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By Sean Deveney
It will, without question, be worth watching.
That has not always been the case with the NBA regular season in recent years, when it seemed that not only the champion was predetermined, but the matchup itself — Cavs-Warriors, four straight years — was easily predictable by the end of July.
This year, with LeBron James leaving the Cavaliers and heading to the Lakers, the East is finally free from his grip. James has a run of eight straight Finals appearances going, but it’s safe to say that will end here. It’s also safe to say that the East will have a new champ, too, because the James-less Cavs will have to claw just to make the playoffs.
So there are storylines. Will the Celtics put together the kind of dominant season their talent level suggests they should? Can Philadelphia’s young guns grow into a contender that can knock off Boston? Will Kawhi Leonard break Toronto’s playoff curse?
That, at least, applies to the East. In the West, even with the addition of James, the rise of the Rockets and the impressive turnaround of the Jazz, the conference still has a foregone feel, with the Warriors a head above everyone else.
So expect a different Finals, but not a complete overhaul of NBA powers here. It is, at least, a start.
Eastern Conference
Top tier
The Celtics will enter the season as the clear favorites in the East, but the internal dynamics of the team bear watching as they integrate Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward back into the starting five after the team’s budding youngsters made a strong run at the Finals last spring without them.
The Raptors will welcome Kawhi Leonard and hope that his addition is enough to push them past the developing young talent of the Sixers, but those two teams figure to fight it out for the top spot behind Boston. We’re betting on Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and friends, but it will be close.
1. Celtics
2. Sixers
3. Raptors
Home-court scramble
Maybe the best race in the East will wind up being the race for the fourth seed, and the home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Pacers, coming off a 48-win season and building with a good draft and solid free-agency pickups that bolstered their depth, look like the favorite, and could move into the top three in the East if there are injuries in Toronto or Philadelphia.
Milwaukee, entering a new building, is counting on new coach Mike Budenholzer to take better advantage of the MVP-type talent of Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the Wizards are looking at a make-or-break season for their John Wall-Bradley Beal-Otto Porter nucleus after last year’s disappointment.
4. Pacers
5. Bucks
6. Wizards
The field
Cleveland has been determined since losing LeBron James in free agency that the team would not fall apart completely, and there is enough of a mix of young talent and veterans to push them above .500, which should be enough for one of the East’s last two seeds.
New coach Dwane Casey inherits a Pistons group that needs Blake Griffin to stay healthy, and could surprise if that happens. Barring a trade for Jimmy Butler, that would likely leave Miami out of the playoff mix, with the Hornets looking to new coach James Borrego to rethink the team’s sputtering offense.
7. Cavaliers
8. Pistons
9. Heat
10. Hornets
Lottery hopes
The Nets have built up some decent young pieces, and while they could make an early run at the playoffs, they lack the depth to carry it through. At long last, Brooklyn actually owns its own lottery pick, so they’d better take advantage.
The Knicks will suffer without Kristaps Porzingis, and it’s still too soon for the Magic, Bulls and Hawks to make real progress.
11. Nets
12. Magic
13. Knicks
14. Bulls
15. Hawks
Western Conference
The top two
It would be a surprise if the Rockets were to repeat last year’s heroics and come away with the top overall seed in the NBA, but we can’t rule out the possibility.
The Warriors are, as always, loaded, and added DeMarcus Cousins in free agency. Cousins won’t be healthy until the stretch run, but it’s safe to say that no contender is likely to add a better piece at midseason than him. Once again, it’s the Warriors’ NBA, and we’re all just waiting to see who gets second place.
1. Warriors
2. Rockets
Top tier
There are a handful of teams with the potential to land in the top four of the West, but coming into the year, the two with the best chances are Utah and Oklahoma City. The Jazz have star sophomore Donovan Mitchell leading the way after a 48-win season in which Utah dominated the second half and reached the conference semis. If Rudy Gobert is healthy all year and Mitchell irons out his efficiency, Utah should easily be in the West’s top three.
Oklahoma City is more of a wild card, especially with Andre Roberson needing more time to recover from knee surgery. But Paul George is back and Carmelo Anthony is gone, which is all very positive news for the Thunder.
