Official East Predictions Thread, Let's Go Baby!

[Ruma85]

1. Knicks
2. Magic
3. Cavs
4. Raptors (will surprise)
5. Hawks
6. Pacers
7. Sixers (playoffs this season)
8. Bucks
9. Hornets (this depends how healthy lamelo stays)*
10. Pistons (will drop in standings)

Bottom feeders:
Heat, Celtics, Wizards, Nets, Bulls

This list is a disaster IMO

The Raptors will be surprisingly good. They usually beat their over under odds.

Ingram is better than Siakam.

Their bench is better.

They have starter level players who've experienced success before (Poeltl, Barnes, RJ, IQ, and Ingram). The bench has Dick, CMB, Walter, Agbaji, Shead, Mogbo, Battle, and other filler talent they can use along the season grind.

Ingram is better than Siakam please go on?

[Bad Bart]

The Celtics will play sprawl ball a la Golden State, with four shooters and someone like Tillman doing his best Draymond imitation. I also expect Brown to play a fair amount of power forward. He's built like one even though he's listed as a guard. He will force teams to go small to match up with him.

I expect Indiana to play the same way now that Turner is gone.

Indiana is going to be interesting, I think they might put Isaiah Jackson and Jay Huff on the court together since Huff can spread the court.

[Curmudgeon]

The Celtics will play sprawl ball a la Golden State, with four shooters and someone like Tillman doing his best Draymond imitation. I also expect Brown to play a fair amount of power forward. He's built like one even though he's listed as a guard. He will force teams to go small to match up with him.

I expect Indiana to play the same way now that Turner is gone.

Indiana is going to be interesting, I think they might put Isaiah Jackson and Jay Huff on the court together since Huff can spread the court.

The Celtics will hope to do the same with Garza.

As for the Raptors, they have Scottie Barnes. Period.

[picc]

I can't express how much I'm looking forward to 1st option Jaylen Brown and unleashed Payton Pritchard. Boston is gonna be fun to watch.

[GiannisAnte34]

I can't express how much I'm looking forward to 1st option Jaylen Brown and unleashed Payton Pritchard. Boston is gonna be fun to watch.

I think the Celtics are down bad this year, they’re gonna get destroyed on the glass

[Curmudgeon]

I can't express how much I'm looking forward to 1st option Jaylen Brown and unleashed Payton Pritchard. Boston is gonna be fun to watch.

I think the Celtics are down bad this year, they’re gonna get destroyed on the glass

So why didn't Golden State get destroyed on the glass when they were winning all those rings? Part of the answer is that missed treys create long rebounds, and quickness can compensate for height on the perimeter. Another factor is that they boxed out: sound fundamental basketball.

It remains to be seen if the 2025-26 Celtics can replicate that, at least to some extent. If they do not, they will indeed be destroyed on the glass, although you really need to see Neemias Queta play before jumping to conclusions. For all of his other flaws, he is a ferocious rebounder--way better as a defensive rebounder than Porzingis. But they will definitely miss Tatum on the glass.

[GiannisAnte34]

1. Knicks
2. Magic
3. Cavs
4. Raptors (will surprise)
5. Hawks
6. Pacers
7. Sixers (playoffs this season)
8. Bucks
9. Hornets (this depends how healthy lamelo stays)*
10. Pistons (will drop in standings)

Bottom feeders:
Heat, Celtics, Wizards, Nets, Bulls

This list is a disaster IMO

The Raptors will be surprisingly good. They usually beat their over under odds.

Ingram is better than Siakam.

Their bench is better.

They have starter level players who've experienced success before (Poeltl, Barnes, RJ, IQ, and Ingram). The bench has Dick, CMB, Walter, Agbaji, Shead, Mogbo, Battle, and other filler talent they can use along the season grind.

4th in the East is like 47+ wins and the Raptors are listed ~30 wins. Scottie is not this superstar that some seem to think around here lol and Ingram is also not in that category. The Raps didn’t get 4th with Siakam + FVV + OG + GTJ albeit they were 5th that season. I don’t see any reason to believe Barnes + Ingram + Quickley + Dick (or whatever other role players) is a more talented team

[Thaddy]

This list is a disaster IMO

The Raptors will be surprisingly good. They usually beat their over under odds.

Ingram is better than Siakam.

Their bench is better.

They have starter level players who've experienced success before (Poeltl, Barnes, RJ, IQ, and Ingram). The bench has Dick, CMB, Walter, Agbaji, Shead, Mogbo, Battle, and other filler talent they can use along the season grind.

