Eastern Conference Standings - Predictions

[Han Solo]

Cleveland
Boston
Toronto
Detroit
Charlotte
Indiana
Washington
Chicago

New York
Milwaukee
Orlando
Atlanta
Philadelphia
Miami
Brooklyn

[tmorgan]

Cleveland
Boston
Toronto
Detroit
Charlotte
Indiana
Washington
Chicago

New York
Milwaukee
Orlando
Atlanta
Philadelphia
Miami
Brooklyn

Looks solid to me. I do think Atlanta still makes the playoffs (Coach Bud), and I don't think Washington does, but that's a small thing. Miami could indeed really suck.

[CoachD]

Can someone convince me on the Pacers?

Probably not. At least until we see them play. The reason I think they'll be better is teague and Jefferson are better than hill, but the loss of Vogel may trump that. They're one of the teams that could fall off completely and I wouldn't be surprised.

I have this weird feeling that Jefferson is going to hurt their D as profoundly as Monroe hurt the Bucks.

[CoachD]

Cavs
Raptors
Hawks
Celtics
Pistons
Pacers
Heat
Bulls

Not sure why people think Miami is going to miss the playoffs. Just because Father Prime is gone? They'll be fine.

[Montanabadboy]

Cavs
Raptors
Hawks
Celtics
Pistons
Pacers
Heat
Bulls

Not sure why people think Miami is going to miss the playoffs. Just because Father Prime is gone? They'll be fine.

You are aware that they lost Wade, Deng, Joe Johnson and Bosh will most likely never play again, yes? They are basically Whiteside, Dragic, and fillers. Whitside and Dragic are nice players but haven't exactly shown they can carry a team.

[CoachD]

Cavs
Raptors
Hawks
Celtics
Pistons
Pacers
Heat
Bulls

Not sure why people think Miami is going to miss the playoffs. Just because Father Prime is gone? They'll be fine.

You are aware that they lost Wade, Deng, Joe Johnson and Bosh will most likely never play again, yes? They are basically Whiteside, Dragic, and fillers. Whitside and Dragic are nice players but haven't exactly shown they can carry a team.

It was time to move on from Wade.
Iso Joe was killing them on both sides of the ball.
Deng had to go to make room for young guys who need more minutes.

If they have Bosh, they could be top 4.

WIthout Bosh, they have still have a good enough defense to keep them in games

[MrBigShot]

Losing Deng & Wade will hurt them a lot. Bosh has had two blood clots recently and nobody knows if he will even be cleared to play. There is a very legitimate chance that they end up with the 3rd or 4th worst record in the East.

[ElectricMayhem]

East and West!

1. Cleveland Cavaliers: 56 26
2. Boston Celtics: 54 28
3. Toronto Raptors 53 29
4. Detroit Pistons 49 33
5. Indiana Pacers 47 35
6. Charlotte Hornets 46 36
7. Washington Wizards 43 39
8. Chicago Bulls 41 41
9. Atlanta Hawks 39 43
10. Orlando Magic 38 44
11. New York Knicks 36 46
12. Milwaukee Bucks 36 46
13. Miami Heat 30 52
14. Philadelphia 76ers 23 59
15. Brooklyn Nets 17 65


1. Golden State Warriors: 65 17
2. Los Angeles Clippers: 57 25
3. San Antonio Spurs: 56 26
4. Utah Jazz: 49 33
5. Portland Trailblazers: 45 37
6. Oklahoma City Thunder: 44 38
7. Dallas Mavericks: 41 41
8. Houston Rockets: 40 42
9. Memphis Grizzlies: 39 43
10. Minnesota Timberwolves: 38 44
11. Denver Nuggets: 37 45
12. Sacramento Kings: 37 45
13. New Orleans Pelicans: 34 48
14. Los Angeles Lakers: 21 61
15. Phoenix Suns: 19 63

Total: 1230-1230

[Pharaoh]

East and West!

