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Barring something unforeseen, its safe to assume the top 5 playoff teams in the East are set in stone:

In no particular order***

Nets
Bulls
Heat
Knicks
Pacers

Now my question is... who makes the bottom 3 seeds in the Eastern conference?

Here's my take:

6. Cleveland

The Cavs are headed in the right direction.... Kyrie will undoubtedly take the next step, and the signing of Bynum is a very high risk but high reward move. Even if he doesn't contribute at all, I believe they're still a playoff team.

Their roster is peppered with great young talent in Waiters, Zeller, Thompson, and now Bennett. I'm curious if they plan on using Bennett as a 3 or a stretch 4. Jarrett Jack was also a great pick up and will provide insurance for Kyrie and a great scoring punch off the bench...

CONCERNS: Obviously with young talent comes growing pains, and a couple of their young guys need to take the next step if they want to take a big step forward. Injuries will also be a concern, as Kyrie has shown a propensity to get hurt, Varejao hasn't been able to stay healthy in a few seasons, and Bynum's knee problems are well documented.

Projected record: 43-39

7. Washington

Similar to the Cavs, the Wizards are slowly building a nice core surrounded by a talented young PG. John Wall really came on last year, and I think he's poised to take a big step up next year. I think they key is his jumper, he showed great confidence in his jumper towards the end of last year. I believe Bradley Beal will also step up and show to be a good 2nd scoring option, his shooting numbers were through the roof towards the end of last year, and he'll eventually be a 20-23PPG scorer in my opinion.

Otto Porter is exactly the kind of player the Wizards needed, he does a little bit of everything and brings a ton of basketball IQ to a team that frankly needs it. Its going to be fun watching this young team running up and down on the fastbreak.

CONCERNS: The Wizards are going to need Nene to stay healthy and play motivated if they're going to take a big step forward. The center position is a problem, Okafor is serviceable but not a big difference maker. Also, while I believe the Wiz will improve next year, things certainly have to go right. Wall must become that PG we expected him to become, and Porter must be a difference maker off the bat.

Projected record: 39-43

8. Detroit Pistons

I'm not in love with the make up of this Pistons roster, but I believe they've got enough talent to grab that last seed in the East, somebody's got to claim it. First of all, Drummond is a monster. I imagine his minutes will skyrocket next year, and the on court product will reflect this. I see something like 15 PPG, 11 Rebounds, 2.5 blocks in 30 MPG or something close to it. Pistons fans should be excited...

Monroe is a good player as well, and those two paired together will be fun to watch. Now I'm not sure exactly how Josh Smith will be used, but I hope he isn't starting at the 3. I just don't see how that could work offensively, although the defense and rebounding would be tremendous. Nevertheless, Smith is a talent and will only up their wins this season.

CONCERNS: I'm not in love with the Piston backcourt, while Knight is a nice player, he hasn't become the player Piston fans had hoped up to this point. Bynum is a nice sparkplug off the bench, and Caldwell-Pope is a nice young SG with some promise. The loss of Calderon was a blow because I believe this team really needs a true PG to get these monsters in the post the ball in the right areas.

I know they signed Billups but at this point I question his ability to stay on the floor for extended periods of time, although he will help to mentor the younger backcourt. I also question their floor spacing ability, but hopefully for their sake Luigi Datome works out.

Projected Record: 37-45

Teams that just missed the cut:

Raptors: I'm just convinced they're destined to land Wiggins, so obviously they couldnt make the playoffs lol.

Bucks: They'll be in the mix, but I believe they miss out by a few games (to the delight of their fans, I'm sure )

6. Cleveland
7. Washington
8. Atlanta/Toronto

Atlanta was predicted to miss the playoffs last season due to the departure of Joe Johnson but they still made it anyways. The team is just always in the playoffs although always does close to nothing in it. I would believe more in Atlanta if Lou Williams didn't hurt his knee but since he did and is expected to miss a good chunk of the season. I'm predicting they fight for the playoffs with Toronto.

I thought Washington was going to make it last season if they were healthy, but Wall hurt his foot. If Wall can stay healthy then the Wizards should make the playoffs at the least.

Cavs have become one of the more talented teams out East but like Washington, injuries are a problem. If they are healthy, it wouldn't even surprise me if they can finish in the top 4 in the East but injuries are always a concern with Bynum and Irving.

Raptors
Cavs
Wizards

When Wall came back from Injury the Wizards were looking pretty good.. if they stay healthy they will make the playoffs

Dont count out the pistons either... itll be interesting

TheChosen618 wrote:6. Cleveland
7. Washington
8. Atlanta/Toronto

Atlanta was predicted to miss the playoffs last season due to the departure of Joe Johnson but they still made it anyways. The team is just always in the playoffs although always does close to nothing in it. I would believe more in Atlanta if Lou Williams didn't hurt his knee but since he did and is expected to miss a good chunk of the season. I'm predicting they fight for the playoffs with Toronto.

It's been reported that Lou will be ready for training camp. He won't miss any games

1. Miami
2. Chicago
3. Indiana
4. Brooklyn
5. New York
6. Atlanta
7. Washington
8. Cleveland

I think it goes:

1. Miami
2. Chicago
3. NYK
4. Indy
5. Cleveland
6. Brooklyn
7. Washington
8. Atlanta

6. Washington
7. Cleveland
8. Atlanta

6. Pistons
7. Cavs
8. Wizards

6 and 7 is a toss up between Pistons/Cavs, but due to Bynum's uncertainty as well as Irving's history of missing time every year, I give the nod to Detroit. I really like what Cleveland has done though with Bynum/Bennett (if Bynum is healthy)

A lot of people here seem high on the Wizards, but I just don't see it. I really liked them going into last year, but they didn't really make any moves to improve and I think the Pistons and Cavs both surpassed them now. I didn't really like the Porter pick. He's going to be a good glue guy and fit their need at SF, but that frontcourt is old and only temporary, so I don't understand the drafting for need logic there. They should've went bpa and taken Noel. That said they are still probably the 8th most talented team, so I'll put them 8th for now. Who's their coach anyways? Its not still Randy Whitman is it? If so I may have to change my mind as he doesn't seem like a coach capable of leading a team to the playoffs.