Ingram is better than Siakam please go on?

On offense as a first option, yeah. Siakam's defense in the year he left Toronto really fell off too. You could argue Ingram is much better than him. You can argue that one of the best talent evaluators of all time thinks that too. It's not that far fetched.

[Curmudgeon]

I'm happy to see the Raptors do well, if only because Toronto is such a great city-- maybe the best city in North America all things considered. But Ingram better than Siakam? No. Just no.

[Thaddy]

This list is a disaster IMO

The Raptors will be surprisingly good. They usually beat their over under odds.

Ingram is better than Siakam.

Their bench is better.

They have starter level players who've experienced success before (Poeltl, Barnes, RJ, IQ, and Ingram). The bench has Dick, CMB, Walter, Agbaji, Shead, Mogbo, Battle, and other filler talent they can use along the season grind.

4th in the East is like 47+ wins and the Raptors are listed ~30 wins. Scottie is not this superstar that some seem to think around here lol and Ingram is also not in that category. The Raps didn’t get 4th with Siakam + FVV + OG + GTJ albeit they were 5th that season. I don’t see any reason to believe Barnes + Ingram + Quickley + Dick (or whatever other role players) is a more talented team

They had injury issues that year and weak bench depth. It's why they stumbled and lost in the playoffs. In that series Barnes was on track of getting a triple double in his first season. He's a good player but not a first option. This is why they brought in Ingram.

Ingram and Barnes complement each others games well and it'll help slide IQ, RJ, and Poeltl into roles they fit into. Ingram didn't play last year and IQ only played ~30 games and he was on a minutes restriction. They're basically adding two great offensive players to their line up next season. That'll slide RJ and Barnes into better roles. RJ was putting up 21/6/4 on 55/40 when he was the third option on Toronto when he was first traded there.

They could win a ton of games and hover in that mid 40s area. I don't think it's far fetched. A lot of what will hold them back from that will be coaching. Darko usually plays younger players and lets them play mistakes. But the Raptors have good bench depth and high IQ young guys like Dick, CMB, Shead, and Walter.

[Ruma85]

The Raptors will be surprisingly good. They usually beat their over under odds.

Ingram is better than Siakam.

Their bench is better.

They have starter level players who've experienced success before (Poeltl, Barnes, RJ, IQ, and Ingram). The bench has Dick, CMB, Walter, Agbaji, Shead, Mogbo, Battle, and other filler talent they can use along the season grind.

Ingram is better than Siakam please go on?

On offense as a first option, yeah. Siakam's defense in the year he left Toronto really fell off too. You could argue Ingram is much better than him. You can argue that one of the best talent evaluators of all time thinks that too. It's not that far fetched.

I'm a fan of Toronto, but Ingram is not the guy you think he is.

[Thaddy]

Ingram is better than Siakam please go on?

On offense as a first option, yeah. Siakam's defense in the year he left Toronto really fell off too. You could argue Ingram is much better than him. You can argue that one of the best talent evaluators of all time thinks that too. It's not that far fetched.

I'm a fan of Toronto, but Ingram is not the guy you think he is.

He's a good first option with defensive and injury concerns. Am I missing anything?

[GiannisAnte34]

On offense as a first option, yeah. Siakam's defense in the year he left Toronto really fell off too. You could argue Ingram is much better than him. You can argue that one of the best talent evaluators of all time thinks that too. It's not that far fetched.

I'm a fan of Toronto, but Ingram is not the guy you think he is.

He's a good first option with defensive and injury concerns. Am I missing anything?

Ingram is not a good 1st option when you stack up all the 1st options in the NBA. He’s around average

[pepe1991]

I don't consider any team from East, by current rosters, entering 2025-26, as "contender".

Only reason why some teams are now bumped into "contenders" isn't because they ever proved anything to be considered that but because actual two contenders are out of picture due injuries. Especially Celtics.

To make matters worst, not a single team from East even has draft capital to go all in to get better. They all already did it.

Imo, whoever comes from West is winning. East will be entertaining side show.


Consider fact that OKC went 29-1 vs East last year in regular season, only losing to Cavs until playoffs. And Pacers, who gave them ran for a money, are out of picture.

Doesn't help that East also has only 1 player among top 5, and him, Giannis, has so bad roster that they would win 20 games without him. Their guard rotation is worst guard rotation in nba. They don't even have rotation level guard for playoffs, let alone starting quality one.

