Central: Cleveland had the best record in the East last season but lost in the first round to their divisional rival Indiana. They have the reigning coach of the year in Kenny Atkinson and one of the best starting five’s in the league in guards Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, forwards Evan Mobley, De’Andre Hunter and C Jarrett Allen.
The questions will be can they stay healthy and can Mitchell take them past the first round or if the bench is good enough with Lonzo Ball and Larry Nance Jr who they both got in the offseason.
The Bucks have not been the same team that won a championship as they keep losing core players every off-season and F Giannis Antetokounmpo hasn’t been the most healthy either but might want out.
They had more departures in C Brooke Lopez, Pat Connaughton and PG Damian Lillard(which did not work out) and did their best to try to fill the void with lots of moves. They added guards Cole Anthony, Gary Harris to help the backcourt of Kevin Porter Jr and Gary Trent Jr. The biggest addition was stealing C Myles Turner away from their divisional rival Indiana and re-signing F Bobby Portis to help out F Kyle Kuzma and Giannis.
The Pistons surprised a lot of people when they made the playoffs but that was due to their head coach JB Bickerstaff and their star G Cade Cunningham finally being healthy enough to play like an All-Star.
They have a nice young core that will continue to grow in G Jaden Ivey, F Ausar Thompson, C Jalen Duren and still have F Tobias Harris. The biggest additions were to their bench in guards Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert to provide scoring off the bench.
The Bulls are still in the same situation they have been for years, not good enough to compete for a championship and not bad enough to get a top pick in the draft to change their fortunes. Gone are DeMar DeRozen, Zach Levine, Alex Caruso and Lonzo Ball but C Nikola Vucevic is still there which is puzzling.
They should be building around F Matas Buzelis but having too many veterans does not help him in C Zach Collins, F Patrick Williams, guards Kevin Huerter and Tre Jones but should trade them and G Coby White. Getting SF Isaac Okoro and resigning G Josh Giddey gives them stability at those two positions though.
The Pacers will be one team that falls very far down from their improbable run to the NBA Finals as they lost Myles Turner to Milwaukee and lost PG Tyrese Halliburton to a torn Achilles which will sideline him the whole season.
HC Rick Carlisle will have a tough job ahead of him to rally a team full of role players around PF Pascal Siakam.
Atlantic: The Knicks almost went to the NBA Finals but got upset by the surprising Pacers and will still have the same core of guards Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, forwards Mikal Bridges, Karl Anthony Towns and C Mitchell Robinson.
They added G Jordan Clarkson to help F Josh Hart. The biggest change will be is they fired HC Tom Thibabadou and replaced him with Mike Brown which will be a huge difference in philosophy in coaching a team.
The 76ers had the worst luck last year losing three top players to injuries which led them to having a top pick. If C Joel Embiid, F Paul George and PG Tyrese Maxey are healthy they are one of the best teams and have a solid bench.
G Kyle Lowry, F Kelly Oubre Jr, C Andre Drummond, and G Eric Gordon are nice role players but if the main three all miss significant time they might have another lottery pick.
The Celtics will look like a very different team this year due to F Jayson Tatum tearing his Achilles making sure he misses most of the season if not the whole thing plus they gutted their core. F Jaylen Brown is still there with great role players guards Derrick White and Payton Pritchard but only added G Anfernee Simons to add some offense to the front court.
They traded PG Jrue Holiday, F Kristaps Porzingis and let Luke Kornet and Al Hordford leave in free agency. Can Brown lead this team to the playoffs and if so can he take them far enough to see if Tatum can return?
The Raptors are another team that has too much talent to bottom out and get a good lottery pick to change their fortunes but not good enough to compete for a championship.
They are led by F Scottie Barnes, G RJ Barrett and added F Brandon Ingram this past trade deadline. They have nice role players in guards Immanuel Quickley, Gradey Dick and C Jakob Poeltl.
The Nets are in a weird position because the East isn’t that deep but they were bad enough last year to have four first round picks with one being a top ten pick. So they can go all in on a youth moment with those picks but traded Cam Johnson for SF Michael Porter Jr to play with G Cam Thomas and C Nic Claxton plus added G Terance Mann.
They should trade those four players for more youth or picks.
Southwest: The Magic keep getting better every year with their young core of F Paolo Banchero, G Jalen Suggs, forwards Franz Wagner and Moe Wagner.
They added guards Tyus Jones and Desmond Bane to their core but lost Kentavious Caldwell Pope, Gary Harris and Cole Anthony. With a few top seeds potentially falling this season this might be the chance for them to have a higher seeding.
