2023-24 NBA Season Preview: Eastern Conference

Previewing the 2023-24 season with my picks for how the regular season standings will play out in the Eastern Conference. This preview includes each team’s projected lineup, deep dives on the outlook for each team, and ceilings and floors for each team this season.

Note: The numbers next to player names represent their ranking on the top 100, to see full top 100 player article, read here: NBA Top 100 Player Rankings

If you prefer to read the team previews broken down by contender tiers, click below to switch over to Title Contender Tiers for all 30 teams:

Click on the plus sign on the right for a deep dive on each team.

• 1. Boston Celtics (59-23)

  Contender Tier

  Tier 2: True Threats to Steal the Larry O’Brien

  Projected Rotation

  G - Jrue Holiday (33) / Payton Pritchard

  G - Derrick White (71) / Jordan Walsh

  F - Jaylen Brown (28) / Oshae Brissett

  F - Jayson Tatum (7) / Sam Hauser

  C - Kristaps Porzingis (51) / Al Horford (68)

  Season Outlook

  The Celtics are coming off of a heartbreaking game 7 loss on their home court to the 8-seeded Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, and though they have made the ECF in 5 of the past 7 seasons, they’ve only managed to reach the Finals once in that span with no ring to show for it. With that in mind, they finally decided to make some big moves and shake up their roster, so this year’s team looks a little bit different than what Boston fans might be used to.

  Boston essentially swapped out the four-some of Marcus Smart, Robert Williams III, Malcolm Brogdon, and Grant Williams for Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis — a consolidation move that helps them majorly upgrade the top of the roster at the expense of some of their depth. These moves addressed the Celtics’ two biggest needs in recent years: 1) a reliable third option behind Brown and Tatum and 2) a legitimate ball-handler and table-setter on offense. Additionally, they were able to address both without making major concessions on defense, and should be able to maintain a comparably strong performance on that end of the floor. Holiday will bring everything that Marcus Smart provided to this team, but so much more. Smart is an elite, lock-down perimeter defenders and was the best playmaker they had on the team, but Holiday is equally as good on the defensive end as Smart, if not better, and is a massive upgrade as a playmaker and offensive initiator. Holiday also is on another planet from Smart as a shooter (39.5% from three the past three years for Holiday vs. 33.2% for Smart), and he has already proven he can be a legit top-three option on an NBA champion with the Bucks. That, paired with Porzinigis (a career 20 PPG scorer), gives Boston a significant upgrade offensively and it should take the kind of pressure off of Brown and Tatum as scorers that they just have not had since becoming all-star players. Add in truly elite role players in White and Horford as the fifth and sixth guys, and you have what is almost certainly the best group of six players that any team has in the league.

  With as great as the top of Boston’s roster looks, their 7-10 men are significantly worse than what they’ve been in recent years. After their top six, you’re left with Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, Oshae Brissett, and their second round pick — Jordan Walsh. Pritchard and Hauser have been good shooters (career 40% and 42% from three, respectively), but Brissett is the only player on their bench (besides whoever does not start between White and Horford) that has even averaged 20 minutes per game in a season before. They are particularly thin in the front court, especially when you consider the fact that Horford is 37 years old and Porzingis has averaged only 44 games played per season over the past five years. If one of those two misses any time, they won’t have any sort of viable backup big, with Luke Kornet being the only other player 6’10” or taller on the roster. They obviously will not have the scoring spark off the bench they got last year from Brogdon (the reigning Sixth Man of the Year) or the elite rim-protection and defensive presence they had with Rob Williams, both of which will definitely be missed and are not insignificant losses.

  With that said, Boston still has a move to make if they need, with picks and other assets still to trade. Additionally, the Williams and Brogdon losses aren’t nearly as bad when you consider that Williams has never even played more than 52 games in a season and Brogdon broke down in last year’s postseason anyways, so those two were risks to begin with in terms of health. The additions that Boston has made should more than make up for and offset the losses they had, and on top of that, they finally have a legitimate coaching staff. And perhaps most importantly of all, Jayson Tatum continues to ascend and is one year closer to reaching his prime. They addressed their biggest needs and are gearing up to take the best shot they’ve had at a title with this current core. They should be viewed as co-favorites in the East with Milwaukee, with as good a chance to win the NBA Finals as anyone.

  Team Ceiling

  The Celtics have all the pieces to not only have the best record in the East, but also win the NBA championship this season, and it should surprise no one if they finally get over the hump and win the whole thing.

  Team Floor

  In the regular season, Boston has the combination of star power and depth in their top 6 that, barring a major injury to Tatum, they likely would still be a top-four seed in the East even in the worst case scenario. Come postseason time, there is a clear-cut top-two in the East, so once again barring injuries, the Celtics will likely cruise to the Eastern Conference Finals, before potentially falling short to Milwaukee.

• 2. Milwaukee Bucks (54-28)

  Contender Tier

  Tier 2: True Threats to Steal the Larry O’Brien

  Projected Rotation

  G - Damian Lillard (12) / Cameron Payne

  G - Malik Beasley / Pat Connaughton

  F - Khris Middleton (44) / MarJon Beauchamp

  F - Giannis Antetokounmpo (2) / Jae Crowder

  C - Brook Lopez (64) / Bobby Portis

  Season Outlook

  Since the Giannis-led Bucks broke out in 2018-19, Milwaukee has played at 50-win pace for all five seasons, including three years with 56 or more wins and the number one seed in the Eastern Conference. Despite the resounding regular season success, they have only one single NBA Finals appearance to show for it, including postseason exits in the second round or sooner in three of the past four years — often coming to clearly inferior teams, such as the 8-seeded Miami Heat just last season. With the clock seemingly ticking on Giannis’ time in Milwaukee, the Bucks had no choice but to continue to double down on going all in right now — and what better way to do that than making a huge move to acquire Damian Lillard.

  The Bucks now come into the year with not only a clear-cut top-two player in the world (and probably the best two-way player in the game) in Giannis, but now also have one of the most prolific and dynamic scoring guards of this generation to pair with him in Lillard. While the Bucks have been plenty fine offensively in the regular season, having finished in the top 8 in offensive rating in four of the past five years — come playoff time, they’ve really had their struggles. The addition of Lillard is exactly what the doctor ordered to alleviate those postseason offensive woes. They now go from a team that has struggled mightily to generate good shots in the half-court to a team with one of the absolute best half-court shot-creators, offensive initiators, and late-in-the-shot-clock guys in the entire league — a guy in Dame that just posted the highest non-Steph Curry True Shooting percentage for a guard in NBA history (min. 15 FGA). The Dame-Giannis pick-and-roll is going to be extremely deadly and will really make defenses pick their poison between a Giannis drive to the basket or an open jump shot for Lillard — two of the highest percentage shots in the league. That is not even to mention the trickle down this has on their offensive pecking order, as it will allow Khris Middleton to become the clear-cut third option, while taking a ton of pressure off of him as a ball-handler running the pick-and-roll and isolation scorer. Additionally, we know what the Bucks have been on the defensive end of the floor, having finished in the top four in defensive rating in three of the past five seasons, including two finishes as the best defense in the league. While the loss of Jrue Holiday is not insignificant on that end of the floor, a lot of their defensive success can be credited to the Brook Lopez and Giannis combination protecting the paint and anchoring that defense, as Giannis has already won a Defensive Player of the Year and Lopez finished in the top three for that award just last season.

  This new-look Bucks team doesn’t come without their concerns. The drop off on the defensive end from Holiday to Lillard is about as drastic as it comes, with Holiday being arguably the best defensive guard in the entire league and Lillard being among the worst. Dame has had a defensive rating above 120 over the past two years and only 2.3 DWS in the past four seasons combined — bottom of the league type numbers. Guarding elite guards in the league such as Devin Booker, Steph Curry, or even someone like Jamal Murray suddenly become a real issue. Additionally, while their top four players rival anyone in the league, the rest of their depth is questionable at best. While Portis has been great for them, it can be tough to play him alongside both Giannis and Lopez, limiting their lineup flexibility. Crowder, Payne, and Connaughton have all had previous playoff success, but they are all very streaky offensive players, and Crowder in particular looked very rusty last year after sitting out most of the season. After that, they are relying on the likes of MarJon Beauchamp and/or Andre Jackson to meaningfully contribute, which given their inexperience, is not at all a sure thing.

  Ultimately, the offensive boost they get in going from Holiday to Dame should be enough of an upgrade to offset the defensive shortcomings — especially given the defensive infrastructure they have with Giannis and Lopez on their front line, the type of defensive presences that Lillard has never had to support him on that end of the court throughout his career. Additionally, we just saw Denver win the championship playing only 7 men consistently, with an 8th man getting spot minutes, so assuming they can get just two of Crowder, Beauchamp, Connaughton, Payne, and Jackson to contribute, they should have the requisite depth to make it through a deep postseason run. At the end of the day, Milwaukee added a top 15 player and the best teammate Giannis has ever had to their roster, so let’s not overthink it — they are going to be extremely good. The Bucks should be viewed as co-favorites in the East with Boston, with as good a chance to win the NBA Finals as they’ve had in the Giannis era.

  Team Ceiling

  The Bucks have reloaded their roster with the most offensive firepower they’ve had in the Giannis era, and as a result, are serious threats to win the NBA championship this season.

  Team Floor

  In the regular season, having an in-his-prime Giannis gives you a very high floor, so as long as he is healthy, Milwaukee is at worst still likely a top-four seed in the East. Come postseason time, there is a clear-cut top-two in the East, so barring injuries, the Bucks will likely cruise to the Eastern Conference Finals before potentially falling short to Boston.

