Several of our NBA experts predict that the Celtics will finish atop the East standings.
Periodically, NBA.com editors will offer their thoughts on key storylines or hot topics around the league.
Make your first predictions on how you see the Eastern Conference standings at the end of the season.
Steve Aschburner
1. Boston Celtics
2. Milwaukee Bucks
3. Cleveland Cavaliers
4. Miami heat
5. New York Knicks
6. Philadelphia 76ers
7. Atlanta Falcons
8. Toronto Raptors
The Bucks’ reign as preseason favorites due to their acquisition of Damian Lillard lasted about 72 hours until Portland dealt Jrue Holiday to Milwaukee’s arch-rivals Boston.
The Celtics basically got Kristaps Porzingis And a replacement for Marcus Smart. Cleveland has taken enough baby steps – it’s time to make a real move up the standings as a serious contender. I expect Miami to overachieve (again) and Philadelphia to underperform.
Brian Martin
1. Boston Celtics
2. Milwaukee Bucks
3. Cleveland Cavaliers
4. Philadelphia 76ers
5. New York Knicks
6. Miami heat
7. Atlanta Falcons
8. Chicago Bulls
Boston and Milwaukee enter the season virtually tied as conference favorites. The Bucks took the lead by adding Damian Lillard, but the Celtics narrowly took it back by getting Jrue Holiday.
Cleveland is in third place, followed by Philadelphia – a team that is almost impossible to project because everything depends on the future of James Harden.
New York rounds out the top five, followed by Miami, which lost two key members of its team for the Finals and missed key players on the move: Lillard, Holiday and Bradley Beal.
Jimmy Butler (left) and the Heat enter the 2023-24 season as the defending East champions.
Shaun Powell
1. Milwaukee Bucks
2. Boston Celtics
3. Miami heat
4. Cleveland Cavaliers
5. Philadelphia 76ers
6. New York Knicks
7. Brooklyn nets
8. Atlanta Falcons
This is a two-team conference, meaning only two have a realistic chance of reaching the NBA Finals and/or winning a championship.
The Bucks and Celtics are hovering above the rest, for obvious reasons, and I suspect the Damian Lillard-Giannis Antetokounmpo pick-and-roll combo will give teams fits until they figure it out, which could take a while. That said, the Celtics are the deeper of the two and could come out on top in the playoffs, but that’s not what we’re debating here yet.
If the East had more quality teams, the Sixers would experience an even bigger stumble. With or without James Harden, they just seem exhausted. Miami lost to Lillard, but I suspect people will make the mistake of blaming them. I don’t see a generous jump from the Knicks or Nets, and as for the Hawks, that Eastern Conference Finals berth in 2021 It seems like it happened ten years ago.
John Schumann
1. Boston Celtics
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
3. Milwaukee Bucks
4. New York Knicks
5. Philadelphia 76ers
6. Atlanta Falcons
7. Miami heat
8. Indiana Pacers
The Celtics and Bucks should be favorites to reach the conference finals, but both have depth issues.
The Cavs were, statistically, better than their record from last season, have plenty of continuity and potential for improvement with additional shooting and the continued development of Darius Garland and Evan Mobley. So give them a regular season advantage over the Bucks, who might have some growing pains under a new coach.
Atlanta, Miami and Philadelphia are tough to figure out, but the Hawks should be improved with coach Quin Snyder able to leave his mark on the team from day one. That eighth spot could go to any of the four teams, but the Pacers have star guard Tyrese Haliburton and some critical additions, so give them the edge over Brooklyn, Orlando and Toronto.
After adding a new star (Damian Lillard) and a new coach (Adrian Griffin), Milwaukee promises to be formidable in the East.
Michael C. Wright
1. Boston Celtics
2. Milwaukee Bucks
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. Cleveland Cavaliers
5. New York Knicks
6. Atlanta Falcons
7. Miami heat
8. Brooklyn nets
Even after losing Marcus Smart in a business and before acquisition of Jrue Holiday, the Celtics looked poised for a third straight 50-plus win season. Nothing has changed now that the Eastern teams are formed. THE addition by Kristaps Porzingis should pay dividends for Boston if he stays healthy.
In Milwaukee, the idea of a Damian Lillard-Giannis Antetokounmpo pick-and-roll combo seems downright scary. But the Bucks could slip a bit defensively.
The James Harden situation in Philadelphia needs to be resolved as soon as possible with the rise of the young Cavaliers and Knicks. Meanwhile, Brooklyn’s culture reset, the return of a healthy Ben Simmons and the growth of Mikal Bridges should bring the Nets into the mix. Look for the Pacers, Raptors, Hornets and Bulls to also compete for spots in the AT&T Play-In tournament.
