Knicks · Too Early Eastern Conference Prediction (page 1)

1) Milwaukee
2) Boston
3) Cavs
4) Knicks
5) Heat
6) Philly
7) Pacers
8) Hawks
9) Brooklyn
10) Charlotte
11) Toronto
12) Orlando
13) Chicago
14) Detroit
15) Washington

Ok. It’s a little early. I’m not huge on the Heat like everyone else. They had a good run in the playoffs on Butler’s back but lost some key cogs to that team in Vincent and Strus. I think they were luckier than good, so I’m bumping them from 10 seed to 5, but not much more.

Bucks are better. They got a lot of vet help to a team that was great but lacked depth. Odds on favorites in my opinion.

Celts are different. Not sure better. If KP is healthy, I think they are better than they were, but I think Smart’s value to the team is understated. #2 in the East.

Cavs are ahead of the Knicks in my opinion. Yeah, we smoked them in their home court, but I think they are improving in the offseason with Niang and Strus. They just got a little better.

Knicks improve adding DDV and a year older helps them, but losing Toppin for 2nd rounders leaves. A gap in the big man rotation that hasn’t yet been filled. Too soon, but I have the Knicks at 4.

Heat at 5 as said above.

Sixers at 6. Although they haven’t officially blown up, the Harden drama has to be accounted for. I’m envisioning a team with Embiid and whatever scraps are obtained in the Harden deal. I think the team is due for a Brooklyn style implosion.

Aging helps the Pacers as the addition to Toppin to a good young core is a solid compliment. I expect them to have a playoff bound season.

Hawks just don’t have it as the league keeps taking away the things that makes Trae good. I don’t think they are improved.

Brooklyn is a question mark. I love Mikal Bridges as the penultimate 3&D. Not sure he takes it to the next level as the lead scorer in that offense. Expect teams to adjust and shut it down.

Charlotte should be healthier this season though the Bridges drama is a question mark. This team is the one that has the most upward mobility in my opinion

Toronto seems poised to blow up. Just needs a little nudge…

Orlando has good young talent to squander and I do expect them to squander it.

Chicago is older and more infirm.

Detroit - KnicksNorth has all the pieces if it could just take the next step. I still don’t see it.

Washington is in full tank.

Thoughts?

Don’t sleep on Orlando - they played 500 ball after the early part of the season. I don’t think it was a strength of schedule thing, it was young guys having to learn how to play NBA ball.

Man, I love these threads!

Tier One: Top Chefs

1. Boston- Regular Season Warriors
Trading Marcus Smart will come back to haunt them- in the playoffs. During the regular season Peyton Pritchard will replace a lot of his production and now instead of depending on 2 injury prone frontcourt players, they have 3.

Big Question: Return of Robert Williams iii- if he can recapture some of his 2021-22 ~magic, watch the fuck out.

2. Philadelphia- Overlooked FA Signing
Perhaps the biggest upgrade of the offseason was replacing one of the least imaginative coaches with the most. Doc will save one game a year with a savvy time out but he only knows how to run pick and rolls with MVP level point guards. Nick Nurse is the master of Frankenstein offenses and will figure new and imaginative ways to score and defend. He maximizes forwards and now has a great one in T. Harris.

Big Question: James Harden- pretty confident that if he goes, he will only do so for players that the 76ers want and need.

3. New York- Steady as She Goes
Knicks entered the offseason with enviable depth and now is much deeper. DDV is a plug and play player. In an NBA regularly starting 6'8" guys at center, the lack of a true back- up PF won't be as big a deal. Knicks also have some cap room to add get buy out guys, EFs contract to trade, and draft picks to burn, so are uniquely positioned to get in season help.

Big Question: RJ- RJ has showed signs of levelling up in the playoffs right up until Game 6. If he starts sinking all those open 3's Knicks will be tough to outscore.

4. Milwaukee- Getting Old Quick
Losing Carter and Ingles hurts because they soaked up a lot of regular season minutes (2855). Pat Connaughton is the young guy in the rotation at 30. Bucks got outstanding seasons from Lopez and Holiday, can they be relied on for another 4500 minutes this season? Outside of Holiday- who plays point? The only thing keeping these guys in the top 4 is Giannis's immigrant mentality. The new Zen master is a modern day Boxer, every problem has one answer- "I will work harder."

