Fansided

Picking every NBA over/under win total

By Brad Rowland

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) takes the court prior to the game against the Atlanta Hawks at the Cintas Center. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) takes the court prior to the game against the Atlanta Hawks at the Cintas Center. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports /
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Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens (left) and Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey watch from the sideline as they take on the Boston Celtics in the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens (left) and Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey watch from the sideline as they take on the Boston Celtics in the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /

Atlanta Hawks – Over/Under 49.5 wins

The Hawks won 60 games a season ago, and they bested their over/under projection by nearly 20 (!) victories. However, Atlanta lost a key cog when DeMarre Carroll jumped to the Toronto Raptors, and that is a big reason why Las Vegas is tempering expectations for Mike Budenholzer’s team.

Still, the Hawks are actually deeper than they were in 2014-2015 with the additions of Tiago Splitter, Justin Holiday and Tim Hardaway Jr. , and they have the reigning NBA Coach of the Year on the sideline. This isn’t the easy over that we saw before last season, but if they can avoid a long-term injury to Al Horford or something of that nature, I feel comfortable in projecting the Hawks to avoid slipping from 60 wins into the forties.

The Pick: Over (53-29)

Boston Celtics – Over/Under 44.5 wins

It is easy to see why people like the Celtics on the surface. Boston came out of nowhere to win 40 games while grabbing the seventh seed in the East last season, and the Celtics have one of the best coaches alive in Brad Stevens. In theory, a young (-ish) roster should improve markedly over the course of an NBA summer, and with built-in improvement, a five-win jump isn’t crazy.

However, I’m going the other way after taking a deeper look at the roster. Unlike the other teams fighting for playoff positioning in the East, the Celtics don’t possess a single player that you can bank on, and there is a legitimate argument as to who their best player (Marcus Smart? Avery Bradley? Amir Johnson?) actually is at this point. Stevens can mask a lot of issues and it is fair to give the Celtics credit for that, but the roster doesn’t match up in my mind, and the rest of the East’s middle class improved in the off-season.

The Pick: Under (36-46)

Next: Nets and Hornets

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