• 3. Cleveland Cavaliers (52-30)

  Contender Tier

  Tier 6: Non-Serious Playoff Teams

  Projected Rotation

  G - Darius Garland (32) / Ricky Rubio*

  G - Donovan Mitchell (15) / Caris LeVert

  F - Max Strus / Isaac Okoro

  F - Evan Mobley (45) / Georges Niang

  C - Jarrett Allen (73) / Dean Wade

  *Will miss the start of the season in order to tend to mental health

  Season Outlook

  Life without LeBron was not easy for Cleveland the first time around, as they averaged only 24 wins per season in the four years he was in Miami, owning the NBA’s worst record in the league over that span. When he left the second time, it started out equally as grim, as they averaged only 20 wins over the next three years but, with the drafting of Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, it quickly turned around. The flashes this team showed during the 2021-22 season were enough to give the front office confidence to make a big splash, and that’s exactly what they did last offseason in acquiring Donovan Mitchell. With Mitchell on the team this past season, the Cavs won 50+ games for for the first time without LeBron James on the roster since 1993 and that big acquisition was a huge reason why. Unfortunately, the Cavs fell completely flat in the postseason, leaving a very bad taste in the mouth of many people regarding this team.

  The Cavs bring back their same core-four players (Mitchell, Garland, Mobley, and Allen) from a year ago and it makes sense given all of their ages and the resounding success this group had in their first season together, particularly in the regular season. This team rode the success of their defense behind Evan Mobley’s second place finish in the Defensive Player of the Year voting and Jarrett Allen’s rim protection and paint presence, which led to Cleveland owning the number one defense in the entire NBA as a team a year ago. Offensively, the addition of Mitchell allowed for them to jump from 20th in the league in offensive rating all the way into the top 10. It sure helped that Mitchell enjoyed, without a doubt, his best season as a pro, posting career highs across the board with 28.3 PPG and 48.4% / 38.6% / 86.7% shooting splits, the best advances stats of his career, and a career low in turnovers per game. Next to him, Garland continued to shine as the lead guard and played at an all-star level once again, showcasing his elite outside stroke (41% from three) and his dual threat ability as a scorer and facilitator (21.6 PPG and 7.8 assists). Easily their biggest hole last season was at the small forward position, where they rotated out a few different options, most notably, Cedi Osman, Caris LeVert, and Isaac Okoro, all of whom are fine players in their own right, but the situation often led to a pick your poison of offense vs. defense. Okoro is a good defender but only a 33% career three point shooter with very limited offense creativity. LeVert on the other hand is very creative offensively but is not good defensively and, despite shooting a career high 39% from 3PT last season, is best maximized when he isn’t marginalized to a "stand in the corner” guy on offense. To address this, they let Osman go and added two wings that better fit what they need at the position in Max Strus and Georges Niang. Both are significantly better shooters than LeVert, Okoro, or Osman, with Strus 37% for his career and Niang at 40%. They both are also solid defensively and, at the very least, they will get Cleveland more options at the position. This team is already very good and, with how young their top four guys are (Mobley 22, Garland 23, Allen 25, and Mitchell 27), there is no reason to think that all four won’t continue to improve, especially Garland and Mobley, both of whom have all-NBA level potential.

  Despite how much of a resounding success last season was for this group, the way they went out in the postseason raised some major concerns for them moving forward. It’s not so much that they lost, but how they lost. They came into their first round matchup vs. the Knicks as pretty comfortable favorites to win the series. They had the better record, home court advantage, a much better net rating during the season, and the presumed best player in the series. Despite all that, they still fell flat on their faces, losing in an ugly five games, including two losses on their home court. In the series, Mitchell, Garland, and LeVert were all inefficient from the field and Mobley and Allen got completely manhandled by New York’s bigs. This series highlighted a lot of this team’s flaws, including some of Mitchell’s Westbrook-like behaviors and his tunnel-vision-like play at times, as well as Mobley’s major offensive limitations. Mobley’s game on that end is still very underdeveloped, his jump shot has a very long way to go (21.6% from three and 67.4% from the line), and he really struggles as a shot creator. If he can’t ever develop a reliable jump shot, then I am not convinced that him and Allen are a good fit together. Playing them both clogs the lane for the guards and creates too poor of spacing for a 2023 offense to operate. Additionally, this team is very thin at multiple positions. Their only backup bigs are Dean Wade (career 5.1 PPG), a 32-year-old Tristan Thompson who was working at ESPN last season, and Damion Jones, who has been on 6 teams in 5 years. They are equally thin at backup guard with Ricky Rubio away from the team, leaving Ty Jerome as the only true backup point guard, a guy that has bounced around to now his 4th team in only 5 years in the league. This will likely force LeVert to play a lot of backup point guard, something he can do in spurts, but not something he should be relied upon to do for a full season.

  Even though their postseason performance as a team last season was concerning-ly bad, given their inexperience and it being this group’s first run at the playoffs, I’m willing to give them a pass and be optimistic they can be better next time around. All in all, Cleveland has a lot to be excited about given the youth of this roster, the talent they have, and how good they were in the regular season in their first full year together. They made some impact additions to a roster that should also benefit from some internal development, so there’s no reason to think they shouldn’t be just as good this year as they were last year, if not better. However, if they replicate their postseason performance, then it’s going to become a trend, and they may need to consider making some personnel changes to better optimize their talent. Given the youth of this team and the fact that they still have major holes on the roster, they should not be viewed as real threats to win the East, but should once again be very strong in the regular season and could certainly give Boston or Milwaukee a tough fight come playoff time.

  Team Ceiling

  With how young most of their top guys are, internal growth is certainly a realistic expectation, and if Garland and Mobley continue to improve, then this team could definitely improve upon their 51 wins last season and flirt with a top-three seed in the East. Come playoff time, I just don’t think they have the experience or offensive firepower to hang with teams like Boston or Milwaukee, but would have a legitimate shot versus anyone else in the East in a series. If the matchups break right (i.e. the Bucks and Celtics end up on the same side of the bracket), then Cleveland could have a shot at making the Eastern Conference Finals, but that is where their journey would likely end.

  Team Floor

  This team should have a pretty high floor. The East isn’t nearly as deep as the West this year and the Cavs have all the makings of a team that will succeed in the regular season. Barring injury, this team should be able to easily avoid the play-in and at least secure a top-6 seed. Come playoff time, after what we saw last year, there’s no question they could fall flat to an inferior team once again. It can’t be ruled out that they replicate what they did vs. the Knicks this year as well.

• 4. New York Knicks (47-35)

  Contender Tier

  Tier 6: Non-Serious Playoff Teams

  Projected Rotation

  G - Jalen Brunson (31) / Immanuel Quickley

  G - Quentin Grimes / Josh Hart

  F - RJ Barrett (84) / Donte DiVencenzo

  F - Julius Randle (39) / Jericho Simms

  C - Mitchell Robinson / Isaiah Hartenstein

  Season Outlook

  The Knicks have endured a rollercoaster of a few seasons during the Tom Thibodeau era. In his first year as head coach, the team had zero expectations whatsoever to accomplish anything, yet they came out of absolutely no where to secure a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference, playing at a 47-win pace during the shortened 2021 season. The following season, now carrying a bit of expectations to, at the minimum, make the playoffs again, they fell completely flat on their face and majorly regressed, finishing only 37-45 and not even qualifying for the play-in in the East. Then this past season, once again heading into the year with very minimal expectations beyond competing for a play-in spot, the Knicks bounced back once more to majorly exceed expectations, winning 47 games, finishing as the five seed, and this time even winning a playoff series.

  The biggest reasons for the Knicks’ success last season were the emergence of Jalen Brunson and the bounce back year of Julius Randle, two things they will be banking on replicating this season after very minimal roster adjustments this offseason. After leaving Dallas to get his bag in New York, Brunson had a career best season across the board in his first year with team, including posting career highs of 24.0 PPG (an increase of nearly 8 PPG), 6.2 assists per game, and 41.6% from three (on the highest volume of his career). He truly elevated his game from a solid, above average starter in Dallas to a borderline all-star, and he absolutely shined in the postseason as well. Randle on the other hand, after an awful 2022 season, reverted back to his 2021 form in which he made the all-NBA team, posting nearly identical stats to that season on way to his second all-NBA honors. After those two guys (plus RJ Barrett as the bonafide 3rd banana on the team), the Knicks bring back a deep group of strong role players that fit really well with what Thibs and the Knicks want to do. Immanuel Quickley nearly took home the Sixth Man of the Year award last year after having his best season, both offensively and defensively. They also have a bevy of wings to mix and match with in Josh Hart, Quentin Grimes, and Donte DiVencenzo, who was their big free agency addition. All three of those guys bring shot making, floor spacing, and defense, and having Hart in particular gave them a massive boost last year on both ends. They also bring back the big man duo of Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein, neither of which are spectacular, but both solid. Overall, this team isn’t flashy or sexy, but their 9-man rotation is very solid and is among the deeper groups we have across the league, a formula that typically leads to regular season success.