Big Question: Bye bye Buddy- rotations are the most difficult job of coaching and Bucks ditched the master for a rookie. Bud squeezed extra wins for years knowing exactly for how long and how many games to play guys. Griffin seems like an all right guy but there's no way he can get it right. For an old and thin roster, that means injuries and missed games.

5. Heat- Dame Adebutler
Hard to rate these guys knowing they have a potential MVP trade on the horizon. Dame was stuck on F- Boy island last year and put up career best numbers. If he makes it to Miami, they will shoot up to number one. Last season could be summed up as "They missed a lot of 3's and then started making some." Now they can potentially add a guy who shot 15 per 100 at a 37% clip last season. If the Heat don't make this trade they could drop into the playin tier without a doubt. Butler, Lowry, and Love aren't gonna sweat a January game in Toronto. Spo will maximize the roster but you need ingredients to bake the cake.

Big Question: Will Riley get Riled- Far be it for me to question a guy who has taken part in 25% of the Finals in league history, but if he's holding up the Dame deal because he thinks he can keep Jamie Jaquez, the Heat are gonna need an intern to carry around his stones. It's only a matter of time before some idiot GM realizes that Lillard is totally worth Jaylen Brown/ Anthony Edwards/ Tyrese Maxey/ etc. Contracts haven't been finalized yet! BKN can still sign and trade Cam Johnson with a side of Nic Claxton.

Tier 2: Most Caesar Salads

The dressing: Squeamish about raw egg yolks and anchovies? Sorry! Yolks are what give richness to the emulsion, while umami-rich anchovies are the primary reason Caesar salad dressing tastes so good—that, and a good garlicky kick.

Just as Bon Apetit unapologetically points out the obvious, these teams are just missing a little something.

6. Cleveland- Back to the Mean
After being bombarded with a season of "You don't even know how good Darius Garland is" and "Evan Mobley will be a top 5 player" takes the Cavs crashed back to Earth in the playoffs about 10 minutes in to Game 5 when the home crowd threw in the towel. Sadly for them there's a ceiling on starting to short guards- just ask Dame and CJ. And sorry, Max Strus isn't the answer. Cleveland had one job over the offseason and they answered it by resigning the guy they had already decided couldn't solve it in Caris LeVert and Max Strus whose On-Off number was -9.1. 6 might be too high.

Big Question: Buyer's Remorse
Cleveland will struggle this season as those feel good vibes from the Donovan Mitchell trade wear off and the weight of expectations takes its toll. Releasing Kevin Love when he was the exact guy you needed in the playoffs after paying him 100 million to babysit 3 years of bad teams was inexcusable. Heck, who gives Max Stress Kelly Oubre money? Expect a LeVert and Strus trade for Jerami Grant as soon as possible.

7. Indiana- Touch the Sky
Pacers were tied with the Knicks at 23-19 when Halliburton got injured and missed the next ten games. The rest of the team went 1-9 with him out. Despite having nothing to play for but draft positioning, Carlisle kept them playing hard all season and was rewarded by Nembhard and Nesmith along with the more ballyhooed Mathurin.

Big Question: Questionable Bigs- Glad that everything worked out for Turner but neither Obi or their rookie are going to change the defense around. Lots to look forward to and they should be happy to get to the play in.

8. Atlanta- A New Hope
I'm glad I'm doing tiers because these guys could shoot up past the Pacers and Cavs and the sans Lillard Heat. Snyder is a great coach and it says a lot that he jumped into the job mid season rather than wait till the summer to see what other gigs became available. He saw something he liked with this team. Trae's mini playoff resurgence (30/10 averages) is just the kind of catnip a team in the doldrums needed to get them frisky for the new season.

Big Question: Huntering for 3's
It's no surprise that Quinn the Coachkmo wants the 2-4 guys to shoot and hit a lot of 3's. Murray and Hunter went 233/ 677 on 3's last season which isn't a winning percentage. But swapping Collins sub .300 percentage points for Bey's over .400 sure is and the likely motivation behind finally getting a deal done. Expect Bey to be the new star of the show.