3. Jazz
4. Thunder
The hard eight
It’s going to be no easy task to land in the West’s final eight, even as some teams figure to take steps backward and one — the Lakers — figures to take a giant leap forward. LA landed LeBron James and a host of talented weirdos (Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, Michael Beasley, JaVale McGee) last summer, and we wish coach Luke Walton all the luck in figuring out how to make it work. The Lakers did not put this team together to land in the lottery, and Walton will be on the hot seat from Day One.
The rest of the potential playoff field is not going to make things easy. Denver was strong when healthy last year, and youngsters Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Gary Harris are impressive offensive talents. The Pelicans are coming off a strong second half, and if Portland can back up its defensive improvement from last year, they’ll be a playoff team, too.
5. Nuggets
6. Lakers
7. Pelicans
8. Trail Blazers
Outside looking in
The Timberwolves may not make the playoffs, but they’re going to be fascinating in the early season if Jimmy Butler comes in and tries to play with teammates Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns, two players he has been criticizing behind their backs for months now.
They’re the wildcard in all this. The whole thing could implode or maybe, in some weird way, Butler’s antics will set this team off on a rage-filled 50-win bender. Who knows?
The other West teams legitimately trying to earn a playoff spot are likely to be disappointed. San Antonio has been devastated by point guard injuries, and the Mavs, Grizzlies and Clippers just don’t have the talent level to keep up with the rest of the West.
9. Timberwolves
10. Mavericks
11. Spurs
12. Grizzlies
13. Clippers
Lottery hopes
Even with the bizarre firing of Ryan McDonough, things are still finally pointed in a positive direction for Phoenix, with No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton looking like a Rookie of the Year favorite and new coach Igor Kokoskov, a respected veteran assistant, on hand.
There are interesting young pieces on the Sacramento roster, but the Kings are still a few years from being truly competitive, and might well screw things up in the meantime.
14. Suns
15. Kings
NBA playoffs
East first round
The Celtics are nearly as big favorites in the East as the Warriors are in the West, but a potential series against either Toronto — especially if Kawhi Leonard fits in all season as nicely as he has in the preseason — or the Sixers would be no easy task.
Assuming Boston is a contender for the near future, it’s likely to run into Philadelphia repeatedly in the coming years in the East finals, including this year.
(1) Celtics over (8) Pistons
(2) Sixers over (7) Cavaliers
(3) Raptors over (6) Wizards
(4) Pacers over (5) Bucks
Conference semis
(1) Celtics over (4) Pacers
(2) Sixers over (3) Raptors
Conference finals
(1) Celtics over (2) Sixers
West first round
Look at these potential playoff matchups in the West. It’s unlikely that there would be much in the way of upsets, but the notion of Anthony Davis leading New Orleans against James Harden, Chris Paul and the Rockets, or LeBron James vs. Donovan Mitchell... well, sign us up. Pretty much any combination of top four vs. bottom four is going to yield a fun series in the West’s first round.
What could be especially worthwhile is a repeat second-round matchup of Houston and Utah. The Rockets outmanned the Jazz last season, but expect the Jazz to take some steps forward this season — and even pull off the semifinal upset and reach the conference finals.
Alas, no such luck against the powerhouse Warriors, though, who are slated to cruise into their fifth straight Finals.
(1) Warriors over (8) Trail Blazers
(2) Rockets over (7) Pelicans
(3) Jazz over (6) Lakers
(4) Thunder over (5) Nuggets
Conference semis
(1) Warriors over (4) Thunder
(3) Jazz over (2) Rockets
Conference finals
(1) Warriors over (3) Jazz
NBA Finals
Warriors over Celtics
At the very least, NBA fans will enter this season knowing we won’t be seeing the same Finals matchup for a fifth straight spring. No, this time around the Warriors will be back and facing off against some new East foe. Boston is the clear pick, but if the Celtics struggle with health or chemistry, either the Sixers or Raptors would make a good fill-in.
No matter which East team it is, expect a better matchup. In the last two Finals series against Cleveland, the Warriors won eight out of the nine games, and despite LeBron James' valiant efforts, the Cavs just could not keep up with the matchup problems the Warriors create.
The Celtics, however, could handle those matchups and give the Warriors some of their own trouble. Boston has a deep set of versatile wings and big men, the kind you need to have any chance against Golden State. While the Celtics have stars (Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, Jayson Tatum), and while youth seems to favor Boston over Golden State in the near future, the Warriors have Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, two of the three or four best players in the league.
Expect a better Finals. But don’t expect a different result. Three in a row for Golden State, and four in five years.
