Looking at My '20-'21 Eastern Conference Standing Predictions

Atlanta Hawks

Prediction: 37-35 (8th Seed)

‘20-’21 Season: 41-31 (5th Seed)

I was 4 games off on the Atlanta Hawks, not bad. What I didn’t see coming was ATL making the Eastern Conference Finals. Kudos to coach Nate McMillan and star PG Trae Young for leading the way. Early in the season, I began to regret being somewhat high on the Hawks as they got off to a rough start under coach Lloyd Pierce (14-20). A 27-11 finish under McMillan and an 8-4 playoff record turned that regret into astonishment. Atlanta has more than outplayed my prediction. They’ve embarrassed it and shimmied around it.

Boston Celtics

Prediction: 45-27 (4th Seed)

‘20-’21 Season: 36-36 (7th Seed)

I was definitely too high on the Celtics this year. I liked their off-season additions with Tristan Thompson and Jeff Teague, and I didn’t see Kemba Walker being hampered all season long. I believed in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, rightfully so, leading the way despite losing Gordon Hayward for basically nothing. Though they still made the playoffs, I was 9 games off on my prediction and didn’t predict Danny Ainge stepping down and coach Brad Stevens changing positions in the organization. I could’ve predicted a Kemba trade, but not in the way it went down.

Brooklyn Nets

Prediction: 52-20 (1st Seed)

‘20-’21 Season: 48-24 (2nd Seed)

If you told me that Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving would play 35, 36, and 54 games, respectively, I would’ve predicted a much lower record. So I’ll say I’m proud of my prediction only being 4 games off here. Also, Harden wasn’t even on the team yet when I gave my prediction. The team still featured a deep roster when I predicted 52 wins. No more Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen, or Spencer Dinwiddie (injury), would have also tempered my expectations.

Charlotte Hornets

Prediction: 30-42 (11th Seed)

‘20-’21 Season: 33-39 (10th Seed)

It was a shockingly solid season for Charlotte. They would have likely been in the playoffs if it weren’t for injuries to Gordon Hayward and LaMelo Ball, particularly Hayward. Charlotte was 24-20 in games that Hayward played, making them a mere 9-19 in his 28-game absence. However, the phrase ‘injury risk’ was in big, bold lettering on Hayward’s warning label when they decided to hand him a huge contract in the off-season. For as impactful he can be when on the court, we’ll likely never see him at full strength for an extended period ever again.

Chicago Bulls

Prediction: 30-42 (12th Seed)

‘20-’21 Season: 31-41 (11th Seed)

This is a prediction I’m proud of but also disappointed in. I expected another rough season for the Bulls this year, and that’s what we saw. Unfortunately, Chicago made a push for a playoff appearance by trading for Nikola Vucevic during the trade deadline, but the deal didn’t change anything for the better. Chicago went 11-15 with Vucevic in the lineup. LaVine did miss some time during Vucevic’s stint, which disallowed them from building chemistry for a final playoff push. The two were 7-6 in games they played together, which isn’t a great sign for future success, but maybe they’d mesh better over time. They simply didn’t have enough time together to truly begin turning this franchise back around; maybe next season they’ll show us something different.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Prediction: 28-44 (12th Seed)

‘20-’21 Season: 22-50 (11th Seed)

The Cavs were worse than I thought they would be. Cleveland was 10-11 through its first 21 games, and looked primed to outplay expectations. They had a top 10 defense that covered up their bottom 5 offense. That quickly came to a halt as the Cavs went on a 10-game losing streak, with Andre Drummond’s time with the Cavs ending during the streak. Cleveland shelved the productive big man in hopes of finding a trade partner, which never materialized. Things continued to get ugly for Cleveland as they one-upped that 10-game losing streak with an 11-game losing streak late in the season.

Detroit Pistons

Prediction: 23-49 (14th Seed)

‘20-’21 Season: 20-52 (15th Seed)

I knew, just like everybody else knew, that the Pistons would be pretty bad this season. While Jerami Grant, Mason Plumlee, Saddiq Bey, and Isaiah Stewart were all bright spots for them, the season was still dim. Detroit was dead set on getting a high-lottery pick, and they hit the jackpot with the #1 pick. It was a rough season full of “can’t watch this team” games, but Detroit was prepared for this, so kudos to them for finding a few gems to stick with them in the future.

Indiana Pacers

Prediction: 35-37 (9th Seed)

‘20-’21 Season: 34-38 (9th Seed)

This prediction was just about spot on. I assumed the Pacers would finally fall out of the playoffs and that’s exactly what happened. T.J. Warren’s injury played a part in their downfall, but I blame the bulk of their issues on the coaching change. They moved on from Nate McMillan, who has coached his new team to the Eastern Conference Finals; and replaced him with first time Head Coach Nate Bjorkgren. Bjorkgren was fired after just one season with the team, leading them to their worst record since the 2014-2015 season. It should be an interesting off-season for a team that featured three 20-point scorers, two defenders who finished first and second in total steals and total blocks, respectively (T.J. McConnell led the league in total steals and Myles Turner was second in total blocks).