9. Chicago: Better than you think.
Fucking NBA media! Everyone is so happy to pile on Chicago that they forget Billy Donovan knows what he's doing. Bulls finished 5th in defense despite all the digital ink spilled on telling you that DeRozan LaVine and Vucevic can't cut it on that end. Jevon Carter is going to do pretty much what Lonzo did. These guys we're up with 2 minutes left on Miami in the play in as we heard every Miami playoff game. Don't sleep on the Bulls.

Big Question: Deadline DeRozan
DeRozan, in the last year of a reasonable 28 million contract which will carry full bird rights is just the guy every playoff team would love to add at the deadline. Chicago can restock that draft cabinet real quick and they probably should. If Ball retires due to injury, he still gets paid but his salary comes off the cap, meaning Bulls could have something like 40 million in space next offseason. DeRozan is definitely a guy you want to trade for picks rather than resign

10. Brooklyn: It's about Dame Time!
Have fun with the leade emphasizing it in different ways. What are you guys waiting for? As long as they can keep Bridges everyone else should be available. Cash in those Claxton checks while you can. No other team can have it's ceiling raised so immediately by a Dame trade because without him, the ceiling is pretty low. Sorry you can't win with just role players in the NBA. For all the talk about Bridges improving post trade, it didn't impact in the wins column. Dame isn't Kyrie KD or Harden. He will leave it out there every night and is the star these Nets need if they want to avoid one of those 3-22 records in games decided by 5 points.

Big Question: Iconic London Timepiece
What the fuck is this guy's deal? Is he mentally or physically hurt? Why was he removed from the rotation a month before his season ending injury was announced? Let's not forget that this guy was a two way force whenever a certain oversized Cameroonian wasn't occupying half the paint. I dream of him getting a fresh start somewhere (San Antonio, cough. cough), with a coach that understands him (Brett Brown, cough) in a system where "while other places ask you to get better at what they want, here they get you to do what you do well" (San Antonio, Pop).

Bottom Feeders

11. Toronto: The Rapture
The only reason these guys don't get ranked lower is because they have legitimate all- NBA guy Pascal Siakam. The ship be sinking! Is Masai still godfathered in as an exceptional GM? It only took him two seasons to realize "Hey, maybe we should get a center!" Somehow it was quirky Nick Nurse and his unconventional lineups that were the culprit rather than, you know, not having a center on the roster. With the exodus of talet, coaching, and hope cold weather, high tax Toronto is rightfully re assuming its spot on the bottom of the totem poll.

Big Question: How Low Can You Go
Frankly, this rating seems high, but I'm high- on Siakam! The smart move would be selling Siakam and IG off for parts before hard balling Scottie to take less than the max, but hey these guys just signed Gary Trent and Schroeder to 18 million deals so obviously they know what they're doing.

12. Detroit: The Full Monty
I'm just happy that we live in a world where somehow Carmelo Bradley Beal and Damian Lillard get tainted for signing for the biggest money available yet Monty does the same thing with nary a peep. Dawg, you could be coaching Giannis! Somewhere I read a "choose a lane" take where someone complained about Detroit rostering win now vets on the wing with young guards and bigs. Seems like a smart move as shooting generally improves with age. Bagley and Wiseman were top picks for a reason. It's not unreasonable to imagine their improvement with a coach who did not say "I didn't trust the analytics guys for a long time."

Big Question: Will the Real Slim Cadey Please Stand Up
Cade bumped his average up to 20 points per game in limited action last year- on 18.7 shots! With a 42/28/84 slash line, maybe Detroit's future isn't as bright as some would think. Call me a sucker but having a coach that says "pass it to Burks" should have a positive impact in wins.

13. Orlando: Do you believe in Magic?
No, because I'm an adult. Just like any adult will tell you that starting Fultz and Suggs 79 games and Cole Anthony 4 is the antithesis of a meritocracy. Are these guys praying on Jonathan Isaac making a full recovery? Guy has played 150 minutes since Jan 1, of 2020. His contract is "partially" guaranteed for 16 out of 17 million. What's the reasoning behind that? So yeah Paolo and Frantz are cool, and I guess they "won" the Vucevic trade but this is a team that's apparently waiting for next year's Dillon Brooks and FVV to save them in free agency.

