Eastern Conference Team Preview - 2022-2023 Season

gyso wrote:How good are the Toronto Raptors?

https://www.celticsblog.com/2022/9/8/23338543/how-good-are-the-toronto-raptors-nba-preview

Previewing the NBA Eastern Conference with a staff roundtable on the Raps

By Jeff Clark  Sep 8, 2022, 11:00am EDT




How good are the Toronto Raptors? Did they get better this offseason? Where do you expect them to finish in the Eastern Conference?

Added: Otto Porter Jr., Juancho Hernangomez

Lost: None

Daniel Poarch

At this point, you can pretty much carve your expectations in stone for these Nick Nurse Raptors teams. They’re gonna be versatile, they’re gonna be tough and they’re gonna defend like maniacs. The Pascal Siakam-Fred VanVleet duo should continue to perform at an All-Star level, and the rotation is deep with useful NBA players. The key, though, is Scottie Barnes, and while the uber-talented 21-year-old impressed in his rookie season and has an undeniably terrific ceiling, I’m not sure he’s quite ready to assume the mantle of “#1 star on a contender” in just his second season. The Raptors are going to be an extremely difficult out, as always, but I think they’re one more season away from truly returning to Conference Finals contention.

Adam Spinella

The Raptors don’t have one of the five most talented teams in the East. But what they have is a top-tier coach, an overwhelming amount of length and a young star in Scottie Barnes who can take the next leap. Their wings are tailor-made to suffocate elite scoring wings (like in Boston), and they’ll be a strong regular season team due to their propensity to play in the open floor. We have questions about half-court production to win a playoff series, but the Raps should be a top-6 team in the East once again. Top-4 is realistic for them if Barnes quickly takes another step.

Jack Simone

Toronto should be riding the line of Play-In team vs. playoff team, but not because of their talent. If anything, they are one of the more underrated teams in the East. They didn’t do too much to improve externally, but the internal improvements will be there. I expect them to finish as a top-six team, but rapid growth from the Cavs, Bulls, or Hawks could displace that.

Jeff Pratt

You can pencil the Raptors into a play-in spot at the very least this year. All Nick Nurse does is win, and while he may be the most aggravating coach in the league to face off against, he gets results. Toronto didn’t make a ton of moves this offseason, but they did get slightly better, stealing Otto Porter from the defending champs. A large part of the Raptors’ success this season will be determined by the Year 2 leap Scottie Barnes makes. If he maintains his production from last season, Toronto will still be a tough matchup. If he takes the next step, things could start to get scary up North.

Jeff Clark

It all depends on how fast Scottie Barnes develops. Can he be a true number 1 in Toronto? That would vault them a level higher this season because they have a ton of high end rotation guys that any team would be happy to have on their squad. They have length and defense and very few holes. I still see a limited upside for this season, but they also have a high floor.

Your turn. Are the Raptors good?

Raptors will never be short on long athletic players in the 6' 7" to 6' 9" category. Here is an amazing fact. The Raptor have 12 players that fall into that length category and they drafted Koloka, one of my favorite 2nd round players and a 7 foot center with a huge wingspan. He went at #33. Given our long term needs at center, Koloka is the type of player that the Celtics should have traded up to get. The Raptors are a good defensive team that got better and could conceivably length you to death. They still do not have an impressive PG. They also signed Otto Porter to a 1+1 deal slightly below what the Celtics gave to Gallinari. I am going to give them a C because they did add a much needed center, albeit a rookie but they have not addressed their PG situation.

gyso wrote:How good are the Chicago Bulls?

https://www.celticsblog.com/2022/9/8/23338541/how-good-are-the-chicago-bulls-nba-preview

Previewing the NBA Eastern Conference with a staff roundtable on the Bulls

By Jeff Clark  Sep 8, 2022, 1:00pm EDT




How good are the Chicago Bulls? Did they get better this offseason? Where do you expect them to finish in the Eastern Conference?

Added: Goran Dragić, Andre Drummond

Lost: F Troy Brown Jr.

Daniel Poarch

I’m sorry, but I just can’t get there with this Bulls team. Last season’s collapse was too dramatic, and there are too many lingering questions without obvious answers for me to feel particularly good about their chances at contention. There’s little to like on the defensive end of the floor for this roster, and that’s without considering the nebulous Lonzo Ball injury saga that remains incredibly unclear. A fully healthy Zach LaVine will help, but by and large, I’m not sure this Bulls team as presently constructed will be making it out of the first round of the playoffs.

Adam Spinella

I’ll be in the minority, but I really like this Chicago Bulls team. I’m optimistic about Patrick Williams taking a big leap this year, adding another scoring option for the Bulls. With DeRozan, LaVine, Pat Will and Vooch, there are plenty of offensive-minded pieces to keep the offense top-tier. Their role players all buy into what they’ll be asked to do and provide quality defense: Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, Ayo Dosunmu, and Dalen Terry. They’re a tad thin up front, but 42-45 wins again feels really attainable.

