Who Will Finish Where in The East in 2019
The Eastern broke the Wests recent stranglehold on the title thanks to the Toronto Raptors winning their first NBA title last season. Prior to this, the Western had won 7 of the last 10 finals and the wins had largely been thanks to LeBron James changing sides. This year it may lack some of the star power of the Western, however, that doesn’t mean they can’t win the title again. There are two genuine contenders and a few dark horses who might just make a run. Anyway here is how we see the Eastern Conference divisions panning out in 2019-20.
Eastern Conference
We expect four teams to make the playoffs from The Atlantic and the 76ers are our tip to win it all. They have (in our opinion) the best defense in the NBA (thanks to the Al Horford acquisition), and although that may not be as important in the regular season it is a huge edge when it comes to knockout games.
The Boston Celtics may be their biggest challenger in the division as the Nets will be without Kevin Durant for the whole season most likely. Both should make the postseason though. We are not sure how the defending champions will fare without Kawhi Leonard, however, they still have Pascal Siakam so they will win games.
The Knicks are still in rebuild mode and might end up with the lowest win total in the NBA in 2019 – although the Cavs might have something to say about that.
The Central should be dominated by the Bucks and a 60 win season is not beyond the realms of possibility. Giannis Antetokounmpo is the best thing to come out of Greece since Feta cheese, and is, without doubt, one of the elite players in the league. They should compete with Philly for the no one seed. We like what the Pacers are doing and the addition of Brogdon & Warren may have pushed them over the edge into genuine contenders. A lot may depend on how long it takes Victor Oladipo to get back to full fitness. We can’t see anyone else figuring in the Central, although the Bulls might hover around the fringes.
The Southeast looks by far the weakest division with Miami (thanks to Jimmy Butler) looking like the only real contender amongst them. Orlando should be good enough to scrape in as the No. 8 seed – making it back to back playoff appearances (never thought we would be saying that this soon into their rebuild).
Anyway here is our Eastern Conference Predicted Finishing Orders.
ATLANTIC
Philadelphia 76ers
Boston Celtics
Toronto Raptors
Brooklyn Nets
New York Knicks
CENTRAL
Milwaukee Bucks
Indiana Pacers
Chicago Bulls
Detroit Pistons
Cleveland Cavaliers
SOUTH EAST
Miami Heat
Orlando Magic
Atlanta Hawks
Washington Wizards
Charlotte Hornets
Predicted Seedings
No 1 Philadelphia 76ers
No 2 Milwaukee Bucks
No 3 Boston Celtics
No 4 Toronto Raptors
No 5 Indiana Pacers
N0 6 Brooklyn Nets
No 7 Miami Heat
No 8 Orlando Magic
So only one new face in the playoffs compared to 2018.
While you are here why not check out our Western Conference Predictions.