It will, without question, be worth watching.
That has not always been the case with the NBA regular season in recent years, when it seemed that not only the champion was predetermined, but the matchup itself — Cavs-Warriors, four straight years — was easily predictable by the end of July.
This year, with LeBron James leaving the Cavaliers and heading to the Lakers, the East is finally free from his grip. James has a run of eight straight Finals appearances going, but it’s safe to say that will end here. It’s also safe to say that the East will have a new champ, too, because the James-less Cavs will have to claw just to make the playoffs.
So there are storylines. Will the Celtics put together the kind of dominant season their talent level suggests they should? Can Philadelphia’s young guns grow into a contender that can knock off Boston? Will Kawhi Leonard break Toronto’s playoff curse?
That, at least, applies to the East. In the West, even with the addition of James, the rise of the Rockets and the impressive turnaround of the Jazz, the conference still has a foregone feel, with the Warriors a head above everyone else.
So expect a different Finals, but not a complete overhaul of NBA powers here. It is, at least, a start.
Eastern Conference
Top tier
The Celtics will enter the season as the clear favorites in the East, but the internal dynamics of the team bear watching as they integrate Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward back into the starting five after the team’s budding youngsters made a strong run at the Finals last spring without them.
The Raptors will welcome Kawhi Leonard and hope that his addition is enough to push them past the developing young talent of the Sixers, but those two teams figure to fight it out for the top spot behind Boston. We’re betting on Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and friends, but it will be close.
1. Celtics
2. Sixers
3. Raptors
Home-court scramble
Maybe the best race in the East will wind up being the race for the fourth seed, and the home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Pacers, coming off a 48-win season and building with a good draft and solid free-agency pickups that bolstered their depth, look like the favorite, and could move into the top three in the East if there are injuries in Toronto or Philadelphia.
Milwaukee, entering a new building, is counting on new coach Mike Budenholzer to take better advantage of the MVP-type talent of Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the Wizards are looking at a make-or-break season for their John Wall-Bradley Beal-Otto Porter nucleus after last year’s disappointment.
4. Pacers
5. Bucks
6. Wizards
The field
Cleveland has been determined since losing LeBron James in free agency that the team would not fall apart completely, and there is enough of a mix of young talent and veterans to push them above .500, which should be enough for one of the East’s last two seeds.
New coach Dwane Casey inherits a Pistons group that needs Blake Griffin to stay healthy, and could surprise if that happens. Barring a trade for Jimmy Butler, that would likely leave Miami out of the playoff mix, with the Hornets looking to new coach James Borrego to rethink the team’s sputtering offense.
7. Cavaliers
8. Pistons
9. Heat
10. Hornets
Lottery hopes
The Nets have built up some decent young pieces, and while they could make an early run at the playoffs, they lack the depth to carry it through. At long last, Brooklyn actually owns its own lottery pick, so they’d better take advantage.
The Knicks will suffer without Kristaps Porzingis, and it’s still too soon for the Magic, Bulls and Hawks to make real progress.
11. Nets
12. Magic
13. Knicks
14. Bulls
15. Hawks
Western Conference
The top two
It would be a surprise if the Rockets were to repeat last year’s heroics and come away with the top overall seed in the NBA, but we can’t rule out the possibility.
The Warriors are, as always, loaded, and added DeMarcus Cousins in free agency. Cousins won’t be healthy until the stretch run, but it’s safe to say that no contender is likely to add a better piece at midseason than him. Once again, it’s the Warriors’ NBA, and we’re all just waiting to see who gets second place.
1. Warriors
2. Rockets
Top tier
There are a handful of teams with the potential to land in the top four of the West, but coming into the year, the two with the best chances are Utah and Oklahoma City. The Jazz have star sophomore Donovan Mitchell leading the way after a 48-win season in which Utah dominated the second half and reached the conference semis. If Rudy Gobert is healthy all year and Mitchell irons out his efficiency, Utah should easily be in the West’s top three.
Oklahoma City is more of a wild card, especially with Andre Roberson needing more time to recover from knee surgery. But Paul George is back and Carmelo Anthony is gone, which is all very positive news for the Thunder.
