NBA 2023-24 Season: Predictions for the Eastern Conference
Milwaukee Bucks
Last season: 58-24, 1st in East (lost to Heat in RD1)
Last season, the Bucks were the best team in the Eastern Conference and that was while Middleton was recovering from an injury and not at 100 percent. This season is different.
The Bucks did the unthinkable this offseason. They came out of nowhere and landed 7-time NBA All-Star and member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, Damien Lillard.
They still will miss Jrue Holiday, who was an incredible defensive player and playmaker. But, Holiday is not Lillard. Dame is coming off of one of his best seasons to date, where to averaged 32.2 points a game.
Adding Lillard to the Bucks championship core of Giannis, Middleton, and Lopez makes them the favorite to win their second championship in the last three seasons.
Giannis and Dame is the best one-two punch in the NBA. Period. Giannis is the best two-way player in the league while Dame is an all-time great scorer, shooter, and play-maker.
PG: Damien Lillard, Cameron Payne
SG: Patrick Connaughton, MarJon Beauchamp, Malik Beasley, Andrew Jackson, AJ Green
SF: Kris Middleton, Jae Crowder, Thanasis Antetokompto, Christin Livingston
PF: Giannis Antetokompto, Bobby Portis
C: Brook Lopez, Robin Lopez
Departures: Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen, Joe Ingles,
2. Boston Celtics
Last season: 57-25, 2nd in East (lost to Heat ECF)
The Celtics were the second-biggest winners of the off-season. They added Porzingis, who is coming off his best season to date where he was a borderline all-star averaging 21 points and 7 rebounds a game with a block. He also played the most amount of games of his career with 63.
After adding Porzingis, the Celtics traded for Jrue Holiday. Who was on the opposite side of all those great Bucks-Cletics matchups throughout the past few seasons. Holiday is a major upgrade over Marcus Smart at point guard. Smart was never really a point guard, he morphed into that role based on the team’s need at the time.
Holiday brings an outstanding defensive player who can guard the best guards in the NBA. While doing that is is also one of the best play-making point guards in the league while being an above-average shooter.
He is the perfect fit for this Celtics team. If anyone can help push this team over the top and help them win their first title since 2008, it’s Holiday.
Although the Celtics improved a ton with their starting lineup, their bench is the weakest it’s been in the Tatum-Brown era.
Al Horford, who is entering his 18th season in the league and is 37 years old, is still a very good big man to come off the bench. But Prichard is the only other option on the bench that has playoff experience.
The Celtics are going to rely on adding one or two players through the trade deadline in February or in the buy-out market.
If Boston can improve their bench later in the season, this team has the talent and pieces to go toe-to-toe with not only the Bucks but any team in the NBA.
PG: Jrue Holiday, Payton Prichard, Dalano Banton
SG: Derrick White, Svi Mykhailiuk
SF: Jalen Brown, Oshae Brissett, Lamar Steven’s, Sam Hauser, Jordan Walsh
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Luke Kornet
3. Miami Heat
Last season: 44-38, 7th in East (lost to Nuggets in NBA Finals)
The Heat haven't had a ton of regular-season success throughout the past few seasons, but when the playoffs arrive, they show up in a big way. Last year, they were in the play-in tournament and made it to the NBA Finals after upsetting the Bucks and Celtics.
This offseason, it seemed for a while that the Heat were likely going to trade for superstar Damian Lillard. But that never transpired. Lillard was traded to the Bucks and the Heat are still in search of their next star player to join Butler and Bam in South Beach.
Miami also lost two key players on last year’s finals run: Max Strus and Gabe Vincent. Both of them were once over-looked players that the Heat gave a chance to find a role. It is tough to lose two starters but if any team can overcome the odds it is Butler and the Heat.
PG: Kyle Lowry, RJ Hampton (2-way)
SG: Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Josh Richardson, Dru Smith
SF: Jimmy Butler, Caleb Martin, Jaime Jaquez Jr.
PF: Kevin Love, Nikola Jovic, Haywood Highsmith
C: Bam Adebayo, Thomas Bryant, Orlando Robinson
Departures: Max Strus, Gabe Vincent
4. Cleveland Cavaliers
Last season: 51-31, 4th in East (lost to Knicks in RD1)
The Cavs had a great regular season last year and the best that they have done without Lebron in a long time. But when the playoffs started and the game slowed down, the Cavs struggled to score the ball in half-court settings.
This season, they are returning the same core from last season but are adding Max Strus. Strus struggled during the NBA Finals but added toughness and elite shooting while having a lot of playoff experience throughout the past two years.
With another season together, I am confident that this core that has one of the best backcourts in the NBA with Garland and Mitchell will take the next step this season.
