With the new NBA season approaching, this offseason has already produced a string of blockbuster trades, and the league’s balance of power has shifted quite a bit as a result. Going forward, this site will preview the league division by division — starting with the Atlantic Division, home of the defending champions.
New York Knicks: a stable roster, still the biggest favorite to repeat
The Knicks kept most of their title-winning core intact, and the group led by Brunson, Towns and Bridges has already proven it can win it all — strong at both ends, with dominant stretches shown in both the playoffs and the Finals. Mitchell Robinson is gone this season, replaced by Andre Drummond, but the overall roster strength remains high. As long as they avoid a major injury this season, I still see them as the favorite to repeat — a 50-win-caliber team — and with the Celtics undergoing a major overhaul, the Knicks look like clear favorites to top the division too.
Boston Celtics: a total roster shake-up, betting on the future
The Celtics pulled off a blockbuster trade with division rival the 76ers this offseason, sending out former Finals MVP Jaylen Brown for Paul George. A lot of people see this as a loss for Boston — in terms of what he can deliver right now, an aging Paul George clearly isn’t on Jaylen Brown’s level. But considering Brown basically carried the team to a 50-plus-win season on his own last year, pairing a healthy Jayson Tatum with Paul George this season actually looks like a net upgrade on paper. The trade also freed up cap space, which gives the front office more flexibility going forward — so this looks more like a move setting up the next few seasons than a pure win-now play. I don’t think the Celtics are top-tier title favorites this season, but I’d still call them a 45-plus-win-caliber playoff team.
Philadelphia 76ers: the Big Four is assembled, but injuries remain the biggest variable
The 76ers are probably the most exciting team to watch this season — not only did they upgrade from Paul George to Jaylen Brown, they also signed an ageless LeBron James, pairing him with All-Star Maxey and former MVP Embiid. On paper, this roster is about as star-studded as it gets anywhere in the league. I’ve already written a dedicated breakdown of this team, so I’ll just say this briefly here: their biggest issue is still injuries — LeBron is getting up there in age, Embiid has been plagued by injuries in recent years and hasn’t looked like his peak self, and the bench lacks a real answer at center. They do have the fewest back-to-backs in the league next season, but whether these two can hold up for a full campaign is still an open question. That’s why I’m fairly conservative about their regular-season record — I expect a lot of load management to just clear the 40-to-50-win bar and lock up a playoff spot, then push hard in the postseason. Health permitting, they’re absolutely one of the biggest title favorites.
Brooklyn Nets: still rebuilding, betting on rookie upside
The Nets did land former All-Star power forward Julius Randle in a four-team trade, but it’s already well established that Randle carrying a team on his own doesn’t translate to wins. So this season the Nets probably won’t care much about the record — the focus will be on developing young talent. They took Mikel Brown Jr., a high-risk, high-reward prospect, with the 6th overall pick, and expect to hand him heavy usage this season to let him learn on the job. The win total won’t be pretty — somewhere in the 15-to-25 range — as they set their sights on next year’s lottery instead.
Toronto Raptors: a stalled trade leaves the whole outlook up in the air
Honestly, this preview should have been finished a while ago, but the Raptors kept holding it up. Their deal to bring back Kawhi Leonard got put on ice by the league over concerns about a possible side deal, leaving their roster for the new season completely unresolved — which makes them essentially impossible to project. Nothing concrete has leaked so far, but the trade also hasn’t been approved, so here’s how it looks under both scenarios:
Without Kawhi Leonard, things are simpler — Toronto’s overall roster strength looks about the same as last season. Their core players should improve individually, but that’s not the same tier of upgrade other Eastern Conference teams have made this summer, so I’d project around 40 wins, hovering somewhere between the play-in and the playoff bubble.
But if Kawhi Leonard does return, the frontcourt pairing of him and Raptors’ new franchise cornerstone Scottie Barnes could be one of the best defensive frontcourts in the league — a former Defensive Player of the Year next to a current All-Defensive Second Team member is the stuff of nightmares for opposing offenses, and both of them can score at an elite level too, not just defend. If that trade actually goes through, it’s enough to instantly bump the Raptors up into the top-four, title-contending tier of the East.
My take: the most competitive division in the league, but the Knicks still look like the favorites
Taken together, the Atlantic looks like it could be the most competitive division in the league this season, with a real shot at sweeping the East’s top four spots. Assuming no major injuries, and given that both the 76ers and the Raptors (if the trade goes through) are likely to hold back and save themselves for the playoffs, I still think the Knicks are the most likely team to finish atop the division with the best record.