by Justin Sweeney
750 the Game Staff Writer
We’re onward to the next Jampacked NBA Preview, heading from the sorrowful one playoff team-land of the Atlantic Division to the slightly brighter and definitely sunnier Southeast Division. Here lies a budding Washington Wizards team with the best backcourt in the east, and a rejuvenated Miami Heat team that has enough talent on paper to contend for the second seed in the conference.
Then there’s Orlando, which contains an album of intriguing young talent and Atlanta, one of the feel-good stories in 2015 that contains a fair amount of questions for this upcoming year. And then there’s Charlotte. Well, if you really want to read about Charlotte, proceed at your own risk and take a look a look below. It might not be pretty in Charlotte this year. No really, AVOID CHARLOTTE AT ALL COSTS.
Atlanta Hawks
Last Year (60-22, 1st place in the Eastern Conference, 1st seed. Lost to Cleveland Cavaliers 4-0 in Eastern Conference finals)
Key Additions: Tiago Splitter (acquired via trade with San Antonio), Tim Hardaway Jr. (acquired via trade with New York), Walter Tavares (draft rights from 2014, signed)
Key Losses: Demarre Carroll (free agent), Pero Antic (Europe), John Jenkins (free agent).
With hindsight being 20/20 five months after their season came to an end in the Eastern Conference finals, it’s somewhat hard to believe the Atlanta Hawks had their best season in franchise history since moving from St. Louis to the ATL in 1968.
Never during the Dominique Wilkins years of the ‘80s nor the Dikembe Mutombo/Steve Smith era in the late ‘90s did the Hawks ever qualify for the Eastern Conference finals. Astoundingly, the nucleus of Al Horford, Kyle Korver, Jeff Teague, Demarre Carroll and Paul Millsap were responsible for taking this franchise further than it ever had since arriving to the Peach State.
Now five months later, it’s hard to fathom the Hawks replicating that sort of run in the foreseeable future. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the happy days are over.
The 2015 Hawks will go down as one of the most joyfully entertaining teams in recent NBA history. Second-year head coach Mike Budenholzer, a disciple and transplant from the legendary San Antonio Spurs coaching tree, captured a well-deserved Coach of the Year award for engineering his team’s quick rise to the top of the east.
With Budenholzer at the controls, the ball flowed in an equal-opportunity offense borne out of his experiences with the Spurs. Forward Paul Millsap in his second year with the Hawks experienced riches untold, making the all-star team while averaging 16.7 ppg and 7.8 rpg. Millsap continues to evolve as an adept three-point shooter, a skill he possessed in Utah that laid dormant until being unlocked by Budenholzer’s dynamic offense in Atlanta.
With Millsap and perennial Eastern Conference all-star Al Horford at center, the Hawks tormented defensive units with a concerted attack stretching from the blocks to the three-point arc. Horford averaged 15.2 ppg and 7.2 rpg in 76 regular season appearances, further illustrating the balance this offense posed.
The Hawks furnished a quality starter at all five positions, then essentially supplied a suitable reserve behind each starter, resulting in a jampacked lineup that Budenholzer could mold into multiple combinations on the floor.
And we haven’t even talked about their backcourt! Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver became a new age scoring tandem that caters to the wants and needs of the analytic community. Korver, arguably the best three-point shooter in the league at the moment, fulfills the role of a super efficient scorer that can knock down a three from every direction.
Meanwhile, all Teague did was average nearly 16 ppg and 7 rpg as a new age point guard whose skills are predicated upon penetration and dishing. Teague continued to develop his slashing ability and his exploits earned him and Korver all-star bids. Millsap and Horford went to New York City as well for the midseason classic.
But the playoffs came and when they did, Atlanta hit its wall. The first challenges came a few weeks before the playoffs even began, when backup guard Thabo Sefolosha and backup center Pero Antic were involved in an altercation with police outside of a Brooklyn nightclub in the middle of the night.
Conversation rolls on as to whether it was a case of police brutality, and charges against Antic and Sefolosha were eventually dropped with both players being cleared of wrongdoing. For on-court purposes, it was a tragic night that derailed Sefolosha’s season because his tibia was broken during one of the altercations with police. While Antic was uninjured, the incident stayed with him and he endured a ho-hum playoff run in his final season in the NBA for now.
The Hawks, meanwhile, lost their best reserve and on-ball defender in Sefolosha, who spent years as part of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s starting lineup. Taking a big bite out of their depth and leaving them with one less bulldog to guard the likes of Joe Johnson, Bradley Beal, John Wall, and LeBron James, the Hawks had to make do with a depleted lineup.
While the Hawks struggled to put away a listless Brooklyn Nets team in the first round and then toiled past the emerging Wizards in 6, they eventually met their match in the conference finals against Cleveland. The Hawks’ lack of superstar power at the top of their roster was revealed (although LeBron James will do that to roughly 27 of the other 29 teams in the league) and injuries to Carroll and Korver during the series further weakened the Hawks, and the sweep became inevitable.
With macro lenses upon the season from October to May, the season was a job well done for the Hawks. But like most teams in the league, the Hawks are trying to contend for a championship. LeBron may very well continue to deny every other team in the east for the next five years but that doesn’t mean the Hawks can’t find ways to improve through asset accumulation and roster transactions. After a season in which it appeared the Hawks needed a little more “punch” to their lineup, they had a fairly pedestrian offseason and it opens up questions if they can so easily replicate their season-long excellence of 2015.
HAVE THE HAWKS HIT THEIR CEILING?
Atlanta more or less punted on the draft, taking freshman guard Kelly Oubre at 15 and then turning him around to Washington for the 19th pick which they used on Jerian Grant, who they then sent to New York for Tim Hardaway Jr. It was a head scratching pick for many pundits who believe that Hardaway Jr. is a limited small forward who may have already hit his ceiling. The Hawks might see him as one replacement at small forward for the departed Demarre Carroll.
Carroll leaving for Toronto is a move that leaves a big hole in the heart and spirit of this team, not to mention their defensive fortification. Carroll added a ruggedness to this lineup along with 39 percent shooting from three-point land. While the Hawks should still be one of the better three-point shooting teams in the league, they’ll have to cobble together new and old pieces to replace Carroll’s void.
What enabled the Hawks to win 60 games was not only the makeup of their consistent starting lineup, but a stacked bench as well. There are enough depletions from their returning bench to also allow doubts about Atlanta’s return to the top. Whether the police event in Brooklyn soured him on his American experience in the NBA or a collection of other factors contributed to his decision, the 33-year-old Antic returned to Europe to ostensibly finish out his career. That leaves a hole up front for the Hawks.