  Even with their deep roster, the Knicks still lack maybe the number one prerequisite to contend in this league — star power. They are the only team in this tier or higher that doesn’t have a top-25 guy on their roster and I’m not sure anyone currently on the team will ever get there. For as great as Brunson is, he just isn’t suited to be the number one option for a team with any realistic expectations. He also likely won’t improve too much beyond what we saw last season, as surprisingly enough, he is already 27 years old, and it’s not common for guys that make their first all-star game at that age (if he makes it this year) to develop into the kind of player you typically can build a team around. As for Randle, who actually has made not only an all-star game, but two all-NBA teams now, he is in the same boat. He is already 28 years old, and the 2021 and 2023 versions of him are likely to be the best version of what we see out of him. That is not even to mention that sandwiched in between those two great seasons was a year in which he was one of the worst high-volume players in the entire NBA, shooting only a putrid 41% from the field, a shocking number for a 6’8” player, and his defensive effort wasn’t much better. Oh, and in the playoffs, he has somehow been even worse. In 15 career postseason games, he has shot only 34% from the field, 28% from three, and has more total turnovers than assists. There is an argument to be made that he is the single worst high-volume postseason performer in NBA history. To make matters worse on their hunt to find a true star, RJ Barrett has just not progressed how you’d like so far in his short career, as he’s struggled from outside (career 34% from three), he is a poor decision maker in general, and the advanced stats are not kind to his game. In year five now, it may be now or never for him.

  There is a pretty wide range of outcomes for the Knicks heading into this year. They certainly could be a candidate for regression, given the widely variable year-to-year performances by Randle, and if he plays anything like the 2022 version of himself, then this team likely won’t sniff the playoffs. But now that he’s played at a high level multiple times, it feels more realistic that he can continue to replicate it, and pairing that with another strong Brunson season, a solid and deep bench, and a coach in Thibs that will maximize their regular season effort, there is certainly a realistic path for this team to make another run at a top-four seed in the East. Regardless of where they finish in the regular season standings, they should not be viewed as even a dark horse contender, as they simply do not have the requisite star power at the top of the team to have any chance against a team like the Bucks or Celtics in a playoff series, as long as those teams are healthy.

  Team Ceiling

  If Brunson and Randle can put together seasons comparable to what they had last year, then this team should be able to compete for a top four seed in the East. If they draw favorable matchups in the playoffs, they absolutely could find themselves in the second round again, but their only shot at a Conference Finals would be if somehow the bracket worked out where they could avoid Boston and Milwaukee until then. With that being unlikely, a round two loss feels like this team’s ceiling, just as we saw last year.

  Team Floor

  If Randle plays like his 2022 self and Barrett continues to stagnate offensively, then things could look way more similar to their 2022 failed season, even if Brunson plays how we know he is capable of. In that scenario, the Knicks would likely find themselves in the play-in, as a 9-10 seed, and given how we know Randle performs in postseason settings, I certainly wouldn’t like their chances in a one-game elimination game on the road. Regressing and missing the postseason altogether is certainly on the table for this group.

• 5. Philadelphia 76ers (46-36)

  Contender Tier

  Tier 5: Can’t Get Out of Their Own Way

  Projected Rotation

  G - James Harden* (21) / Patrick Beverly

  G - Tyrese Maxey (48) / De’Anthony Melton

  F - Tobias Harris (79) / Kelly Oubre Jr.

  F - PJ Tucker / Furkan Korkmaz

  C - Joel Embiid (6) / Paul Reed

  *Currently away from the team due to trade demand

  Season Outlook

  It has been a long time since “The Process” began in Philadelphia and, to an extent, it’s paid off. Since Embiid’s first healthy season with the team back in 2017-18, the 76ers have played at 50-win pace, secured a top-four seed, and made it past the first round in 5 of 6 seasons. They’ve had as much regular season success as anyone in that span, as they have the NBA’s second best record during that time frame at 300-173 (.634 win%), behind only the Bucks. The problem is, that success has not translated to the postseason in the slightest, as they have yet to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals once in the Embiid era. They’ve tried a number of different stars next to Embiid — Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, James Harden, and the results have been the same. Year after year, they put together a strong regular season before crumbling on the biggest stage. To make matters worse, they find themselves in a sort of stand off with James Harden, as he has said he “will never be a part of an organization with Daryl Morey” again and is currently away from the team, leaving major question marks on what this season might hold for both him and the team.

  Despite all the Harden rumors, the 76ers seem prepared to head into the season with their roster in its current form, and to an extent, it makes some sense. Not only does Harden’s trade market appears to be rather barren, but if fully in tact, this roster has nearly everything you’d want in a team looking to contend. Joel Embiid has played at a legitimate MVP level for three full years now, as he’s won two scoring titles, finished top-two in MVP all three years, averaged a ridiculous 30.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists on 52.1% from the field over that span, and finally captured that elusive MVP award last season. He has truly established himself as a borderline top-five player and a perennial MVP candidate in this league and, as long as Embiid is on the team, the 76ers will have a very healthy floor in the regular season. After him, it can’t be overlooked how solid of a season Harden had last year as the clear-cut number-two on this team. He led the league in assists (10.7 per game) and had one of his more efficient seasons in a while, including his highest three point percentage (38.5%) since his days in OKC. Tyrese Maxey has the looks of a perennial 20+ PPG scorer after posting elite efficiency for a small guard (48.1% from the field and 60.5% TS) and shooting a ridiculous 43.1% from three over the past two years. Tobias Harris is still a more than qualified fourth option and they have good depth behind those guys, returning solid role players in P.J. Tucker, De’Anthony Melton, and Paul Reed, while also bringing in Kelly Oubre Jr. and Patrick Beverly to round out the rotation. They also finally let go of Doc Rivers this offseason in favor of another championship head coach in Nick Nurse — a move that certainly should be viewed as an upgrade. On paper, the 76ers should have everything you’d want to contend — an MVP level talent in his prime, a bonafide all-star and top 25 guy to pair next to him, overqualified third and fourth options, solid depth across the board behind them, and a proven championship head coach.

  Unfortunately for Philadelphia, this game is not played on paper. Despite all of their talent, this team has fallen flat in the postseason year after year. Not only have they failed to make it past the second round at any point in the Embiid era, they haven’t proven they can beat an even relatively quality opponent in the playoffs. During this 6-year run, the best team they’ve knocked off in the postseason is a Toronto team led by Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet — a decent group, but a team no where even remotely close to contention. And other than that, they’ve beaten a 44-win Heat team led by Goran Dragic, a 42-win Nets team led by D’Angelo Russell, a 34-win Wizards team led by Westbrook and Beal, and a 45-win Nets team led by Mikal Bridges. That’s it. All of that is to say that they are yet to beat a team with a top-20 player on its roster. Why have they so consistently come up short? Well it starts with their two stars. We know all about Harden’s postseason struggles. Just last year versus Boston alone, he had games of 2/14, 3/14, and 4/16 from the field, including three games with more turnovers than assists. He is now 1-9 in his last 10 elimination games and has 46 career playoff games shooting 30% or worse from the field. While Embiid has been cut a lot of slack over the years for his postseason play, his resume is starting to rival that of Harden’s with each year that passes. In the playoffs, his scoring drops by an average of nearly 4 points, his field goal percentage drops by over 4%, his three point percentage drops to a putrid 28%, and he has had more turnovers than assists in everything single postseason run of his career. He now stands alone as the only MVP in league history to never have a Conference Finals appearance and, now headed into his age-30 season, that is not a stat you want to stand alone with. All of that is assuming Harden eventually does come back to play and is civil, but we still don’t even know how that situation will play out. We’ve seen him make it extremely toxic in both Houston and Brooklyn when he wanted out, as he’s come into the year out of shape, unmotivated, and putting in next to no effort on the court until he gets what he wants.

  Ultimately, we won’t really know what the Sixers can be until we have clarity on the Harden situation, but whether he’s traded or not, I’m not convinced it will help the team very much. If he is traded, it likely will be for pennies on the dollar, as his value appears next to nothing due to both his age (34 years old) and the fact that he’s now asked to be traded from three different teams in four years. If all they get back is some lackluster picks and salary fillers (à la Robert Covington or Marcus Morris), then this team will be no where near contention. Alternatively, if they hold on to Harden, I am terrified that he will make their life a living hell on and off the court. We’ve seen the negative impact a demotivated James Harden can have on a basketball team and I see no reason why this situation would be any different. If a compromised version of Harden shows up, not only will the 76ers likely have no shot at contending in the East, but he could seriously tank their regular season performance as well. Even if the Harden situation was a non-factor, how many times do we have to see him and Embiid fall flat before we accept that as what this team is? Could they legitimately contend if Harden was 100% happy and motivated and him and Embiid played to the ability we know they can for an entire postseason? Absolutely, they’d be a real threat to win not only the East, but the Finals as well. But until we see that, I just don’t see any way you could realistically trust this team.

  Team Ceiling

  If everything clicked perfectly for this team, Harden decides he is ready to prove himself, Embiid shows up in the playoffs with vintage MVP performances, and Nick Nurse helps makes the necessary adjustments that Doc Rivers could not — then the sky is the limit for this team. They would have a real shot to knock off both Boston and Milwaukee, and could make it all the way to the NBA Finals. However, consider me a skeptic that that reality is truly even a reality at all, and perhaps a trip to their first ECF is a more realistic goal.

  Team Floor

  It could get ugly for this team. If Harden tanks their year or they offload him for non-impact pieces just to cut their losses, then they could potentially slide down the standings into the 6-7 seed conversation and be in real danger of finding themselves in the play-in. Ultimately, Embiid should at least get them to the postseason but there are no promises after that, a first round exit in a tough matchup, similarly to their 2020 fate, is not off the table.

