The Toronto Raptors maintained their position atop the Atlantic Division a year ago when they set a franchise record with 56 wins in the regular season. Toronto finished eight games up on the Boston Celtics for top spot in the division and just one game back of the Cleveland Cavaliers for top spot in the Eastern Conference. After pushing Cleveland to six games in the conference finals, the Raptors appear poised to challenge for the best record in the East once again with the Celtics right there in their rear view mirror.
Many people feel that this division is the most improved in the NBA as the Raptors are expected to improve slightly while the Celtics and New York Knicks are expected to rise as well. Here is a look at what to expect in the NBA Atlantic division this season.
Winner: Toronto Raptors
A lack of cap space led to some tough decisions in Toronto where GM Masai Ujiri was forced to let Bismack Biyombo, James Johnson and Luis Scola walk as free agents. Ujiri did a good job filling the holes that their departures created by bringing in Jared Sullinger to replace Scola and then drafting Jakob Poeltl and Pascal Siakam to replace Biyombo, but it’s unreasonable to expect the rookies to make a drastic impact in their first seasons. Losing Biyombo, in particular could hurt as he showed his true worth in the playoffs as an interior defender, rebounder and finisher at the rim. That said, the All-Star tandem of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan are back to lead the way and center Jonas Valanciunas could be poised for a breakout season.
One of the main reasons the Raptors are expecting to improve is the return of DeMarre Carroll. Remember, the former All-Star was the Raptors big offseason prize last year but he hardly played due to injury. A full season with him in the lineup should help significantly.
At power forward, Sullinger has been added on a one-year rental type of a deal but this is the type of young player that could really upgrade the position. The Raptors haven’t had a power forward with his talent in some time. Combined with the reports that shooting guard Terrence Ross is set to emerge and it looks like the Raptors could be even better than the team that won 56 games and the Atlantic Division last season.
Biggest Surprise: New York Knicks
The Knicks have been heavily criticized for their offseason moves after turning over two-thirds of their roster, but they might be a little underrated heading into the season. Everybody knows Carmelo Anthony has star potential if he remains focused and driven and that should be the case heading into the year. We saw exactly that when he emerged as the leader of the United States men’s basketball team in the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Kristaps Porzingis has a full NBA season under his belt and his potential is immense heading into his second year in the league. Derrick Rose is no longer an MVP caliber player but he is still a major upgrade over what the Knicks had last season. Rumor has it that he’s had his best training camp in years. The addition of Joakim Noah is similar to Rose: while he’s not the player he once was, he’s still a huge upgrade over what the Knicks had. Meanwhile, the signings of Brandon Jennings and Courtney Lee represent major upgrades in the backcourt. New York is that much more talented than the team that won 32 games a year ago and while they might not be championship contenders, they could surprise as a playoff contender in the Eastern Conference this season.
Biggest Disappointment: Philadelphia 76ers
Just when it seemed as though the 76ers were poised to switch from rebuilding mode to dark horse playoff contender, they lost the first-overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft Ben Simmons to a broken bone in his foot. Simmons will miss at least a couple of months and to no one’s surprise, Philadelphia will not rush him back. That leaves a trio of former first round picks to lead the way with Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor and Joel Embiid all set to play big minutes this season. Noel and Okafor flashed their potential a year ago but the coaching staff is very high on Embiid after he spent the last two years building up his strength and working on his game (while recovering from a foot injury).
The problem is that Philadelphia’s three best players are all natural centers and they don’t have much help elsewhere with major holes at the guard positions in particular. The 76ers are loaded with young talent and cap space but at this point, it looks like it will be at least one more year before they can climb out of the basement in the Atlantic division.