Another quiet defection was backup guard John Jenkins to the Dallas Mavericks. While most casual basketball fans couldn’t tell you Jenkins’s bio or even identify that he was a Hawk in 2015, he was a valuable role player who could actually have a huge impact in Dallas. Jenkins only averaged about a quarter’s worth of minutes per game last season but he added elements to the lineup that a coach like Budenholzer loves: 40 percent three-point shooting, some occasional rebounds, and most of all, efficient possessions.
Oh, and then there’s Mike Scott. Scott was a valuable backup four who could swing to the five at times as well for the Hawks, adding a dynamic body to the lineup. However, his summer was far worse than even those teams who overpaid middling players and made bad trades. Scott got arrested for drug possession and could face up to 25 years in prison. Not great, Mike. His next court date is up in the air, so until then, I guess he’ll play for the Hawks? What a plan.
With all this movement on the Hawks bench, they still sport one of the deeper rosters in the east. It’s hard to ignore the overall thinning of the roster and it will provide a hurdle in repeating as Eastern Conference regular season champions. However, Atlanta did make one move of note that should bolster their interior.
A DEFENSIVE REUNION?
One of the major repercussions that came with the San Antonio Spurs landing the biggest free agent of the season, Lamarcus Aldridge, is that they didn’t have enough cap space to re-sign center Tiago Splitter. In what was either a nice favor or simply a transaction of convenience, Spurs General Manager RC Buford traded Splitter east to his former co-worker Budenholzer.
While Splitter’s numbers won’t necessarily excite the masses, he was a solid defender in a starting lineup that is just a year removed from a championship. Splitter’s addition to the Hawks was the one big splash they made this summer and while the move isn’t gaudy in name, it’s an addition that kind of falls in line with the rest of the way this roster was put together: humbly, and piece by piece with a lot of above-average players.
Now that Splitter is a part of the Hawks, how exactly will he fit in? The Hawks have seen instant success with one of the first prototypical smallball starting lineups in the league and it’s hard to envision benching Millsap and Horford who are bonafide all-stars, for Splitter, a guy better suited as a defensive specialist. His presence likely shapes up as a guy who can give either starting big a breather, or even serve as an interior defender surrounded by a four wing lineup. The convenient aspect of Splitter is he’s well conditioned already to being a 20 minutes per game player in San Antonio. As long as he’s happy with his role, Splitter should provide Atlanta with a necessary defensive burst and give the Hawks above-replacement production when being on the floor.
Splitter should be an intriguing addition to a frontcourt that could use another piece to solidify depth. With uncertainty surrounding Mike Scott and the unfortunate exit of Antic, Splitter is just what the Hawks need right now.
IS THE BACKCOURT STRONG ENOUGH AGAINST ITS CONTEMPORARIES IN THE EAST?
Ostensibly the Hawks are ready to continue dancing with the ones that brought them to the Eastern Conference finals, and for their backcourt that means Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver. The convenient fact about both these players is you know what you’ll get from each of them. Teague can create with his drive-and-dish game and he gets craftier every season. You can count on Korver to hit a three-pointer every other time on average he touches the ball, and his skill set is gold in today’s NBA world.
On the other hand, Teague is one of the smaller guards in the league and entering his seventh year, he may have statistically topped off. He continues to serve the Hawks well in what he brings and was one of the few Atlanta ballers to have a good series against the Cavs in the conference finals. But match him up with a John Wall, a Kyrie Irving, a Kyle Lowry, or Goran Dragic, and it becomes an awkward game of “who’d you rather have?” While some still would prefer Teague over at least two of those players listed (and I wouldn’t necessarily disagree with that notion), it remains to be seen if Teague is just going to be Mookie Blaylock 2.0, the captain of a perennial 50-win second round playoff team.
Korver’s defensive limitations are well-noted and he’s improved slightly in recent seasons. He’s even devised a few ways to create his own shot in occasional situations. But at the same time Korver is a different breed from other shooting guards. The offense in Atlanta won’t revolve around him, and while his dimensions are great, he’s still at best a two-dimensional player. While the Hawks can depend on him to be a scoring option down the stretch in a close game, Atlanta still comes off as a team that’s going to win night to night with Millsap, Horford and Teague leading the charge.
And not to be forgotten is the curious case of Dennis Schroder. The third year German guard is hungry for playing time and has shown hints of reasons why he should be starting somewhere in this league. Schroder provides Atlanta’s second unit with more of the drive and kick game that Teague excels at, and he’s not afraid to score either. He’s drawn comparisons to Rajon Rondo, with his lanky arms that clog passing lanes and regrettably, because of a thus far broken jumpshot. Schroder has tried to buck that perception by raising his three-point percentage by 12 points from year one to two along with doubling his assist-per-game totals.
While his skill set could be used by at least a few teams in the league in a starting position (STARING AT THE PHILADELPHIA 76ERS WITH BURNING RETINAS), there’s no way right now that Schroder is going to move past Teague on the depth chart. It’s hard for a competitive young guy like Schroder to suppress his desires to run a team full-time and it will be interesting to monitor his pulse through the course of this season. If Schroder continues his solid pace of development, the Hawks will need to consider how to utilize him in the lineup more frequently, or perhaps pack him up to another team for assets.
BOTTOM LINE
In a league that is shifting towards a lineup of smallball and guard-heavy lineups, the Hawks have led the way as a team that can do it right and play to excellence. The main problem right now is a guy named LeBron James they’ll eventually run into who far outweighs the talent of the best player on the Hawks. And entering 2016, I’m not really sure who that best player on the Hawks even is. Horford has been the clear cut franchise player over the past decade, and Millsap’s arrival has lifted the Hawks to new heights. Their backcourt certainly makes the Hawks good enough to live atop the Eastern Conference, but similar to Toronto, the lack of a big time acquisition continues to make me wonder how they’ll get past other teams with better star power come playoff time.
The Hawks are also somewhat of a blue-collar team, and with Carroll, Antic, and Jenkins out the door, the Hawks will have to work fervently to reclaim some of that spirit. Atlanta is definitely one of the teams in the league whose sum is greater than its parts. Now that we’re into 2015-2016, I think Atlanta may reach a point when they could use more parts. As they’re currently constructed, Atlanta is a clear cut playoff team but with other teams improving quickly, I expect their win total to see a reduction mainly because the Eastern Conference is becoming more competitive towards the middle.