• 6. Atlanta Hawks (46-36)

  Contender Tier

  Tier 6: Non-Serious Playoff Teams

  Projected Rotation

  G - Trae Young (18) / Kobe Bufkin

  G - Dejounte Murray (46) / Bogdan Bogdanovic

  F - Saddiq Bey / AJ Griffin

  F - DeAndre Hunter / Jalen Johnson

  C - Clint Capela (94) / Onyeka Okongwu

  Season Outlook

  Atlanta burst onto the scene in a massive way in 2021, knocking off the top seeded Sixers and making it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. However, that run always felt like they were a bit ahead of schedule, and after back-to-back mediocre years, that looks to be accurate. And when I say mediocre, I mean mediocre. Last year, not only did they finish the season dead even at .500, but from January 21st when they sat at 24-23 until April 4th when they were 40-39, they went an absurd 33 games straight without being more than one game away from .500. They are now coming off back-to-back years in the play-in where they eventually clinched a playoff spot, just to have largely uncompetitive first round exits to top seeds.

  Despite all their recent mediocrity, the Hawks front office decided to essentially run it back with the same group they had last season. Atlanta returns 9 of their top 10 players in minutes per game from a year ago, with the lone exception being that they finally moved off John Collins in a salary dump to Utah. The Collins loss may hurt in some aspects, as he has been one of their top offensive players over the past few seasons, but his role had become more and more marginalized and he is coming off by far his worst season since becoming a starter, so it makes sense why they felt they could replace his production elsewhere. The Hawks made a big financial investment in Quin Snyder midway through last season and should benefit greatly from a full training camp and offseason to get accustomed to his system. It can be very difficult implementing a whole new system 60+ games into the season, so I wouldn’t put much stake into last year’s results with him at the helm. To be frank, the Hawks haven’t had very good coaching over the past few years, and Snyder is by far the best coach Trae Young has played for. He has a very strong track record with a .581 career win percentage (48-win pace) and seven straight postseason appearances. The hope is that he can help unlock the Trae Young-Dejounte Murray duo, who in their first year together, had some mixed results. Atlanta has complied a very nice group of young guys that will definitely be looked at to take on larger roles with the team this year, most notably Jalen Johnson, AJ Griffin, Onyeka Okongwu, and Saddiq Bey. All of those guys have shown real flashes thus far and a leap from one or multiple of them seems very realistic and could make a major difference. Atlanta has a very talented roster top to bottom with their two all-stars, the up-and-coming young guys, and mainstays like DeAndre Hunter, Clint Capela, and Bogdan Bogdanovic. If the young guys seize their opportunity or the Young-Murray duo gels a bit better, then this team has serious upside to win a lot of games under Snyder and even flirt with a top-four seed.

  However, I’m sure when the Hawks added an all-star backcourt-mate next to Trae, especially one that is known for his defense, they hoped it would help take attention off Trae offensively, cover up for some of his defensive deficiencies, and most importantly, impact winning. However, last season, the addition of Murray really didn’t do any of those things. Trae, despite having another great statistical year, only shot 42.9% from the field and 33.5% from three, both the lowest numbers since his rookie season, so whatever defensive attention Murray may have taken away from him didn’t lead to any sort of bump up in efficiency. On the defensive end, we know that Trae is legitimately one of the worst players in the entire league, and Murray playing next to him helped slightly, but not substantially. After being 26th in the league in defensive rating in 2022, last year with Murray in the fold, they still sat at only 22nd in the league. Defense has really been the main reason for this team’s mediocrity, as they have been in the bottom third of the league in defensive rating every single year that Trae Young has been on the roster, but he is not the only culprit as to why. Guys like DeAndre Hunter, Saddiq Bey, and maybe now even AJ Griffin all get reputation as “3-and-D” players, but the reality is that all of them have majorly lacked the “D” part of that label. If you take a look at the defensive metrics for these guys, you’ll see that none of them are favorable, as Hunter and Griffin both had 119 defensive ratings last year (the same number as Trae Young) and Bey’s wasn’t much better at 117. Regardless of whose fault it is, this team is going to need to be way better on that end of the court if they want to have any shot at improving as a team and avoiding the play-in this year. Additionally, for as great as Trae Young is, there are still questions about if his ball-dominant playing style can be consistently conducive to winning, and reports have stated that people on the team and within the organization have found him both difficult to play with and to coach at times. If the Hawks don’t produce this season, the list of excuses might start to run out for Trae.

  All in all, despite all their talent, this team is going to continue to be mediocre unless they improve defensively. However, there certainly is hope that they can do just that, as Quin Snyder has had a top 10 defense in 6 of his 8 full seasons as a coach, so if there is a man for the job, it might be him. If they can’t do that, then this team is likely to find itself in the exact same spot it’s been in for two years now — fighting for their lives in a play-in game. They are now 3-0 in that setting, so they certainly have the experience to get it done if they do find themselves there, but I am sure this team would like to avoid that scenario altogether and secure a top-6 seed as they did back in 2021. They have the talent and coaching to do it and absolutely should be a playoff team if they stay healthy. It is probably likely that they get to the postseason via the play-in once again and they realistically won’t have much of a chance to make noise in the playoffs once they’re there.

  Team Ceiling

  If they can clean up their defense a bit within Quin Snyder’s system, Trae Young can up his efficiency back to what it was in 2022, and the young guys all prove to be key contributors, then this Hawks team certainly has the talent to avoid the play-in altogether and secure a top-6 seed in the East. If they do that, then they’d likely avoid Boston or Milwaukee in the first round and could have a legit shot to make it to round two. However, they don’t stand a chance against the Bucks or Celtics, which is likely who they’d draw in the second round, so that is where their road would end.

  Team Floor

  If this team continues their defensive struggles and not much changes from the past two years, then mediocrity is where they will continue to live, and a play-in spot feels like a lock for them. They have performed well once they’ve gotten to the play-in in the past, but it’s not crazy to think that that luck could come to an end and they could miss out on the postseason for the first time in three years.

• 7. Miami Heat (44-38)

  Contender Tier

  Tier 4: How Do They Keep Doing This?

  Projected Rotation

  G - Kyle Lowry / Josh Richardson

  G - Tyler Herro (58) / Duncan Robinson

  F - Jimmy Butler (9) / Jaime Jaquez Jr.

  F - Caleb Martin / Nikola Jovic

  C - Bam Adebayo (24) / Kevin Love

  Season Outlook

  The Miami Heat have had one of the strangest four-year runs we have seen in a while. Since Jimmy Butler joined the team as a free agent back in the summer of 2019, Miami has made the Finals twice and came within one bucket of making it a third time — losing in game 7 of the ECF in 2022. In that span, the’ve gone a combined 5-2 in playoff series against the Bucks, Celtics, and 76ers — the three other perennial contenders in the East over that span. However, they’ve only won 45 or more games or even secured a top-four seed in the conference one single time over that span, as they were the 5 seed and 8 seed in their two Finals runs. They have heavily relied on doing more with less, including getting major contributions over the years from guys like Duncan Robinson, Kendrick Nunn, Max Strus, Gabe Vincent, P.J. Tucker, Caleb Martin, Dewayne Dedmon, and Haywood Highsmith, all of whom were undrafted players.

  After flirting with the idea of a Bradley Beal trade, the Heat smartly decided to wait for a bigger fish to become available, until one finally did in Damian Lillard. Miami was the presumed favorite to land Dame basically all offseason long, as Lillard and his agent all but publicly came out and said that the Heat were the only franchise he wanted to play for, and even went as far as to hint that he would consider not reporting if he was dealt anywhere else. With that said, Miami reportedly played hard ball, refusing to offer up their best package, and as a result, lost out on Dame entirely (also potentially due in part to Joe Cronin’s pettiness). Because the Heat had all their eggs in that basket, they were handcuffed and therefore unable to make any other major moves for months, and in the process, they saw Strus and Vincent leave in free agency for more money elsewhere. To replace those guys, they only added Josh Richardson, Thomas Bryant, and a rookie, Jaime Jaquez Jr. A team that was already very thin on talent is looking even thinner on paper than they did a year ago. They still have two all-stars in Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, as well as a 23-year-old Tyler Herro who has been a 20+ PPG guy and still is improving as a player, but after that, there aren’t many guarantees. Kyle Lowry (37 years old) and Kevin Love (35) both showed significant decline last season and Lowry’s handcuff (Gabe Vincent) is no longer on the team. Guys like Duncan Robinson and Caleb Martin had fantastic moments for them in the postseason last year (especially Martin in the ECF), but asking them to replicate that across an entire season just isn’t realistic, as we’ve seen Robinson completely fall out of the rotation at times for his defensive liabilities and Martin has never even averaged double digit points in a season before. After that, they brought in Josh Richardson to replace Vincent and/or Strus and Thomas Bryant to replace Cody Zeller. Richardson has been on 6 teams in 5 seasons and Bryant couldn’t find any minutes in either L.A. or Denver last season, so not exactly the most inspiring additions. With all that said, the Heat are going to be majorly reliant on guys like Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic to be significant contributors this year if they want to be able to replicate what they did last postseason, which is likely an unrealistic ask for a rookie and 20-year-old second year player — guys with only 15 career games combined to their names.