1. Cleveland Cavaliers: 56 26
2. Boston Celtics: 54 28
3. Toronto Raptors 53 29
4. Detroit Pistons 49 33
5. Indiana Pacers 47 35
6. Charlotte Hornets 46 36
7. Washington Wizards 43 39
8. Chicago Bulls 41 41
9. Atlanta Hawks 39 43
10. Orlando Magic 38 44
11. New York Knicks 36 46
12. Milwaukee Bucks 36 46
13. Miami Heat 30 52
14. Philadelphia 76ers 23 59
15. Brooklyn Nets 17 65

Not gonna talk about records but I think you gotta dump the Wizards in favor of Atlanta & you're East looks pretty much spot on

1. Golden State Warriors: 65 17
2. Los Angeles Clippers: 57 25
3. San Antonio Spurs: 56 26
4. Utah Jazz: 49 33
5. Portland Trailblazers: 45 37
6. Oklahoma City Thunder: 44 38
7. Dallas Mavericks: 41 41
8. Houston Rockets: 40 42
9. Memphis Grizzlies: 39 43
10. Minnesota Timberwolves: 38 44
11. Denver Nuggets: 37 45
12. Sacramento Kings: 37 45
13. New Orleans Pelicans: 34 48
14. Los Angeles Lakers: 21 61
15. Phoenix Suns: 19 63

I think Phoenix does better than that. Kings, Pelicans & Lakers battling for last

And after looking at the West: good luck predicting the order from 2 through 15! Lots of teams in the same tier, just depends on who gets the breaks

[Canadafan]

1. Cleveland Cavaliers:
2. Toronto Raptors
3. Boston Celtics
4. Charlotte Hornets
5. Indiana Pacers
6. Detroit Pistons
Fighting for last 2 spots;
Washington Wizards
New York Knicks
Chicago Bulls
Atlanta Hawks
Possible 8th seed if injuries happen to previous 3 teams; Orlando Magic
Milwaukee Bucks

As long as we end up 3rd, 6th or 7th I'm happy as can be. I think we can beat any team in playoffs other than cavs. Highly doubt we get as high as 3rd though.
I think we can get 50 wins.
I think our best possible seeding is 4th. Which would be fantastic to have home court advantage in the 1st round.

[Laimbeer]

Looking at us in a vacuum, we upgraded a couple of bench spots and we're a relatively young team with guys who have more time together under their belt. Is a 3 game improvement unreasonable? 47-35? Like a six seed.

[TPA]

1. Cleveland
2. Boston
3. Detroit
4. Toronto
5. New York
6. Indiana
7. Washington
8. Atlanta

[Canadafan]

1. Cleveland
2. Boston
3. Detroit
4. Toronto
5. New York
6. Indiana
7. Washington
8. Atlanta

Being from Toronto, I would love nothing more than this. I'd laugh so hard if we can beat the Raps. They're a pretty good regular season team though.
Also, what about Charlotte? Don't think they'll make the playoffs? Or Bulls? I could see the Bulls missing out too maybe just cause their "big3" can't shoot

[DCintheD]

Cavs are the only team better than us.

[TPA]

1. Cleveland
2. Boston
3. Detroit
4. Toronto
5. New York
6. Indiana
7. Washington
8. Atlanta

Being from Toronto, I would love nothing more than this. I'd laugh so hard if we can beat the Raps. They're a pretty good regular season team though.
Also, what about Charlotte? Don't think they'll make the playoffs? Or Bulls? I could see the Bulls missing out too maybe just cause their "big3" can't shoot

It's really tough to tell with Charlotte and Chicago. Charlotte has middling talent on paper. The question is can they stay healthy. Even if they do, I don't know that they're better than a 5-6 seed at best.
Chicago is a big question mark. How will Rondo mesh with these new teammates, including Butler. Wade is another year older, but coming off a pretty good season (which was his first 70 game season since 2010). The bigs up front struggle for offense. The bench is a big question mark, and could be relied upon heavily.

I really think that Boston and Detroit are poised to make the biggest jumps in the conference. I might be crazy putting NY up there as high as I did too, but it really feels like D-Rose could be as healthy as he's been in years. It's probably a long-shot to expect that Rose, Noah, and Melo all stay healthy for a season, but if they can somehow find the fountain of youth in NYC, and play with the chip on their shoulder that I would expect each to have, maybe they can exceed most expectations. That's a lot of "if's", and I'd actually be rooting for that team.