Predicted Finish: 49-33, 4th place in the Eastern Conference
Charlotte Hornets
Last Year (33-49, 13th place in Eastern Conference)
Key Additions: Frank Kaminsky (9th overall pick in draft), Nicolas Batum (trade with Blazers), Spencer Hawes (trade with LA Clippers), Tyler Hansbrough (free agent, Toronto)
Key Losses: Noah Vonleh (traded to Blazers), Gerald Henderson (traded to Blazers), Lance Stephenson (traded to LA Clippers),
Next to the Brooklyn Nets, the Charlotte Hornets might be one of the least watchable teams in the NBA. On top of winning just 33 games last year, the Hornets stylistically played with one of the slowest paces in the league. While the NBA continues to shift to an overall run-and-gun style, the Hornets elected to pound it into the post, using a somewhat old school offensive style with their leading scorer, postman Al Jefferson living on the left block.
Third-year head coach Steve Clifford has coached up this bunch the best he can, pushing Charlotte into the top ten in defensive rating last year. On the other end is where the ugliness occurred, as the Hornets checked in at 28th out of 30 teams in offensive rating. One of the reasons for their scoring struggles was because their top scorer, point guard Kemba Walker is a bad shooter. I would list his numbers here but they’re not appropriate to read in the workplace.
Another reason for their offensive malaise was thanks to Lance Stephenson, who was jettisoned after one terrible season with the Hornets. The Stephenson project went badly: after putting up tremendous numbers in Indiana in 2013-14, he came crashing down to earth on the offensive end in his lone season in the Queen City, shooting 17 percent from the three-point line, or 18 makes off 105 attempts from distance. It will be a long time before we see those kinds of figures posted from a player ever again, unless Doc Rivers somehow tolerates Stephenson doing it in Los Angeles this year.
Heading into 2015-2016, restless owner Michael Jordan has again attempted to shake things up: MJ shipped off 2014 number 9 overall pick Noah Vonleh after just 25 games played in an injury-riddled season, to the Trail Blazers in exchange for Nicolas Batum. Vonleh was an incredible high school talent and while he could have used another year at Indiana, his ceiling is conceivably as high as the other players in the class of 2014 drafted alongside him.
As locals know, Batum is a collection of physical gifts with an all-around skill set. As locals also know, Batum was due for a change of scenery and Jordan needs him to find major rejuvenation to give this Hornets team a boost at becoming competitive in the east again. While Jordan and his front office, comprising former Blazers executives Rich Cho and Chad Buchanan made moves involving notable names, the core has remained intact. They’ll shuttle out Walker and Jefferson at point guard and center and hope for Batum to give them a big lift at shooting guard, essentially fulfilling what they hoped Stephenson could complete for them last year. So for those keeping track, the Big 3 in Charlotte is Big Al, Nicolas Batum and Kemba Walker. Take cover, I guess.
BATUM-SHAKA-LAKA ON EASTERN TIME
Even before the series of transactions MJ and co. made this summer, I wasn’t able to make sense of what this roster was in the present or down the road. The Hornets’ roster looks like one of the few teams in the league that isn’t either intentionally tanking now in hopes of winning the draft lottery next spring, developing a team of young talent, or is close to being a championship contender with a plethora of stars already on board. They added to that murky image by shipping out Vonleh for Nicolas Batum.
While a change of scenery can only serve to revitalize Batum’s career, it’s also difficult to believe that he’ll show an improvement any greater than his best seasons in Portland, which came from 2011 through 2014. The Hornets have stated they expect him to be their number one scoring option which is a flabbergasting strategy for Portlanders to hear. While Batum’s scoring ability is a real thing, he was never able to show in Rip City that he could put up 17-20 points every single night. Consistent nightly scoring with Batum is a reality that may never come and hopefully Charlotte doesn’t learn that the hard way.
Michael Jordan is known for making odd transactions throughout the course of his front office career, beginning with the number one selection of Kwame Brown in Washington back in 2001. That move was programmed towards pairing the soon-to-be-unretired Jordan with a frontcourt piece he thought could help out right away, which was about the last kind of player Kwame Brown was. Since his time in Charlotte, he’s made moves focused towards the present whether or not Jordan publicly stated these acquisitions were part of a longer-term philosophy.
The latest move in that pattern is the swap of Vonleh for Batum. While Batum will likely give Charlotte 15 points per game and that all-around skill set Blazers fans loved, punting so quickly on Vonleh will also prolong Charlotte’s march toward the inevitable, another rebuilding project. Having seen so little of Vonleh, it could be another move that Charlotte would like to have back maybe not in a month from now, but in three or four years.
On the plus side, Batum could provide Charlotte with some defensive relief. Curiously the Hornets also stated they plan to utilize Batum at shooting guard, which will saddle opposing two-guards with extra length to contend against. While most of the discussion surrounding Batum’s arrival has centered on being a main scoring option, his defense contributions will be sorely needed with the loss of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Which bring us to our next topic.
CRIPPLED WITHOUT THEIR MVP
With all the questionable moves Jordan has made over the years, one of his home run decisions was the selection of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist with second overall pick in the 2012 draft. The lubricant to Kentucky’s 2012 national championship engine, MKG immediately became a difference-maker upon his entrance into the league. While he has a broken jumper and a limited offense, his defensive ability has been so impactful to the Hornets that he’s kept them above completely falling into the basement. His athleticism in college made scouts salivate and despite the fact that his offense is mostly raw, he’s able to make plays through instinct and hustle.
Kidd-Gilchrist’s loss is a big blow to the Hornets and his absence more than any other factor will threaten to derail Charlotte’s upcoming season. While their offense was dreary, the defense kept the Hornets in more games than they maybe deserved and MKG was the key reason this defense hummed.
Kidd-Gilchrist’s torn labrum is a serious injury that has a wide ranging timetable for recovery. Clearly shoulder issues are no small potatoes and Charlotte must operate with the assumption he probably won’t be back for 2015-2016. While Batum’s role in the defensive mechanisms should provide a little relief, MKG’s void is a much bigger issue that one replacement simply cannot address. Charlotte’s frontline will have to chip in this effort as well, and that’s where this journey to Charlotte really gets wild.
