Official East Conference Prediction Thread - updated 10/25/16

[Bully6789]

a lot of predictions but until the games are played i just think people who make these predictions will never come back and say they were wrong. Anybody can make these predictions and the people make them if they really believe in what they say should be in Vegas betting the house.

[jowglenn]

No idea what the remaining free agent and trade situation will look like


1. Celtics (Added Horford, will make another move, will bring excellence night in night out - shades of mid-00s Pistons)
2. Raptors (Solid team, will be hungry to show they will be at the top)
3. Pacers (solid additions, will surprise people - PG top 5 MVP candidate?)
4. Cavs (post-championship regression to the mean - they have lost some depth and will not go hard every night)
5. Pistons (young and hungry and SVG - ready to grow even better than last year)
6. Hawks (transition year - classic Hawks, back to the maybe-2nd-round level)
7. Bulls (too much talent, Butler/Wade/Rondo, for all their faults, will make this work somehow)
8. Knicks (They'll have ups and downs, but Melo/Zinger with an actual supporting cast will make it)
9. Bucks (I feel like they're just not there yet)
10. Hornets (just... lost Lin, lose Lee, lost big Al - transition year. If MKG comes back big though, they move up)
11. Magic (I don't know... I just don't see it yet.)
12. Wizards (John Wall will be traded before opening tipoff of the 2017-2018 season)
13. Heat (yikes)
14. Nets (lol)
15. 76ers (lolol)

[ken6199]

a lot of predictions but until the games are played i just think people who make these predictions will never come back and say they were wrong. Anybody can make these predictions and the people make them if they really believe in what they say should be in Vegas betting the house.

I will single out the best and worst predictors, and paste their work out for us to (friendly) discuss what went right, and what went wrong.

10 months to go.

[yoyoboy]

No idea what the remaining free agent and trade situation will look like


1. Celtics (Added Horford, will make another move, will bring excellence night in night out - shades of mid-00s Pistons)
2. Raptors (Solid team, will be hungry to show they will be at the top)
3. Pacers (solid additions, will surprise people - PG top 5 MVP candidate?)
4. Cavs (post-championship regression to the mean - they have lost some depth and will not go hard every night)
5. Pistons (young and hungry and SVG - ready to grow even better than last year)
6. Hawks (transition year - classic Hawks, back to the maybe-2nd-round level)
7. Bulls (too much talent, Butler/Wade/Rondo, for all their faults, will make this work somehow)
8. Knicks (They'll have ups and downs, but Melo/Zinger with an actual supporting cast will make it)
9. Bucks (I feel like they're just not there yet)
10. Hornets (just... lost Lin, lose Lee, lost big Al - transition year. If MKG comes back big though, they move up)
11. Magic (I don't know... I just don't see it yet.)
12. Wizards (John Wall will be traded before opening tipoff of the 2017-2018 season)
13. Heat (yikes)
14. Nets (lol)
15. 76ers (lolol)

I think people are blowing out of proportion how much the Cavs will coast in the regular season. They're still going to want to have homecourt advantage in any playoff matchup they can, meaning they'll certainly be fighting for that number one spot, just not playing guys near 40 minutes a night and risking injury in the process. And while we did lose some depth, the only guy we lost who was actually getting minutes by the end of the year was Delly, and having Kyrie back for a whole season will help to offset that.

So I don't see any way we only get the 4th seed. Not as long as LeBron is playing.

[SOUL]

1. Cavaliers
2. Raptors
3. Celtics
4. Pistons
5. Hawks
6. Pacers
7. Magic
8. Knicks
9. Bucks
10. Bulls
11. Hornets
12. Wizards
13. Heat
14. Nets
15. Sixers

Honestly don't feel super confident in anything past 4, can see anybody from 4-12 getting in and even the Heat have an outside shot -- and would move up a lot if Bosh comes back.

[BJGOAT3]

I'll bite. I will try to go for the most realistic bold prediction I can make.

1) Raptors: I say Cavs coast. Raptors have a very good foundation, they have been steadily improving and even though they lost Biyombo and Scola, they added replacements. J-Val was destined for a jump in minutes anyway. DD and Lowry coming off Olympic experience, also with Lowry's contract year, things look pretty lined up for them to explode. I think this is the year that their foundation gives the major harvest in RS, like those 2014 Pacers.

2) Cavs: Will be coasting. Yet their coasting level will most likely be enough for one of the two top spots. This is mostly me betting on Toronto making a jump to 60 win level rather than Cavs regressing. I say they will win 55ish games, bunch of rests for LeBron and Kyrie.