Big Question: The Hippocratic Oath
I like the "do no harm" aspect of signing 36 year old Joe Ingles to a deal. It's for 11 million, no word on if year two is guaranteed. But if it was, why clog up any cap? And for a team that's been sunk by Penny injuries and now Isaac, why take a risk on a 36 year old with a recent ACL injury? Sure, he came back but you have to think there's still something going on. I checked the time stamp of the deal and it was at 7:38 pm. Given a few minutes to write the report, did Orlando's front office start FA with 23 million in cap room and say "Quick, get Joe Ingles's agent on the line!" As far as I can tell Joe is 11 years older than anyone else on the team. And why not just bring back franchise stalwart Terrence Ross who remains unsigned?

14. Charlotte: Apocalypse Now
These are getting longer. When I was in middle school we watched a movie called "The Message" about Muhammad sponsored by KSA. To prevent any beheadings, it was shot from the Prophets POV. Sometimes I think he nodded. So it was kind of weird to watch MJ get the Muhammad treatment in the movie Air. We saw his legs get out of a car, the back of his head in a board room, and his mom speak on his behalf but no MJ.

I get it, he's an icon for winning, and thus America. We ignore how his exorbitant salary was the reason the Bulls broke up and why Scottie, who really did sacrifice for the team, is somehow the bad guy for pointing this out. Compare the contemporaneous ownership tenured of MJ and Dolan and the straight shots frontman clearly comes out on top. He went all in for Melo! He wanted Frank Kaminsky over 3 future picks. The most noble thing he ever did was lace up for two seasons with the Wizards, and somehow that's been memory holed.

But at least Jordan made his fortune the old fashioned way with all of his ignored foibles out there for everyone to see. Selling out his franchise to Gabe Plotkin, head fund manager extraordinaire and the loser of the Game Stop bet, is a loss for the NBA, if only because it shows the denigration of society from a country that made things to one that grifts.

I can't help but think how this all ties into the ugly Miles Bridges incident. Miles was qualified as one of the last actions under Jordan, protecting not only the asset but also the good Plotkin name. Thankfully since Plotkin has no NC roots, any local criticisms can be tempered with the fear that a move to some other, more profitable market is eminently in the domain of good capitalism.

The only upside is imagining a "Carlo, I know it was you" dialogue between Gabe and Mitch Kupchak re: Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier's contract. That and imagining fans on the road doing the choke gesture whenever Miles is at the line. Hey did you know the Hornets have the fewest international players rostered in the league? Yeah, they like their team like they like their violence, domestic.

Big Question: Double Your Money in 30 Days!
I hope in 20 years Plotkin gets sued by LaMelo because?he had convinced him to invest all his salary in some now bankrupt hedge fund.

15. The Wizards: Asset Management
"Well if we're even remotely average we have to send the Knicks our pick so we might as well burn this sucker down."

Big Question: Going for 100 in Game 82
Watch out Wilt, you are officially on notice. We can just pray that the stars align so that the last place Wizards get to play the Buck's bench at the end of the season and Poole gets the opportunity to put up 70 shots. There will be an asterisk (* three point shots were not allowed before 1980) but it will be glorious.

You're right, it is a little early! LOL

1. Miami (assuming they get Dame for peanuts)
2. Milwaukee
3. Boston
4. Philadelphia
5. New York
6. Cleveland
7. Brooklyn
8. Chicago
9. Atlanta
10. Indiana
11. Toronto
12. Orlando
13. Detroit
14. Charlotte
15. Washington

SergioNYK wrote:You're right, it is a little early! LOL

1. Miami (assuming they get Dame for peanuts)
2. Milwaukee
3. Boston
4. Philadelphia
5. New York
6. Cleveland
7. Brooklyn
8. Chicago
9. Atlanta
10. Indiana
11. Toronto
12. Orlando
13. Detroit
14. Charlotte
15. Washington

No way Milwaukee stays near the top.

gradyandrew wrote:

SergioNYK wrote:You're right, it is a little early! LOL

1. Miami (assuming they get Dame for peanuts)
2. Milwaukee
3. Boston
4. Philadelphia
5. New York
6. Cleveland
7. Brooklyn
8. Chicago
9. Atlanta
10. Indiana
11. Toronto
12. Orlando
13. Detroit
14. Charlotte
15. Washington

No way Milwaukee stays near the top.