ISLAND OF MISFIT TOYS
The collection of forwards the Hornets organization has accumulated is a nearly random collection of bodies, except for the fact that they were all ballers in college. Some groups of players on this roster even played together in college (Hansbrough and Williams both won titles four years apart at North Carolina, and Jeremy Lamb and Kemba Walker won a title in 2011) while others had notable collegiate careers.
Jordan kept this trend going with the selection of college player of the year Frank Kaminsky out of Wisconsin. Kaminsky went 9th overall in the draft, right after Stanley Johnson who many like as a fashionable rookie of the year pick, one spot ahead of Justise Winslow, and two spots ahead of Myles Turner.
The Kaminsky selection was a relatively polarizing pick. Many feel Kaminsky will continue his development right on into the NBA and instantly bolster Charlotte’s scoring chances. I fall into the other main camp: a group that sees Kaminsky attack with the ball in his hands 15 feet out and wonder how his speed is going to translate to the pro game. Will his post game work in the NBA or will he get pushed around too much by larger and bulkier defenders? And with Al Jefferson camped out on the left block, will Kaminsky’s post game even be relevant?
Two areas I believe Kaminsky can add help to the Hornets instantly is with his passing and his elbow jumper. Those two skills will at least excuse his other shortcomings his first few years in the league while he and Charlotte discovers if he can develop other aspects of his game.
Kaminsky joins a real hodgepodge of fellows in Charlotte’s frontcourt. Besides Big Al and Frank the Tank are Cody Zeller, Jeffrey Taylor, and free agent newcomers Tyler Hansbrough and Spencer Hawes. Zeller has a skill set but I have personally have no educated clue how he’ll fit in the frontcourt alongside Jefferson and Kaminsky. Another issue to consider is with most other teams shifting to guard-heavy lineups, how will one of these three on the floor potentially defend threes and stretch fours? It’s another lineup issue that throws this roster collection out of whack.
Hawes, like Batum, is another sort of reclamation project. His offense never arrived to Los Angeles and the Clippers let him ride the pine for the duration of the playoffs. Any positive offensive contribution he can add in Charlotte will be welcomed and being a useful role player is where he’s best suited at this point in his career. Hansbrough has no discernible skill set at this point in his career besides offering six fouls a game, a mindset of reckless abandon that could be useful in rebounding situations, and a personality to play enforcer. They’re not the future in Charlotte but they at least will help provide the starting frontcourt with necessary resting time.
BETTER AS A CAMPFIRE CUISINE THAN AN NBA TEAM
If this roster was a dish, it would be a hobo dinner. There are many names on the Hornets roster that are somewhat recognizable but it’s hard trying to conceive how they will all fit together. Somehow between Walker and Batum the Hornets will try to grab 40 points a night. And somehow in the frontcourt Clifford will want to maintain balance between keeping their veteran center Big Al content, while shifting their ultimate future towards Zeller and Kaminsky.
Charlotte will be watchable based on their awesome uniform collection, one of the best in the league thanks to the Hornets rebrand, and the world can never have too much purple and teal. And chances are one of the guys on this roster is a name you remember from your good old days when you had time to watch two college basketball games on your Saturdays. Or you’re from Portland and you want to check up on Batum. Beyond that, there’s going to be few reasons to watch a team that will have to survive a season with arguably their best player and a roster that’s halfway stuck in 2009 and 2019.
Predicted finish: 25-57, 13th place in Eastern Conference.
Miami Heat
Last Year (37-45, 10th place in Eastern Conference)
Key Additions: Justise Winslow (10th overall pick in draft), Amare Stoudemire (free agent, Dallas), Gerald Green (free agent, Phoenix)
Key Losses: Shabazz Napier (traded to Orlando)
Have I declared any of the past teams you’ve read about the rangiest team in the conference? Because even if I have, I would now like to declare the Miami Heat the rangiest team in the conference.
I first took a look at this roster when the dust settled in free agency after Miami completed most of its major moves, and became instantly excited. Chris Bosh returns to the floor after conquering a frightening blood clot situation that shut down his season by February, and he now gets to go through a full season with Dwyane Wade and new point guard Goran Dragic. Tack on Hassan Whiteside, the diamond-in-the-rough of the year and Justise Winslow, potentially the steal of the draft and this looks like a formidable roster. The Heat even picked up Amare Stoudemire who when healthy can still be effective.
Then a few months later, I took a second glance at this roster and realized “wow, there are a lot of old people on this team!” Another month later, I took a third look at this roster and thought “it will be a miracle if every guy on this team plays at least 60 games this season.” And that’s what makes the Miami Heat so rangy.
On paper, at the end of October 2015, this team has a great looking shot to matchup with Cleveland in the Eastern Conference finals. But a lot has to go right for Miami between now and then.
Let’s presume that mostly everyone on this roster will stay healthy and on Opening Night, Erik Spoelstra can roll out Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade in the backcourt, place Justise Winslow at small forward, and start Chris Bosh and Hassan Whiteside up front. It’s an instantly formidable lineup that boasts offensive creativity and a lot of points in the backcourt, a two way lockdown defender with raw and existing talent in Winslow, and a perfect blend of defensive and offensive options in the interior that perfectly meet the needs of an NBA team in 2015.
And the depth behind the starting five also appears appropriate for a team that can play a variety of styles. Josh McRoberts when healthy, is a versatile stretch four who can skip the ball, hit a mid range jumper and the three-pointer, and even understands the concept of finishing inside on those rare occasions when he finds the ball near the restricted area.
Amare Stoudemire was another big name pickup that joined Miami. While his best days are behind him and his knees might be fully gone, Stoudemire showed an encouraging amount of durability after coming over to Dallas in February after the New York Knicks released him. Once he played his first game with the Mavericks, Stoudemire suited up in 22 of the next 24 games of the regular season, averaging 10 points a night on a juicy 58.1 effective field goal percentage. For an “old man,” his PER was off the charts in Dallas, registering a 22.3 player efficiency rating. If Stoudemire can maintain his health in Miami, he’ll give the Heat tremendous lift.
Many of the significant roster changes that will heavily impact the Heat going forward took place at the trade deadline in 2015 before this summer. The Heat were happy to take the unhappy-but-talented Goran Dragic off the Phoenix Suns’ hands. Dragic immediately became the best point guard in Miami since Jason Williams and Gary Payton.
