2016-17 NBA Eastern Conference Predictions, Picks and Preview

The Eastern Conference can be won by anyone this year….. is what we would say if Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are not around.

Talent-wise, there are teams in the East that can match what the Cavs have as a whole. But in terms of dethroning the two-time defending conference champs, it is hard to imagine that any team can.

Below are short rundowns of every team in the East. It’ll include odds to win the conference, projected wins, and more. Read on!

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2016-17 NBA Eastern Conference Preview

The Playoff Teams

1. Cleveland Cavaliers (-330)

Last season: 57-25
This season: 58-24 – over 57.0 wins

A team with a trio of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love is scary in and of itself. With those three, you have players who can play inside and out, and defend passing lanes well. What’s even scarier, though, is that they now know how to win with each other.

The signings of Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Chris Andersen were not as hyped as the other team’s signings, but it fits the team’s vision of surrounding the Big Three with loads of shooters and rebounders.

The athletic kid they drafted out of Oakland, Kay Felder, can also be a good addition. He may yet provide a good amount of highlights in the season.

2. Boston Celtics (+700)

Last season: 48-34
This season: 51-31 – under 52.0 wins

As good as Brad Stevens was in Butler, Celtics GM Danny Ainge made a huge risk hiring him in 2013. Now, everything’s paying off. It turned out to be a pretty good steal.

The two have built a team that plays together really well. Isaiah Thomas provides scoring and ball distribution, Avery Bradley leads the perimeter defense, Jae Crowder handles dirty work, and all the other key guys follow. Now that they’ll have Al Horford’s all-around play, their ceiling will be raised to a whole new level.

3. Toronto Raptors (+1,500)

Last season: 56-26
This season: 51-31 – over 50.0 wins

The Toronto Raptors took a few steps back on defense when they let Bismack Biyombo go, but Jared Sullinger is an okay replacement defense-wise, and should be able to add low post offense too.

DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry will still be the catalysts in getting points and breaking down defenses, and they might be a notch better this year, courtesy of last year’s deep playoff run.

4. Indiana Pacers (+3,000)

Last season: 45-37
This season: 47-35 – over 45.0 wins

Indy will be in for another year of improvement. With new coach Nate McMillan being more of an offensive-minded coach, Paul George could be bound for an even bigger year statistically, as well as promising second-year big man Myles Turner.

The team also got better by trading for Jeff Teague, a type of point guard that team executive Larry Bird has longed for. Teague should be able to improve the team’s playmaking abilities. Thaddeus Young, whom the Pacers also got via trade, will join Monta Ellis in helping the team get some much-needed buckets.

5. Detroit Pistons (+3,300)

Last season: 45-37
This season: 46-36 – over 44.5 wins

Head coach Stan Van Gundy will continue building this Pistons team as a re-incarnation of his old Orlando Magic teams, where there’s one monster presence on the paint, surrounded by four other shooters. Andre Drummond is playing Dwight Howard, Reggie Jackson is Jameer Nelson, and Tobias Harris is Rashard Lewis. Let’s just hope it doesn’t end similarly.

6. Atlanta Hawks (+2,500)

Last season: 48-34
This season:  45-37 –  over 43.5 wins

The Atlanta Hawks are hoping that replacing Al Horford and Jeff Teague with Dennis Schroder and Dwight Howard will be good enough to keep them East contenders.

With Schroder’s inexperience as a full-time starter and Howard’s character issues, it doesn’t look good right now. However, coach Mike Budenholzer, who came from Gregg Popovich’s coaching tree, is to be trusted in developing players and teams.

7. Chicago Bulls (+2,500)

Last season: 48-34
This season:  44-38 – over 40.0 wins

The “Three Alphas” team looks awesome on paper. Dwyane Wade, Rajon Rondo, and Jimmy Butler, are indeed alphas and the Bulls can be one tough team, but it’s hard to imagine them surpassing the six aforementioned teams in wins. The Bulls’ trio of stars all need the ball to be effective, although Wade has done it in Miami, we’re not sure how well he can do it with this roster.

