Way Too Early Season Preview: Atlantic
Jul 27, 2018 12:49:28 GMT -5
Philadelphia 76ers (Chris), Boston Celtics (Brandon), and 1 more like this
Post by The Athletic on Jul 27, 2018 12:49:28 GMT -5
ATLANTIC
Philadelphia 76ers
PG D’Angelo Russell
SG DeMar DeRozan
SF Tyreke Evans
PF Karl Anthony-Towns
C Brook Lopez
UTL Rajon Rondo
UTL Carmelo Anthony
Key Bench – Rodney Hood
Championship Contender
The 76ers have a very solid squad; Chris has done a really well job putting together nice complimentary pieces next to KAT and DeRozan. Tyreke is bound to regress as he has a new home in Indiana but is still capable of putting up great numbers. Rondo, Brook and Melo are the veteran pickups this offseason and should all be 20 pt guys here. I think a lot of this team’s success is going to depend on D-Lo. Will he ever live up to the #2 pick potential? He needs to stay healthy while also becoming a more efficient player. A 40% shooter while committing 3 turnovers a game is not going to cut it. He’s still only 22 years old and has all the potential in the world with the key to the Brooklyn offense. I also really like the Rodney Hood resigning; Hood is going to have a great opportunity in Cleveland without LeBron and should put up some solid numbers. On top of all of this the Jevon Carter pick might have been the best pick in the draft.
New York Knicks
PG Jrue Holiday
SG Klay Thompson
SF Khris Middleton
PF Marcus Morris
C Derrick Favors
UTL TJ Warren
UTL Frank Ntilikina
Key Bench – Stanley Johnson/Pau Gasol
Championship Contender
After trading away franchise cornerstone John Wall, the entire league though Tyler and the Knicks were set on retooling this roster. Everyone was wrong, after seeing Wall being traded, Tyler and the Knicks have stayed mostly the same while getting younger from the Wall trade. The team this year is a lot deeper with multiple young bright spots. Ntilikina is the most interesting piece coming from the Wall trade and flashed his potential all throughout his rookie year. The acquisition of Klay Thompson is interesting because of his inability to stand out on stat lines but he is capable of putting on a scoring clinic on any given night. Jrue, Middleton, and Favors will all be important pieces for this Knicks team moving forward. TJ Warren is coming off a fantastic season but with Josh Jackson’s improvements and the Mikal Bridges pick, Warren may be in for some sort of regression. I think this team is due for some regression but you can’t ever count out the Knicks after putting together an undefeated regular season.
Brooklyn Nets
PG Luka Doncic
SG Caris Levert
SF Kevin Durant
PF Aaron Gordon
C Zach Collins
UTL Jabari Parker
UTL Cedi Osman
Key Bench – Skal Labisserie/Denzel Valentine
Championship Contender
Josh made all the right moves this offseason. He took advantage of a Dallas Mavericks team desperate to shed cap and get younger and got himself Kevin Durant. On top of that he was able to resign both Jabari Parker and Aaron Gordon to form a dangerous trio. The trade for Doncic could pay off in a huge way as Doncic has franchise changing potential. This team is young but should make the playoffs and has a chance to make a deep run led by KD and company. There are two young pieces that could have breakout years in Zach Collins and Cedi Osman. Collins has the potential to be great in this format as a rebounding and blocks guy while Cedi has all the opportunity on a Cavs team looking for an identity. Look for this Nets team to make a huge jump forward this upcoming season.
Toronto Raptors
PG Marcus Smart
SG Avery Bradley
SF Gordon Hayward
PF Davis Bertans
C Al Horford
UTL Jae Crowder
UTL Willy Hernangomez
Key Bench – Danilo Gallinari/Austin Rivers
Playoff Contender
Perk made an early offseason move to go and get Al Horford from a Bulls team looking to shed some salary. Horford is more than a capable player here as he should be in for another great year. Perk will also finally have Gordon Hayward back who should be in position to put up great numbers. Along with that, the Raptors have Marcus Smart, Bradley and Crowder who should all contribute throughout the entire year. The wildcard here is Hernangomez, he could end up putting up huge numbers as a starter for Charlotte or he could find himself stuck in a position battle all year. The Raptors have depth this year and we all know depth wins championships here. The potential is there for this team and they should be in for a playoff spot once again. All hail Big Perk.
Boston Celtics
PG Terry Rozier
SG Markelle Fultz
SF Josh Jackson
PF JaMychael Green
C
UTL Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
UTL George Hill
Key Bench – OG Anunboy
Winless Pretender
The tank is on for Bman and the Celtics. They dealt away almost their entire roster for terrible contracts and future first round picks. Because of that, the Celtics aren’t even capable of putting out a complete starting lineup with no Center on the roster. They do have a few bright spots at PG in Fultz, Rozier and SGA but there aren’t any big men on this team to get excited about. Everyone is excited to see what Fultz can do this year after an offseason to get his mind and shot together. Josh Jackson is another exciting young piece to watch develop this year but the storyline is already in for this Celtics team. #1 pick, the Celtics are coming for ya, Ala 2017-18 Miami Heat.