With a new season upon them and plenty of time for R&R, the Heat start the year with what appears to be a stacked roster. Until they hit the floor on Opening Night, and maybe not until months after will we will fully know how this lineup will function together. As the season rolls on, the Heat will determine if defense is their calling card, or if they’ll need to outscore teams to win games. And while the Cavaliers lay in the distance as the big fish to catch, the Heat have a more direct competitor on a daily basis: durability and father time.
JUSTISE WILL BE SERVED
College basketball fans can probably skip the next few paragraphs because they’ve already seen how Justise Winslow can change a team. Many NBA fans with even minimal knowledge of the Duke wingman choked on their dinner watching Winslow tumble down the draft board on draft night before landing conveniently into the lap of the Heat at 10th overall. The draft featured many juicy choices from picks 1-15 and certainly many teams addressed pressing needs with undeniable talent, but the act of nine different organizations passing over Winslow was an uncanny event.
The Heat were all to happy to choose Winslow and he should help this team immediately. Like the rest of his teammates, Winslow is a great fit for the evolving NBA game. In his single year at Duke, Winslow started on the wing for the eventual national champions and he factored significantly in the Blue Devils’ success. The freshman guard was a ballhawk whose long arms and quick hands resulted in 1.3 steals per game and nearly a block per contest too.
While Winslow’s defense will probably be noticed before his offense, his offensive game is coming along nicely. Winslow has a collection of penetration moves that will allow him to become a key contributor while forcing defenses to be honest on Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic.
When he’s not finding ways to maneuver to the hoop (and often reminded viewers of James Harden with his left hand and ability to control his pace between three-point arc and rim), he can pop out for a three-point shot. Winslow hit 46 threeballs last year at Duke while shooting 41 percent from the arc. If he can come close to hitting at that rate from afar, life is going to be great for Miami’s backcourt.
It’s not a question of if Winslow can help the Heat, but how soon and by how much? It might be a coin flip deciding if he’ll start at small forward ahead of Luol Deng on Opening Night, but he’ll make himself impossible to start later rather than sooner. There’s some good competition for rookie of the year but as long as Winslow can earn playing time from Spoelstra, he should factor into the conversation. If the Heat can develop his offensive game expanding his court vision and confidence as a primary scorer, he will help this team in the future build the bridge post-Wade.
IS THE BRAND NEW ROSTER PAST ITS PRIME?
Between the action at the trade deadline and the summer offseason, there are a lot of changes to the Heat’s roster to catch up on. Wade and Bosh are joined by Birdman and Udonis Haslem as the carryovers from the Lebron-era glory days. Whiteside and Dragic popped up as midseason saviors that will hopefully be a part of Miami’s future plans, and the organization is still waiting for Luol Deng and Josh McRoberts to contribute full and productive seasons.
The 2015-2016 Heat roster not only contains a slew of “if,then” talent, but also illustrates a franchise at its crossroads. Wade re-upped for another season after some posturing between his camp and the Miami front office. While Miami doesn’t want to give Wade eight figure salaries at this point in his career, he’s still a talented scorer and finds himself surrounded by more individual talent than in Lebron James’s final year on the squad. Wade remains a 20 ppg scorer and will get necessary relief from Bosh, who’s in his prime, and the new guy Winslow.
The fear for the Heat is on the back end of this roster. There you’ll find a 37-year old Chris Andersen, a 35-year old Udonis Haslem, a 30-year old Luol Deng (who played 38 mpg game three straight seasons under Tom Thibodeau in Chicago and might be close to used up), and a 32-year old Stoudemire who’s been in the league since 2002.
If there’s not a guy on this roster who’s already 30 years old, you’ll find a good chunk of players with years of wear and tear and/or multi-season injury history.
LOOK ON THE WHITESIDE
As much as Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh mean to this team along with the potential of what Justise Winslow can bring immediately, you can make the argument that this team’s success looms as largely upon the shoulders of Hassan Whiteside as any other player. Whiteside was one of the most confounding stories of the 2014-15 season and the Heat were thankful to be a part of his narrative.
Left largely untouched after dropping to the early second round of the 2010 draft, the 7-footer drifted around the globe, playing for minor leagues far and wide before the Heat took a chance on him at the end of last November. Whiteside finally stuck with the team for good after a call-up from the D-League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce and began amassing ridiculous numbers night after night.
Whiteside had 10 games of five blocks or more, including an otherworldly 14-point, 13-rebound, and 12-block game against Chicago in January, and an 18-point, 25-rebound, and 5-block game versus the Lakers in March.
As much as Whiteside was hailed a diamond in the rough for the Heat, there was a reason the big man was stuck there for so long. Murmurs of maturity issues and attitude attributes surfaced a few times as Whiteside picked up his fair share of ejections and was involved in a series of altercations with opponents. At other moments, head coach Erik Spoelstra had to bench the relatively young talent for insubordination and all-around growing pains.
If Whiteside can harness his emotion and fire, he will add a multidimensional presence to the Heat upfront. Paired with Bosh, the two can provide a constant line of defense from the elbow to the block, and defensively can shut down a wide range of offensive fours and fives. With Bosh hopefully in the lineup for the entirety of the season, Whiteside will have a mentor and peer to show him how to be a professional on the court and a blueprint for winning.
Whiteside put up big numbers last season but with a depleted lineup around him, the wins didn’t necessarily come. Now with the Heat replenished, the pressure should fall off Whiteside somewhat and his development can continue at a realistic pace.
VERDICT
The Heat have a fascinating set of pieces and have the firepower necessary to be a power in the east. The looming question is how will this team function together stylistically? Dragic has traditionally loved pushing the ball and penetrating, but can his backcourt counterpart Dwyane Wade keep up with him? The pairing of Bosh and Dragic will be nifty, but will there be enough room for the two to operate while integrating the rest of the starting lineup into the offensive attack? The good news is Spoelstra has proven adept in the past at blending top-level talent together into a championship team.
While the Heat should be one of the more respected teams in the east, questions linger about this team and its collective health. It’s no longer a given, but rather a gift when Wade can afford to play 65 games, and Bosh will have to be measured in his steady comeback from a life-threatening disease. If the older spectrum of this roster misses significant time, more will be asked of Justise Winslow and other the other young unproven talent on this team like James Ennis and Tyler Johnson. The calendar will be as much of this team’s enemy as their oncourt opposition. The Heat will bounce back from their sub-.500 season last year, but with good health an uncertainty, I also want to be realistic about this team’s season-long expectations.
Predicted Finish: 47-35, 6th place in Eastern Conference.