  Even with all of those factors working against them, the Heat somehow always find a way to make it work. All of these concerns would be fair and reasonable criticisms for any of Miami’s teams coming into the past three years, yet they keep finding guys to produce and play their best ball when it matters most. Normally it would be crazy to just assume that guys like Jovic, Jaquez, and Haywood Highsmith will step right into elevated roles seamlessly and produce, but Miami seems to be the exception. Additionally, the Strus and Vincent losses may be overblown if you look at how they’ve actually produced over the past few years. Vincent has shot below 40% from the field for his career in both the regular and postseason, and is only 33.9% from three as well. And while Strus did have a great shooting year during the 2021-22 season (41% from three), he has shot only 34.7% over the rest of his career combined and only 32.5% from three for his postseason career. With that said, it’s fair to wonder if these guys are truly high impact players or if Miami’s system helped make them appear that way. Josh Richardson should absolutely be able to replicate most of what they are losing from those two guys, as he is a 36.5% career shooter from three, is a better defender than both, and had the best seasons of his career in Miami’s system during his first stint with the team from 2015-2019. Regardless of the role players they’ve had, as long as they have Jimmy and Bam healthy, they’ll be a sure thing to be good defensively, as they’ve been 11th or better in defensive rating every season since Butler arrived in Miami. On the offensive end, we know the system will help get the best out of their role guys, but their ceiling here will be determined by the development of Herro and Bam. Can Herro continue to up his efficiency and become more of a consistent go-to guy and can Bam refine his game with more polished offensive moves and shot creation? If the answer is yes for either of those, it will open up a whole new aspect to what they can be on that end of the court.

  Erik Spoelstra has been a wizard for this team and has gotten every single ounce of potential out of what they’ve had. Between having the best coach in the NBA, a nearly guaranteed top 10 defense, a proven track record in knocking off the top contenders in the East, and a continued ability to get the most out of their guys and find production in unheralded players — it is fair to blindly respect what the Heat can be. Despite a lackluster offseason and questionable talent across the roster, they almost certainly deserve the benefit of the doubt that they’ll figure out a way to make it work. Looking at this team on paper, everything would tell you that they are a low-end playoff team with no shot to contend, but I’m not going to be the one to underestimate and count this team out until we see it happen. Even if they aren’t a top seed, consider them a real dark horse contender in the East with a legit shot to knock off Boston or Milwaukee if they were to face them. But as we’ve seen in their two recent Finals appearances, their talent deficiency can only take them so far, so they won’t be able to hang with the top dogs in the West. With that in mind, thinking this team is a championship team as currently constructed is not realistic.

  Team Ceiling

  With a clear top-two teams in the East with Boston and Milwaukee, there is definitely opportunity to slot in right after them as the three or four seed in the standings, and if all goes well for Miami, they are a prime candidate to do so. Come playoff time, this team has proven they can knock off the best teams in the East, and so they truly have a shot against anyone in the Eastern Conference. Winning the whole thing feels like a stretch though, so another miraculous Finals run that falls short is probably where this team maxes out.

  Team Floor

  This team was two minutes away from missing the playoffs all together last season, so a play-in spot is definitely in play, and if they aren’t careful, that destiny could come to fruition this season. In a worst case scenario, Miami could fall short of the postseason entirely by way of losing in the play-in.

• 8. Indiana Pacers (43-39)

  Contender Tier

  Tier 7: If Not This Year, Maybe Next

  Projected Rotation

  G - Tyrese Haliburton (20) / TJ McConnell

  G - Bennedict Mathurin / Andrew Nembhard

  F - Bruce Brown / Buddy Hield

  F - Obi Toppin / Jarace Walker

  C - Myles Turner (67) / Jalen Smith

  Season Outlook

  Projected to be among the worst teams in the NBA last season and a candidate to tank for Wemby, the Pacers actually found themselves right in the thick of the playoff race midway through the season. On January 8th, Indiana had won 8 out of 10 games and owned an impressive 23-18 record, sitting as the five seed of the Eastern Conference. Just a few games later, Tyrese Haliburton proceeded to get hurt and that injury majorly derailed their season. Without him, they proceeded to go 2-16 in their next 18 games, a stretch that dropped them all the way down to the 12 seed and completely knocked them out of playoff contention. Regardless of their limp to the finish line, this team looked way ahead of schedule in their rebuild back to contention and should be able to bring the confidence from their hot start into this coming season.

  There is a lot to love about this Indiana roster. They’re young, but are loaded with talent and still have multiple veterans that will be major contributors, or at the very least, act as trade chips if they decide to go that route. This team’s future begins and ends with Tyrese Haliburton, who not only looks like a future superstar, but might already be one. The pass-first, true point guard archetype of player is nearly a dying breed in today’s NBA, but Haliburton might be the closest thing that remains in the the league today. In his breakout season this past year, he averaged a very impressive 10.4 assists per game, good for second in the league, compared to only 2.5 turnovers per game, the second lowest among any player in the top 10 in assists, behind only the “point god” himself, Chris Paul. Perhaps the sneakiest part of Haliburton’s game is how good of a shooter he is. Despite his unorthodox form, he is a career 40.8% from three point range and has shot 40% or better in all three of his seasons thus far. Pair that with his 49% from the field overall and 87% from the line last season, and he has the makings of a perennial 50/40/90 candidate. Next to Haliburton, this team has a great collection of young talent. They drafted Jarace Walker, who has a Draymond Green type skillset, traded for Obi Toppin, who seems like a great change of scenery guy, and bring back Ben Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard, both of whom well outperformed expectations as rookies last year. Mathurin in particularly impressed and has the looks of a future 20 PPG scorer, especially with his ability to get to the line. On top of that, they add Bruce Brown to a veteran core of Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, T.J. McConnell, and Daniel Theis, all of whom have uniquely valuable and coveted skillsets. They’ve got their budding superstar, a number of young players that are candidates to pop, and multiple veterans that bring some combination of defense, shooting, and playmaking. Put all that together with a championship head coach in Rick Carlisle, and you have a group that seems poised to break out very soon.

  Of course most of these players are still very young (Haliburton 23, Nembhard 23, Walker 20, Toppin 25, and Mathurin 21), so there is a very real chance that their guys take another year or two to really break out as high impact players, and if that is the case, then this team is likely at least a year away. Walker is super young and still very raw offensively as a scorer and shooter, Mathurin was wildly inefficient in the second half of the season last year, Toppin had ample opportunity to get minutes in New York but could never quite find a consistent role in their rotation, and Nembhard doesn’t project as much more than a role player. Not to mention that Haliburton has now failed to play 60 or more games in two of his three seasons as pro, and not that that means he is injury prone necessarily, but it’s just something to monitor as a trend this season. Youth and inexperience do not normally win in this league, so unless one of those young guys takes a leap alongside Haliburton, then this group just as easily could find themselves back in the lottery.

  At the end of the day, I just think Haliburton is too good for this team to be bad. He is the type of guy that makes everyone around him better and majorly impacts winning on the court. We saw that this team could play like a legit playoff team for at least half a season when all their guys were healthy and their struggles really only came once injuries started to pile up. This also is not your typical rebuilding team with a bunch of young guys and not much else, they have legitimately good veteran players and a tenured, experienced head coach. I think this group could be one of the biggest surprises in the league this season and I’m betting on Haliburton to ascend to all-NBA level and a guy like Mathurin to take a leap in his sophomore campaign. This team will be good very soon no matter what, so why can’t it be this year in a weaker Eastern Conference?

  Team Ceiling

  If Haliburton stays healthy, continues ascending the way he has so far in his career, and at least one of their other young guys pops, then watch out, this team could be much better than most think. Not only could playoffs be in their cards this year, but maybe even a top-6 seed to avoid the play-in altogether, especially given the question marks with other teams in the East like Philadelphia with the Harden situation. Just making the playoffs would be a major success, so don’t expect them to be able to do much if they make it there, given their inexperience. First round exit is likely a best case for this team.

  Team Floor

  This team is still super young, so it could be another year or two before playoffs become a realistic goal. They’ll at least compete for a play-in spot, but with a lot of other middling teams at least trying to compete this year (Brooklyn, Chicago, Toronto, etc.), it’s possible that this team mails it in late in the season for lottery positioning and finds themselves picking in the top 10 once again.

• 9. Toronto Raptors (39-43)

  Contender Tier

  Tier 8: Directionless Teams

  Projected Rotation

  G - Dennis Schroder / Gary Trent Jr.

  G - Scottie Barnes (60) / Gradey Dick

  F - OG Anunoby (52) / Otto Porter Jr.

  F - Pascal Siakam (23) / Jalen McDaniels

  C - Jakob Poeltl (95) / Prescious Achiuwa

  Season Outlook

  The Raptors went all in on a championship run when they traded for Kawhi Leonard without any assurance he’d resign back in 2018 and it paid off with the franchise’s first title. Since then, this team has been extremely up and down. They played at 60-win pace in 2020, even without Kawhi, before losing in the second round. The next year, they were genuinely bad and fell all the way to 31-win pace in 2021 without even sniffing the postseason. They then bounced back for 48 wins in 2022, losing in the first round. Then last year, they were as mediocre as it comes, finishing .500 at 41-41 and losing in the play-in. This team seems unwilling to commit to winning now or building for the future, and their recent results show exactly just that.

  After being reluctant to trade Fred VanVleet for assets last season, they watched him leave the team for nothing this offseason — a recent recurring theme for this front office, re: Kyle Lowry. With him gone, they added Dennis Schroder, drafted Gradey Dick, and then brought the rest of the gang back. This team certainly still has talent: Pascal Siakam is a two-time all-NBA player in his prime, OG Anunoby is the 3-and-D player that every contender has been begging Toronto to move for years, and Scottie Barnes is one year removed from running away with the Rookie of the Year award. They also have one of the most underrated centers in the league in Jakob Poeltl and other good role players in Gary Trent Jr., Otto Porter, and Prescious Achuiwa. It was a hectic year for this group last year, and their lead executive Masai Ujiri even admitted that they had some issues with getting along and playing together. Instead of shaking things up, they went for the old “blame the coach” approach and fired Nick Nurse in favor of Darko Rajakovic, an assistant with the Grizzlies last season and a hire that certainly doesn’t scream “win now.” Masai has been toeing the line of going all in and rebuilding, but refuses to commit. They’ve been the “wild card” team in both the Kevin Durant and Damian Lillard trade sagas, but couldn’t get either done because they refused to include Scottie Barnes. At the same time, they’ve been reluctant to entertain the idea of moving either Siakam (now 29 years old) or Anunoby, despite both being on expiring contracts with no interest in signing extensions (which is worse when you consider the rumors of teams offering three first round picks for OG). Masai has bought some real time with this franchise given that he brought them a title, but if they lose even one of Siakam or Anunoby for nothing after letting both VanVleet and Lowry walk, then his leash is going to start to get very short.