Feels like 2026 East will be very similar to 2002 one. Who will have honor to get swept?

KPJ not only is a starter quality guard but he’s going to be inching towards top 10 guard play because of the space he’ll get off of Giannis and Turner

Top 10 among Bucks guards ?

[Ruma85]

On offense as a first option, yeah. Siakam's defense in the year he left Toronto really fell off too. You could argue Ingram is much better than him. You can argue that one of the best talent evaluators of all time thinks that too. It's not that far fetched.

I'm a fan of Toronto, but Ingram is not the guy you think he is.

He's a good first option with defensive and injury concerns. Am I missing anything?

I hope your right.

[JustLucky]

This list is a disaster IMO

The Raptors will be surprisingly good. They usually beat their over under odds.

Ingram is better than Siakam.

Their bench is better.

They have starter level players who've experienced success before (Poeltl, Barnes, RJ, IQ, and Ingram). The bench has Dick, CMB, Walter, Agbaji, Shead, Mogbo, Battle, and other filler talent they can use along the season grind.

Ingram is better than Siakam please go on?

hes not but they are pretty close. a healthy ingram might be the biggest upgrade in the east

[JustLucky]

This list is a disaster IMO

The Raptors will be surprisingly good. They usually beat their over under odds.

Ingram is better than Siakam.

Their bench is better.

They have starter level players who've experienced success before (Poeltl, Barnes, RJ, IQ, and Ingram). The bench has Dick, CMB, Walter, Agbaji, Shead, Mogbo, Battle, and other filler talent they can use along the season grind.

4th in the East is like 47+ wins and the Raptors are listed ~30 wins. Scottie is not this superstar that some seem to think around here lol and Ingram is also not in that category. The Raps didn’t get 4th with Siakam + FVV + OG + GTJ albeit they were 5th that season. I don’t see any reason to believe Barnes + Ingram + Quickley + Dick (or whatever other role players) is a more talented team

there over is like 39.5 atm your off by 10 wins and i got money on the over . 4 is too high but they are not gonna be the 10th-11th that most have ranked them

[Thaddy]

The Raptors will be surprisingly good. They usually beat their over under odds.

Ingram is better than Siakam.

Their bench is better.

They have starter level players who've experienced success before (Poeltl, Barnes, RJ, IQ, and Ingram). The bench has Dick, CMB, Walter, Agbaji, Shead, Mogbo, Battle, and other filler talent they can use along the season grind.

4th in the East is like 47+ wins and the Raptors are listed ~30 wins. Scottie is not this superstar that some seem to think around here lol and Ingram is also not in that category. The Raps didn’t get 4th with Siakam + FVV + OG + GTJ albeit they were 5th that season. I don’t see any reason to believe Barnes + Ingram + Quickley + Dick (or whatever other role players) is a more talented team

there over is like 39.5 atm your off by 10 wins and i got money on the over . 4 is too high but they are not gonna be the 10th-11th that most have ranked them

They are essentially adding IQ and Ingram this year. The East is also much weaker. I would guess they hit the over pretty easily if they mesh well. They played IQ for ~30 and had him on a minutes restriction.

[JujitsuFlip]

The Celtics will play sprawl ball a la Golden State, with four shooters and someone like Tillman doing his best Draymond imitation. I also expect Brown to play a fair amount of power forward. He's built like one even though he's listed as a guard. He will force teams to go small to match up with him.

I expect Indiana to play the same way now that Turner is gone.

Indiana is going to be interesting, I think they might put Isaiah Jackson and Jay Huff on the court together since Huff can spread the court.

The Celtics will hope to do the same with Garza.

As for the Raptors, they have Scottie Barnes. Period.

A guy in Garza who has averaged 7.8 MPG for his career and shoots a career 31.4% from deep? That seems like a risky proposition.

[Curmudgeon]

Indiana is going to be interesting, I think they might put Isaiah Jackson and Jay Huff on the court together since Huff can spread the court.

The Celtics will hope to do the same with Garza.

As for the Raptors, they have Scottie Barnes. Period.

A guy in Garza who has averaged 7.8 MPG for his career and shoots a career 31.4% from deep? That seems like a risky proposition.

I have no doubt that Garza can score in the NBA if given the minutes. He was an offensive beast in college. I have serious doubts as to whether he can defend well enough to stay on an NBA floor.

LOL, we should revisit this thread around the middle of January to see how everyone's prognostications look at that point.