PG: Darius Garland, Ricky Rubio, Ty Jerome
SG: Donavan Mitchell, Issac Okoro, Sam Merrill
SF: Max Strus, Caris Lavert
PF: Evan Mobley, Georges Niang, Dean Wade
C: Jarrett Allen, Tristian Thompson, Damian Jones
Departures: Cedi Osman, Danny Green
5. Philadelphia 76ers
Last season: 54-28, 3rd in the East (lost to Celtics in ECSF)
After leading in the second round of the playoffs against their rival Celtics, the Sixers only made minor moves this offseason. While the top two teams in the East (Bucks and Celtics) added stars to their team and got better, the Sixers did the opposite.
Nick Nurse is the new Sixers coach and replaces Doc Rivers, who was fired after last season. I think this is a slight upgrade because Nurse does have an NBA title but he has underperformed in the past few seasons.
The Sixers are currently in a bad place. They have a 10-time all-star and member of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team, that wants to be traded to another team. Harden is coming off a season where he led the NBA in assists with 10.7 a game while scoring 21 points per game.
Right now, Harden is ramping back up to join the team at some point after missing 10 days while tending to a family situation. But he still has no intention of playing for the Sixers this season. The longer this situation takes to get to the finish line, the longer the Sixers will not be able to take the next step forward.
The biggest question mark hanging over the franchise is: How does Joel Emiid feel? If the Sixers fail to get a great player for Harden, Embiid might become frustrated and request a trade.
As everything stands right now, the Sixers frankly just do not have enough talent on their roster to compete with the teams at the top of the East.
PG: Patrick Beverley, Jaden Springer
SG: Tyrese Maxey, De’Anthony Melton, Furkan Korkmaz
SF: Tobias Harris, Danny Green, Danuel House Jr.
PF: P.J. Tucker, Kelly Oubre Jr., Filip Petrusev
C: Joel Embiid, Paul Reed, Mo Bamba
**James Harden is out right now
6. Atlanta Hawks
Last season: 41-41, 8th in the East (lost to the Celtics in RD1)
The Hawks finally traded John Collins this offseason and now can focus on developing their other young players. The addition of Bey last season was a good one and a perfect fit next to Young and Murrary in the backcourt.
The Hawks are a sleeper in the East, they have a great backcourt and Center with Capela but they can take the next step if their young players Griffin, Johnson, and Okongwu improve this season.
PG: Trae Young, Kobe Bufkin
SG: Dejounte Murray, Bogdan Bogdanovic
SF: Deandre Hunter, AJ Griffin
PF: Sadiq Bey, Jalen Johnson,
C: Clint Capela, Onyeka Okongwu, Bruno Fernando
7. New York Knicks
Last season: 47-35 (lost to the Heat in RD2)
Last year was the best Knicks season since 2012 when they won 54 games. It was a massive success. They won a playoff series and now have an established good core with Brunson, Barrett, Robinson, and Randle.
Now, to take a step to the next level Brunson and Barrett continue to improve in scoring the ball and on the defensive end of the floor.
To me, they are still a star piece away from competing with the Bucks and the Celtis come playoff time this year.
PG: Jalen Brunson, Immanuel Quickley, Ryan Arcidiacono, Miles McBride
SG: R.J. Barrett, Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Daquan Jeffries
SF: Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo, Dylan Windler
PF: Julis Randle
C: Mitchell Robinson, Isaiah Hartenstein, Jericho Sims
8. Chicago Bulls
Last season: 40-42, 10th in the East
Last year was a big disappointment for the Bulls but there is no denying the amount of talent that is on this roster. If they can come together as a team and their young players Patrick Williams and Dalen Terry take another step this season, the Bulls could be a threat.
PG: Coby White, Jevon Carter
SG: Zach LaVine, Alex Caruso
SF: DeMar DeRozan, Dalen Terry
PF: Patrick Williams
C: Nikola Vucevic, Andre Drummond
PF: Obi Tobbin, Jarace Walker, Aaron Neismith, Jalen Smith, Isaiah Jackson
C: Myles Turner, Daniel Theis
9. Orlando Magic
Last season: 34-48, 13th in East
The Magic finally have a superstar again and his name is Paulo Banchero. He was excellent in his rookie season.
The Magic now have one of the best young cores in the league with Banchero, Franz, Fulz, Suggs, and Issac.
I believe that they are still a few years away from making their way to the top of the East but will be very competitive this season and have a chance to make it into the playoffs.
PG: Markelle Fultz, Anthony Black, Cole Anthony
SG: Jalen Suggs, Gary Harris,
SF: Franz Wagner, Caleb Houston, Jett Howard
PF: Paulo Banchero, Jonathon Issac, Chuna Okeke
C: Wendall Carter, Bol Bol
10. Brooklyn Nets
Last season: 45-37, 6th in East (lost to 76ers in RD1)
Entering this season, the Nets look a lot different than they have in the past three years. This time they don't have any hall-of-famers or established superstars.
Even though they don't have those things this year, Brooklyn has a ton of great young talent on their roster. Their young core consists of Cam Johnson, Mikal Bridges, Cam Thomas, Nic Claxton, and Ben Simmons.
