I know that this article is mucho late, but I just don't have time to follow and critique the NBA as much as I would like. And as such, in the name of actually giving a shoutout to every team in the league I decided to create a separate post of these predictions for each respective division. And at the end of the day, whereas again I may not have digested as much NBA as desired, I've still seen enough to boldly make the following predictions concerning the near future of just about every NBA team:
BOSTON CELTICS
I feel that the Eastern Conference is faced with sort of a rock-paper-scissors scenario. That is I can perceive the Celtics beating the Heat yet losing to the Bucks. And then I can see the Heat beating the Bucks but losing to the Celtics. So how the Celtics fare by the end of the season will be highly dependent on their seeding. But even beyond that, their biggest concern these days really seems to be injury issues, as it is highly likely that one or more of their key players, even stars, will be injured during the Playoffs.
BROOKLYN NETS
The Nets are better without Kyrie Irving. Even when KD comes back and wants to play with his lil homey, I'd still venture the say that the Nets would be better off without Irving. But in reality being the dickridin organization that this is, they've basically sacrificed building an actual team to being a popular team - which actually isn't a bad decision marketing strategy. And chances are Irving will spend swarths of next season injured also, basically meaning that we'll be seeing this current Nets' squad plus KD, which should make them twice as good.
NEW YORK KNICKS
Recently one of those Forbes articles came out which once again concluded that the Knicks are the most-valuable team in the NBA. This is despite them being garbage for like a good decade now. So somebody's doing something right in that organization - it's just not winning games.
When this season began, I actually thought they had put a squad together that would at least contend for a Playoff spot. That hasn't been the case. But with the recent executive changes at least fans aren't as pessimistic about the immediate future of this team as they were just a month ago.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
I've long had issues with the Sixers due to what seems like their total disregard of continuity. Yes, I would still say that on paper they probably have the best starting-five in the game. But those starters aren't compatible. Even the core of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons aren't compatible unless they're flanked by shooters, i.e. the types of the players the Sixers' braintrust has zero respect for. Moreover considering that Simmons is more or less afraid to shoot from long distances, it would probably be wiser having him play the 3 as opposed to the point. I'd even go as far as to say this team should perhaps sign Isaiah Thomas, but I doubt they'd seriously entertain that idea.
TORONTO RAPTORS
I knew the Raptors were going to be good this season. I mean winning a championship, even if your best player does bounce, tends to do that to a team. But honestly they have exceeded my expectations as at this point they're holding onto the second seed in the East. But with that compliment being uttered, it's difficult for me to foresee this squad actually making noise in the Playoffs.
CONCLUSION
Last season, we witnessed two Atlantic Division teams duke it out in a classic Eastern Conference Finals. This season it's doubtful that either one of them will make it that far.
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