Post by carmelo115 on Dec 14, 2023 16:23:01 GMT
Season 1 Atlantic Division Predictions
Miami Heat
UC: 62-20
- Harden/Herro/Butler/Bam/AD is a hell of a starting lineup. You have shooting, rebounding, and defense. Depth isn’t great but Bryant/Martin/Jrich should be ok. They are pretty much out of assets to make additional moves, but right now I think they may be the title favorites.
Melo: 57-25
- I do think HF has the best startling lineup in the league. There’s really not much of a question in my eyes. The deal for AD may hurt down the line, but who cares. They have an insane mix of offense on the inside and out, but their biggest strength should be defense down low. Butler, Bam, and AD in the frontcourt is just unfair.
Philadelphia 76ers
UC: 51-31
- They currently have a gaping hole at SF, but have some top end talent with Embiid, LeBron and Maxey. Robert Williams and Jordan Clarkson fill out the rest of the roster a bit. I think Embiid could be in for a monster season, but think they are a tier below a title contender currently. They are currently out 2 1sts as well.
Melo: 54-28
- As UC said, they have a huge hole at SF, but I’ll assume Carlos will fix that prior to the season starting. I mean, even if they ignored it, Maxey, Lebron, and Embiid are so good. Maybe the best trio in the league right now, which should get them towards the top of the East standings. They didn’t’ sim great in preseason 1, but I don’t think that’s foreshadowing their season.
Brooklyn Nets
UC: 48-34
- Very fun and deep roster. Think they lack the top end superstar talent, but this is a deep team with a lot of pieces. I’m not sure if Mikal or Jaylen will start at SF but Simmons/Thomas/Mikal/Zubac/Claxton is nice with Jaylen Brown or Mikal, Cam Johnson, Sharpe and a few shooters off the bench. They have some options for more trades, but are out 3 1sts.
Melo: 46-36
- Deep team, but really don’t think they have enough star power to make true noise. Bridges looks good and so does Brown, but they play the same position. Unsure how that’s going to unfold. Like Ben Simmons, but think he’s better suited to be a supersub. Hated the Zubac trade, but he’s an elite rebounder, which not a lot of teams have right now.
Orlando Magic
UC: 44-38
- Loved the SGA trade to give them their building block for the future. I think he can be a star right off the bat and carry this team above .500. The rest of the roster is pretty raw outside of Wagner and a few veteran bigs. Rog has all his picks still and can go a few different ways this season but in my opinion it’s all about SGA/Wagner development.
Melo: 41-41
- Rog got the best player in our deal, but not a fan of the rest of the roster. Wagner should be a fun player to build around, but I don’t love Shaedon. Their bigs down low won’t do much of anything, but at least Rog has his first this season, which will give his younger guys some time to improve.
New York Knicks
UC: 30-52
- I’m expecting Randle and Brunson to be moved so this is kind of a placeholder. If the roster stays status quo then they would be above the Magic probably. Surprised Evan Fournier wasn’t amnestied. They picked up 6 additional picks over the next 3 drafts after tearing down the rest of the roster.
Melo: 36-46
- Expect the two high-level players to be moved at some point soon, but until then, I’ll have to ride with what’s on the squad. Both Brunson and Randle will be very good scorers, but are they FBB-friendly players? Unsure. Either way, NY has made it known he wants these guys gone, so my 36 wins could really be closer to 26 when it’s all said and done.
Boston Celtics
UC: 26-56
- It’s been a rollercoaster offseason for the Celtics. They still have some talent remaining with Simons and Porzingis and a few vets like Dinwiddie, Schroder, Holmes. They shouldn’t totally bottom out unless they make additional moves. They picked up 5 1sts after trading Brown, Tatum, Jrue, White, Kornet.
Melo: 25-57
- Truly have no idea what Matt was doing with this team post Jaylen Brown trade, but here we are. It’s somehow turned into a Wizards level roster as they have nobody good and nothing to really look forward to. Sad they didn’t get any good prospects with all of these deals, but I guess they have the draft to look forward to.
Washington Wizards
UC: 22-60
- Loved the Lonzo Ball pick up, otherwise it’s been a quiet offseason in Washington. Only other move was the amnestying of Jordan Poole. Personally believe this is one of the worst rosters in the league, but Dash seems to think he can win some games so I added a few extra wins to this total incase he decides to make a move.
Melo: 21-61
- Listen, I give Dash credit for taking the worst team in the league in the draft. He obviously did it so he had no expectations to win anytime soon, because why else? Coulibaly looks like a good prospect so at least he has that going for him. Lonzo will be a good signing next season when he can play.
Atlantic MVP
UC: Joel Embiid: I think he’s in for a monster season. Could have went with a few Heat guys but think they may cancel each other out and Embiid will have to do more heavy lifting.
Melo: Joel Embiid: Really your perfect big this early on in the league. He’ll put up monster numbers every night regardless of who he goes against.
Atlantic DPOY
UC: Anthony Davis: A lot of options in this division with Bam, Claxton, Embiid, Bridges but going with AD due to team success
Melo: Anthony Davis: Not a ton of players to choose from and honestly, 3 of them may be on the Heat, but AD should give you 3-4 stocks per game, which should be enough. Have AD and Claxton neck and neck.
Atlantic ROY
UC: Bilal Coulibaly: Not a lot to choose from in this division. He should get a lot of playing time and someone needs to score
Melo: Bilal Coulibaly: There’s literally nobody else to choose from. Congrats, Dash.
Atlantic GMOY
UC: HF: Getting AD/Harden to go with that trio(while also dumping Duncan’s salary) was some nice maneuvering.
Melo: HF: If all goes as I expect, the Miami Heat will be at the top of the East and HF will not only win the Atlantic GMOY, but also the league GMOY in our first season.
