After a busy off-season of high-profile moves, a massive TV deal with big implications, and one of the deepest draft classes in recent memory, unlike Hedo Turkoglu the NBA is in its best shape in years.
Whether the goal is reaching the playoffs or hitting the jackpot at the lottery, a look around the league will show that most teams have a lot to be optimistic about. And then there’s the Pacers. So as the season finally draws near here’s a look at where all 30 teams sit heading into opening night. Next up, those with lottery tickets in hand in the Eastern Conference.
Check out parts one and two of the Western Conference preview.
(In reverse order of projected finish)
15. Philadelphia 76ers
The Deal: One of the most honest and effective tank jobs in recent memory, this could very well go down as the worst team in NBA history.
Ask An Optimist: Usually it’s hard to ask a fan base to be this patient, but with Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel and, hopefully, a top-three pick in 2015, Sixers fans are intrigued enough to tolerate another abomination this season.
Ask A Pessimist: Too easy. Next.
Will Only Go As Far As _____ Takes Them: Nerlens Noel. Not that this team wants to win, but there’s a possibility Noel is just as good as we thought he was before his injury.
Don’t Sleep On: Tony Wroten, a budding star… on the YouTube Summer Mix circuit.
Song That Will Define Their Season: “The Waiting (Is the Hardest Part) by Tom Petty. Especially when you have no idea if it will actually be worthwhile in the long run.
Relevant YouTube clip: We know now that this was on tape-delay, thus the reaction. But that doesn’t mean we can’t pretend otherwise:
14. Boston Celtics
The Deal: It’s a full-blown rebuild in Boston, where a lack of star talent and an impending Rajon Rondo trade won’t exactly result in a winning campaign.
Ask An Optimist: Not only can the Celts start building around pieces like Marcus Smart, Jared Sullinger and James Young, but Rondo is terrific trade bait for even more assets.
Ask A Pessimist: Who’s scoring here? And who’s protecting the paint? And who’s taking over games down the stretch? And who’s… well, you get the idea. This just isn’t a good basketball team right now.
Will Only Go As Far As _____ Takes Them: Kelly Olynyk, the second-year centre who will have every opportunity to play his way into a major role in the Celtics’ future.
Don’t Sleep On: James Young, who helped lead Kentucky to the NCAA championship game this past March, and should be a surprising contributor as a rookie.
Song That Will Define Their Season: “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” by Neil Young. Look, Rondo is being moved. It just makes sense for all parties. So if they haven’t already, Boston fans need to fall out of love with their star player—for their own sake.
Relevant YouTube clip: So what if he can’t shoot yet? As we saw during his preseason matchup against Kyle Lowry, Marcus Smart will not be intimidated.
13. Indiana Pacers
The Deal: Everything changed when Paul George broke his leg in an exhibition game earlier this summer. Having relied so heavily on one player, the Pacers will spend their season trying to recover from the proverbial gut punch.
Ask An Optimist: Larry Bird can trade overpriced George Hill and Roy Hibbert for upgrades and secure a lottery pick along the way, just in time for George’s recovery. 2015 can’t come fast enough.
Ask A Pessimist: Doomsday scenario: In the east, a David West/Hill/Hibbert trio is good enough to stay out of the basement and playoffs.
Will Only Go As Far As _____ Takes Them: Rodney Stuckey. That really tells you everything you need to know about the 2014-15 Indiana Pacers.
Don’t Sleep On: Chris Copeland. While he was an absolute disappointment after signing with Indiana last season, the former Knicks’ standout reserve will have an opportunity in place of George.
Song That Will Define Their Season: “Muse Blues” by Loudon Wainwright III. “I’m a dud firecracker, I ain’t got any fuse/I ain’t got no inspiration since I lost my muse/ I’m a table with two legs, a spider with five/I’m going down slow, Muse when will you rise. Oh Muse where are you?”
Might as well be the lost souls of Pacers Nation singing there.
Relevant YouTube clip: Get well soon.
12. Milwaukee Bucks
The Deal: A team (slowly) on the rise, sure, but the fact they need to give their youngest players heavy minutes doesn’t bode well for this season’s win total.
