NBA Roundtable: Southeast Division Best Bets
By Reed Wallach
The 2021-2022 NBA season is less than a week away, and our team at BetSided is here to get you set with a total predictions for each team and best bets in the Futures market.
Here are our team's best bets for the Southeast Division win totals, with odds courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook!
Atlanta Hawks OVER 46.5 Wins (-130)
Trae Young and the Hawks sold me on this roster in last year’s playoff run.
Atlanta returns essentially the same team, but it added two promising rookies in Jalen Johnson and Sharife Cooper in the draft. The bigger addition in my eyes will be the health of De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish who both missed time last season with injuries. Hunter’s injury in the postseason hurt the Hawks’ chances of making the NBA Finals, yet the team still forced the Milwaukee Bucks to six games in the Eastern Conference Finals.
I think Hunter is a breakout candidate in his third season, and I’m looking forward to another year of John Collins, Young and Bogdan Bogdanovic running the ship. Atlanta is extremely deep, and I think that helps it get over 46.5 wins this year. -- Peter Dewey
Charlotte Hornets OVER 38.5 Wins (-105)
The Hornets should be at the top of everyone’s NBA League Pass list. LaMelo Ball is one of the most fun players to watch in the league and with a few of the Hornets’ improvements, they’ll be close to .500.
Last season, Charlotte’s demise came after Gordon Hayward went down. They were 8-16 without him over the final 24 games -- which sent them to the 10th seed in the East. If Hayward is healthy, Charlotte will be just fine. Kelly Oubre Jr. will provide some veteran presence on the wing and Mason Plumlee is a solid backup center. If the Hornets could win 34 games with a second half collapse, a rookie Ball and a shortened season, they’ll be just fine in this full 82 game schedule. -- Donnavan Smoot
Orlando Magic UNDER 22.5 Wins (+100)
One day, we'll look back at the beginnings of this Orlando Magic rebuild and think, "Hey, this was the start of a young and exciting squad's road to glory."
But until then, we're going to see a lot of bad basketball in Orlando.
The Magic bottomed out a season ago, and now own the lowest win total projection in the league at 22.5 this season. Despite lucking into Jalen Suggs, there are no real stars to eventually surround him, leading way to a tank-heavy campaign. I also expect them to trade Terrence Ross and perhaps even Jonathan Issac if a team is willing to overbid on his potential. The Magic may grit their way to 20 wins, but I can't envision them picking up more. -- Ben Heisler
Orlando Magic UNDER 22.5 Wins (+100)
The Orlando Magic are going to be the worst team in the NBA this season. It's not all doom and gloom for the Magic. They have a handful of young prospects, but with no true veteran leadership and a crowded back court, this team isn't ready to succeed at the NBA level.
When Terrence Ross is your returning leading scorer, you know you've got some issues. The Magic's main concern this season should be trading one or two of their young guards who won't crack the starting five, and determine who their go-to guy will be in the coming years. The Magic are in full on rebuild mode this year, and I can't see them surpassing their win total of 22.5. -- Iain McMillian
Washington Wizards OVER 34.5 Wins (-120)
It’s not sexy, but the Wizards have a ton of talent to push closer towards 40 wins. This isn’t a dark horse team to make an Eastern Conference postseason run, but as long as Bradley Beal is on the roster (as of now there’s no indication he’ll force a trade), the Wiz are a threat in any game.
The team traded Russell Westbrook and got back solid role players in Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Montrezl Harrell. As well, the team acquired Spencer Dinwiddie and should get Thomas Bryant back.
Daniel Gafford emerged as an elite shot blocker last season as the Wizards made a late-season push for the 8 seed.
Unlike some team’s that are being lined in the low 30’s, Washington’s roster has legitimate NBA talent. I’ll take the over. -- Reed Wallach