Jack Simone

This one is so tough, because the Bulls need to be lumped in with the Cavs and Hawks. They’re good teams, and they have the talent to be playoff teams, but they aren’t as good as the top teams in the East. Andre Drummond was an underrated signing, and they managed to bring back Zach LaVine, but barring a Lonzo Ball breakout year, this is probably a mid-tier team fighting to avoid the Play-In.

Jeff Pratt

I wasn’t a Bulls believer throughout the entirety of last season and that isn’t changing now. DeMar DeRozan found new life in Chicago last year, and I enjoyed watching him succeed, but the rest of the roster underwhelmed. Zach LaVine’s health is a major question mark for me, along with the obvious injury concern in Lonzo Ball. Who knows when he’ll return to the lineup, and if he can even stay healthy when he does? Patrick Williams hasn’t really impressed me, and Nikola Vucevic just doesn’t seem like a good fit in this squad. I expect the Bulls to make the play-in, but miss out on the actual playoffs this year.

Jeff Clark

The Bulls were the feel-good story of the year in the first half of last season. Then they had a built in injury excuse for why they faltered in the 2nd half. So do you buy the chemistry of the fully healthy version of this team? Or do you see a team that needs everything to go right in order to be a contender? I lean more to the later and I think they were overachieving early in the season. With that said, there are some good pieces here and they shouldn’t be a lottery team. But with the glut of good teams in the East, I think they’ll be solidly in the play-in range.

Your turn. Are the Bulls good?

Bulls had a few too many injuries that knocked them down to size. However they still have problems on the defensive side of the court. No defense Levine signed a huge contract and the Bulls managed to sign all defensive center Drummond. Really? The Bulls drafted at #18, a defensive minded 6' 7" wing out of Arizona named Dalen Terry so at least they are attempting to sure up their defense. They also signed Dragic to a 1 year deal for $2.9 million. This team has a lot of talent but not in their front line. C+

gyso wrote:How good are the Chicago Bulls?

https://www.celticsblog.com/2022/9/8/23338541/how-good-are-the-chicago-bulls-nba-preview

Previewing the NBA Eastern Conference with a staff roundtable on the Bulls

By Jeff Clark  Sep 8, 2022, 1:00pm EDT




How good are the Chicago Bulls? Did they get better this offseason? Where do you expect them to finish in the Eastern Conference?

Added: Goran Dragić, Andre Drummond

Lost: F Troy Brown Jr.

Daniel Poarch

I’m sorry, but I just can’t get there with this Bulls team. Last season’s collapse was too dramatic, and there are too many lingering questions without obvious answers for me to feel particularly good about their chances at contention. There’s little to like on the defensive end of the floor for this roster, and that’s without considering the nebulous Lonzo Ball injury saga that remains incredibly unclear. A fully healthy Zach LaVine will help, but by and large, I’m not sure this Bulls team as presently constructed will be making it out of the first round of the playoffs.

Adam Spinella

I’ll be in the minority, but I really like this Chicago Bulls team. I’m optimistic about Patrick Williams taking a big leap this year, adding another scoring option for the Bulls. With DeRozan, LaVine, Pat Will and Vooch, there are plenty of offensive-minded pieces to keep the offense top-tier. Their role players all buy into what they’ll be asked to do and provide quality defense: Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, Ayo Dosunmu, and Dalen Terry. They’re a tad thin up front, but 42-45 wins again feels really attainable.

Jack Simone

This one is so tough, because the Bulls need to be lumped in with the Cavs and Hawks. They’re good teams, and they have the talent to be playoff teams, but they aren’t as good as the top teams in the East. Andre Drummond was an underrated signing, and they managed to bring back Zach LaVine, but barring a Lonzo Ball breakout year, this is probably a mid-tier team fighting to avoid the Play-In.

Jeff Pratt

I wasn’t a Bulls believer throughout the entirety of last season and that isn’t changing now. DeMar DeRozan found new life in Chicago last year, and I enjoyed watching him succeed, but the rest of the roster underwhelmed. Zach LaVine’s health is a major question mark for me, along with the obvious injury concern in Lonzo Ball. Who knows when he’ll return to the lineup, and if he can even stay healthy when he does? Patrick Williams hasn’t really impressed me, and Nikola Vucevic just doesn’t seem like a good fit in this squad. I expect the Bulls to make the play-in, but miss out on the actual playoffs this year.

Jeff Clark

The Bulls were the feel-good story of the year in the first half of last season. Then they had a built in injury excuse for why they faltered in the 2nd half. So do you buy the chemistry of the fully healthy version of this team? Or do you see a team that needs everything to go right in order to be a contender? I lean more to the later and I think they were overachieving early in the season. With that said, there are some good pieces here and they shouldn’t be a lottery team. But with the glut of good teams in the East, I think they’ll be solidly in the play-in range.

Your turn. Are the Bulls good?

Bulls had a few too many injuries that knocked them down to size. However they still have problems on the defensive side of the court. No defense Levine signed a huge contract and the Bulls managed to sign all defensive center Drummond. Really? The Bulls drafted at #18, a defensive minded 6' 7" wing out of Arizona named Dalen Terry so at least they are attempting to sure up their defense. They also signed Dragic to a 1 year deal for $2.9 million. This team has a lot of talent but not in their front line. C+