NBA Special Report: Predictions of the Eastern Conference standings
The Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association is made up of fifteen teams, organized in three divisions of five teams each. The Eastern Conference playoffs are divided into two preliminary rounds followed by the Eastern Conference Finals, with the winner of the Conference Championship facing the Western Conference champion in the NBA Finals to determine the champion. All playoff series are best-of-seven.
Keeping in mind the fact that the Miami Heat has signed star players, they are undoubtedly one of the contenders for the NBA crown and Eastern Conference for sure. The experts that comprised of 93 ESPN experts have predicted the results and standings in the Eastern Conference which are as follows.
According to the experts, Miami Heat without any doubt will be topping the Eastern Conference winning a total of 61 games and losing 21 games. Miami Heat is expected to maintain an average of 0.774. The Orlando Magic comes in 2nd position by winning 56 games. During the course of the season, they are expected to lose 26 games with an average of 0.683. Orlando can manage to finish further on top of the order, considering the fact that they have some magic in their team and if they manage to get Chris Paul, then they would surely be one of the forces that would look to challenge the Miami Heat.
The Boston Celtics who come next in 3rd spot with their 51 wins and 31 games lost to one of the formidable forces in the playoffs. The Celtics as usual will be looking to make an impact in the playoff rather than the regular season like last season.
The new coach Tom Thibodeau and players like Derrick Rose will be looking to grab the opportunity and are looking strong for a 4th place finish. Though the Bulls missed on King James and Dwayne Wade, they are still expected to come up with 50 wins and expected to lose 32 games with an average of 0.614. The experts also say that this time Chicago will give them a good show. The Atlanta Hawks are in at number 5, who are expected to come up with 48 wins and lose 34 games. However, the Hawks have been improving for the past five seasons but the experts say that this time the Hawks streak of improving will end. According to experts the six position and a deserving playoff position is occupied by the Milwaukee Bucks, who are expected to finish 6th with 46 wins and losing 36 games with an average of 0.561.
The Charlotte Bobcats come in next and are expected to continue this season, from where they ended last season. As the conference gets stronger and the Bobcats are getting weaker but still are expected to make it to the playoffs for the second consecutive time. It is predicted that they will come up with 39 wins and lose 43 games averaging 0.476. The New York Knicks come in next expected to win 37 games and lose 45 games in total. The New York entering the playoffs comes as great deal of joy for the fans and the Knicks themselves.
9th position would be effectively occupied by the Washington Wizards, who are expected to win 32 games, along the road lose 50 games and have an average of 0.390. The 10th, 11th and 12th position teams are tied win it comes to the number of wins and games lost but are in the following order: Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers and Detroit Pistons. The Pacers will be missing the playoffs for the fifth consecutive time. The 76ers on the other hand are being considered the surprise package of the Eastern Conference, who could either gain or lose a little on the predicted position that they have been given. All the three teams are expected to come up with 31 wins and lose 51 games and maintain an average of 0.378.
The surprising finishes in the Conference is that of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are expected to drop by 30 games and win a total of 30 games and lose 52 games. The last two positions are occupied by New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors respectively. Both teams are expected to end the season averaging 0.329 by winning 27 games and losing 55 games.
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