I realize that NBA divisions don’t matter, but they’re a good way to group teams into separate posts. Up today, the Atlantic Division.
Here, I’ll be listing teams in order of my projected standings, as well as give one bold prediction for each squad beyond that.
(1) TORONTO RAPTORS
The Raps keep their divisional crown.
Boston will be hot on their heels, but I still feel as though Toronto’s the class of this Atlantic division. Their chemistry and familiarity should be a key to cracking 50 wins again. The team may be led by Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, but there are solid and established role players as well, particularly Patrick Patterson and Cory Joseph.
I particularly am high on the idea of DeMarre Carroll having a bounce back, hopefully, healthy season. The team won 56 games without him at 100%, so I suspect they can return to that 50-55 win level with him integrated full time.
Brad Stevens’ Celtics aren’t quite ready to contend for the Eastern crown.
(2) BOSTON CELTICS
The Celtics won’t be contenders in the East.
I expect Boston to be a #3 or #4 seed, perhaps, but what I mean by that is that I don’t think they’re legitimate threats to Cleveland in the conference. In fact, I can’t envision them winning more than 1 game against the Cavs (barring a LeBron injury).
No doubt, Brad Stevens is a great young coach, but I suspect that his great coaching had the team playing hard and overachieving, based on their talent level. That’s all well and good in the regular season, but when the playoffs come around and teams step up their effort level, talent tends to win out. Remember, last year, the Celtics lost in the first round to an Atlanta team that went on to get stomped by Cleveland, 4-0.
That illustrates how far away the Celtics are from being a legit title contender. There’s sure to be some modest improvement from their young players and a big boost from Al Horford at a position of need, but let’s not confuse Horford with a total game changer. He may add 5 extra wins and a game or two in the playoffs, but there’s a looonngg road for the Celtics to go, and they’re still a few steps away.
(3) NEW YORK KNICKS
An exciting off-season turns into a boring season.
The Knicks certainly made headlines by acquiring Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah — but to what end? Does anyone who’s watched the two Bulls stars over the last few years really think they have enough life in their legs to jolt the Knicks back to contention?
To me, I expect the Knicks to return to .500 ball (maybe winning 45 games and sliding into the playoffs), but not doing much more than that. Post-injury Derrick Rose, and Brandon Jennings make for good scoring PGs but not efficient ones. Unless Kristaps Porzingis makes a major leap in Year 2, I don’t think anyone’s going to be talking about the Knicks come playoff time. We know who they are, and that’s mediocre.
(4) PHILADELPHIA 76ers
Sergio Rodriguez is the team’s MVP.
For the last few years, the Sixers have resembled a D-League team, especially at the PG position. Sergio Rodriguez, limited athleticism and upside or not, is at the very least a pro. It’s like an NFL team with a terrible QB situation getting Brian Hoyer; he won’t win you the title, but he’ll keep you in some games.
These young players like Jahlil Okafor and even Ben Simmons tend to be as good as a replacement level vet, which suggest that Sergio Rodriguez may indeed be the cream of the crop. Having a solid PG like that should help stabilize the roster and produce perhaps even double the 10 wins from last year. That’s why I’d project him as the team’s “MVP” over a better player in Nerlens Noel.
(5) BROOKLYN NETS
Brooklyn finds its future star to build around — Kenny Atkinson.
I don’t think the Nets have enough talent to be anything more than a cellar dweller, and star Brook Lopez may be on his way out the door after the season.
However, I’m high on the future of their head coach Kenny Atkinson. He has the right temperament and playing style to fit in with the future of the league. I expect 2016-2017 to be quite a steep learning curve for the club, but once Atkinson gets the right pieces around him, I see him harnessing this team into a winner, much like fellow Atlanta assistant Quin Snyder did in Utah. Of course, to get there, it’d help to have a few good young players like the Jazz do. With enough time, and with enough lottery balls (that they can keep), it’ll happen.
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