2017-18 NBA Preview: Southeast Division

Wizards
PG Wall, SG Beal, SF Porter, PF Morris, C Gortat
Bench: PG Frazier/Satoransky, SG Sloan/Meeks, SF Oubre, PF Scott/McCullough C Mahinmi/Smith

God, their salary cap is maxed on 5 players (well, 4 and Ian Mahinmi), leaving very little flexibility going forward and not much scrill for bench depth. Fortunately that starting five is still capable of getting better which they'll need to be to make this a worthwhile season. I think they're still better than the Heat and I have them finishing 4th in the East with 48 wins.

Heat
PG Dragic, SG Waiters, SF Winslow, PF James Johnson, C Whiteside
Bench: PG Tyler Johnson, SG Richardson/MacGruder, SF Mickey, PF Olynyk/Adebayo, C Hammons/Haslem

This is kind of a weird team but I'm a big fan of Dragic and Coach Spoelstra, I was really impressed with how they finished last season, if they can keep that going they'll easily be a playoff team (and be a dangerous foe for the Celtics in round 2!). That said, I still can't get over how weird this team is. 48 wins and 5th in the East.

Hornets
PG Kemba, SG Monk, SF Williams, PF Batum, C Howard
Bench: PG Carter-Williams, SG Lamb, SF Kidd-Gilchrist, PF Kaminsky/Zeller

Ah, the Hornets. So let's run it down: I've never thought much of Dwight Howard (10 years in the league and offensively he's still a project), Kemba Walker (helluva scorer but not enough on his own to carry a team), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (I love his energy but I never quite knew what his game is), Marvin Williams (this guy being a classic 3-and-D guy is a pipe dream), Cody Zeller (nice rotation guy but not a top 5 pick talent), Frank Kaminsky (smart but slow, ineffective in the long run), Michael Carter-Williams (no real instinct for the game, a non-scorer out there), Malik Monk (oh, he'll have big games but he'll disappear too), Jeremy Lamb (....he's just not any good), Coach Clifford (well-respected around the league but I never really understood why) and GM Michael Jordan (I'm not at all convinced that he is a good judge of talent or has any sense of overall strategy in roster building). Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, right? No! I actually kinda love this team! I feel like the interplay between Kemba and Howard can open up opportunities for MKG, Zeller, Kaminsky and Monk and as long as MCW just protects the ball I think he can fit in just fine off the bench. And if Coach Cliff can keep Howard in the game plan, he'll have plenty of weapons to make the most of (curious to see what he gets out Treveon Graham and Dwayne Bacon). They'll have ups and downs but if the Wizards or Heat stumble, I honestly think the Hornets can make a jump. I have them 7th in the East with 43 wins.

Magic
PG Payton, SG Fournier, SF Ross, PF Gordon, C Vucevic
Bench: PG Mack/Augustin, SG Simmons/Afflalo, SF Ross/Hezonja/Rudez, PF Speights/Isaac, C Biyombo

Hmmm....this is another weird collection of players. Not sure how they fit together, not sure what Magic management is going for, not sure who will still be there at the end of the year (oh, yeah, they definitely have trades to make). If this team overachieves at all seems like Coach Vogel would be a good Coach of the Year candidate because this is a team that needs some coaching, some top-down structure. Last year they won 29 games, I think this team will be better though probably not a huge stride forward. I think they'll win 33 games (firmly in lottery territory). (Is Vogel a good enough coach to build around? If they move on from Payton, Gordon, etc., will that signal that Vogel is gone too or that he's juiced in for the long term?)

Hawks
PG Schroder, SG Belineli, SF Bazemore, PF Prince, C Dedmon
Bench: PG Delaney/Dorsey, SG Evans, SF Ilyasova/Bembry, PF Muscala/Collins, C Plumlee

The Hawks have devolved so much in the last 2-3 years that I don't even know who they are these days. I don't understand their direction, I don't understand their roster, I don't understand their strategy. I like what I've seen of Taurean Prince, should be plenty of room for Deandre Dembry and John Collins to get some time, kinda curious to see if Tyler Dorsey can play at the next level. Schroder leaves me cold, Belinelli is a nice shooter but not much else, Bazemore is getting a star paycheck but is not a star player, Dedmon and Plumlee and Ilyasova might turn out to be worthwhile trade bait and as much praise as Coach Budenholzer accumulates, he looks like a coach that wins with good players and loses with bad ones. Hawks fans ought to keep an eye on the NCAA, that's where their future is. 22 wins.