  As mentioned, this group does have talent, but this specific collection of players has maxed out, and that’s not even to mention the step back they might take with the downgrade from VanVleet to Schroder. Their absolute best case is a 6-8 seed and a first round exit, but absolutely nothing is guaranteed, not even a playoff spot. They’re completely stuck in the middle on multiple timelines with Barnes (22 years old) and Siakam (29) being their two core guys, and they’d be best served dealing one or both of Siakam and Anunoby before the deadline and then resetting with Barnes, Dick, Achiuwa and whatever assets they get back in a deal.

  Team Ceiling

  A new voice in the huddle is effective, Barnes takes a leap, and Siakam has another all-NBA level season. All of that could get this group in the playoff discussion, but likely no higher than a 6-7 seed. A first round exit is all but a lock at that point.

  Team Floor

  Rajakovic is in over his head, they really miss VanVleet, Barnes’ play stagnates again, particularly offensively, and their chemistry issues from last season persist. Suddenly their .500 mark from last season even seems like a stretch, and given the bunch of teams in the middle in the East, this team finds themselves on the outside look in on the play-in.

• 10. Orlando Magic (38-44)

  Contender Tier

  Tier 7: If Not This Year, Maybe Next

  Projected Rotation

  G - Markelle Fultz / Cole Anthony

  G - Jalen Suggs / Gary Harris

  F - Franz Wagner (62) / Joe Ingles

  F - Paolo Banchero (53) / Jonathan Isaac

  C - Wendell Carter (99) / Moritz Wagner

  Season Outlook

  The Magic have only two playoff appearances in 11 seasons since Dwight Howard was traded back in 2012 and both the years they made the postseason they were a 7 seed or worse and lost in an uncompetitive five-game series. Last season didn’t start much better for this group, as they got off to a dreadful 5-20 start, but immediately after that, won 8 of their next 9 on way to finishing the season 29-28 over the final 57 games of the year. This group has assembled an impressive amount of young talent and they are hoping to bring the momentum of last year’s last two-thirds of the season into this year.

  Orlando has been compiling young players for a few years now, and it seems as if they may have massively hit on two of them: Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. Wagner is not elite at any one thing, but he is as solid as it comes at pretty much everything. He’s shown the ability to knock down from three at a respectable clip, he’s a good ball-handler and shot-creator for his size, and he is solid on the defensive end. It remains unclear what Wagner’s ceiling is as a player, as he seems like a sure thing to be at least a high-level role player, but after how impressive he looked overseas in the FIBA World Cup, there’s reason to believe he could legitimately blossom into an all-star. Paolo, on the other hand, looks like he is poised to be a superstar in this league. He ran away with the Rookie of the Year award this past season, as he showed off his elite shot creation, ability to get to the line (7.4 FTAs), and underrated playmaking (3.7 assists per game). At 6’10”, 250, he is massive, and it’s crazy at his size the way he’s able to handle the ball, get out on the fast break, and blow past guys, all at just the ripe age of 20 years old. This pairing makes up what is likely the best, 22-and-under front court duo in the NBA right now, and it’s only a matter of time before both take the next leap. Their third front court-mate is no slouch either, as Wendell Carter is one of the most underrated bigs in the league, quietly averaging 15 and 9 in back-to-back years and shooting a respectable 35.6% from three point range a year ago. They’ve also been playing the numbers game on their group of young guards, trading for Markelle Fultz and drafting Cole Anthony and Jalen Suggs all within the past few years. While Suggs and Anthony have been a mixed bag thus far, Fultz had a really solid season last year and established himself as the clear-cut starting point guard for this team. They also have a very deep group of other young players that if they get anything from would be a massive plus in Anthony Black, Jett Howard, Chuma Okeke, and Caleb Houstan. Add in their free agent signing, Joe Ingles, and the other veterans they have on the roster in Mo Wagner, Gary Harris, and a healthy Jonathan Isaac (yes, that Jonathan Isaac), and this team has 12+ guys that could make a legit claim at minutes this season. This group’s effort down the stretch of last season was very encouraging, especially on the defensive end, where they had the sixth best defensive rating from February on, and the natural progression would be for them to bring that momentum into this year as well.

  The Paolo and Wagner combo is a phenomenal core to start with, but the guard play on this team is questionable at best, and potentially even concerning. Specifically, they just don’t have guys that can shoot. Fultz played really well on the defensive end last year and was a good offensive initiator, but that jump shot is still broken. He (27.8% career from three), Suggs (27.1%), Anthony (34.5%), and Black (30.1% in college) all have not only been below average shooters so far in their careers, but genuinely bad ones, and this team shot only 34.6% from three overall, well below league average. They did draft Jett Howard in an attempt to address that, but he looked like a reach at 11th overall (especially with Gradey Dick still on the board), and the deficiencies in the rest of his game might make it difficult for him to even find any minutes on this team. The Magic also had a ton of cap space this summer and had a chance to really add some impact veterans that could help get them over the hump (maybe Fred VanVleet?), and all they did was sign a 36-year-old Joe Ingles, an underwhelming move considering how washed he looked at times last season. While a leap from Paolo and Franz could make a massive difference for this team, if they don’t take that leap, then it’s going to be hard for this team to be much better than last season considering how inefficient Paolo was last year. He shot only 42.7% from the field and was one of the worst volume three point shooters in the entire league a year ago, which is excusable as a rookie, but entering his second season, he can’t continue to shoot that poorly.

  Unless some of the other young guys can step up, then this group will likely live and die on the progression of their two front court guys. I am as big of a Paolo and Franz guy as there is, so I expect both to take a step forward, and Paolo in particular could be in for a classic year-two jump in both efficiency and production. However, their guard play has been an issue and I’m not sure they’ll be able to overcome that. I’m not sure the long term answer at guard is currently on the roster and their shooting is still a major concern that they didn’t do much to address. It’s certainly tempting to pick this group to jump up into the postseason, but I still think they are one transaction cycle away from getting there, as their offseason was a bit disappointing given the cap space and flexibility they had. I think Paolo and Wagner will be good enough to get this team in the play-in, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they snuck in the playoffs, but I think next year makes more sense for this group.

  Team Ceiling

  If their second half defense proves to not be a fluke, Paolo and Wagner both jump to borderline all-star level, Fultz continues his strong play, and at least one of the other guards improves as a shooter, then the postseason is certainly in play for this group. A top-6 seed? Unlikely, so they’ll need to get there via the play-in, but the middle of the East is filled with mediocre teams, so it’s doable for them to sneak in this year before getting bounced by a contender in the first round.

  Team Floor

  The guards could remain a question mark, Paolo and Franz could be largely the same players from a year ago, and they once again could fail to put together a full season’s worth of consistent play. They’re still too good to be in the absolute basement of the East, but missing the play-in and picking in the top 10 of the lottery is once again is in play for this group.

• 11. Chicago Bulls (35-47)

  Contender Tier

  Tier 8: Directionless Teams

  Projected Rotation

  G - Coby White / Ayo Dosunmu

  G - Zach LaVine (43) / Jevon Carter

  F - DeMar DeRozan (41) / Alex Caruso

  F - Patrick Williams / Torrey Craig

  C - Nikola Vucevic (80) / Andre Drummond

  *Lonzo Ball is not listed, as he will miss the entire 2023-24 season due to injury

  Season Outlook

  The Bulls went four years without making the playoffs before trading for Nikola Vucevic at the 2021 deadline and then adding DeMar DeRozan in free agency the following offseason. With that revamped group, they got off to a scorching start in 2021-22, and as late as February 25th, sat atop the Eastern Conference standings as the number one seed with a 39-21 record (53-win pace). However, they limped to the finish line, finishing the year 7-15 over the final 22 games of the year before being bounced in the first round by the Bucks. That subpar play carried over into the 2022-23 season, where they started the year 11-18 and ended up missed the playoffs entirely. The Bulls have now gone a combined 47-57 since they relinquished the one seed late in 2022.

  Chicago brings back basically the exact same group from a year ago, with their only real additions being Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig, both solid role players that have had good moments for contenders in the past, but not true needle-movers. Most notably, they bring back their “big three” (if you want to call it that) of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic, all of whom have made exactly two all-star appearances in the past four seasons, and in DeRozan’s case, an all-NBA team as well. The problem is, none of those guys are good enough to be “the guy”. With DeRozan already 34 years old and Vucevic turning 33 on opening night, odds are hight that not only have both of these guys already seen their best days, but they could start to majorly decline as soon as this season. LaVine is a bit younger, but will still be 29 by season’s end, is entering his 10th season in the league, and has only one single playoff appearance to his name. None of these guys are top-40 players in the league at this point and that can be best illustrated by their lackluster postseason track records. DeRozan has shot only 41.8% for his career in the playoffs and is just 17% from 3PT in his last five postseason trips, including two runs in which he didn’t make a single three pointer. His scoring volume and assist numbers also take a noticeable hit, and perhaps most telling of all, is that his teams consistently fall flat. Vucevic has never even made it to game 6 of a playoff series before and LaVine’s scoring and efficiency took a major hit (sub-20 PPG on 42.9%) in his one appearance. These guys have all been varying levels of good-to-elite as scorers and offensive players, but their track record shows us that they just aren’t fit to lead a team on a meaningful playoff run. They also don’t have anyone else on the roster with the clear potential to help that issue. Patrick Williams, Coby White, and Ayo Dosunmu are their best young assets, but White has been wildly inefficient from the field (41.9% for his career) and Williams and Dosunmu likely don’t project as more than role players.

