My preseason East prediction is something like this with the first six being ordered:
1. 76ers - I think Morey worked his magic and basically fixed their biggest issue (floor spacing) and managed to dump one of the most toxic assets in Al Horford's contract in the process. They have a super switchable defense with Simmons, Green, Thybulle, Harris and even T Ferg. Seth and Green give them real shooting. Harris is still making a starting small forward too much money, but he fits in much better as a 4 than a 3 with no space. Rivers is an overrated coach but should be enough to give them a lift.
2. Bucks - I think they will lose more games than last year. They gave up a ton of depth for Jrue, but their top 5 is possibly the best in the league right now. They still have Giannis, who if nothing else, is a beast in the regular season. Bud is still a great regular season coach. They will have a high seed.
3. Miami - I expect Bam and Herro will improve more. Dragic may get a bit worse but that should be offset in other areas. They are mostly the same squad as last year. Crowder to Harkless is a bit of a downgrade and it is unlikely either of them shoots 40% from 3 over 20 games again next year so that won't matter. Bradley was a solid nab that gives them a better point of attack defender that isn't Jimmy.
4. Boston - I think the Hayward to TT move makes them less unique since they can't run out the 4 wing lineups anymore. Hayward barely played in the playoffs and these guys did pretty well without him. Now they replace the stationary chair that is Enes Kanter with one of the best switching bigs in the league. Last year I had the Celtics ranked 6th (behind the 5/6 on this list) but they proved me wrong.
5. Indiana - Basically the same team as last year. they will be solid but not particularly inspiring. New coach may change things up. Hopefully they shoot more 3s. Their offense was pretty boring at times last year.
6. Toronto - Nurse is too good and they have enough pieces to be solid. Losing Ibaka and Gasol hurts. Baynes covers a bit but they are overall weaker than last year. This team feels like it just needs a superstar guard around the Siakam/OG core and they will be a legit contender. OG is like the perfect model player for the modern NBA.
7. Nets? - I am almost certain the Nets will make the playoffs barring massive injury problems. I just have no idea how good they will be. If they get Kyrie and 80% of Durant this is the third best team in the East. If they get a shell of KD and always injured Kyrie, they are probably still the 7 seed. I don't think its crazy that they would miss the playoffs entirely in that scenario though.
8,9. Washington, Orlando - I am grouping these two together as I think they are the next two best teams and probably the two that will be fighting it out for the 8 seed. Orlando didn't really do anything and the are stable but uninspiring. Isaac being out hurts them a lot. He looked like he was going to be their best player for the forseeable future.
As for Washington, Russ+Beal is the best backcourt in the East. I think their upside this season is a bit limited though. The rest of their roster sucks. Bertans is a good shooter. Mo Wagner and Bryant are solid offensive centers, but horrible defensively. They need 3nD wings but they have a bunch of guys who do either one (Deni, Bonga) or neither (Brown, Rui). This team will have an incredible offense, probably top 10 ORTG, but be garbage on the other side. I still favor them over Orlando because of their star power, a somewhat proven coach, and their offensive upside.
10,11,12. Charlotte, Atlanta, Chicago - These three teams will be fighting for the last play-in spot. The first two made some aggressive moves this summer, but have fairly untested rosters. Atlanta is better on paper but Hayward is the best player between the two teams. Chicago is in a weird spot where they don't have a real identity. Lavine as your best player kind of sucks. They don't have a real playmaker besides Sato, and he isn't aggressive enough. Their front office seems to overvalue the rich man's Ryan Anderson (Lauri), and not the Bam with a shot (WCJ). The rest of their roster is a few years away.
I think all 3 of these teams actually have huge ranges. Maybe Atlanta just gets everything going and they make a huge run to the 7 seed. Maybe Lavine finally learns to use his athleticism on defense and how to pass. Maybe LaMelo isn't a bust and Hayward pushes the team together. Either way, all 3 of these teams could easily be in the dumpster or have an actual playoff spot. I kind of split the difference to rank them.
13. Cavs - Hopefully we don't get screwed by the lottery again. I've said this elsewhere but I think the Cavs will be a really fun team to watch with young players developing, Andre Drummond trying to be a wing, and winning enough games to show improvement but losing enough to get a shot at a real superstar.
14. Knicks - They are tanking. Their roster just makes more sense than...
15. Detroit - Let's load up on more centers. This front office confuses me so much. They make two excellent draft picks with Hayes and Bey, but then draft Isiah Stewart and spend way too much money on Denver's bench bigs. I am guessing they dump Blake by the deadline and go full tank mode.
I could be wrong on most/all of this, but I think the race for 8-10 will be very interesting and I think the playoffs will be too.