Ask An Optimist: It’s easy to see the big picture here, and the promise of the Jabari Parker era (easily the most anticipated player in Milwuakee since Ray Allen) along with the who-knows-how-high ceiling of the Greek Freak will be enough to gleefully ignore another teaching season.
Ask A Pessimist: Remember, outside of the addition of Parker—who will score as a rookie but offer little else—this is more or less the same team that just won fifteen games. Fifteen.
Will Only Go As Far As _____ Takes Them: Brandon Knight. He showed enough flashes last season to remind us why he was one of the most anticipated players of his draft class. Another year of improvement could turn him into one of the league’s better-kept secrets.
Don’t Sleep On: Khris Middleton, who can play both forward positions and puts up big numbers when called upon.
Song That Will Define Their Season: “Little Guitars” by Van Halen. “Can’t crow before I’m outta the woods, but there’s exceptions to that rule.” It’s hard to be down on your team when there’s a solid plan to escape the woods (or the NBA’s basement).
Relevant YouTube clip: Giannis has to be the NBA’s most likeable player, right?
11.Orlando Magic
The Deal: Still in the early stages of a rebuild, the Magic will get some much-needed experience for a promising group of prospects.
Ask An Optimist: There are some great pieces here—Nik Vucevic, Elfrid Payton, Victor Oladipo, Aaron Gordon, Andrew Nicholson, Tobias Harris… I can work with that.
Ask A Pessimist: For all their promise, there still isn’t a potential franchise player in that group.
Will Only Go As Far As _____ Takes Them: Payton. The rookie point guard will be given the keys from day one. And while he has all the tools to make an impact on both ends right away, the NBA is a far cry from the NCAA’s Sun Belt Conference.
Don’t Sleep On: Channing Frye. He took his talents to central Florida, where the Magic hope he has as (surprisingly) big an impact on Orlando’s offence as he did on Phoenix’s last year.
Song that will define their season: “I’ll Wait” by Van Halen . It’s a VH double-shot!
Relevant YouTube Clip: It has begun:
10. Brooklyn Nets
The Deal: Despite a collective core headed on a downward trajectory, any team with all star-calibre talent will get its fair share of wins in the east. But first they have to stay on the court.
Ask An Optimist: Were you watching the playoffs last season? Joe Johnson and Deron Williams can’t be stopped! Plus, Brook Lopez is back!
Ask A Pessimist: Losing Paul Pierce hurts the Nets’ mojo, and the corpse of Kevin Garnett will be a season-long buzzkill.
Will Only Go As Far As _____ Takes Them: Williams. We all know what the once-all-NBA point guard can bring, but it comes down to health and consistency at this point.
Don’t Sleep On: Mason Plumlee. The inevitable major lower-body injury Lopez suffers should open the door for Plumlee to build off his Team USA experience.
Song That Will Define Their Season: “Y’all Don’t Know Me” by MC Mikail. Two years later, Brooklyn’s big-talking owner (and part-time rapper) just doesn’t quite have the same cred, does he?
Relevant YouTube clip: Sorry, Nets fans, you won’t be seeing many of these:
9. Detroit Pistons
The Deal: While it’s easy to think that this very talented squad could turn it around after narrowly missing the playoffs last year, the competition in the east got better around them while they stayed the same.
Ask An Optimist: Yeah, but Stan Van Gundy is a very good coach who once found a way to turn Hedo Turkoglu into a near-Finals MVP. So you may want to finally re-buy that Josh Smith stock you dumped two seasons ago.
Ask A Pessimist: If this team is successful it will take one of Smith or Brandon Jennings returning to all-star form, so…
Will Only Go As Far As _____ Takes Them: Andre Drummond. This could have easily gone to Jennings, in the most important year of his career, but Drummond has the makings of a franchise-altering force down low. Whether he realizes that potential in year three is another thing.
Don’t Sleep On: DJ Augustin. After flaming out with the Raptors to start 2013-14, the former lottery pick turned in a very strong campaign, scoring in bunches for the Bulls. He’ll get his shots this season, too.
Song That Will Define Their Season: “Sitting In Limbo” by Jimmy Cliff. SVG or no, this team seems stuck in neutral, though maybe not for long.
Relevant YouTube clip: This helps to pass the time.
