2024-2025 NBA preview Part 1

We will start with what I believe to be the best division in the Eastern Conference. The Atlantic division. I understand that probably nobody, including myself, really knows the teams associated with each of the divisions and I’m not really sure why the NBA still has them, since they serve no real importance, but nonetheless it serves as an easy way to break up these teams.

The Atlantic Division includes:

Boston Celtics

New York Knicks

Philadelphia 76ers

Brooklyn Nets

Toronto Raptors

Below I will preview what the roster looks like currently, and note any important additions or subtractions that have taken place this offseason and add my thoughts on what I think the best and worst case scenario is of each team. 

Boston Celtics 

PG Jrue Holiday | Payton Pritchard | JD Davidson

SG Derrick White | Baylor Scheierman | Jaden Springer |

SF Jaylen Brown | Sam Hauser | Lonnie Walker 

PF Jayson Tatum | Xavier Tillman | Jordan Walsh 

C Kristaps Porzingis | Al Horford | Luke Kornet | Neemias Queta 

The deepest roster in the NBA was able to get a fantastic signing this offseason in Lonnie Walker. Obviously, the Celtics were able to keep the important pieces together, but signing Walker was the only addition through free agency. This team is poised for a repeat this upcoming year. There two stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown both felt disrespected about how their summers went with Team USA. Head coach Joe Mazzulla has shown his growth as a leader and communicating to his team this past year. They are my early pick to come out of the east because it still feels like there’s another level they can reach on offense. The main criticism of the team last season was their crunch time offense, something that they seemed to struggle with. Overall, I feel Mazzulla has learned how to correct this and it’ll be something they can sort out. They also need to see a jump taken from guys in the second unit. Kristaps Porzingis will miss the first part of the season with an injury to his ankle. It’s important that the Celtics get off to a great start if they want to contend for the number 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.  The obvious ceiling for them is another championship this upcoming year. 

New York Knicks 

PG Jalen Brunson | Miles McBride | Cam Panye 

SG OG Anunoby | Donte DiVincenzo | Tyer Kolek 

SF Mikal Bridges | Pacome Dadiet | Keita Bates-Diop 

PF Julius Randle | Josh Hart | Ariel Hukporti 

C Michell Robinson | Precious Achiuwa | Jericho Sims 

The Knicks have the depth to match up with the Celtics and are what I believe to be the best team to challenge them in the Eastern Conference. I don't necessarily think they need stars to line up either to beat them. They’ll have one of the best starting 5s in the NBA and have a level of chemistry that I don't worry about when teams make a huge trade. However, the Julius Randle factor is something that does worry me a little bit. He played well next to Brunson last year, but how will he feel playing one essentially with an expiring contract next year. Re-signing Anunoby was a priority and Jalen Brunson taking a 113 million pay cut to keep Mikal Bridges around long term and give the Knicks financial flexibility in the apron era helped the Knicks have a terrific offseason. They have depth now so they’ll have the ability to absorb an injury should one arise and now have the flexibility to spread minutes in order to keep guys fresh. Along with that, they also drafted a NBA ready point guard in Tyler Kolek and a long term project in Pacome Dadiet. Losing Isaiah Hartenstein was a big loss for the Knicks. An injury from Mitchell Robinson could result in some funky lineups where Julius Randle could be playing the 5, but if there's a team that can figure it out, it's the Knicks. I’d be surprised barring injuries if they aren’t a top 2 seed and in the Eastern Conference Finals come playoff time with how deep the roster is. 

Philadelphia 76ers 

PG Tyrese Maxey | Kyle Lowry | Reggie Jackson 

SG Kelly Oubre | Eric Gordon | Ricky Council 

SF Paul George | Jared McCain | Justin Edwards 

PF Caleb Martin | KJ Martin | Guerschon Yabusele 

C Joel Embiid | Andre Drummond | Adem Bona 

The 76ers signed the biggest free agent this offseason in Paul George along with adding some defense on the perimeter in Caleb Martin. Tyrese Maxey, Kyle Lowry, KJ Martin, and Kelly Oubre were all re-signed this offseason. Along with adding Reggie Jackson, Eric Gordon, Andre Drummond, and Guerschon Yabusele to cost effective deals. The biggest issue I have with the 76ers is health and perimeter defense. On paper they look very good. George provides spacing for Embiid and Maxey along with much needed wing defense. The second unit is a little shaky, but hopefully rookie Jared McCain will provide some type of energy to an older lineup. Andre Drummond will be a good backup option for Embiid. Another year under Nick Nurse will also help the roster as they get comfortable with his defensive tactics and see how he handles spreading the ball around between Maxey, Embiid, and George. Ultimately it’ll come down to health. Recent years have suggested that Embiid and George have not been great with availability in the playoffs, something the 76ers are counting on this year. It is also put up or shut up time for both guys too after having below average playoffs relative to their regular season and star status amongst the league. I think they have the capability to make it to the Conference Finals and beyond, but until I see the health of the roster throughout the year I’m comfortable putting them behind the Knicks. 

Brooklyn Nets 

PG Dennis Schroeder | Ben Simmons | Shake Milton | Killian Hayes 

SG Cam Thomas | Bojan Bogdanovic | Dariq Whitehead 

SF Dorian Finney-Smith | Jalen Wilson | Koen Johnson 

PF Cam Johnson | Trendon Watford | Zaire Williams 

C Nic Claxton | Day'Ron Sharpe | Noah Clowney 

The Brooklyn Nets are amongst the worst collection of rosters in the league currently. They traded away Mikal Bridges in order to build their draft capital and are trying to win the lottery this year with a loaded draft class ready to enter the NBA. Ultimately, the only question is, what players get traded? Dorian Finney-Smith and Cam Johnson are obvious candidates early on. Ben Simmons exists I think. He’s on the roster, but it’ll be interesting how much he plays this year after getting shut down last year with another back injury. The development of Cam Thomas will be something to monitor this year. He’s one of their best young pieces, but as they get more into the year the Nets will be able to test out what young talent they feel meets the criteria to pair with whatever prospect they get in the 2025 NBA draft. I feel comfortable saying the Nets will not make the postseason and will be picking in the top 6 of the NBA draft barring some crazy lottery changes. 

Toronto Raptors 

PG Immanuel Quickley | Davion Mitchell | Jamal Shead 

SG RJ Barrett | Bruce Brown | Garrett Temple | Ochai Agbaji 

SF Scottie Barnes | Gradey Dick | Ja’Kobe Walter 

PF Kelly Olynyk | Jonathan Mogbo 

C Jakob Poeltl | Chris Boucher | Bruno Fernando 

The Toronto Raptors are intriguing. They have a young collection of players they feel fit their timeline for both being competitive now and something they can win with long term. They signaled this offseason that Immanuel Quickley is a point guard they feel can take control of the reins of a team right now with the 5 year 175 million dollar contract they gave him. Scottie Barnes is also now the face of the franchise. He’s their best player and one of the best young players in the league under 23 years of age currently. He’s coming off an All-star appearance this past year and will look to improve his shooting and playmaking this year. RJ Barrett is someone else who will look to improve on the season he had last year after being traded from the New York Knicks in the OG Anunoby deal. Immanuel Quickley was also part of that deal as well. As of now I think the Raptors can sneak into the 8th seed if everything goes well. It’ll be interesting to see if they keep Bruce Brown throughout the whole year as he’s on an expiring contract, but he’s a prime trade candidate right now for them. The Raptors getting into the postseason would obviously be good, but maybe another year in the lottery could help build talent around Barnes, Quickley, and Barrett, but it looks to be an interesting year north of the border.