3) Pistons: They are my 2nd candidate for a major leap. Pistons have a very solid foundation from the year before, they kept their core, and I think Drummond makes the jump to becoming one of the most impactful players in the league. Stan has a lot of experience with similar teams where he won in bunches and I would bet on them being able to win a significant amount of RS games.

4) Pacers: George could become a legit MVP candidate, unfortunately I have doubts about their defence. They will be good, and with more consistency in PG's game, they will be around this spot.

5) Boston: Improved, but I think most of their players reached their peak performance and Horford will make things interesting, but he isn't a guy to add +5 or +10 wins to an already over performing squad imo. Also honestly seeds from 3 to 6 will probably be like last year so they could very well get the 3rd.

6) Hawks: Not sure how their bench is looking right now. Their style of play will certainly change a little, but Dwight if motivated can be an impactful player, and Hawks offence could fit him in just right. Last couple of years, they consistently suffered from not having a good rebounder and they've got one of the best they could. I say they remain in the mix.

7) Chicago: Obviously its not a well built team, but it wouldn't be very smart to bet against a team with Wade, Jimmy Butler and Rondo. 7th seed is not shooting at stars for their talent.

8) New York: Around 8th seed, things usually end up being a crapshoot in the East. In such uncertainty, I would be willing to bet on New York who have the experienced players, and a player who I still believe to be a star in Carmelo Anthony. Still, there are question marks regarding coaching fit, offensive system, health, which could easily knock them out of this spot.

[camillepd]

Knicks will be in the top 3 in the East.

[Celts17Pride]

Knicks will be in the top 3 in the East.

Maybe NFC East

[r1terrell23]

1. Cavs
2. Raptors
3. Celtics
4. Pacers
5. Bulls
6. Pistons
7. Hawks
8. Knicks
9. Wizards
10. Hornets
11. Magic
12. Bucks
13. Heat
14. Nets
15. Sixers

[HMFFL]

Vegas the rankings in this order to win the Eastern Conference.


Cleveland Cavaliers -300
Boston Celtics 8/1
Toronto Raptors 19/1
Atlanta Hawks 30/1
Chicago Bulls 30/1
Indiana Pacers
Detroit Pistons
New York Knicks
Washington Wizards
Milwaukee Bucks
Miami Heat
Orlando Magic
Charlotte Hornets
Philadelphia 76ers
Brooklyn Nets

[Pew_Pew_Pew]

Knicks will be in the top 3 in the East.

Hahahahahaahaha

That's absolutely absurd.

[nbafan341]

Raptors and Cavs should be at the top of everyone's prediction clearly better on paper and by history( they won 56 games last season without most of their starting C and SF for most of the season). Clesrly better than all other teams below:

cavs
raptors
Celtics
Pacers
Hawks
Detroit
Bulls
ORLANDO
KNICKS
wizards
Hornets
Heat
Bucks
Nets
sixers

[Moose10Fan]

Raptors and Cavs should be at the top of everyone's prediction clearly better on paper and by history( they won 56 games last season without most of their starting C and SF for most of the season). Clesrly better than all other teams below:

cavs
raptors
Celtics
Pacers
Hawks
Detroit
Bulls
ORLANDO
KNICKS
wizards
Hornets
Heat
Bucks
Nets
sixers

Nothing is a certainty.



Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

[nbafan341]

Raptors and Cavs should be at the top of everyone's prediction clearly better on paper and by history( they won 56 games last season without most of their starting C and SF for most of the season). Clesrly better than all other teams below:

cavs
raptors
Celtics
Pacers
Hawks
Detroit
Bulls
ORLANDO
KNICKS
wizards
Hornets
Heat
Bucks
Nets
sixers

Nothing is a certainty.




Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

Okay, the sixers have a chance at winning a title next season then

[Moose10Fan]

Nothing is a certainty.




Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

Okay, the sixers have a chance at winning a title next season then

Things happen, I don't think it's out of the question that the Raps don't finish in the Top 2.





Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

Read on Twitter

I think the Pacers will be the #1 seed with their new addition of Jimmy Butler.

[tmorgan]

Guessing that involved a bet lost to Paul George

[165bows]

CLE
BOS
Tor
Cha
IND
ATL
DET
WAS

CHI
MIA
ORL

MIL
NYK
BRK
PHI

[iBall101]

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

Atlanta won't make the playoffs this year.

[vxmike]

Cavs
Celtics
Bulls
Raptors
Pacers
Pistons
Bucks
Hornets

Hawks
Magic
Wizards
Knicks
Heat
Sixers
Nets

I'd be curious to see an average of all contributors rankings and compare it to ESPNs ranking.