nba eastern conference standings predictions

The 76ers will continue to struggle with the ill-fitting duo of Embiid and Simmons, but if they move on from one of them, things might open up for the remaining star. – The Heat and Raptors will fight over the 4-5 spots as teams who are much better than the sum of their parts. There could be a lot of movement as the fight for those three playoff spots rages on. – The East is much improved overall, so I’m less confident in my 7-10 spots. Killian Hayes will be the lone bright spot, unless Blake Griffin can have a healthy season. They have way too many centers (why did you sign Okafor and Plumee?) and not enough talent on the wings. At least, unless they trade for Harden during the season. This will be their year to work out the kinks, and then make a run at the title next year. – The Nets have all the talent, but I’m still dubious of the fit of all their stars, and I’m not sure Steve Nash will be a great coach right off the bat (although he’ll still be a good one). When Kemba, comes back, the team will take off, especially if they end up making a trade with the large exception they have. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum will continue to develop, and I believe rookie Aaron Nesmith and Romeo Langford could take up the minutes and most of the production of Gordon Hayward. – Call me a homer, but I strongly believe the Celtics will take the 2 seed in the East this year. It should be a great opening night! Before any games are played, though, I’d like to make some predictions on the standings at the end of the season. But ultimately, winning Banner 18 is going to determine whether the 2023-24 season is a success or failure for the Celtics.Tonight, we’ll have our first NBA action of the 2020-2021 season with the Golden State Warriors taking on the Brooklyn Nets and the LA Lakers taking on the LA Clippers. The Celtics were good defensively last season but often failed to reach the level they hit for most of 2021-22 that led to an NBA Finals berth.īarring significant injuries, the Celtics should be the No. Williams, Horford and Porzingis are all very good defenders, but can they stay healthy for a full season? Williams and Porzingis have long injury histories, while Horford is 37 years old. The departure of Smart is a huge loss on that end of the floor.

The Celtics ranked second in 3-point shots taken per game and sixth in 3-point percentage last season, and we should expect similar results in 2023-24. Boston's roster has plenty of outside shooting, too. The last time the Celtics had three 20-point scorers was 2019-20. Tatum, Brown and Porzingis are all capable of scoring 20-plus points per game. The major offseason transaction was center Kristaps Porzingis being acquired from the Washington Wizards via trade and point guard Marcus Smart being dealt to the Memphis Grizzlies. Derrick White should play a larger role as the starting point guard.

Al Horford and Robert Williams are back, too. Malcolm Brogdon was the Sixth Man of the Year Award winner. Tatum and Brown were both All-NBA players last season. On paper, the Celtics have one of their best rosters in a long time. So they've been pretty consistent since Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were drafted in 20, respectively. In two of those three seasons the C's didn't reach 50 wins, they won 49 (2018-19) and 48 (2019-20). They have won 50 or more games in four of the last seven seasons. The Celtics have finished second in the East in back-to-back seasons. ESPN also predicts the Milwaukee Bucks to finish a game behind the Celtics at 54-28, while the Cleveland Cavaliers are the only other East team projected to win 50-plus games at 50-32. They have the Celtics finishing 55-27 in first place. We're getting to the point in the NBA offseason where season predictions are starting to roll in, and on Wednesday ESPN unveiled it's win-loss projections for each Eastern Conference team.

Nba eastern conference standings predictions