The Whiteboard: 2018-19 NBA Season Predictions — East lottery teams
By Ti Windisch
Most NBA teams make the playoffs, but some do not. These seven are likely going to be lottery-bound after the 2018-19 NBA season is over.
The start of the 2018-19 NBA regular season is exactly one week away, which makes this a perfect time (and the last possible moment) to go through both conferences and determine which teams will be in the postseason, and which will be in the lottery. So that’s exactly what we’re doing for the rest of the week in The Whiteboard, starting today with the Eastern Conference’s lottery-bound teams.
We’ll start with No. 15, the team I project to be worst in the East, and work up to No. 9, the closest to making the postseason. Predictions are made based on all sorts of things, including statistics, pending roster moves (hello, Jimmy), the probability of a team imploding (looking at you, Washington), and more. Let’s jump right into the nitty gritty.
- 15. Chicago Bulls
- 14. Atlanta Hawks
- 13. New York Knicks
Two of these teams are just plain bad, and one of them is without its best player for most, if not all, of the 2018-19 campaign. The Knicks would probably have a hard time being a surefire playoff team even with Kristaps Porzingis, but without him they are doomed to the lotto yet again.
All three of these sorry squads will look to develop young players and trade their veterans for future assets, and all of them at least have some exciting prospects to lead them this season. They aren’t ready to compete quite yet, but soon players like Lauri Markkanen, Trae Young, and Frank Ntilikina could make their marks on the East.
- 12. Orlando Magic
- 11. Charlotte Hornets
Full disclosure: sometimes I get the Magic and the Hornets mixed up. Both teams wear regrettable shades of blue, and both of them always want to do well but neither of them ever pull it off. They also both got new head coaches this summer, and to complicate matters further the new Magic coach is the old Hornets coach, Steve Clifford.
If a whole lot goes right for either of these squads, one of them could probably sneak into the eighth seed this season. The Magic need some development from their plethora of young bigs, and the Hornets need somebody, anybody, to step up and give Kemba Walker some help. Neither of these teams is flush with consistent NBA players, and the Hornets are a Kemba trade away from challenging the Bulls for their worst team in the East title.
- 10. Brooklyn Nets
- 9. Cleveland Cavaliers
This was a surprisingly hard decision to make, but Cleveland gets the edge because I’m not sold on Kevin Love getting traded this season. If Love does end up somewhere else, the Cavs probably won’t finish the year this close to the postseason.
The Nets might be better off being worse than 10th, considering they finally have their own picks again, although Brooklyn does have an interesting mix of veterans and young players, plus a capable coach and general manager. If the Nets do end up landing a star such as Jimmy Butler, they will obviously be better than 10th. Even without one, their modern style and capable players should make them competitive.
The Cavaliers seem like an easy pick as an awful team, but that feels like a trap. Cleveland has a very strong “nobody believes in us vibe” going, and that cast of characters might surprise some folks by winning games they don’t really have any business winning now that LeBron James has left.
Tune in tomorrow for the playoff teams in the East, before we move into the Western Conference on Thursday and Friday.
#Content you can’t miss
The pulse of the Lakers; Chris Herring writes that Josh Hart could be LeBron’s most valuable teammate
The Suns need a GM; Gerald Bourguet names five candidates to replace Ryan McDonough in Phoenix
Ban injuries forever; Michael C. Wright reports that Dejounte Murray’s injury turned out to be an ACL tear
Moving on in San Antonio; Andrew Ites tries to figure out who will step up in Murray’s absence this season
Embrace our Greek overlord; Matt Moore studies Giannis Antetokounmpo’s MVP candidacy