NBA Eastern Conference Standings Predictions

The NBA 2024-25 Season is one sleep away! Here are my predictions for the Eastern Conference and where the teams will fall by the end of the season!

--PLAYOFFS--

1. Boston Celtics

2. New York Knicks

3. Milwaukee Bucks

4. Orlando Magic

5. Cleveland Cavaliers

6. Philadelphia 76ers

--PLAY IN--

7. Miami Heat

8. Indiana Pacers

9. Toronto Raptors

10. Charlotte Hornets

--ELIMINATED--

11. Atlanta Hawks

12. Chicago Bulls

13. Detroit Pistons

14. Washington Wizards

15. Brooklyn Nets

The Top 3 I'm fairly confident will remain the same from 2023-24. The race might be closer between Boston and New York, but I think the defending champions will pull through, with Milwaukee being a distant third place. I think Orlando is going to surprise people even though they may just be swapping spot with Cleveland. If Philly stays healthy, they'll remain in a playoff spot and have an exciting series with the Bucks. But to tell them truth, from number 4 to number 8, you could swap any of those teams and I'd respect your opinion completely. The top of the East is really close and unpredictable. A lot of injury prone teams, aging teams, and newly-built teams are going into this season with a championship goal and it's going to be a toss up for who will make it into the playoffs/play-in. I think Charlotte could take a big jump behind Ball/Miller and a Barnes-led Toronto started looking like a force to be reckoned with towards the end of last season. The Net are going to be generationally bad and the Wizards so no sign of changing. I'm going to assume the Pistons young core may show some improvement, but it has a very low chance of being competitive. Chicago and Atlanta blew up their cores in the offseason and the outlook doesn't look great. So here we are!

Thanks for Sitting on the Sidelines!

Zeke