  Given DeRozan’s and Vucevic’s ages, plus the fact that DeRozan is on an expiring deal, the Bulls would likely be well served to consider gauging the trade market on their aging all-stars, as well as other role players like Alex Caruso, whom they might be able to get some real assets back in return for. We’ve seen what this team can be, and unfortunately, they just have no shot to contend with his core and aren’t getting any younger. Could this team win 40+ games again and sneak into the playoffs as a 7 or 8 seed? Absolutely they could, but what good would that do for this franchise when they’d assuredly be bounced in the first round and DeRozan would likely walk for nothing? They’d then be building around a 33-year-old center and a 29-year-old guard that doesn’t make others better and doesn’t give any defensive effort. This team should commit to the rebuild, or at least a retool, and cut their losses on this season.

  Team Ceiling

  This team could definitely win 40+ games and compete for a playoff spot all season before likely finishing as a play-in team. The 7 or 8 seed isn’t out of play for them and they could win their play-in game to stay in that spot. However, no matter who they face in the first round after that, it’s unlikely they’d be able to make a series vs. a top East team very competitive.

  Team Floor

  Things could get ugly here. Their stars could decline and their mediocre play of the last season and a half could continue. It’s not out of the question that this group could be surpassed by younger, up-and-coming teams like Orlando or Indiana, and they’re already competing with teams like Toronto, Charlotte, and Brooklyn for those play-in spots. A slow start could mean this team starts selling off their veterans, and at that point, they might drop down out of the play-in discussion altogether.

• 12. Brooklyn Nets (32-50)

  Contender Tier

  Tier 9: Bad But Fun

  Projected Rotation

  G - Ben Simmons / Cam Thomas

  G - Spencer Dinwiddie / Lonnie Walker IV

  F - Mikal Bridges (37) / Royce O’Neale

  F - Cameron Johnson (88) / Dorian Finney-Smith

  C - Nic Claxton (76) / Day’Ron Sharpe

  Season Outlook

  No one has experienced the kind of roller coaster that Brooklyn has been on over the past five years. They somehow recovered from the Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett trade and put together a really fun group of role players and misfits in 2019, en route to 42 wins and a playoff berth. That was enough to persuade Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant to sign with them that offseason. In their first full season in 2021, they then dumped all of their draft capital to add James Harden before injuries cut their postseason run short. The next year, Harden asked out and they were force to deal him for a currently inactive Ben Simmons and then got swept in the first round. Then last season, the team was playing well and all seemed fine until another Kyrie saga began, ultimately leading to him asking out, and subsequently KD as well. They now are left with another group of misfits, similar to their 2019 season, and come into this season with no real expectations or clear direction.

  The Nets didn’t make any major offseason additions outside of the rookies they brought in, most notably Dariq Whitehead and Noah Clowney, and free agent signing Lonnie Walker IV. Given the massive amount of roster turnover they’ve had in recent years, it makes sense why they might want to go into a year with some sort of continuity. The headliner for this group is Mikal Bridges, who in Phoenix, was maybe the best version of a 3-and-D player that we had in the league. He shot 39% from three point range over his last two and a half years with the Suns and was runner up for Defensive Player of the Year award in 2022. But once that leash was loosened in Brooklyn, we saw that Bridges could be much more than an elite role player, but maybe even an all-star, as he averaged over 26 PPG on efficient 48% / 38% / 89% splits after being dealt. The problem is, even with his breakout, he’s likely not suited to be a number one option on a good team. That’s kind of the story of this roster, they have a lot of solid players, but are loaded with guys who should be the fourth or fifth starter on a good team. Cam Johnson (in Phoenix), Royce O’Neal (in Utah), Dorian Finney-Smith (in Dallas), Spencer Dinwiddie (in Dallas), Nic Claxton (here in Brooklyn), these are all guys we’ve witnessed thrive as the fifth starter on top-tier playoff teams. This group has the kind of role players that any team would want, but they just don’t have the stars to pair with them. By far the biggest wild card for them is Ben Simmons. He’s been a complete mess ever since the playoff series vs. the Hawks back in 2021, sitting out all of 2022, and then averaging only 6.9 PPG last year in 42 games. If he can get back to what he was early with the 76ers when he made an all-NBA team then it would majorly affect this team’s ceiling. But given his recent track record and unreliability, that doesn’t seem like something they can count on.

  This is a team that really does not have the requisite talent at the top of the roster to compete for a playoff spot, as they went only 12-15 after the deadline with this same group. In an ideal scenario, they could potentially sell off some of their role players for picks in hope of bottoming out a bit and lobbying for a better draft spot. The problem is, they don’t own any of their picks in the near future due to the Harden trade, and instead, the majority of their current draft capital is from Dallas and Phoenix from the Kyrie and KD trades. With that said, this team has no incentive to be bad or tank, so I expect them to try to win as many games as they can. Unfortunately, I just don’t think that’s going to be very many.

  Team Ceiling

  If we see the old Ben Simmons, Mikal Bridges proves his play last year was not just a hot streak, Nic Claxton continues to shine defensively, and their group of role players thrive, then this group could flirt with the playoffs. They’re going to go for it no matter what given their pick situation and they do have the personnel to be really good defensively. This team could find itself in the 7-9 seed range and sneak into the play-offs by winning their play-in games. A first round exit would no doubt be in the cards though.

  Team Floor

  This team’s star power is really lacking, and if Simmons is largely the same as he was last year, then their ceiling could be really low. With a lot of teams in the mix for the play-in in the East, this team could absolutely miss the play-in altogether and find themselves sending Houston a top 10 pick in this year’s draft.

• 13. Charlotte Hornets (32-50)

  Contender Tier

  Tier 9: Bad But Fun

  Projected Rotation

  G - LaMelo Ball (38) / Frank Ntilikina

  G - Terry Rozier / Cody Martin

  F - Gordon Hayward (81) / Brandon Miller

  F - PJ Washington / Miles Bridges* (85)

  C - Mark Williams / Nick Richards

  *Will miss first 10 games of season due to suspension

  Season Outlook

  It’s been seven years since the Hornets made the playoffs and they only have one winning season in that entire span as well, when they went 43-39 in LaMelo Ball’s rookie year back in 2022. They have, however, made the play-in twice in the past three seasons, but got absolutely waxed both times, losing by 27 to the Pacers in 2021 and blown out by 31 by the Hawks in 2022. Last year was a bit of a lost season for them, as LaMelo played only 36 games and the Hornets won only 27 games, the second lowest total for this franchise since they were called the Bobcats.

  The Hornets did not make any major additions to this roster via trade or free agency, but instead, bring back all their guys and relied on the draft to add to the team. They drafted Brandon Miller with the number two overall pick and also added a few other other guys later in the draft, most notably Nick Smith Jr. and Amari Bailey. On top of Miller, this team also has a number of other promising young guys that they’re building around. Mark Williams is only 21 and was very impressive in the second half of the season as a shot-blocker and rim-runner, P.J. Washington is still 25 and was just re-signed to a team friendly deal after a career high 15.7 PPG last year, and Miles Bridges is reportedly coming back this season, is still only 25, and had a breakout year in his most recent season, averaging over 20 PPG on solid efficiency. But the face of the franchise right now is LaMelo Ball, and right now, this team will go as far as he can take them, which is highlighted by their 75-87 record when he plays and 28-46 record without him. LaMelo is still only 22 years old, has already made an NBA all-star game, and is among the league’s most exciting young players to watch. However, the upside on this team is extremely limited. Unless Brandon Miller can develop into a star (consider me a skeptic on this), then after LaMelo, this team doesn’t really have any other players that project as better than complementary pieces, despite having an overall young roster. A lot of that has to do with their lackluster drafting the past few seasons outside of LaMelo, as James Bouknight looks like a bust, Kai Jones was just recently waived, and the jury is still out on the decision to take Miller over Scoot Henderson. With Veterans like Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward, this group has enough talent to be way more competitive in the East than they were last year, as it’s essentially the same group that won 43 games two years ago with Miller and Williams in place of Kelly Oubre Jr. and Mason Plumlee, both arguably upgrades.

  Ultimately, this is one of the stranger rosters in the NBA to figure out which direction they’re headed, as they are kind of stuck in no man’s land without a clear path out of it. Unlike the bottom-feeders of the league, they have a potential cornerstone player to build around and aren’t predominantly reliant on underdeveloped and raw players throughout their rotation. At the same time, unlike the other middling teams in the East, they aren’t built around older veteran players in or past their prime. All that to say that their talent might be too polished for them to be awful if they are healthy but they also don’t have really any guys to trade away to help them bottom out. You just aren’t going to deal guys at age 25 on good contracts like Bridges or Washington without a significant upgrade, so that really only leaves Rozier and Hayward as trade candidates, neither of which are good enough at this stage of their careers to make a marginal difference or get any sort of substantial assets back in a deal. Their best course of action is to just play it out and see if any of their young guys, most notably Brandon Miller, can show signs of potential stardom. Otherwise, this team will go as far as LaMelo can take them, and unfortunately for them, that is likely to be in a place where they are too good to contend for a top pick but not good enough to seriously compete for the playoffs.