8. New York Knicks (+2,000)

Last season: 32-50
This season:  43-39 – over 40.5 wins

Yes, the Knicks! The addition of Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Courtney Lee, and Brandon Jennings, along with the emergence of Kristaps Porzingis should be able to make Carmelo Anthony play with a lot of drive and energy again.

New head coach Jeff Hornacek will combine his system to team president Phil Jackson’s triangle offense, and it could be enough to push the team to another playoff berth.

Lottery-Bound

9. Milwaukee Bucks (+5,000)

Last season: 48-34
This season:  41-41 – over 36.0 wins

The Milwaukee Bucks, a.k.a Milwaukee Wingspans, are a very promising team. They have the personnel to do well on both sides of the floor, and they pose match-up problems. Losing Khris Middleton, their best shooter, for possibly the whole season was a tough blow, but their size, speed, defense, and Jason Kidd’s guidance should be able to make up for it well. “Playoff team” just doesn’t sound realistic for now.

10. Charlotte Hornets (+5,000)

Last season: 48-34
This season:  38-44 – over 36.0 wins

Although they have a great coach in Steve Clifford, the whole team will just basically ride the shoulders of Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum for this season, and doesn’t really look appealing. They also lost the low post presence of Al Jefferson and the energy of Jeremy Lin and Courtney Lee. They will be replaced by Roy Hibbert, Marco Belinelli, and the return of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, but no one’s sure if those will pan out.

11. Washington Wizards (+4,000)

Last season: 41-41
This season:  38-44 – under 42.0 wins

The Washington Wizards will have another lottery year. A handful of teams in the East got better and they simply didn’t. They also failed in landing any big talent in the free agency.

Let’s just hope John Wall and Bradley Beal, ESPECIALLY BRADLEY BEAL, can stay healthy, because they are arguably one of the most dynamic backcourts in the league.

12. Orlando Magic (+5,000)

Last season: 35-47
This season:  37-45 – under 37.0 wins

The best addition for the Orlando Magic this off-season wasn’t Serge Ibaka (it’s a great addition, don’t get us wrong), it’s coach Frank Vogel. What he did in Indiana, particularly when that team was at its peak, was impressive. He quickly turned a floundering team into a defensive powerhouse. With the addition of Ibaka and Biyombo, he should be able to do it in Orlando, it just won’t be that good this season.

13. Miami Heat (+5,000)

Last season: 48-34
This season:  32-50 – under 35.5 wins

Despite retaining the man-beast Hassan Whiteside and having Goran Dragic at the point, the coming season will be one of the Heat’s darkest since 2007-2008. They lost almost all of their key guys last season and weren’t able to replace them with credible players. We can’t see Dion Waiters, Derrick Williams, Wayne Ellington, etc. replacing what Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Luol Deng, and Joe Johnson did last season.

Justise Winslow and Tyler Johnson could be providing us plenty of highlights, though.

14. Philadelphia 76ers (+12,500)

Last season: 10-72
This season:  21-61 – under 24.5 wins

There’s just no way but up if you finished with 10 wins in the previous season. Also, we’re starting to see some light from “the process.”

Joel Embiid is finally healthy, and he’s doing well in the preseason, averaging 14 points and seven rebounds in just 16 minutes of play. There is a projected logjam in the paint, with Embiid, Jahlil Okafor, and Nerlens Noel playing basically the same positions, but the trio will be a force once coach Brett Brown figures it out – Brown is also from the Popovich coaching tree.

As for Ben Simmons, his injury is definitely frustrating. Let’s hope he could play by midseason. The kid is gifted with a rare set of skills.

15. Brooklyn Nets (+20,000)

Last season: 21-61
This season:  18-64 – over 21.5 wins

The best thing the Brooklyn Nets have going as of this moment is that their two biggest stars are named Brook and Lin, which may very well translate into being the last-placer in the East, and possibly the whole league. The rest of the roster is filled with mid and bottom-tier journeymen.

Brooklyn’s front office is still waiting for their regular first-round picks to come back, which was lost in the disastrous Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce trade they made in 2013. They still owe the Celtics a first-rounder in 2018, and it looks like it’ll be a lottery pick as well.

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