Schmeelk: A Look At How NBA's Eastern Conference Is Shaping Up
By John Schmeelk
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With the Knicks trading Robin Lopez and Jerian Grant and their three highest-paid players under long-term contracts being over 30 years old, the team has one mission: win as many games as possible.
Winning 44 games and getting the seventh or eighth seed isn't enough. The Knicks need to be at minimum a top four seed in the Eastern Conference if the season is to be considered a success. Preferably, they would finish second or third to avoid the Cavaliers until the Eastern Conference finals.
Here is their competition, with their records from last year:
Cleveland Cavaliers, 57 wins, NBA champions
There isn't much the Cavs lost that would make you think they are going to be any worse in 2016, spare unexpected injuries. They should once again approach 60 wins and be the class of the Eastern Conference.
Toronto Raptors, 56 wins, lost to the Cavs in Eastern Conference finals
Much like Cleveland, Toronto brings back the core of its roster with the return of DeMar DeRozan. The Raptors should once again be in the neighborhood of 53 to 55 wins barring any unforeseen issues.
Miami Heat, 48 wins
The Heat are going to struggle this year with the losses of Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng and the undetermined future of Chris Bosh. They won't be a playoff team.
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Atlanta Hawks, 48 wins
The Hawks lost their point guard, Jeff Teague, and their center, Al Horford. Dwight Howard replaces Horford, and Dennis Schroder will take over as starting point guard. Jarrett Jack will back him up. The Hawks will take a step back, but should still be a playoff team.
Boston Celtics, 48 wins
The Celtics are a young, up-and-coming team, and they added Horford. They also added a bunch of draft picks, and their young players on the roster have another season to get better. Evan Turner moved on, but it shouldn't be a game changer. There's no reason to think Boston shouldn't be even better next year and finish with 50 to 55 wins.
Charlotte Hornets, 48 wins
The Hornets had three significant roster losses this offseason, with Al Jefferson, Courtney Lee and Jeremy Lin all parting ways. They brought back Nicolas Batum and Marvin Williams and signed Roy Hibbert, Ramon Sessions and Brian Roberts. It will be a different team, but they should still be in the playoffs.
Indiana Pacers, 45 wins
The Pacers have a ton of potential variance in their record this season. They have a new head coach and a new point guard with Teague replacing George Hill, Al Jefferson is moving into the center spot, and Thaddeus Young will be playing power forward. With Paul George as one of the best wings in the league, the Pacers will be much better, especially offensively. They should be in the mix for a three, four or five seed.
Detroit Pistons, 44 wins
The Pistons made progress last year under coach Stan Van Gundy and snuck into the playoffs. They wisely re-signed Andre Drummond and brought in Ish Smith. The Pistons' improvement will come from Tobias Harris being on the roster for a full season, improvement from Stanley Johnson and Marcus Morris, and the impact of rookie Henry Ellenson. This team should once again compete for a playoff spot.
Chicago Bulls, 42 wins
The Bulls are a whole new team under coach Fred Hoiberg. They lost Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah and added Dwyane Wade, Jerian Grant, Robin Lopez and Rajon Rondo. They will play with Doug McDermott, Taj Gibson, Nikola Mirotic, Bobby Portis, Tony Snell and the team's star, Jimmy Butler. The Bulls' defense, aside from Butler and Lopez, is going to be a disaster, and there might not be enough basketballs to go around for Rondo, Wade and Butler. They should be between 40 to 45 wins.
Washington Wizards, 41 wins
The Wizards underachieved last year, and they didn't make any extremely significant additions. Bradley Beal was re-signed, they traded for Trey Burke, they signed Ian Mahinmi, and they haven't resigned Nene. If Beal is healthy and plays better, the Wizards can be over .500.
Orlando Magic, 35 wins
The Magic transformed their roster this offseason, trading for Serge Ibaka, re-signing Evan Fournier and bringing in Jeff Green, Bismack Biyombo and D.J. Augustin. Pairing Ibaka and Biyombo with Nikola Vucevic is interesting, and the combination of Fournier, Augustin and second-year player Mario Hezonja is intriguing. The Magic could be a lot better, or they could crash and burn.
Milwaukee Bucks, 33 wins
The Bucks fell apart last year after a surprising playoff run the year prior. They have an interesting mix of young players with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Michael Carter-Williams, Khris Middleton, and Jabari Parker. Like the Magic, the Bucks are a wild card, but odds are they won't be able to do enough to get into the playoffs.
The Nets and Sixers are still a long way off from being playoff contenders.
There are 12 teams in the Eastern Conference that probably think they have a chance at making the playoffs -- everyone except the Nets, Sixers and Heat.
There are probably seven or maybe eight teams that think they have a chance of hosting a playoff series: Cavs, Raptors, Knicks, Celtics, Hawks, Pacers, Hornets and Hawks.
In other words, the Knicks are going to have their work cut out for them. If they want to host a playoff series, they'll probably have to get to 50 wins. If they want to get the second or third seed, they will have to get to 52 or 53 wins. If Rose and Noah are healthy, it's possible, but it won't be easy.
There's a chance this Knicks team comes in at 47 wins, gets the sixth or seven seed and is taken out of the playoffs in five games in the first round. With a team designed to win now with no real long-term assets other than Kristaps Porzingis, that would be a real failure. It also might not be enough to entice Russell Westbrook to come to town next offseason.
This is the position Phil Jackson has put himself and the franchise into. Now it's just a matter of waiting until late October to see how the team looks.
For all things Knicks, please follow John on Twitter at @Schmeelk