  Team Ceiling

  If LaMelo is fully healthy and back at an all-start level, Bridges comes back and is not a distraction, guys like Mark Williams continue to impress, and Brandon Miller can show us why they made the right choice with the second pick, then this team could certainly be better than most people expect. 40-42 wins could be in play, and if they get there, then a spot in the play-in is all but guaranteed. While it hasn’t gone well for them in the play-in before, in a one or two game setting, anything can happen, and they could certainly punch their ticket to the postseason this time around. If they did make it, don’t expect any noise in the postseason, as this team would be light work for any of the top seeds in the East.

  Team Floor

  Miller could be a bust, Bridges could be a major distraction, the other young guys could show flashes but nothing else, and LaMelo could fail to show any clear signs of improvement. In this case, their season might look much more similar to last year and they’ll hover around 30 wins, too bad for the play-in but too good for a top pick.

• 14. Detroit Pistons (27-55)

  Contender Tier

  Tier 10: Have Tankathon.com Bookmarked

  Projected Rotation

  G - Cade Cunningham (75) / Monte Morris

  G - Ausar Thompson / Jaden Ivey

  F - Bojan Bogdanovic (86) / Alec Burks

  F - Isaiah Stewart / Joe Harris

  C - Jalen Duren / Marvin Bagley III

  Season Outlook

  Since the Pistons broke up their championship core of Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, and Rasheed Wallace back in 2008-09, they’ve made the playoffs only two times in 14 years, have only had a record above .500 a single time, and don’t have even one season with at least 45 wins. It’s been a mess for Detroit and the biggest reason why is that they haven’t been able to find a franchise player. Blake Griffin was the closest thing they’ve had to that, but he broke down in his early 30s and is currently not even on an NBA roster. They now have an assortment of young talent with a few candidates to step into that role, but only time will tell if they can make it happen.

  Last year was a bit of a lost season for this group, as Cade Cunningham played only 12 games in his second season, and a result, they won an NBA worst 17 games. To help get this team at least headed in the right direction, they made Monty Williams the highest paid coach in NBA history after he was let go by the Suns, in what was an extremely successful four-year run with the team, including an NBA Finals appearance. He has a strong track record of being able to connect with younger players and help them take the next step as a competent team, including working with a young Chris Paul in New Orleans, a young Anthony Davis also in New Orleans, and a young Devin Booker in Phoenix, bringing all of those groups to the postseason. The hope here is that he can do the same for Cade Cunningham. Cade showed a ton of flashes as a rookie but has yet to prove he can be a truly impactful NBA player. He has averaged 17.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.6 assists in his year plus, but has shot only 41.6% from the field and an even more concerning 30.9% from three. He is 6’6” true point guard with a good-looking shot and all the talent in the world to blossom into a star in this league. Unfortunately, in the small sample we’ve seen, he has been wildly inefficient and the advanced stats say that he has been an overwhelmingly negative player. If he can take the leap to stardom that many think he can, then the outlook for not only this team, but this whole franchise, will look drastically different. Now in year three, this season will be an important year to see what they really have with Cade and if he can be an all-star player or is more of a complementary piece. In addition to Cade, this team has a lot of intriguing, young talent with roster mainstays in Isaiah Stewart (22 years old), Killian Hayes (22), and Isaiah Livers (25), last year’s rookies Jaden Ivey (21) and Jalen Duren (19), reclamation projects in Marvin Bagley III (24) and James Wiseman (22), and their incoming rookies Ausar Thompson (20) and Marcus Sasser (23). That is a ton of under-25 talent, including seven guys drafted in the lottery (if you add Cade), and if they can even get a couple of those players to realize their potential, then this team’s timeline could be significantly expedited. This team also has a very solid group of veterans to support their young guys in Bojan Bogdanovic (career high 21.6 PPG last year), Monte Morris, Alec Burks, and Joe Harris. They almost have too many players for not enough spots in the rotation, so it will be interesting to see which guys end up being the odd men out, specifically in the guard rotation and big man rotation.

  Ultimately, this team’s destiny will most likely come down to what Cade will end up being. If he remains inefficient and struggles to take any sort of noticeable leap, then Detroit is unlikely to see any sort of major improvement to the team in terms of wins and losses. But if he can take even a mini-leap and bump his efficiency numbers up to a respectable number, then the Pistons could be a strong candidate to add 10+ wins to their total from a year ago. Either way, this team isn’t going to be very competitive, and adding any sort of expectations to even make the play-in is unrealistic. They’ll more likely than not be back in the lottery again but hopefully this time with momentum towards some legitimate improvement.

  Team Ceiling

  Like many other bottom-feeders in the league, Detroit could certainly find themselves staying in the hunt for the play-in for a good portion of the season, especially if Cade makes major strides towards improvement. Given the amount of teams going for it this year, the Pistons seem like a very strong candidate to eventually fall out of that race though, and they’ll likely be in the lottery once again, even in a best case.

  Team Floor

  Without any major improvements to any of their young guys, this season could look very similar to last year. Someone has to finish last in the East and Detroit is as much of a candidate as anyone, so another year competing for the top pick in the draft can’t be ruled out.

• 15. Washington Wizards (18-64)

  Contender Tier

  Tier 10: Have Tankathon.com Bookmarked

  Projected Rotation

  G - Tyus Jones (100) / Delon Wright

  G - Jordan Poole / Landry Shamet*

  F - Bilal Coulibaly / Corey Kispert

  F - Kyle Kuzma (82) / Deni Avdija

  C - Daniel Gafford / Danilo Gallinari

  *Will miss the start of the season due to injury

  Season Outlook

  The Wizards have quietly had one of the worst on-court products of any franchise this century, as they haven’t won 50 games in a season OR made an Eastern Conference Finals since 1979, and in that 44-year span, have won only five total playoff series. In recent years, they’ve been stuck in mediocrity. They went 34-38 in the shortened 2021 season en route to the 8 seed and a first round exit, and then followed that up by finishing exactly 35-47 in each of the past two seasons, missing out on the play-in altogether. They’ve been the best example we’ve had in the league of a team that was too talented to get a top draft pick, but not good enough to make the postseason, and it feels like they pick exactly 8th or 9th in the NBA draft every single year. In other words, they’ve been a team that has desperately needed to blow it up, trade their aging stars, and go through a full-blown rebuild, and finally, that’s what they decided to do.

  This was a busy offseason for Washington, as they traded their top two scorers from a year ago, sending Kristaps Porzingis to Boston and the face of the franchise, Bradley Beal, to Phoenix. After rerouting Chris Paul, as expected, the remains from those deals left them with a handful of picks, Tyus Jones, Jordan Poole, Danilo Gallinari, Landry Shamet, Mike Muscala, Patrick Baldwin Jr., and Ryan Rollins. The big prizes here being Jones and Poole. Jones has been the best back-up point guard in the league for a few years now and will finally get his shot at a full-time starting gig with the Wizards. As a starter last season, he averaged 16 points and 8 assists on 50% / 42% / 78% shooting splits and is absolutely elite as a floor general, leading the league in assist to turnover ratio for five straight seasons. Poole on the other hand, has had a roller coaster past couple years. He was instrumental in the Warriors 2022 title run, but has since regressed. While he did average a career high 20.4 PPG last season, he did so while shooting only 43% from the field and a well-below-league-average 33.6% from three on 7.8 attempts. He also averaged 3.1 turnovers per game, was a total disaster defensively (117 defensive rating), and continuously displayed his low basketball IQ with ill-advised shots and sloppy turnovers late in games. At only 24 years old, it makes sense why the Wizards were willing to take a flier on him though, as he could put up massive stats for this team as the go-to guy. That would be good for them for two reasons: 1) it will give the fans a reason to still watch because Poole is a flashy, highlight-reel type player that can put on a show when he’s hot and 2) with him as the number one option, this team is not going to be even remotely competitive, which is what they should want. Hopefully having the steady hand of Tyus Jones at point can hold Poole in check a bit, but if not, him and Kyle Kuzma (who’s coming off a career high 21.2 PPG) will put up a ton of points, but will also shoot this team out of a lot of games with their inefficiencies. They both also are total negatives defensively, so expect this team to be in a ton of high scoring games. Outside of that trio, this team has a handful of young guys that have shown some promise, but none that really project as more than role players, including Deni Avdija (22 years old), Corey Kispert (24), Bilal Coulibaly (19), and Daniel Gafford (25). Plus their first round pick from last year, Johnny Davis (21), who, unfortunately, looks not only like a massive bust after his rookie year, but maybe not even an NBA caliber player.

  This team is void of young players with star potential, but it’s just year one of this rebuild, so it’s going to take some time for them to compile that kind of talent. Even though this season might be grim, in the grand scheme of things, it is a step in the right direction. They are going to be a mess defensively and it will be the Kuzma and Poole show on offense, a formula that doesn’t seem like a winning one within the league’s current landscape. This team has major work to do, so expect them to be among the league’s worst teams this year.

  Team Ceiling

  They’ve certainly got some offensive firepower, so if that holds true and the role guys make up for their top guys’ defensive deficiencies, then they might be able to be a bit more competitive than expected. Ultimately though, if this group couldn’t make the play-in with Bradley Beal and Porzingis, then it’s highly unlikely they can do it with Poole and Tyus Jones. Even in their best case, this team is a lottery lock, and even just signs of competitiveness should be viewed as a positive.

  Team Floor

  With the personnel this group has in year one of their rebuild, it could get really ugly in Washington. This team has “worst team in the league” potential, so don’t be surprised if they are the front runners for the number one pick in this year’s upcoming draft.