Orlando Magic
Last Year: 25-57, 13th place in Eastern Conference
Key Additions: Shabazz Napier (trade with Miami), Mario Hezonja (5th overall pick in draft), CJ Watson (free agent, Indiana), Jason Smith (free agent, New York)
Key Losses: Mo Harkless (traded to Portland), Ben Gordon (waived), Kyle O’Quinn (free agent, Knicks), Luke Ridnour (traded enough times this summer to accumulate 25,000 frequent flier miles for everyone living in the state of New Hampshire)
Trust me, I really tried to find a way for the Magic to make the playoffs, but there are still too many teams ahead of them in line. With that being said, they should be one of the most compelling teams in the NBA this season. And fun, too! Which is how a team that shares its city with the happiest place in the world should play basketball. Youth is everywhere on the Magic and it’s one of the reasons they won only 25 games last season. (The fact that this team finished in the bottom 10 in both offensive and defensive ratings may have also had something to do with it).
The plan last year for the Magic was to go young and grow. Orlando completed a trade with Philadelphia in the 2014 draft to grab point guard Elfrid Payton out of Louisiana-Lafayette and pair him with second year guard Victor Oladipo. They mirrored a youthful frontcourt of stretch four Tobias Harris and center Nikola Vucevic. The Magic capped off their 2015 program of youth by taking the 19-year old athletic specimen Aaron Gordon from the University of Arizona.
Last year we witnessed a team stacked with athletes and guys who knew how to score, but like most young teams, had no clue how to win. The rate of development wasn’t satisfactory enough for their front office who sent head coach Jacque Vaughn sailing after 52 games and hired the inspirational taskmaster, Scott Skiles during the offseason.
Skiles has not only won everywhere he has coached, but he’s maximized the abilities of each of his players. He’s crafted winning programs out of rosters young and old, and a signature component of his teams is defensive acuity. Defense will be an area that the Magic will require assistance with immediately.
While one of the sad songs about the 2015 Magic was their bottom-four finish in offensive rating, their defense was also a tale of woe. Talented starting big man Nikola Vucevic provided one of the few sources of offensive relief on a nightly basis, but defensively he was a checkered flag greeting opponents at the rim.
Vucevic has not shown to be an adequate defender at this point in his career; one sore spot for his defensive game is illustrated in his 1.1 blocks per every 100 possessions. While Vucevic’s rebounding is sound, averaging a double-double in 74 games last year, more will be required of him on the defensive side.
However Vucevic wasn’t the only culprit on this team when it came to stopping their opponent from scoring. Orlando’s young forward Tobias Harris was the victim of individual defensive breakdowns against a variety of traditional power forwards and speedier stretch fours. Like most of his teammates, Harris boasts an intriguing offensive game complete with a jumpshot and a hint of a post game, but the 23-year old is still busy finding out what he needs to be at the pro level.
Orlando is clearly ready to hitch their wagon to Harris, who signed a $64 million, four-year contract with the Magic during the offseason. While it provides Harris with financial stability, it hopefully will take some pressure off of the forward in terms of fulfilling a box score aimed towards primping his stats to warrant a big payday and instead transforming his game into one that’s more offensively efficient.
DEFENDING THEIR TURF
Ever since trading away Dwight Howard in 2012, the Magic have been a team in search of a new identity, a description that applies both to talent and defensive excellence. In Howard’s final four seasons with Orlando, the Magic ranked 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 13th in the league in defensive efficiency. After the trade the Magic have finished in the bottom half of the league in defensive efficiency each of the last three years, including 25th in both 2013 and 2015.
The Magic appear to finally be turning the corner on constructing a roster with talent at every position, but signs of becoming a coordinated defensive unit are still missing. Much of that issue pertains to a welcome mat in the frontcourt. If Harris and Vucevic are to command the lion’s share of minutes in the blocks, they must put forth an effort that at least leads to average defensive efficiency.
Where the Magic can summon some help is from Aaron Gordon, their presumed starting small forward this year. Coming out of Arizona last season, the rookie had a very specific set of skills, most of which pertained to defense and passing. Gordon looks like one of those players with a built-in predisposition to get his arms in the passing lanes and lock down whomever he’s guarding.
At 6-foot-10 with good speed for his size, Gordon can defend a wide genre of players. He has the pace to close out on long-range shooters, and has the muscle to battle in the post against larger forwards. If Harris isn’t cutting it against the speedier fours, Skiles may be tempted to slide Gordon over to the four to supplant him.
I could also write all day about Gordon’s offensive development and his overall potential for greatness but I’m already compelled to send along cake to every reader who’s made it this far into this article so I’ll move along.
If Vucevic and Harris can’t be inspired, if not threatened into becoming better defenders, Gordon may be the guy on this team to set the tone. As one of the younger players on a nearly youngsters-only roster, the Magic could do a lot worse than leaning on a 20-year old to lead them into establishing the mindset they need for long-term success.
SUPER MARIO TOO
A reason for watching the Magic regardless of wins or losses is to catch a glimpse of their brand-new rookie, Mario Hezonja out of Croatia. Hezonja has swagger, attitude, and a multifaceted offensive game.
I don’t profess to be a student of euroleague basketball and seldom watch it besides the occasional FC Barcelona game during the slow hours of my Thanksgiving weekend, but most casual NBA fans have all seen the same ten youtube videos featuring Hezonja. And that’s what I’m drawing upon for my searing analysis surrounding the 20-year old phenom.
One clear thing about Hezonja’s immediate skill set is he can shoot the three from anywhere and he’s not afraid to do so. He’ll rip the net from out deep on a catch-and-shoot, or do so on a more irreverent isolation play from 25 feet out. Apart from the theatrics, Hezonja will be needed simply for improving Orlando’s three-point shooting.
Three-point shooting is no longer a supplemental asset to an NBA team in 2016, but rather an imperative quality each team needs to have if they’re serious about making the playoffs. Last year, only two teams who finished in the bottom 16 of the league in three-point percentage made the playoffs. While the Magic finished on the top end of that bottom half in percentage, they ranked just 22nd in the league in three-point field goals attempted. Hezonja on the floor will ensure that more possessions end in threes, which should give the Magic an offensive lift.
There is emerging thought that Hezonja could become a 20+ ppg scorer sooner than later for Orlando. His offensive abilities to stretch the floor and slash to the bucket will give Orlando multidimensional offensive efficiency. With Skiles running the show, Hezonja’s chance to earn heavy minutes may come down to his consistency and attention to defense. His offense looks like it has already arrived, and the sooner he can be a two-way player for the Magic, the better.