Simmons hasn't been healthy during the past two seasons and still has to prove he has that ability in him that made him a two-time all-star earlier in his career, but I’m willing to bet on him re-finding some if not all of that form back. He is just 25 years old still and is now back finally healthy once again.
This team will be hungry this season to prove doubters wrong and I believe they will be strongly in the mix to be an eighth seed this season.
PG: Ben Simmons, Spencer Dinwiddle, Dennis Smith Jr
SG: Cam Johnson, Cam Thomas
SF: Mikal Bridges, Royce O’Neale, Dariq Whitehead
PF: Dorian Finney-Smith, Noah Clowney
C: Nic Claxton, Day’Ron Sharpe
11. Toronto Raptors
Last season: 41-41, 9th in East
The Raptors didn't re-sign All-Star Fred VanFleet this offseason and replaced him with Schroder. He is a quality point guard but isn’t the player that VanFleet is.
I rank the Raptors this low because I believe that this team will be broken up before the trade deadline. Siakam and Anunoby have been in trade talks for a while at this point and the rebuild could start shortly for the Raptors.
PG: Dennis Schroder
SG: Scottie Barnes
SF: O.G. Anunoby
PF: Pascal Siakam
C: Jakob Poeltl
Detroit Pistons
Last season: 17-65
Last year, the face of the Pistons Cade Cunningham missed most of the season but he is back healthy now.
The Pistons have a wealth of young talent as they just drafted Ausar Thompson to play alongside Cade and Jaden Ivey in the backcourt. It seems like the Pistons are still figuring out their rotation for their frontcourt. They have a lot of young talent in that group too with Stewart, Duran, and James Wisemen.
The Pistons are still a few years away from competing for the East but they will be fighting to make it into the play-in tournament this season.
PG: Cade Cunningham, Killian Hayes, Marcus Sasser, Monte Morris
SG: Jaden Ivey, Alec Burks, Joe Harris
SF: Bojan Bogdanovic, Ausar Thompson, Isaiah Livers
PF: Marvin Bagley,
C: Isaiah Stewart, Jalen Duran, James Wisemen
Departures:
13. Indiana Pacers
Last season: 35-47, 11th in the East
The Pacers drafted talented forward Jarace Walker from Houston this year adding him to a good young core with Haliburton and Mathurin.
This year, the Pacers will improve and make a run for a spot in the back end of the playoffs. Mathurin is poised for a breakout second season and by playing more minutes he could score 20 points a game.
PG: Tyrese Halliburton, Andrew Nemhaurd, TJ McConnell
SG: Bennedict Mathurin, Buddy Hield, Ben Sheppard
SF: Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora
14. Charlotte Hornets
Last season: 27-55, 14th in the East
In the offseason, the Hornets added another building block for the future with Brandon Williams. Charlotte now has a good young core with LaMelo Ball, Mark Williams, Amari Bailey, and Nick Smith Jr.
If Ball takes another step forward this season along with their young core, the Hornets could be better than people think this year.
PG: Ball, Terry Rozier, Amari Bailey
SG: Miles Bridges, Nick Smith Jr., James Booknight, Bryce McGowens
SF: Gordon Hayward, Cody Martin
PF: Brandon Williams
C: Mark Williams, Nick Richard’s
15. Washington Wizards
Last season: 35-47, 12th in the East
After the Wizards traded Bradley Beal and Kristops Porzingis, they entered tank mode. This team did re-sign Kuzma but lack enough star talent to keep up not only with the rest of the East but the entire NBA.
PG: Tyus Jones, Delon Wright
SG: Jordan Poole, Landry Shamet, Johnny Davis, Ryan ROLLINS
SF: Kyle Kuzma, Bilal, Patrick Baldwin
PF: Corey Kispert, Danilo Galo, Anthony Gill
C: Daniel Gafford
NBA Playoff Predictions: Eastern Conference
Play-In Tournament:
#7 New York Knicks vs. #8 Chicago Bulls
#9 Orlando Magic vs. #10 Brooklyn Nets
#8 Bulls vs. #10 Nets
1st Round:
#1 Bucks vs. #8 Nets
#2 Celtics vs. #7 Knicks
#3 Heat vs. #6 Hawks
#4 Cavs vs. #5 76ers
2nd Round:
#1 Bucks vs. #4 Cavs
#2 Celtics vs. #Heat
ECF:
#1 Bucks vs. #2 Celtics
I am going pretty chalk throughout the playoffs on the Eastern Conference but I believe that the Bucks and Celtics are far and above the rest of the East.
I am picking the Bucks to beat the Celtics because they have proven they can get the job done in the playoffs and added an all-time great player in Lillard. We still haven’t seen Giannis and Dame together but it has the potential to be an all-time great pairing.
NBA Finals:
Bucks vs. Warriors
I think this Warriors team is the deepest in the NBA and although the Bucks might have the better duo, Golden State has much more proven success in May and June.