This will be the first full season without Jimmy Butler, also losing Kevin Love, Kyle Anderson and Duncan Robinson so it will be an interesting season for Erik Spoelstra and the Heat. They are good enough to only make the play in but not good enough to be a real contender or not bad enough to tank. G Tyler Herro and C Bam Adebayo are both All-Star players but it wasn’t enough with Butler and without Butler their remaining core isn’t good enough.
They are relying on young players like forwards Jaime Jaquez Jr, Nikola Jovic and G Davion Mitchell which is what they should be doing but also have veterans guards Terry Rozier, Norman Powell and SF Andrew Wiggins.
PG Trae Young is a talented player and HC Quin Snyder is a top coach but it is not enough for the Hawks to not be more than a play-in team which means not a contender and not bad enough to tank.
They did lose some key players in Caris LeVert, Larry Nance Jr, Terrance Mann and their center Clint Capela. The biggest addition was getting F Kristaps Porzingis to help young forwards Jalen Johnson and Zaccharie Risacher in the front court. They added G Luke Kennard and F Nickeil Alexander-Walker to help out G Dyson Daniels to provide some depth in the backcourt.
The Hornets still are a terrible team even with G LaMelo Ball, forwards Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges because Ball/Miller cannot stay healthy enough to help this team move in the right direction. They lost both their starting and backup centers in Mark Williams/Jusuf Nurkic and Seth Curry off their bench.
Their draft and off-season moves might help them move in the right direction in veterans C Mason Plumlee, guards Collin Sexton and Pat Connaughton plus their first pick G Kon Knueppel. Hopefully those veterans help mentor the young players and get moved for picks or young players going forward or it might be time to trade Ball.
The Wizards are definitely in a full-rebuild mode but traded for veterans G CJ McCollum and F Khris Middleton this calendar year.
This will be all about the youth because Kyle Kuzma was traded at the deadline and Jordan Poole was traded this offseason so no more ball dominating wings so maybe they can see what the young players have to offer. Their young core is C Alex Sarr, forwards Bilal Couibaly, Cam Whitmore and guards Bub Carrington and Tre Johsnon.
Northwest: The Oklahoma City Thunder had the best record in the whole league and won the entire thing so they enter as the reigning champions who can win the NBA Finals again.
The team extended their core players in PG Shai-Gilgeous Alexander (MVP-Finals MVP), Chet Holmgren, Jaylin Williams and Jaylen Williams. They also have their defensive core too in G Lu Dort, C Isaiah Hartenstein and G Alex Caruso plus G Nikola Topic who missed his rookie season.
The Nuggets did something odd days before the postseason they fired their championship winning head coach and GM replacing him with his assistant David Adelman. The team still has three time MVP C Nikola Jokic with PG Jamal Murray and F Aaron Gordon.
The biggest difference is they traded away Michael Porter Jr for G Cameron Johnson plus they solidified the bench, something that has been a weakness for a few seasons. They brought in C Jonas Valanciunas, guards Tim Hardaway Jr and Bruce Brown hoping they can get back to the finals.
The Timberwolves keep inching closer and closer to the Finals but never actually get there back to back years losing in the conference finals. The team still has G Anthony Edwards, F Julius Randle, C Rudy Gobert, guards Donte DiVinceno and Mike Conley plus their bench is still G Jaden McDaniels, C Naz Reid and G Joe Ingles.
HC Chris Finch has a tough task in this division let alone the conference but he is one of the best coaches and not many teams repeat.
The Trailblazers are in that weird spot of having too many veterans but also have a lot of young guys who need playing time. The veterans are C Robert Williams who is never healthy, F Jerami Grant, brought in both PGs Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard who probably will not play all season as he is recovering from surgery.
The young guys who should get all the minutes are guards Scoot Henderson, Shaedeon Sharpe, Matisee Thybulle and F Denji Avdija.
The Jazz have so much talent but somehow are still bottom feeders getting a top five pick in the draft in SF Ace Bailey despite the best lottery odds. They can pair him with F Lauri Markkanen and C Walker Kessler.
They added a bunch more front court players despite being stacked there in F Kevin Love, C Jusuf Nurkic, Georges Niang and F Kyle Anderson. They did lose their backcourt depth in guards Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson plus F John Collins.
Southwest: The Rockets surprised many by being the number two seed and almost beating the Warriors in 7 games as most didn’t think they were ready yet. This team has young forwards Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr who was extended, G Reed Sheppard and C Alperen Sengun with veteran PG Fred Van Fleet.
They went blockbuster by trading for F Kevin Durant and C Clint Capela not to mention adding SF Dorian Finney Smith plus have veterans C Steven Adams and F Jeff Green. They did have to trade Jalen Green and Dillion Brooks but it might be worth it for Houston if adding Durant can put you over the top.