STEP INTO THE SPOTLIGHT
This year the Magic will discover if they have a star in the making or if they need to go back into the draft pool and try again. The excitement in the uncertainty is that they might have at least two foundational stars or none at all. Victor Oladipo enters his third year for Orlando as their best perimeter scoring threat. Oladipo’s issue after his rookie season was poor three-point shooting but he raised it to 34 percent in his sophomore season, which is right about league average. If he can improve marginally in his third year, he may be primed to become one of the more solid players in the east.
Point guard Elfrid Payton should make life easier for Oladipo. Entering his second year, Payton showed his ability to spread the ball around last year, notching 6.5 assists per game and rebounding well for a point guard. Payton’s clear area of improvement in in his shooting. He was a sub-30 percent shooter from distance in his rookie season and only hit 55 percent of his free throws. Like Gordon, he finished his first season a limited shooter but a viable defender. The challenge falls on Skiles to draw offensive improvement from Payton. If Payton and Oladipo put things together, the Magic could become an eastern power in the near future.
Vucevic has the numbers but doesn’t yet possess the defensive fortitude to be a star. Tobias Harris has been coated in potential since his college days at Tennessee, but with the contract extension will have much higher expectations upon his development. We’ve seen so many glimpses of excellence from Harris, including a sharp three-point shot for a stretch four, stark athleticism, and a good handle on the ball. The Orlando Magic front office continues to await his passing game and defensive evolution.
The wild card on their current roster is Aaron Gordon. Entering the league, Gordon had an athletic package and built-in passing ability that can’t be taught. What he lacked was a jumpshot. The amazing aspect of Gordon is even without any shooting ability he was able to come into the NBA and help a team. Gordon is far and away the best defender on this team today, and has a knack for creating easy shots for teammates and making this offense flow overall more smoothly when he’s on the floor. This summer, he’s shown evidence of a new jumper, firing away with confidence in summer leagues. If the stroke follows him into NBA games that count, other teams in the east will need to duck and cover with the ball in his hands. Stay tuned for the Aaron Gordon show.
LAST CALL
The good news for Magic fans is Scott Skiles is the king of reclamation projects. He has turned around each of the three teams he’s coached within two seasons or less and has taken those teams to the playoffs. Because of the east’s depth, I lean towards the two season timeline that this process will take in Orlando. There are many reasons to be excited about where this franchise is headed. Every player on this team that provides cause for encouragement was born in 1992 or later. The Orlando Magic are on their way, but the mantra their fans need to embrace this season is “good things come to those who wait.”
Predicted finish: 37-45, 10th place in Eastern Conference
Washington Wizards
Last Year: 46-36, 5th place in Eastern Conference
Key Additions: Alan Anderson (Free agent, Brooklyn), Gary Neal (Free agent, Minnesota), Jared Dudley (trade with Milwaukee), Kelly Oubre (drafted 15th overall)
Key Losses: Kevin Seraphin (Free agent-New York), Paul Pierce (Free agent, LA Clippers)
For the last two years the Wizards have been on the cusp of cementing their status as an upper-echelon team in the Eastern Conference. For the last two years the Wizards’ season has ended the exact same way: by pushing a faltering #1 seed to the limit in the conference semifinals before losing in 6 games.
After the first encouraging run in 2014 against the Indiana Pacers, many expected the Wizards to build upon their newfound postseason success with a strong regular season. Instead, the 2015 regular season was a humble run for the Wizards, adding just two more W’s to 2014’s win total of 44.
However in the postseason, the Wizards accelerated to playing their finest basketball of the year, smoking Toronto in a first round sweep before looking like a major threat to Atlanta’s expectations for a deep-postseason run. Once again, entering a new season, we ask ourselves the same question: are the Washington Wizards for real?
THE BACKCOURT TO SALIVATE OVER
There are enough reasons to talk yourself into believing in this team. First of all, after the Cavaliers, the conference is simply down and Washington is one of the teams “next up” on the list to climb the proverbial totem pole.
From a more proactive standpoint, the two best players on this team are just starting to scratch the surface of their greatness and are only entering their fourth year together in the NBA. I’m of course talking about John Wall and Bradley Beal, the two components of what’s already the best starting backcourt in the Eastern Conference.
Wall is slated to be an all-star point guard for the next ten years as long he stays healthy and hungry, while Beal appears to be on the cusp of tapping into his superstar scoring powers. Beal not only has displayed all the attributes of an emerging number one shooting guard for a winning team, but also has shot 40 percent from the three-point line in each of the last two seasons. The next step for Beal is learning how to become a 20-plus point scorer every night to not only take some pressure off Wall, but further consolidate the domination of Washington’s backcourt.
There are many ways to build a championship team in today’s NBA: the easiest path is to acquire LeBron James and then let the magic happen around your franchise. For the 29 other teams, some build through the draft where they find their stars of tomorrow, while some have the market allure to pay a developed star big money for an instant acquisition. Strategically most try to copy the blueprints of recent champions, while a few go against the grain and stack their team with big men based on the way their collection of assets have come together. In Washington, they found two tremendous guards in the span of four drafts and have elected to build around them.
The Wizards must be congratulated for rebuilding a franchise the hard way. After the Gilbert Arenas-Javaris Crittenton locker room gun debacle in 2010, owner Ted Leonsis resolved to scrap his roster and build his team from the ground up. With the assist of the #2 overall draft pick in 2010, the Wizards struck gold with their selection of Wall. Wall’s first two seasons were rough as the Wizards won 23 and then 20 games. But with the arrival of Beal, the Wizards surged to 29 wins in 2013, and suddenly 44 wins in 2014. After another short jump last year to 46 wins, the forecast for Washington is to finally hit the 50 win mark. But are there any obstacles that stand in their way of hitting that magic number?
JOURNEY TO 50 WINS
For decades, 50 wins has served as the unofficial line separating contenders from hopefuls. In the ultra competitive Western Conference, achieving 50 wins is simply an invitation to breathe for another week into late April. Every team in the west that hits 50 wins is capable of contending for a championship but the problem is there are five or six teams who all run into one another.
In the east, 50 wins signifies elite company. Cleveland will fall backwards into 50 wins or more but the rest of the 14 teams within the conference will grapple to hit that mark. Since the west is better from teams 1 through 15, they’ll capture more wins through interconference play and the East will have fewer wins.