Miami Heat
UC: 62-20
- Harden/Herro/Butler/Bam/AD is a hell of a starting lineup. You have shooting, rebounding, and defense. Depth isn’t great but Bryant/Martin/Jrich should be ok. They are pretty much out of assets to make additional moves, but right now I think they may be the title favorites.
Melo: 57-25
- I do think HF has the best startling lineup in the league. There’s really not much of a question in my eyes. The deal for AD may hurt down the line, but who cares. They have an insane mix of offense on the inside and out, but their biggest strength should be defense down low. Butler, Bam, and AD in the frontcourt is just unfair.
Philadelphia 76ers
UC: 51-31
- They currently have a gaping hole at SF, but have some top end talent with Embiid, LeBron and Maxey. Robert Williams and Jordan Clarkson fill out the rest of the roster a bit. I think Embiid could be in for a monster season, but think they are a tier below a title contender currently. They are currently out 2 1sts as well.
Melo: 54-28
- As UC said, they have a huge hole at SF, but I’ll assume Carlos will fix that prior to the season starting. I mean, even if they ignored it, Maxey, Lebron, and Embiid are so good. Maybe the best trio in the league right now, which should get them towards the top of the East standings. They didn’t’ sim great in preseason 1, but I don’t think that’s foreshadowing their season.
Brooklyn Nets
UC: 48-34
- Very fun and deep roster. Think they lack the top end superstar talent, but this is a deep team with a lot of pieces. I’m not sure if Mikal or Jaylen will start at SF but Simmons/Thomas/Mikal/Zubac/Claxton is nice with Jaylen Brown or Mikal, Cam Johnson, Sharpe and a few shooters off the bench. They have some options for more trades, but are out 3 1sts.
Melo: 46-36
- Deep team, but really don’t think they have enough star power to make true noise. Bridges looks good and so does Brown, but they play the same position. Unsure how that’s going to unfold. Like Ben Simmons, but think he’s better suited to be a supersub. Hated the Zubac trade, but he’s an elite rebounder, which not a lot of teams have right now.
Orlando Magic
UC: 44-38
- Loved the SGA trade to give them their building block for the future. I think he can be a star right off the bat and carry this team above .500. The rest of the roster is pretty raw outside of Wagner and a few veteran bigs. Rog has all his picks still and can go a few different ways this season but in my opinion it’s all about SGA/Wagner development.
Melo: 41-41
- Rog got the best player in our deal, but not a fan of the rest of the roster. Wagner should be a fun player to build around, but I don’t love Shaedon. Their bigs down low won’t do much of anything, but at least Rog has his first this season, which will give his younger guys some time to improve.
New York Knicks
UC: 30-52
- I’m expecting Randle and Brunson to be moved so this is kind of a placeholder. If the roster stays status quo then they would be above the Magic probably. Surprised Evan Fournier wasn’t amnestied. They picked up 6 additional picks over the next 3 drafts after tearing down the rest of the roster.
Melo: 36-46
- Expect the two high-level players to be moved at some point soon, but until then, I’ll have to ride with what’s on the squad. Both Brunson and Randle will be very good scorers, but are they FBB-friendly players? Unsure. Either way, NY has made it known he wants these guys gone, so my 36 wins could really be closer to 26 when it’s all said and done.
Boston Celtics
UC: 26-56
- It’s been a rollercoaster offseason for the Celtics. They still have some talent remaining with Simons and Porzingis and a few vets like Dinwiddie, Schroder, Holmes. They shouldn’t totally bottom out unless they make additional moves. They picked up 5 1sts after trading Brown, Tatum, Jrue, White, Kornet.
Melo: 25-57
- Truly have no idea what Matt was doing with this team post Jaylen Brown trade, but here we are. It’s somehow turned into a Wizards level roster as they have nobody good and nothing to really look forward to. Sad they didn’t get any good prospects with all of these deals, but I guess they have the draft to look forward to.
Washington Wizards
UC: 22-60
- Loved the Lonzo Ball pick up, otherwise it’s been a quiet offseason in Washington. Only other move was the amnestying of Jordan Poole. Personally believe this is one of the worst rosters in the league, but Dash seems to think he can win some games so I added a few extra wins to this total incase he decides to make a move.
Melo: 21-61
- Listen, I give Dash credit for taking the worst team in the league in the draft. He obviously did it so he had no expectations to win anytime soon, because why else? Coulibaly looks like a good prospect so at least he has that going for him. Lonzo will be a good signing next season when he can play.
Atlantic MVP
UC: Joel Embiid: I think he’s in for a monster season. Could have went with a few Heat guys but think they may cancel each other out and Embiid will have to do more heavy lifting.
Melo: Joel Embiid: Really your perfect big this early on in the league. He’ll put up monster numbers every night regardless of who he goes against.
Atlantic DPOY
UC: Anthony Davis: A lot of options in this division with Bam, Claxton, Embiid, Bridges but going with AD due to team success
Melo: Anthony Davis: Not a ton of players to choose from and honestly, 3 of them may be on the Heat, but AD should give you 3-4 stocks per game, which should be enough. Have AD and Claxton neck and neck.
Atlantic ROY
UC: Bilal Coulibaly: Not a lot to choose from in this division. He should get a lot of playing time and someone needs to score
Melo: Bilal Coulibaly: There’s literally nobody else to choose from. Congrats, Dash.
Atlantic GMOY
UC: HF: Getting AD/Harden to go with that trio(while also dumping Duncan’s salary) was some nice maneuvering.
Melo: HF: If all goes as I expect, the Miami Heat will be at the top of the East and HF will not only win the Atlantic GMOY, but also the league GMOY in our first season.
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