3. Jazz
4. Thunder
The hard eight
It’s going to be no easy task to land in the West’s final eight, even as some teams figure to take steps backward and one — the Lakers — figures to take a giant leap forward. LA landed LeBron James and a host of talented weirdos (Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, Michael Beasley, JaVale McGee) last summer, and we wish coach Luke Walton all the luck in figuring out how to make it work. The Lakers did not put this team together to land in the lottery, and Walton will be on the hot seat from Day One.
The rest of the potential playoff field is not going to make things easy. Denver was strong when healthy last year, and youngsters Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Gary Harris are impressive offensive talents. The Pelicans are coming off a strong second half, and if Portland can back up its defensive improvement from last year, they’ll be a playoff team, too.
5. Nuggets
6. Lakers
7. Pelicans
8. Trail Blazers
Outside looking in
The Timberwolves may not make the playoffs, but they’re going to be fascinating in the early season if Jimmy Butler comes in and tries to play with teammates Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns, two players he has been criticizing behind their backs for months now.
They’re the wildcard in all this. The whole thing could implode or maybe, in some weird way, Butler’s antics will set this team off on a rage-filled 50-win bender. Who knows?
The other West teams legitimately trying to earn a playoff spot are likely to be disappointed. San Antonio has been devastated by point guard injuries, and the Mavs, Grizzlies and Clippers just don’t have the talent level to keep up with the rest of the West.
9. Timberwolves
10. Mavericks
11. Spurs
12. Grizzlies
13. Clippers
Lottery hopes
Even with the bizarre firing of Ryan McDonough, things are still finally pointed in a positive direction for Phoenix, with No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton looking like a Rookie of the Year favorite and new coach Igor Kokoskov, a respected veteran assistant, on hand.
There are interesting young pieces on the Sacramento roster, but the Kings are still a few years from being truly competitive, and might well screw things up in the meantime.
14. Suns
15. Kings
NBA playoffs
East first round
The Celtics are nearly as big favorites in the East as the Warriors are in the West, but a potential series against either Toronto — especially if Kawhi Leonard fits in all season as nicely as he has in the preseason — or the Sixers would be no easy task.
Assuming Boston is a contender for the near future, it’s likely to run into Philadelphia repeatedly in the coming years in the East finals, including this year.
(1) Celtics over (8) Pistons
(2) Sixers over (7) Cavaliers
(3) Raptors over (6) Wizards
(4) Pacers over (5) Bucks
Conference semis
(1) Celtics over (4) Pacers
(2) Sixers over (3) Raptors
Conference finals
(1) Celtics over (2) Sixers
West first round
Look at these potential playoff matchups in the West. It’s unlikely that there would be much in the way of upsets, but the notion of Anthony Davis leading New Orleans against James Harden, Chris Paul and the Rockets, or LeBron James vs. Donovan Mitchell... well, sign us up. Pretty much any combination of top four vs. bottom four is going to yield a fun series in the West’s first round.
What could be especially worthwhile is a repeat second-round matchup of Houston and Utah. The Rockets outmanned the Jazz last season, but expect the Jazz to take some steps forward this season — and even pull off the semifinal upset and reach the conference finals.
Alas, no such luck against the powerhouse Warriors, though, who are slated to cruise into their fifth straight Finals.
(1) Warriors over (8) Trail Blazers
(2) Rockets over (7) Pelicans
(3) Jazz over (6) Lakers
(4) Thunder over (5) Nuggets
Conference semis
(1) Warriors over (4) Thunder
(3) Jazz over (2) Rockets
Conference finals
(1) Warriors over (3) Jazz
NBA Finals
Warriors over Celtics
At the very least, NBA fans will enter this season knowing we won’t be seeing the same Finals matchup for a fifth straight spring. No, this time around the Warriors will be back and facing off against some new East foe. Boston is the clear pick, but if the Celtics struggle with health or chemistry, either the Sixers or Raptors would make a good fill-in.
No matter which East team it is, expect a better matchup. In the last two Finals series against Cleveland, the Warriors won eight out of the nine games, and despite LeBron James' valiant efforts, the Cavs just could not keep up with the matchup problems the Warriors create.
The Celtics, however, could handle those matchups and give the Warriors some of their own trouble. Boston has a deep set of versatile wings and big men, the kind you need to have any chance against Golden State. While the Celtics have stars (Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, Jayson Tatum), and while youth seems to favor Boston over Golden State in the near future, the Warriors have Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, two of the three or four best players in the league.
Expect a better Finals. But don’t expect a different result. Three in a row for Golden State, and four in five years.