Best Team/Worst Team Prediction: Atlantic Division
The Atlantic Division is pretty interesting considering it has two of the Eastern Conference's best teams (Boston and Toronto) and some of the worst (Brooklyn and Philly). Lets take a look at who could end up being the best team, and worst team in this division.
BEST TEAM: Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are one of the most intriguing teams in the East. They have come a long way since trading away Pierce and KG, losing Doc Rivers, and hiring Brad Stevens. Their roster is looking slightly different from last season. Boston lost Jared Sullinger and Evan Turner to free agency over the Summer, and have added players like old friend Gerald Green, 3rd overall pick Jaylen Brown, and their biggest acquisition Al Horford. As a Celtics fan, I will not be missing Jared Sullinger at all if I'm being honest. He was a very good rebounder but other than that he was so aggravating to watch. Watching him shoot bricks from the three point line whiles he's wide open, getting absolutely toasted by other bigs he was trying to guard, and just watching his 6'8 260 lb (which Im shocked isn't closer to 300lbs) frame waddle around the court will not be missed. Evan Turner on the other hand, will be missed, even though his voice sounds like Meatwad from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. He was huge for the Celtics coming off the bench last season. His 10.5 ppg, 4.9 rebounds per game, 4.4 assists per game and his ability to handle the ball will be tough to replace. With that being said there were times when Evan Tuner was bad, and when he was like that it was pretty brutal. More often than not though, he was a reliable ball handler and a big impact off the bench. Adding Al horford to this team was huge and he is pretty much a perfect fit for this team. In terms of what his role will be he will most likely be taking the exact role Sullinger had last season. Last season, Sullinger was getting a ton of wide open jumpers and paint touches that he could not always capitalize on. Horford is better than Sullinger in literally every facet of the game, shooting, passing, defense and just as good on the boards. The pick and roll is huge in the Celtics offense which is perfect for how versatile Horford is. Being able to finish around the rim, having a good jumper, and being a great passer will make the IT/Horford pick and roll pure basketball porn. Drafting Jaylen Brown at #3 in the draft was a pick I was honestly shocked by and I really hated it at first. Seeing how he has little to no jump shot at this point really worried me knowing the Celtics needed shooting. Since then, I have completely changed my mind about this kid. He is a freak athlete and seems to be an unbelievable competitor.
In the pre-season game against Charlotte we saw that Brown is crazy aggressive. Always good to see a rookie not shying away from contact and knowing the team didn't draft a softy. Brown will hopefully be a big help off the bench along with Terry Rozier who has improved a lot. If you add him on Snapchat (trozzay3) I'm sure you'll jump on the bandwagon just like I have. Having to watch Kelly "T-Rex Arms" Olynyk and Tyler Zeller come off the bench will probably giv me a near hear attack every time but I guess we will see how that works out.
The Celtics defense is another huge part of their success and that definitely did not take a hit with the subtractions of Turner and Sullinger. Avery Bradley was 1st Team All-Defense and Marcus Smart is one of the best/most aggressive defensive players you'll find in the league right now. The C's were a top 5 team in the NBA last season in terms of Defensive Rating. Being able to set the ton and control the pace of the game with their defense is going to be huge. Having a coach who is arguably one of the 3 best in the league in Brad Stevens doesn't hurt either. Stevens is a great young coach and honestly should be considered for President of the United States. Whether its drawing up plays out of timeouts, making in game adjustments, or getting the best out of his players, Stevens constantly has an impact on the teams success. For anyone who doesn't see him as a great coach keep this in mind; he has improved the Celtics winning % every year since he started, he turned Jordan Crawford into a decent NBA player for about a year and a half, and he turned Evan Turner into a guy who is now going to be making over $16 million this year in Portland. With the combination of Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Jar Crowder, etc. consistently improving, and Brad Stevens being a genius on the sidelines, look for the Boston Celtics to be the top team in the Atlantic this year.
WORST TEAM: Philadelphia 76ers
Trying to figure out if Brooklyn or Philly will be worse was actually a very tough decision. I ended up picking Philly to be worse just because of the fact that this roster really makes zero sense. Having Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel, and Jahlil Okafor is absolutely bizarre to me. This team has very little shooting so it should be easy for other teams to double these bigs on the block without getting burned by wide open jumpers. Not only is there no need to have those bigs all on the same team, but Okafor and Nerlens visibly hate being there. Noel has been indirectly saying he wants out for a couple months now. I have never seen someone so disinterested in being on an NBA team than Jahlil Okafor when he was first introduced after being drafted.
The guards on this 76ers team are barely passable for NBA worthy players. Jerryd Bayless and Gerald Henderson should help them out with some veteran leadership but other than that their guards are honestly trash. TJ McConnell couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat, pretty much a very poor man's Jason Williams. Sergio Rodriguez is about to start his second stint in the NBA after going back to Europe. He is great for the Spanish National Team but if he couldn't hack it in the league when he was younger its tough to see him doing it now. While Nik Stauskas has an elite nickname, Sauce Castillo, he is no where near being a decent NBA player. He can't guard anyone and his shooting has failed to translate from college to the NBA. Dario Saric could end up being a good player but I can't really take him seriously considering he looks like Shia LeBeouf if he was slightly less greasy. Joel Embiid is finally playing and he actually does look like he could end up being a monster. If he was as great on the court as he is on Twitter this guy could end up being a HOFer. Twitter game on 100,000 with that guy. Ben Simmons breaking his foot is a bad hit for the Sixers and it could be even worse if they tell him to fake more injuries so they can tank like I'm pretty sure they did with Embiid. If the front office wants fans to really get into this team they should 100% bring in Gilbert Arenas. Another guy who is absolute fire on social media (snapchat: NoChillGil) and might be even better on Instagram. Just lead the league in having absolutely zero chill with Agent Zero and Joel Embiid and then go 82-0, that ones free.