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The NBA season is here, and that means all the predictions take real shape on the court. The season kicks off tonight(or is already underway) with Boston and Philadelphia in the East and the Los Angeles Lakers taking on Golden State out West.

Over on FiveThirtyEight.com the finishing records and playoff percentages were laid out for the NBA at large, and it got me thinking…

The Celtics are predicted to finish with a league-high 57 wins as well as the favorites to win the chip. Given the upheaval around the coaching staff, it seems hard to assume this team doesn’t suffer a letdown- the top talent is still there, does Jaylen Brown want to ride it out after being summer trade bait? Time will tell.

Out West, the Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies, and Dallas Mavericks all have higher win projections and Finals odds than the defending champion Warriors. Making a case for either Denver or Memphis is not a heavy lift, but Dallas?

They lost Jalen Brunson to New York, not that I believe he is worth the money but he certainly filled a key role for Dallas. The assumed Goran Dragic and Luka Dončić connection was spurned in favor of the Chicago Bulls and Spencer Dinwiddie will now take on an elevated role but has always been best suited as a dynamic bench unit scorer and leader.

Dallas added size by acquiring Christian Wood from Houston and JaVale McGee in Free Agency.

Yes, that equals perimeter shooting and a high-energy veteran presence… but in head coach Jason Kidd’s own words, this team outperformed expectations last season. I’m just not sold.

Now let’s not act like our beloved Toronto Raptors don’t deserve a little look here as well. Later in the week, you can check out the Adam Up Podcast on your favorite podcast feed and over on YouTube where I catch up with the host of the Locked On Raptors podcast Sean Woodley. We take an expansive look around the NBA, but for now, here is a taste of how Sean sees the Eastern Conference shaping up along with a few key Toronto team narratives…

ACA: Based on the season projections, do you see any big shakeups overall in the Easter Conference?

SW: The Top-8 makes sense to me and I can see those teams finishing in pretty much any order. Chicago’s not amazing but they’ll be better than 11th. We’re also not talking nearly enough about Charlotte’s potential to be the worst team in the East; outside of LaMelo, I don’t think there’s a worse roster in the conference.

ACA: Is Banton the answer to Toronto’s backup point guard role?

SW: I think Banton will get some run as a backup point guard, but I think the “who is the Raptor’s backup PG” question kind of misses the whole point of this Raptors team, which is that positions do not matter to them. Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam will get way more reps with the ball in their hands than Banton will — they are the backup PGs, and they’re wings, and they’re bigs sometimes. They don’t care about having a standard backup for each position.

ACA: Does Toronto have the highest upside in the East if Barnes takes a leap forward, and OG comes through on his “larger role” demand?

SW: I don’t think they have the highest upside just yet — Milwaukee, Boston, and Philly all feel like they have higher ceilings barring some insane Barnes breakout that I don’t think is fair to expect. That said, I think you can argue they have the highest upside of any team in the East between now and 2030.

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