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2022 - 2023 Eastern Conference Predictions

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Peacedog said:
Pfffft. Swap Cavs and Philly and this is close to correct. I don't understand the fascination with the Sixers. We have better starters than them at 4 of the 5 positions and at the 5th one, our guy is an all star. And our bench is far better. Harden is about finished. Mitchell is way better. They're going nowhere this year.
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6ers are starting PJ Tucker at 3. Harden dropped a LOT of weight and took a pay cut. Tyrese Maxey is very good. Tobias Harris isn’t worth his contract but he’s a decent player. Jarrett Allen is very good but Jojo is clearly much better and Frobley can’t stop him.

Off the bench they added Harrell and still have Thybulle, Niang, Milton, Korkmaz and Reed.

They’ve moved on from Ben Simmons.

I think they’re better than we are and up there with the Bucks.

The Nets - I have confidence that the Simmons -Irving backcourt is going to fail. Neither of them are dedicated pro players.
 
Cavs take 5th, first round exit 4-2
 
I’d put our likely range at 4-6. I think a leap gets us into 2/3 range and a leap from Toronto/Atlanta could slide us back to 7. The East is a far different proposition than the Lebron years. Will be no shame in finishing mid pack but healthy, with all to play for in the playoffs.

I think people are just way underestimating Philly + Nets. Last year was a bit of a worst case scenario for both. We could overtake Heat but I just don’t see us passing Bucks/Nets/Sixers barring an implosion. One more year out, I’d anticipate we’re coming for their necks
 
It’s much easier to think about who will do well in the playoffs than in the regular season. Last year the top four teams were only two games apart total (heat in first place by two games, bucks/Celtics/Sixers tied for second). Then Toronto was only three games back of that group. Add a possibly revived Nets to the mix, plus the Cavs, and who the hell knows. It’s likely that those seven teams will all be within a few games of each other. I’m not even counting Atlanta in the mix.

So I think it’s really impossible to even guess at what the final regular season standings will look like. That’s especially true when you recall that the regular season standings hardly even matter if you stay out of the play in, so teams don’t have an incentive to try hard. It’s much more important to get to the playoffs healthy than to get a higher regular season placement. (This drives me crazy about the NBA btw). If anything I think the Cavs have a regular season advantage because we’ll be more excited about getting a place at the top of the standings than more experienced teams (like @bigfoot5415 said above).
 
It's amazing to me that a conference that had no teams who won more than 53 games last season and is generally dominated by players on the downside of their careers is now viewed as this "murderers row" by so many here. I ain't buying it.
 
foucault87 said:
1. Mil - their conference to lose. Strongest team, best player, most experience.
2. Phi - strong regular season team, but I expect they falter in the playoffs
3. Bos - they will right the ship soon enough (jan) and finish strong
4. Mia - Spo is the best coach in the NBA. nuff said
5. Bkn - too volatile. Could easily be 1 with a healthy season from their big 3 or out of the playin with TJ Warren as leading scorer
6. Cle - see everywhere else
7. Atl - Not sold on their current lineup. Need more shooting and to figure out the Collins situation
8. Chi - depends a lot on health from Lavine and Vuc. Expect Pat to make a surprising leap
9. Tor - some regression from them but clearly better than the teams below here
10. NY - Going to be a tight race for the last playin, but NY has the most stable roster here imo
11. Was - still stuck in 2005. This team has no direction. Feel bad for their fans
12. Det - going to surprise some people. They have a fun if thin roster. Expect to see improvement from Cade and the rest
13. Orl - spicy take I think to have them this high, but I am a big believer in Paolo, Cole, and Franz. Suggs will be better and Okeke will be a key player.
14. Cha - Couldve lept to at least the Tor level if a certain someone didnt ruin his career last offseason. I think they will decide to outright tank mid season and Melo wont play more than 50 games this season
15. Indy - They will sell pieces (Turner, Hield) before the end of the season and go straight for the tank
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I think Detroit will surprise a lot too. They played us tough last season and Cunningham looked really good at the end! Good point on Turner, he's been being shopped for quite some time. Might be a Laker by the end of the season given Davis' injury history. Bucks healthy are going to be so good. I think the Cavs could outshoot a lot of these teams if Windler can finally get to where he needs to be. Best outside shooting team has to be the 76ers with PJ Tucker right?
 
I'm convinced that Cleveland fans have been beaten down over the years to the point where they are afraid to get too excited about the potential of our teams.

I recall a year ago, after about the first 5 or 10 games, some of you were "excited" about our progress, and predicted we might win over 30 games. All the clues were there for us to be a playoff team, but most couldn't allow themselves to go there. If we had stayed healthy, we would have been a top 3 team in the East -- I have no doubt about that.

So fast forward a year. Allen and Garland have become All-Stars. Mobley is bigger and more experienced. LeVert is healthy and evidently has worked his butt off this summer and is lighting it up in camp. Wade and Okoro can only get better. Even Windler is supposedly playing with more confidence. We have a bruising backup center this year, which was a weakness last year. We also have better depth at PG, especially once Rubio comes back.

Where have we gotten worse? Sexton didn't play last year, so that isn't a loss. Kevin Love may be solid, but it is unlikely he will replicate last year's performance. The only significant loss is Markkanen. I think the addition of Mitchell more than compensates for that and adds another 10 wins.

All this to say that these predictions that we will win 48 games and finish about 6th are piss-poor. This team is full of young, athletic, hungry studs who like each other and play well together. Anything less than 55 wins and a top two finish in the East will be a disappointment to me.
 
I expect a little growing pains but I think we’ll make the playoffs this time.
 
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Prof123 said:
I'm convinced that Cleveland fans have been beaten down over the years to the point where they are afraid to get too excited about the potential of our teams.

I recall a year ago, after about the first 5 or 10 games, some of you were "excited" about our progress, and predicted we might win over 30 games. All the clues were there for us to be a playoff team, but most couldn't allow themselves to go there. If we had stayed healthy, we would have been a top 3 team in the East -- I have no doubt about that.

So fast forward a year. Allen and Garland have become All-Stars. Mobley is bigger and more experienced. LeVert is healthy and evidently has worked his butt off this summer and is lighting it up in camp. Wade and Okoro can only get better. Even Windler is supposedly playing with more confidence. We have a bruising backup center this year, which was a weakness last year. We also have better depth at PG, especially once Rubio comes back.

Where have we gotten worse? Sexton didn't play last year, so that isn't a loss. Kevin Love may be solid, but it is unlikely he will replicate last year's performance. The only significant loss is Markkanen. I think the addition of Mitchell more than compensates for that and adds another 10 wins.

All this to say that these predictions that we will win 48 games and finish about 6th are piss-poor. This team is full of young, athletic, hungry studs who like each other and play well together. Anything less than 55 wins and a top two finish in the East will be a disappointment to me.
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Nailed it.
 
1. MIL - 54
2. PHI - 53
3. BOS - 50
4. MIA - 49
5. BKN - 48
6. CLE - 48
7. TOR - 45
8. ATL - 44
9. Chicago 42
10. NYK - 40
11. CHA - 38
 
1. Nets
2. 76ers
3. Bucks
4. Mia
5. Celts
6. Cavs
7. Raps
8. Hawks
9. Pistons
10. Bulls
11. Knicks
12. Hornets
13. Wiz
14. Magic
15. Pacers
 
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