van Gundy has never had a team finish below .500 and this team will put that to the test. Andre Drummond spent the summer with Team USA and they added D.J. Augustin. The question is, what can SVG do with a big, athletic front line and Brandon Jennings? They’re the most likely team to sneak into the playoffs in the East. (Non-Cavs division.)
Indiana Pacers
Last Season: 56-26 | 1st place | Eastern Conference Championship Loss to Miami
Vegas Wins: 33
This is just kind of unfair. The Pacers were shallow and hard to watch when they had Paul George and Lance Stephenson. This year with Roy Hibbert getting more touches, it will only be worse. Rodney Stuckey will take Lance’s spot and will get a chance to spread his wings offensively with Paul George out, but what’s their end game? Scratch and claw their way to an 8-seed so David West can get into a fight with Anderson Varejao during a first round sweep? Unlike the Knicks and Pistons, the Pacers have a system in place and a coach who has been successful at this current job. If only they had Paul George.
Possible and Probable TANKERS
The following group of teams is going to suck, but if they play hard, they could maybe have relatively decent seasons. Of course, if they start in that direction – like the Sixers did last season – management is just as likely to force the team into tank mode. Four of the six youngest teams in the league are in this group. The good news is that most of these teams have an exciting young player or two. The bad news is that those guys are more likely to be shut down for a month with a sprained ankle than win Rookie of the Year. In no particular order…
Philadelphia 76ers
Last Season: 19-63 | 5th place | Lottery Pick #3: Joel Embiid
Vegas Wins: 15.5
Outlook: Eventually, the 76ers will want to win. Right? Or are they like the Clippers of the 90’s where they sucked every year and compiled top draft picks and had one Rookie of the Year, but no success.
Let me ask you this. Without looking, who is the Philadelphia 76ers starting center this season – Josh Martin, Shawn Jones or Herny Sims? I swear one of those people is a real basketball player who averaged 11 points and 7 rebounds in 26 games with Philly last season. I had no idea.
The high point of the Sixer’ season will probably be when Joel Embiid gets in trouble for saying something stupid on Twitter. The second high point will be checking YouTube every morning to see how many times Nerlens Noel swats a shot versus gets dunked on.
Boston Celtics
Last Season: 25-57 | 4th place | Lottery Pick #6: Marcus Smart
Vegas Wins: 26.5
Bleak! Everything is bleak. The Celtics are going to suck. And they might trade Rajon Rondo. The good news is that they have Marcus Smart who might good, but also might be crazy!
Milwaukee Bucks
Last Season: 15-67 | 5th place | Lottery Pick #2: Jabari Parker
Vegas Wins: 24
Jabari Parker seems worth getting excited over. And basketball nerds are super moist over the prospect of Giannis Antetokounmpo doing just about anything. Basically, those are the only two reasons to check YouTube for Bucks highlights in the morning.
Orlando Magic
Last Season: 23-59 | 5th place | Lottery Pick #4: Aaron Gordon & #10 Elfrid Payton
Vegas Wins: 27.5
Do you like young people doing this? Victor Oladipo, one of the best rookie’s in the class of 2013, suffered a facial fracture last week and will miss the first month of the season. The good news is that Elfrid Payton and Aaron Gordon seem fun and Oladipo will be back eventually. Just a couple more years of being young and shitty and the Magic should know what they have!