6. Atlanta - Smith for Milsap is largely a wash and the rest of the team looks much the same, should be about the same.
7. Washington - Granted, they depend on the health of Wall and Nene a lot, which is iffy for Nene, but are quite solid when healthy.
8. Detroit - Won't always be pretty, but adding Smith gets them to .500 or so.

----

9. Cleveland - Big defensive and health issues, still not sure their SG/SF rotation works at all.
10. Toronto
11. Milwaulkee

Inevitable wrote:6. Washington
7. Cleveland
8. Atlanta

5. Pistons
6. Knicks
7. Wizards
8. Hawks

Not sure if fans outside of Canada realize that the Raptors actually have a very solid roster, or that the Raptors suck at tanking

junot111 wrote:Not sure if fans outside of Canada realize that the Raptors actually have a very solid roster, or that the Raptors suck at tanking

Getting rid of Bargnani is addition by subtraction. They might possibly have a GSW run this season.

1. Heat
2. Bulls
3. Nets
4. Pacers
5. Wizards
6. Knicks
7. Raptors
8. Cavs

9. Bucks

6. Atlanta
7. Cleveland
8. Washington

9. Detroit
10. Toronto
11. Milwaukee

6. CLE - They have the talent to sneak into the top 5, but they're going to have at the very least some minor injuries that will sidetrack guys like Bynum, Varejao, and possibly Irving.

7. DET- With the addition of Smith, they have the personnel to be very good defensively.

8. MIL/WAS - If Porter was looking better I'd give WAS the inside track, but you can make the argument that Sanders was the best defensive big last year. Sanders + Ilyasova (struggled at the beginning of the year, partially due to criticism of not deserving his contract, and should be able to avg the 17 & 9 he gave post AS break) + Henson who has a ton of potential, form a great frontcourt.

10. TOR - Could be higher if Lowry doesn't act like a petulant child who wants to be elsewhere. It will be fun to watch the development of Valanciunas.

11. ATL - Atlanta's frontcourt has always been undersized, but because Horford & Smith were good defenders they could get away with it. Millsap is not a good defender, neither is their one dimensional starting SF.

seeding ranking might be a little different then playoff ranking in the east.

1-4 easily is :

Miami
Pacers
Nets
Bulls

Knicks get the 5th spot but I actually think they'll be a mediocre playoff team, again. They're not built for playoff success IMO, not yet anyways.

6-8:

6-ATL: I like the pairing of Milsap+Horford+Bringing Teague back. It isn't a particularly elite team but thats still a damn good team. Pretty decent floor spacing and decent defenders.
7-Was: I had them at 6 before teague coming back to ATL. Would be higher but I don't think Nene will play 70+ games. I have no concerns about Wall/Beal health wise as before this past season they've played most of their games dating back to their freshman year of college. I think they'll be a better playoff team then regular season team. I expect top 5 level defense this season.
8- Det/Rap: If the raps choose not to blow it up, they just got too much talent to not make the playoffs. If they blow it up, i think its detroit's spot to lose. Great front court rotation, although atrocious spacing cause of Smith, but I think they can be a top 10 defense easily.

best of the rest:

Bucks: They have talent in the frontcourt, but their backcourt is just...blah. I hope for their fans sake they tank so they can land someone like M. Smart or Harrison in the draft.
Cavs: Setting up to be a potent offensive team, but I guess bynum is the only truely good starter that plays D. They need Bynum to play at least 60 games at a high level. I wouldn't bet on that, but they don't have anything to lose.

busybluth22 wrote:6. CLE - They have the talent to sneak into the top 5, but they're going to have at the very least some minor injuries that will sidetrack guys like Bynum, Varejao, and possibly Irving.

7. DET- With the addition of Smith, they have the personnel to be very good defensively.

8. MIL/WAS - If Porter was looking better I'd give WAS the inside track, but you can make the argument that Sanders was the best defensive big last year. Sanders + Ilyasova (struggled at the beginning of the year, partially due to criticism of not deserving his contract, and should be able to avg the 17 & 9 he gave post AS break) + Henson who has a ton of potential, form a great frontcourt.

10. TOR - Could be higher if Lowry doesn't act like a petulant child who wants to be elsewhere. It will be fun to watch the development of Valanciunas.

11. ATL - Atlanta's frontcourt has always been undersized, but because Horford & Smith were good defenders they could get away with it. Millsap is not a good defender, neither is their one dimensional starting SF.

but Lowry doesn't act like that...

I think you guys are underrating the Bucks, unfortunately. (talking to those ranking them 11th) They will get a new coach bump and they have plenty of players that play hard. Sanders is a beast in the middle that sets the tone defensively. Ridnour, Ersan, Sanders, and Zaza will win you enough games to keep you in the hunt in a crappy conference. It's not hard to win 37 games and sneak in and that's how the Bucks roll.

Of course if the Bucks were smart, they wouldn't of signed all those crafty vets and just tanked.

Roger Murdock wrote:I think it goes:

1. Miami
2. Chicago
3. NYK
4. Indy
5. Cleveland
6. Brooklyn
7. Washington
8. Atlanta

have you seen the nets' roster? no way cavs beat them out...andthats coming from a diehard cavs fan.