The East is a post-injury-apocalyptic-nightmare landscape.
No Jayson Tatum. No Tyrese Haliburton. No Damian Lillard (maybe ever again).
Which means the East is even weaker.
But it also means it’s more wide open.
You have your contenders, for sure. The Cavaliers won 64 games last season with the second-best point differential in the league. The Knicks reached the conference finals. But after those two, who fills the void? If we count out Boston and Indiana (and maybe we shouldn’t), who could come for the crown and reach the Finals?
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons might just be the sleeper in the East this season.
Cade Cunningham elevated to the elite level last season. He’s a top-tier playmaker who can shoot from mid-range or 3-point, with great athleticism, and is a great defender to boot.
The core of last year’s playoff team returns with Jalen Duren, another year better, Isaiah Stewart back from injury, and Jaden Ivey ready to go after missing most of the season with injury.
There’s been a lot of consternation over their losing Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. on the shooting side.
But …
- Beasley was cleared by federal investigators last week and while that may not get him out of the woods with the NBA or other concerns, there’s a chance he can re-sign with Detroit
- The Pistons added Caris LeVert and Duncan Robinson, two players who are good-to-great shooters — if not as good as Beasley — who have way more defense and playmaking ability.
Don’t overlook the emergence of Ron Holland II, either. Holland showed flashes last season and dominated Summer League. He could be on the precipice of a breakout.
Detroit has the best chance of combining top-level offense, defense, and a true megastar at the top.
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic treated the symptoms. Did they cure the disease?
Orlando’s offense was the whole and entire problem last season. It was wretched, as they ranked last in 3-point percentage, 19th at the rim, and 26th from mid-range. They weren’t good at anything offensively. They were only 11th in second-chance points, despite frequently missing their first chances.
So the Magic focused in on solving their problem with throwing the round thing into the little circle with the net attached.
They traded for Desmond Bane, giving them a shooter-scorer who won’t take usage away from Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero. They added Tyus Jones to give them a low-mistake point guard to set the offense.
Is that enough?
The big question is whether the problem with the Magic was entirely personnel or if there were schematic and philosophy issues. Can Jamahl Mosley redesign the offense with new coordinator God Shamgod to take the collective performance to a higher level?
After all, it wasn’t like it was one or two players that underperformed shooting last year. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, traded for Bane, was always a reliable shooter, and he couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat.
If it clicks, the Magic are instantly a contender. They need better efficiency from Paolo Banchero and better perimeter shooting from Wagner. If that happens, and Bane provides what he has in his career, they will look like a top-three-seed almost instantly.
One more thing. One of the most challenging things for players to do is balance effort on offense and defense. If they up their execution level on offense, it may cost them some of that hard-nosed defense that has been their identity. Something to watch, even if they can get a few more buckets this year.
Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta Hawks are trying to pull off a metamorphosis.
The Hawks have been Trae Young’s all-offense circus for the past half-decade.
Now, they’re moving towards being arguably more of a defensive team that also employs Trae Young. Dyson Daniels emerged last season. They added Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kristaps Porzingis. Quin Snyder is slowly converting this team to his kind of squad.
Can this work? Well, the Thunder were basically an elite defensive team with an isocentric guard at the top. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a good-to-great defender, and Trae Young is an awful-to-bad defender, but the mold is similar.
A couple of warning signs…
- The Celtics willingly traded Kristaps Porziņģis even if they needed to move the money off their books. Any time Boston gives up on a player with injury concerns (Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart), alarm bells go off in my head.
- Dyson Daniels was an elite one-on-one havoc creator, but the impact in terms of getting stops wasn’t actually there.
- Their frontcourt depth behind KP is worrisome defensively, even if Onyeka Okongwu is awesome.
The Hawks will be better, but the massive jump may not be there because they still need something to bring them together.
It looked last season like Jalen Johnson was going to be that difference maker and maybe take the reins as the team’s best player before his season-ending injury.
But Johnson shot 31 percent from 3-point range and 36 percent from mid-range. The scoring efficiency just wasn’t there to pencil it in.
The Hawks’ hype may be a little ahead of itself.
The real Eastern Conference dark horses
Milwaukee Bucks: Giannis and friends, once again, with shooting and low pressure. Doc Rivers does not inspire championship confidence despite having actually won one. But Giannis is Giannis, and there’s some sneaky good talent.
Philadelphia 76ers: Just stay healthy. That’s it. Just. Stay. Healthy.
Miami Heat: Fresh air after the Jimmy Butler debacle. Norman Powell for an offensive boost. A Bam bounceback season. It’s all on the table for the Heat to flummox everyone by being back in contention.
Boston… Celtics…?: Tatum almost definitely will not come back this year, but if he does, and they turn Anfernee Simons into some frontcourt depth, Tatum plus Brown plus White plus Pritchard is enough for them to make the conference finals once again.