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The Whiteboard: 2018-19 NBA Season Predictions — East playoff teams

By Ti Windisch

CHAPEL HILL, NC - SEPTEMBER 28: Jayson Tatum #0 and Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics exchange a high five against the Charlotte Hornets during a pre-season game on September 28, 2018 at Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC - SEPTEMBER 28: Jayson Tatum #0 and Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics exchange a high five against the Charlotte Hornets during a pre-season game on September 28, 2018 at Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Not all of these teams will deserve the opportunity, but these eight are going to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Playoffs.

To commemorate the 2018-19 NBA regular season starting up next week, The Whiteboard is going to be dedicated to making predictions on where every team will fall in each conference this year. Tuesday’s Whiteboard contained the Eastern Conference lottery teams, so today is all about the better group in the East.

The order will go from No. 8 to 1, with No. 1 being the East’s best team. 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 action, boss.

  • 8. Detroit Pistons
  • 7. Miami Heat
  • 6. Washington Wizards

This is basically the “Yuck, do we need to have eight teams from the East qualify for postseason play?” group. Injuries and individual players having good or bad seasons will probably determine which of these three teams gets the edge overall.

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The Wizards are ahead now because a healthy John Wall and Bradley Beal pairing is the best two players any of these teams has, pending a Jimmy Butler to Miami trade. The Pistons are last because their two best players are Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond, which is not the most modern approach to things in the pace and space era.

Dwight Howard doing Dwight Howard stuff and causing a bunch of drama could cause the Wizards to be eighth instead of sixth, and the Pistons might be better if Dwane Casey gets them playing strong defense and Reggie Jackson can stay on the floor.

  • 5. Indiana Pacers
  • 4. Philadelphia 76ers
  • 3. Milwaukee Bucks

Putting the Bucks above the Sixers will doubtlessly be controversial, but the only argument that needs to be made has been, like a thousand times, in all of the Giannis Antetokounmpo is coming for us all features that are flooding Twitter recently. Adding a coach isn’t usually a sexy move, but Mike Budenholzer will change a lot for the Bucks and for Giannis.

The 76ers were relatively healthy last season, aside from the very weird Markelle Fultz stuff, and may not remain that way going forward. Inserting Fultz and breaking up a starting five that was ridiculously good last season is probably the right move long-term, but it could cause some growing pains early.

The Pacers are good and added some fine rotational pieces, but they’re not quite good enough to snatch homecourt in the playoffs. I pity the fools, in this case, the Sixers, who have to grapple with them in the first round, even if the series is primarily in Philly.

  • 2. Toronto Raptors

The Raptors are going to be very, very good. Even if Kawhi Leonard never returns to the form he had when he could’ve won MVP in the 2016-17 season, opening up the offense by starting him, Danny Green and OG Anunoby with Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas could elevate Toronto’s offense further. DeMar DeRozan is awesome at what he does, but he’s not a true two-way player and he isn’t conducive to a truly modern offense. The two players the Raptors got for him are both of those things.

  • 1. Boston Celtics

All of that said, the Celtics are just better, hence their own tier. Boston is going to start Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward, Jayson Tatum, and Al Horford. That’s the kind of stretchy, versatile lineup the Warriors use to give team fits in small doses, and the Celtics have the personnel to start it whenever they’d like without giving up size thanks to Horford.

Boston’s bench mob, which has named itself BWA, may be recognizable as many of the faces who nearly knocked LeBron James out of the postseason in the Eastern Conference Finals after beating the Bucks and thrashing the Sixers. Now the Celtics are so stacked those dudes will be the second unit.

Yes, there are some improved teams in the conference now. But let’s not overthink this. The Celtics are still far and away the best one.

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