The Spurs might have lost HC Greg Popovich to retiring to the front office but his fingerprints will still be all over this team in their next chapter since they hired his own guy he mentored in Mitch Johnson. F Victor Wembanyama is about to explode as the next superstar in this league and they have made his team even better.
They drafted another young guard in Dylan Harper to go with Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell and reigning rookie of the year Stephon Castle. Not to mention they got PG DeAaron Fox at the deadline to pair him with Wemby, plus still have F Harrison Barnes and added some front court depth to not over tax Wemby in Kelly Olynyk, Luke Kornet and Bismack Biyombo.
Dallas lost in the play-in round which is where they are now a team with many questions like what is their identity without Luka Doncic for a full season moving forward? Can C Anthony Davis stay healthy?
What are they going to do without PG Kyrie Irving who tore his ACL and is out all season but got a huge extension? Did the NBA rig the lottery for them as they had a 1.8% to land a potential superstar in F Cooper Flagg? They do have some nice role players in G Klay Thompson, C Dereck Lively II, F Daniel Gafford, F PJ Washington who they extended, G Max Christie and F Caleb Martin. They also were smart in signing guards D’Angelo Russell and Dante Exum to overcome the Irving injury.
The Grizzlies are another team that fired a good head coach in March, Tyler Jenkins, which didn’t matter as they got swept in the 1st round. This team goes as PG JA Morant goes so he needs to stay healthy and not have off the court problems or it will hold him/them back.
The other players that matter are F Jaren Jackson Jr and they swapped Desmond Bane out for G Kentavious Caldwell Pope and hope youngsters G Cedric Coward and F Jaylen Wells fill in the gaps.
It needs to be a new chapter in Pelicans history with Joe Dumars in the front office as they traded Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum this calendar year but hope a slimmer F Zion Williamson will change things.
They brought in G Jordan Poole, F Saddiq Bey and C Kevon Looney. They also are hoping youngsters F Herbert Jones who is not playing center finally and G Trey Murphy are healthy enough to contribute until PG Dejounte Murray comes back from his Achilles injury.
Pacific: Any team that has G Luka Doncic, F LeBron James, C Deandre Ayton and G Austin Reaves is going to be the best team in their division let alone the whole entire conference but can they win multiple playoff rounds?
They have solid role player in F Rui Hachimura, guards Gabe Vincent, Marcus Smart, C Jaxson Hayes, G Dalton Knecht and F Jarred Vanderbilt but can JJ Reddick get this team to commit for a full season and not lose in the 1st round? That is a huge question.
HC Tyron Lue again has the same dilemma: too many players and not enough minutes to play all of them for the Clippers. They assembled more of an All-Star team than a deep role player led team but it would be scarier if it was the roster five seasons ago. G James Harden and F Kawhi Leonard lead this team if healthy and G Bradley Beal, F John Collins, C Brooke Lopez and PG Chris Paul are back in Los Angeles.
Not to mention a really good center in Ivica Zubac, veterans G Nicolas Batum, F Derrick Jones Jr, G Kris Dunn and F Bogdan Bogdanovic.
The Warriors do not have many great seasons left in PG Steph Curry which is why they traded for F Jimmy Butler at the deadline to help the load so a full season together will help.
The question is can the rest of the team step up when Curry is out like youngsters G Moses Moody, F Jonathan Kuminga who they resigned and G Brandin Podziesmski all whom they have been reluctant to trade. F Draymond Green and G Gary Payton are still there defensively and G Buddy Hield to shoot threes. They replaced Kevon Looney with C Al Horford.
It doesn’t matter who the Kings’ head coach is or if it’s homegrown players or players they traded for they seem to make the playoffs as lower seed/play in or completely miss it all together. A team of C Domantas Sabonis, G Zach Levine, F DeMar DeRozan as their leads and F Keegan Murray and G Dennis Schroder in the lineup is nice but not good enough in a loaded western conference.
They do have a nice bench of guards Doug McDermott, Malik Monk, forwards Drew Eubanks and Dario Saric. Doug Christie was given the job mid-season the hope is they play better under him then Mike Brown.
Well the Kevin Durant-Bradley Beal-Devin Booker era didn’t go as planned as they went through two coaches and now Durant and Beal are gone.
The Suns are starting over with Booker, guards Jalen Green, Dillion Brooks and C Mark Williams, the latter three acquired via trade. The bench might be an issue like it was when they had the big 3 as guards Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale are the only veterans, the rest are unknown young players so new head coach Jordan Ott will have a lot to manage.