They still have Giannis and were able to keep both Middleton and Lopez. Biggest question mark is going from Bud to Griffin as HC but they should easily win 50 games unless the injury bug hits the Greek Freak.

Ty Jerome was a nice cheap signing for the Cavs as well. I liked him when he was on OKC- had some nice games against us. They added some hard nosed shooters for their bench.

gradyandrew wrote:

SergioNYK wrote:You're right, it is a little early! LOL

1. Miami (assuming they get Dame for peanuts)
2. Milwaukee
3. Boston
4. Philadelphia
5. New York
6. Cleveland
7. Brooklyn
8. Chicago
9. Atlanta
10. Indiana
11. Toronto
12. Orlando
13. Detroit
14. Charlotte
15. Washington

No way Milwaukee stays near the top.

Why? How?

Philc1 wrote:

gradyandrew wrote:

SergioNYK wrote:You're right, it is a little early! LOL

1. Miami (assuming they get Dame for peanuts)
2. Milwaukee
3. Boston
4. Philadelphia
5. New York
6. Cleveland
7. Brooklyn
8. Chicago
9. Atlanta
10. Indiana
11. Toronto
12. Orlando
13. Detroit
14. Charlotte
15. Washington

No way Milwaukee stays near the top.

Why? How?

He explained in his post above. Look up. Or down. Just look.

Philc1 wrote:

gradyandrew wrote:

SergioNYK wrote:You're right, it is a little early! LOL

1. Miami (assuming they get Dame for peanuts)
2. Milwaukee
3. Boston
4. Philadelphia
5. New York
6. Cleveland
7. Brooklyn
8. Chicago
9. Atlanta
10. Indiana
11. Toronto
12. Orlando
13. Detroit
14. Charlotte
15. Washington

No way Milwaukee stays near the top.

Why? How?

For Lazy PhilC:

4. Milwaukee- Getting Old Quick
Losing Carter and Ingles hurts because they soaked up a lot of regular season minutes (2855). Pat Connaughton is the young guy in the rotation at 30. Bucks got outstanding seasons from Lopez and Holiday, can they be relied on for another 4500 minutes this season? Outside of Holiday- who plays point? The only thing keeping these guys in the top 4 is Giannis's immigrant mentality. The new Zen master is a modern day Boxer, every problem has one answer- "I will work harder."

Big Question: Bye bye Buddy- rotations are the most difficult job of coaching and Bucks ditched the master for a rookie. Bud squeezed extra wins for years knowing exactly for how long and how many games to play guys. Griffin seems like an all right guy but there's no way he can get it right. For an old and thin roster, that means injuries and missed games.

that don't is hilarious

gradyandrew wrote:13. Orlando: Do you believe in Magic?
No, because I'm an adult. Just like any adult will tell you that starting Fultz and Suggs 79 games and Cole Anthony 4 is the antithesis of a meritocracy. Are these guys praying on Jonathan Isaac making a full recovery? Guy has played 150 minutes since Jan 1, of 2020. His contract is "partially" guaranteed for 16 out of 17 million. What's the reasoning behind that? So yeah Paolo and Frantz are cool, and I guess they "won" the Vucevic trade but this is a team that's apparently waiting for next year's Dillon Brooks and FVV to save them in free agency.

Big Question: The Hippocratic Oath
I like the "do no harm" aspect of signing 36 year old Joe Ingles to a deal. It's for 11 million, no word on if year two is guaranteed. But if it was, why clog up any cap? And for a team that's been sunk by Penny injuries and now Isaac, why take a risk on a 36 year old with a recent ACL injury? Sure, he came back but you have to think there's still something going on. I checked the time stamp of the deal and it was at 7:38 pm. Given a few minutes to write the report, did Orlando's front office start FA with 23 million in cap room and say "Quick, get Joe Ingles's agent on the line!" As far as I can tell Joe is 11 years older than anyone else on the team. And why not just bring back franchise stalwart Terrence Ross who remains unsigned?

