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The Eastern Conference’s Southeast Division doesn’t appear to have a potential NBA championship contender, but the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat can make noise in the playoffs if they remain healthy and peak at the right time.
Orlando won the division last season, while Miami has been its No. 1 team three of the past five seasons.
Team | Consensus | Bet365 | FanDuel | Caesars | BetRivers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Magic | -147 | -140 | -140 | -149 | -152 |
Heat | +157 | +150 | +160 | +160 | +150 |
Hawks | +1167 | +1000 | +1100 | +1200 | +1200 |
Hornets | +3667 | +4000 | +3500 | +3500 | +4000 |
Wizards | +38333 | +25000 | +50000 | +40000 | +25000 |
*Odds as of October 1st
A 13-game improvement doesn’t happen by accident, as the Magic have drafted well and made good acquisitions over the past four seasons. Power forward and former No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero, who will still be 21 when the season tips-off Oct. 22, is a rising star and Orlando brass feel Franz Wagner is too.
The Magic signed him to a 5-year, $224 million extension and after the NBA Summer League, many feel drafting Tristan Da Silva at No. 16 overall was another great move. With Caldwell-Pope, Jalen Suggs and Garry Harris along with a healthy Wendell Carter Jr., the defense will be good. The franchise also has plenty of financial flexibility if it feels the offense in the backcourt is not up to snuff.
The Magic offense was 24th in the league last season (110.5), so if that doesn’t improve they could look to make a move involving one of the young pieces (Anthony Black, Cole Anthony, etc.) before the trade deadline. Battling with Boston, New York and Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference might take one more wise move.
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The Miami brass didn’t make any big off-season moves, but "Heat Culture” is real and this team will be competitive down to the playoff wire. The key to the season will be how healthy perennial NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler is during the second half of the season, but he wasn’t the only key piece missing in last season’s first round playoff loss to eventual NBA champ Boston.
The Heat were missing point guard Terry Rozier and Duncan Robinson was banged up. Kel’el Ware could be a draft steal, but can he play with Bam Adebayo at the same time and is there enough offense for this team to win the division and get a favorable playoff seed? If Butler is healthy, will Jaime Jaquez continue to progress as expected in his second season?
There are some key questions to answer but there is no doubt this team will be competitive and no team will want to meet it in the first round of the playoffs.
Even though Atlanta won the NBA Draft lottery with only a three percent chance, the draft didn’t yield a franchise-changing talent (at least not one any franchise can bank on). Similar to drafting Zaccharie Risacher, this whole season is somewhat of a gamble for the Hawks.
The ideal scenario is shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic is a good fit with star guard Trae Young, Jalen Johnson is healthy and plays like an All-Star, Clint Capela defends well against father time and Risacher contributes like a normal No. 1 overall pick.
The nightmare scenario is there isn’t hope to be more than a play-in team, focus and motivation wanes and the defense regresses. The latter is not out of the question and at that point the question is for how long can this be Young’s team? Was the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals appearance a total fluke? Or can Young lead this franchise towards that once again? Don’t bank on that type of run with the current personnel.
This franchise will go as Melo goes, in this case point guard Melo Ball, who is still only 23 years old with a world of talent. A core of Ball, second-year wing Brandon Miller and power forward Miles Bridges (who signed a 3-year, $75 million extension) has good long term potential and gives the fan base something to look forward to.
If Josh Green is the answer at the two-guard and the two-headed monster of Nick Richards and Mark Williams in the pivot continue to develop, this team could be heading for the playoffs….in 2025-26.
Still, a lot has to go right to think playoffs next season, starting with Ball being healthy. He hasn’t proven to be very durable so far in his career. More than that, Ball has to display winning intangibles and show that he can lead a team when it matters. Charlotte has some talent, but very few pieces with any experience in winning moments.
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This is going to be rock bottom. The Wizards will look for players to keep who compete and carry themselves like long-term professionals.
The franchise has plenty of draft capital and is banking on rookie Alex Sarr, the No. 2 overall pick, being a future cornerstone and picking up a franchise-changing talent in the 2025 NBA Draft. Newcomer and veteran Malcolm Brodgdon might be able to bring out the best in Jordan Poole, who has poor pace and feel which is compounded by the lack of talent around him.
New coach Brian Keefe will try every combination possible and he will hold the rotation accountable defensively. Other than that, hope for no injuries and some good luck in the 2025 NBA Draft lottery.
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