Miami Heat

Prediction: 42-30 (5th Seed)

‘20-’21 Season: 40-32 (6th Seed)

This prediction was fairly close, off by just two games and one spot on seeding. I saw the Heat regressing back to the middle of the Eastern Conference after their bubble run, but didn’t see them collapsing in the playoffs like they did. Miami struggled early with fatigue and injuries, and things didn’t look cohesive for the first month and a half of the season. After a poor start, Miami was finally able to climb above .500 in early March after they followed a 6-game winning streak with a 5-game winning streak (sandwiching a single loss). However, things didn’t look good until late in the season as the team continued to hover around that .500 mark through March and April. The Heat regressing was expected, though, and that’s what they did.

Milwaukee Bucks

Prediction: 52-20 (2nd Seed)

‘20-’21 Season: 46-26 (3rd Seed)

Coach Mike Budenholzer finally decided that dominating teams in the regular season doesn’t guarantee playoff success, especially if your team doesn’t make adjustments or face challenges throughout the year. The Bucks were 22-14 through their first 36 games, no longer resembling a team pressed to finish with the league’s best record. They were able to remain as one of the Eastern Conference’s elite by going 24-12 in the second half of the season, and also finishing top ten in offensive and defensive ratings. They’re now back in the Eastern Conference Finals and are heavy favorites to advance.

New York Knicks

Prediction: 21-51 (15th Seed)

‘20-’21 Season: 41-31 (4th Seed)

I was only off by 20 games on this prediction. The Knicks managed to make my prediction look bad while continuously proving me wrong throughout the season. Every few weeks, I found myself saying, “the Knicks are going to go on a losing streak and fall out of the playoff race”. Yet, that never happened, as the Knicks actually got better as the season wore down. Their longest losing streak was a 5-game streak that occurred in January. Outside of that, none of their losing streaks surpassed three games. Just when I thought, “it’s time for the Knicks to be the Knicks”, they went on a 9-game winning streak in late-April, which just about secured themselves a playoff spot. While their season didn’t end well, it was a great year for New York, the best they had since Mike Woodson filled the coach’s seat.

Orlando Magic

Prediction: 33-39 (10th Seed)

‘20-’21 Season: 21-51 (14th Seed)

While I thought the Magic would fall out of the playoff run, I didn’t see them blowing up like this. I remember early in the season, Orlando was looking like a playoff team again… then Markelle Fultz got injured and everything seemed to fall apart. Who would have thought that Fultz would be so important to a team’s success? After going 15-29 by the trade deadline, Orlando decided that enough was enough, and traded their three core players, Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, and Evan Fournier. They had a fire sale and went for the full-on tank job. Unfortunately for them, the Lottery didn’t do them any justice as they ended with the 5th overall pick despite having the third worst record in the league.

Philadelphia 76ers

Prediction: 47-25 (3rd Seed)

‘20-’21 Season: 49-23 (1st Seed)

I didn’t see Philly locking up the #1 seed in the East, but I was only two games off on their record prediction. The 76ers looked primed for a Conference Finals appearance, if not an NBA Finals appearance, after dominating the East in the regular season (31-11). However, their record against quality competition told us that they weren’t truly contenders. Philly was 20-17 against teams at, or above, .500 this season. Not a good sign for the #1 seed in the East. They would go on to dominate the 1st Round against a sub-.500 Washington Wizards team, only to lose in seven to an above .500 Atlanta Hawks team in the Semifinals. Philly had a successful regular season followed by a disappointing postseason.

Toronto Raptors

Prediction: 39-33 (6th Seed)

‘20-’21 Season: 27-45 (12th Seed)

I truthfully didn’t see this steep drop-off for the Raptors. I assumed it was going to happen last season when Kawhi Leonard dipped out after winning a chip, but not after losing two 30+ year old big men (Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol). Kyle Lowry did miss 26 games but that didn’t seem to make a difference as they were 15-31 in the games that he played. Toronto simply lost its defensive identity with the losses of the slow-footed but high-IQ bigs. And while Chris Boucher improved tremendously with the upgraded role, Pascal Siakam seemed to stay the same. With Lowry and Fred VanVleet manning the backcourt, Toronto relied on Siakam to take a leap to remain in playoff contention, but that didn’t happen.

Washington Wizards

Prediction: 38-34 (7th Seed)

‘20-’21 Season: 34-38 (8th Seed)

I really believed in Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal leading this team. While they did sneak into the playoffs via the Play-In Tournament, Washington looked bad this season. The Wizards were 19-33 through 52 games and sat in 12th place before going on an 8-game winning streak to put themselves in position for the tournament. The offense was explosive behind the two guards but the defense was atrocious under Head Coach Scott Brooks, a trend in the last few seasons. I may have been clouded by my Westbrook fandom with this prediction, overlooking the holes in the roster. Outside of the two star guards, the roster was built for bottom of the league finishes. Losing Thomas Bryant early in the season didn’t help, but the Wizards were just 2-8 in his short 10-game run anyway. The Wizards were a horrible team that was able to rally behind Westbrook and Beal to make a playoff appearance and get bounced out.

Overall, I don’t think I was horrible with my Eastern Conference predictions. I guessed the top 3 seeds correctly (though I assume most people did). I also guessed 7 of the 8 playoff teams correctly (sorry New York Knicks, I was wrong to doubt you). I only guessed 2 seedings correctly (Indiana in 9th and Cleveland in 13th), but I managed to guess 6 teams within 3 games of their record (9 if we stretch it to 4 games). Overall, not bad.