I'm glad you did Orlando on it's own. They are going to do better than last year.

They started the year 5 & 17 in October and November.

Then, December through March - they were 28 & 27. If they play 500 type ball- and don't regress or have injuries- they are right there in the top 10 and in the running for the play offs.

franco12 wrote:

gradyandrew wrote:13. Orlando: Do you believe in Magic?
No, because I'm an adult. Just like any adult will tell you that starting Fultz and Suggs 79 games and Cole Anthony 4 is the antithesis of a meritocracy. Are these guys praying on Jonathan Isaac making a full recovery? Guy has played 150 minutes since Jan 1, of 2020. His contract is "partially" guaranteed for 16 out of 17 million. What's the reasoning behind that? So yeah Paolo and Frantz are cool, and I guess they "won" the Vucevic trade but this is a team that's apparently waiting for next year's Dillon Brooks and FVV to save them in free agency.

Big Question: The Hippocratic Oath
I like the "do no harm" aspect of signing 36 year old Joe Ingles to a deal. It's for 11 million, no word on if year two is guaranteed. But if it was, why clog up any cap? And for a team that's been sunk by Penny injuries and now Isaac, why take a risk on a 36 year old with a recent ACL injury? Sure, he came back but you have to think there's still something going on. I checked the time stamp of the deal and it was at 7:38 pm. Given a few minutes to write the report, did Orlando's front office start FA with 23 million in cap room and say "Quick, get Joe Ingles's agent on the line!" As far as I can tell Joe is 11 years older than anyone else on the team. And why not just bring back franchise stalwart Terrence Ross who remains unsigned?

I'm glad you did Orlando on it's own. They are going to do better than last year.

They started the year 5 & 17 in October and November.

Then, December through March - they were 28 & 27. If they play 500 type ball- and don't regress or have injuries- they are right there in the top 10 and in the running for the play offs.

I'm just not a believer in Fulz or Suggs. I know Fulz is supposed to be much improved but the guy takes 1 3 a game. Teams are going to figure that out eventually. I don't think you can have a non shooter at the PG spot anymore, RIP Elfrid Peyton's career.

Nalod wrote:

Philc1 wrote:

gradyandrew wrote:

SergioNYK wrote:You're right, it is a little early! LOL

1. Miami (assuming they get Dame for peanuts)
2. Milwaukee
3. Boston
4. Philadelphia
5. New York
6. Cleveland
7. Brooklyn
8. Chicago
9. Atlanta
10. Indiana
11. Toronto
12. Orlando
13. Detroit
14. Charlotte
15. Washington

No way Milwaukee stays near the top.

Why? How?

For Lazy PhilC:

4. Milwaukee- Getting Old Quick
Losing Carter and Ingles hurts because they soaked up a lot of regular season minutes (2855). Pat Connaughton is the young guy in the rotation at 30. Bucks got outstanding seasons from Lopez and Holiday, can they be relied on for another 4500 minutes this season? Outside of Holiday- who plays point? The only thing keeping these guys in the top 4 is Giannis's immigrant mentality. The new Zen master is a modern day Boxer, every problem has one answer- "I will work harder."

Big Question: Bye bye Buddy- rotations are the most difficult job of coaching and Bucks ditched the master for a rookie. Bud squeezed extra wins for years knowing exactly for how long and how many games to play guys. Griffin seems like an all right guy but there's no way he can get it right. For an old and thin roster, that means injuries and missed games.

I’m sure the Bucks and their fans are terrified of missing the playoffs next season

Btw Giannis is 28. If that’s “getting old” then ok

Philc wrote:I’m sure the Bucks and their fans are terrified of missing the playoffs next season

Btw Giannis is 28. If that’s “getting old” then ok

Giannis isn't old but Lopez is. Middleton and Holiday are getting there too and both have injury histories. I think come playoffs Milwaukee has the best top 6 guys in the East but they need more depth to get a 1 or 2 seed.

My order is:

1) Boston
2) Milwaukee
3) Philly
4) Cavs
5) Heat
6) Knicks
7) Pacers
8) Orlando
9) Hawks
10) Toronto
11) Brooklyn
12) Chicago
13) Charlotte
14) Washington
15) Detroit