Philadelphia 76ers
PG D’Angelo Russell
SG DeMar DeRozan
SF Tyreke Evans
PF Karl Anthony-Towns
C Brook Lopez
UTL Rajon Rondo
UTL Carmelo Anthony
Key Bench – Rodney Hood
Championship Contender
The 76ers have a very solid squad; Chris has done a really well job putting together nice complimentary pieces next to KAT and DeRozan. Tyreke is bound to regress as he has a new home in Indiana but is still capable of putting up great numbers. Rondo, Brook and Melo are the veteran pickups this offseason and should all be 20 pt guys here. I think a lot of this team’s success is going to depend on D-Lo. Will he ever live up to the #2 pick potential? He needs to stay healthy while also becoming a more efficient player. A 40% shooter while committing 3 turnovers a game is not going to cut it. He’s still only 22 years old and has all the potential in the world with the key to the Brooklyn offense. I also really like the Rodney Hood resigning; Hood is going to have a great opportunity in Cleveland without LeBron and should put up some solid numbers. On top of all of this the Jevon Carter pick might have been the best pick in the draft.
New York Knicks
PG Jrue Holiday
SG Klay Thompson
SF Khris Middleton
PF Marcus Morris
C Derrick Favors
UTL TJ Warren
UTL Frank Ntilikina
Key Bench – Stanley Johnson/Pau Gasol
Championship Contender
After trading away franchise cornerstone John Wall, the entire league though Tyler and the Knicks were set on retooling this roster. Everyone was wrong, after seeing Wall being traded, Tyler and the Knicks have stayed mostly the same while getting younger from the Wall trade. The team this year is a lot deeper with multiple young bright spots. Ntilikina is the most interesting piece coming from the Wall trade and flashed his potential all throughout his rookie year. The acquisition of Klay Thompson is interesting because of his inability to stand out on stat lines but he is capable of putting on a scoring clinic on any given night. Jrue, Middleton, and Favors will all be important pieces for this Knicks team moving forward. TJ Warren is coming off a fantastic season but with Josh Jackson’s improvements and the Mikal Bridges pick, Warren may be in for some sort of regression. I think this team is due for some regression but you can’t ever count out the Knicks after putting together an undefeated regular season.
Brooklyn Nets
PG Luka Doncic
SG Caris Levert
SF Kevin Durant
PF Aaron Gordon
C Zach Collins
UTL Jabari Parker
UTL Cedi Osman
Key Bench – Skal Labisserie/Denzel Valentine
Championship Contender
Josh made all the right moves this offseason. He took advantage of a Dallas Mavericks team desperate to shed cap and get younger and got himself Kevin Durant. On top of that he was able to resign both Jabari Parker and Aaron Gordon to form a dangerous trio. The trade for Doncic could pay off in a huge way as Doncic has franchise changing potential. This team is young but should make the playoffs and has a chance to make a deep run led by KD and company. There are two young pieces that could have breakout years in Zach Collins and Cedi Osman. Collins has the potential to be great in this format as a rebounding and blocks guy while Cedi has all the opportunity on a Cavs team looking for an identity. Look for this Nets team to make a huge jump forward this upcoming season.
Toronto Raptors
PG Marcus Smart
SG Avery Bradley
SF Gordon Hayward
PF Davis Bertans
C Al Horford
UTL Jae Crowder
UTL Willy Hernangomez
Key Bench – Danilo Gallinari/Austin Rivers
Playoff Contender
Perk made an early offseason move to go and get Al Horford from a Bulls team looking to shed some salary. Horford is more than a capable player here as he should be in for another great year. Perk will also finally have Gordon Hayward back who should be in position to put up great numbers. Along with that, the Raptors have Marcus Smart, Bradley and Crowder who should all contribute throughout the entire year. The wildcard here is Hernangomez, he could end up putting up huge numbers as a starter for Charlotte or he could find himself stuck in a position battle all year. The Raptors have depth this year and we all know depth wins championships here. The potential is there for this team and they should be in for a playoff spot once again. All hail Big Perk.
Boston Celtics
PG Terry Rozier
SG Markelle Fultz
SF Josh Jackson
PF JaMychael Green
C
UTL Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
UTL George Hill
Key Bench – OG Anunboy
Winless Pretender
The tank is on for Bman and the Celtics. They dealt away almost their entire roster for terrible contracts and future first round picks. Because of that, the Celtics aren’t even capable of putting out a complete starting lineup with no Center on the roster. They do have a few bright spots at PG in Fultz, Rozier and SGA but there aren’t any big men on this team to get excited about. Everyone is excited to see what Fultz can do this year after an offseason to get his mind and shot together. Josh Jackson is another exciting young piece to watch develop this year but the storyline is already in for this Celtics team. #1 pick, the Celtics are coming for ya, Ala 2017-18 Miami Heat.