On the other end of the equation, with east teams playing one another three to four times a year, Washington has a chance to take wins from more lower quality teams more often. And therein lies their mission: tread water against western conference opposition and then take care of business against opponents in your time zone.
Last year the Wizards went 30-22 against Eastern Conference teams, which is neat but not good enough. Toronto and Chicago, each with 49 and 50 wins respectively, both went 33-19 against Eastern Conference opponents. That leaves the Wizards with a magic number of 34 wins against Eastern Conference teams in order to hit the 50 win mark.
The next step in Washington’s progression towards becoming an Eastern Conference power is learning how to beat the Eastern Conference. With Beal and Wall each getting another year and a valuable playoff run under their belts, the hope is they will enter this season with a killer instinct against their neighbors. While the two of them would be a formidable duo on any NBA team, there are questions if these are two are enough to get the Wizards over the hump.
IS THIS A REAL SUPPORTING CAST?
One of the most interesting aspects of a rebuild is the way a front office decides to execute it. The clear case with the Wizards was to hit the jackpot twice in the draft and then find a way to build around two young superstar guards.
While many organizations choose to develop a slate of youngsters and maybe throw in a veteran or two, the Wizards surrounded Wall and Beal with a slew of mostly older players and some journeyman with past success. The first dosage of veteran additions were the twin bigs Marcin Gortat and Nene. Last year, the Wizards topped it off by adding Paul Pierce who added a glue-like dynamic to this team, along with A-plus leadership.
The Wizards have sported a good starting lineup over the last two years but the reality of the situation is by the time they become a championship contender, this roster will look different, both in its starting lineup and reserves. While Nene is still a valuable player, it’s not certain how gracefully he’ll age into the final third of his career. Gortat will help just about any team he ends up on, but he too is on the other side of 30, and he’ll be in the twilight of his career as this team hits its peak.
The backups on Washington have largely been a merry-go-round of role players and former stars at the end of their careers during Beal and Wall’s NBA upbringing. Big men like Kevin Seraphin, Chris Middleton, Jason Collins, Trevor Booker, Javale McGee and Andray Blatche have enjoyed brief tenures here before moving on to their next stops, filling a temporary need in the nation’s capital for a year or three. Most of the guards behind Beal and Wall have been “oh, he’s still in the league!”-type players that either serve as stopgaps or pure role players with little ability to take over a game.
Washington has set out in the last two years to surround the backcourt with some intriguing young talent. One is small forward Otto Porter, who after an unremarkable rookie campaign bloomed into a serviceable player in his sophomore season. Porter not only looked like he could be a future starting small forward but a long term component to Washington’s championship aspirations.
The Wizards in a draft-day trade acquired wingman Kelly Oubre from the Atlanta Hawks. Oubre, the 15th overall pick out of Kansas, is in need of development but his skill set will provide Beal and Wall with another confident scorer who can solidify their backcourt depth. In a year or two, the Wizards could look like a formidable army of guards, led by one of the three best point guards in the league.
Right now, the Wizards’ roster is still stuck in a confluence of very young players mixed with some rather old players. Wall has the talent and court vision to make it all work, but if other teams in the east with loaded rosters (i.e. Miami when healthy, Chicago, Boston, and Atlanta) take those critical wins from Washington, the push for replacements or additional relief will be all the talk around DC.
The Wizards did grab Alan Anderson from Brooklyn, a swingman who can do a little of everything and help on the defensive end. Gary Neal and Jared Dudley are the latest journeymen to end up on the Wizards, and have thrived in other cities as role players. Dudley was superb at small forward for a Phoenix team that made the conference finals five years ago and Neal was a part of the Spurs’ rotation that fell to Miami in seven games back in the 2013 Finals. Since those seasons, both men have been searching for traction in the next chapter of their careers.
On a team in the west, it would be hard to immediately construct a way in which this team could vault to the top four of the conference with this sort of supporting cast. In the east, the new guys should be able to provide Beal and Wall with a necessary lift until the next wave of help can arrive, whether it be a more-developed Oubre or a better free agent crop next summer (I’m told there’s a guy from Washington who’s pretty good at basketball that might be available for work in 2016).
WILL LIFE GO ON AFTER PIERCE?
Adding to the conversation of Wizards depth coming and going is the epicenter of that topic, Paul Pierce. His lone season spent in DC was a breath of fresh air; not only did Pierce address a need at their starting small forward position, he addressed a need for leadership. Some will say Pierce taught this team to win, a lesson easily observed in the playoffs when he came through in the clutch against Toronto and Atlanta (social media was hailing him as Paul Pierce: Destroyer of worlds by the second game of the first round).
Pierce is now on the other side of the country and the Wizards have presumably installed Porter as his replacement. The biggest positive of that switcheroo is the age difference. Pierce is likely looking at his final year or two in the league while Porter is a fresh 22 and just getting started.
Beyond that, Porter has a long way to go. The third-year forward has started just 13 games in his career and is still relatively raw despite making good strides from his rookie to sophomore season. Pierce was credited for much of Porter’s development. Without one of the greatest small forwards around to guide Porter’s next stage of growth, it’s unknown how Porter will spread his wings.
While Pierce only leaves a void of about 12 points per game to replace, his emotional impact will be the big issue. John Wall seems ready to fully hoist the mantle as the team leader in Washington, but an elder lifeline on the wings is absent. It’s either Porter for now, or a makeshift collection of individuals who can pitch in and offer their insight and leadership. Guys like Neal and Dudley can aid, but neither can offer those big scoring nights the way Pierce can. The small forward situation in Washington will be one of the most interesting subplots to follow in the 2015 season.
THE NEXT STEP
At this point in their growth, the Wizards still exhibit the signs of a young team (losing road record, multiple losing streaks of five games or more, letting Paul Pierce handle the ball all the time down the stretch in big games…).
In 2015-2016 we’ll find out if they have what it takes to get to the next level. This team made a big jump two years ago from 29 to 44 wins and are currently hovering in the “good, but not yet great” corridor of the Eastern Conference. This year is the perfect time to pounce because the conference is wide open after Cleveland, and the Wizards are likely starting two all-stars in their backcourt this season.
We know Wall and Beal will lead the charge. The main question this season to observe might be, how many players can bring up the rear and raise this team to becoming a real threat in the east from October to May?
Predicted finish: 50-32, Southeast Division champs, 3rd place in Eastern Conference.
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