Orlando Magic
Predicted 2024 record: 50-32
Last season: 47-35, 5th in NBA Eastern Conference. Lost 4-3 to Cleveland Cavaliers in first round of playoffs.
Last time: That Orlando advanced past the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs it was 2009-10. The Magic have made the postseason just five times since, with an early exit in each case.
FanDuel championship odds: +4000
Roster roll call
Draft picks:
No. 18, SF Tristan da Silva, Colorado
DEPARTURES: Markelle Fultz, Joe Ingles, Chuma Okeke
VETERAN ADDITIONS: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cory Joseph
Big picture: There’s lots to like about the Magic, who were part of a jumble of contenders for the East’s No. 2 seed last season. Talented youth tops that list, as leading scorers Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Jalen Suggs all were 22 or younger in 2023-24. Add veteran guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to that trio and a deep, youthful bench and the stuff of a deep playoff run could be in place. If Caldwell-Pope’s intangibles are to be believed, the postseason might even flirt with June. His efforts as the established-role-player-on-a-young-club helped the Lakers and Nuggets to titles over the past five seasons. Orlando can score and defend and coach Jamahl Mosley is on the rise, but the Magic must improve their ball control to keep trending upward.
Get to know …
SF Tristan da Silva
After helping Colorado to is first NCAA tournament appearance in three seasons, da Silva comes aboard a Magic team with lots of breakout stars. He figures to get the chance to be one of them but must develop a penchant for dealing with the physicality of the pro game while establishing an identity. At 6-foot-8, he can be a force at the rim and mixes ability from midrange and beyond the arc.
–Miami Heat
Predicted 2024 record: 48-34
Last season: 46-36, 8th in NBA Eastern Conference. Lost 4-1 to Boston Celtics in first round of playoffs.
Last time: That Bam Adebayo finished outside the Top 5 in Defensive Player of the Year voting it was 2018-19, his second season in the NBA.
FanDuel championship odds: +5000
Roster roll call
Draft picks:
No. 15, C Kel’el Ware, Indiana
No. 44, SG Pelle Larsson, Arizona (acquired from Rockets)
DEPARTURES: Caleb Martin, Patty Mills, Orlando Robinson, Delon Wright
VETERAN ADDITIONS: Alec Burks, Nassir Little
Big picture: Miami relied on an aggressive defense last season, limiting foes to 111.5 points per 100 possessions to boast the fifth-ranked defensive efficiency in the NBA. While center Bam Adebayo anchored the ‘D,’ the Heat will need him and other mainstays from a little-changed roster, namely Jimmy Butler, to step up in an offense that was in the bottom third of the league in offensive efficiency. Butler has healed from the sprained right MCL he suffered in the play-in tournament but must overcame questions about his durability and that pesky thing known as age. He hasn’t played 65 games in a season since joining Miami in 2019-20 and turned 35 last month. The Heat can go far if Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier and Butler stay healthy alongside Adebayo, but that’s a notable “if” of late.
Get to know …
C Kel’el Ware
Sure, it will be tough for Ware to shine behind an in-his-prime Adebayo, but the preseason showed his penchant for doing a lot with a little. Ware started the path to an All Summer League first-team nod with 13 points, five boards and four blocks in 17 minutes in his preseason debut. With Heat coach Erik Spoelstra citing a need for offensive inventiveness this offseason, look for some lineups with Ware holding down the fort at the 4 alongside Adebayo.
–Atlanta Hawks
Predicted 2024 record: 39-43
Last season: 36-46, 10th in NBA Eastern Conference. Lost to Chicago Bulls in play-in tournament.
Last time: Atlanta allowed 145 points or more in a game was a 157-115 loss at Indiana on April 14. The regular-season finale marked the league-worst sixth such time the Hawks permitted at least that many points.
FanDuel championship odds: +35000
Roster roll call
Draft picks:
No. 1, SF Zaccharie Risacher, France
No. 43 SG Nikola Djurisic, Serbia (acquired from Heat)
DEPARTURES: Saddiq Bey, Bruno Fernando, Trent Forrest, AJ Griffin, Wesley Matthews, Dejounte Murray, Dylan Windler
VETERAN ADDITIONS: Dominick Barlow, Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance Jr., David Roddy, Keaton Wallace, Cody Zeller
Big picture: Atlanta traded DeJounte Murray, Trae Young’s high-scoring running mate, to the New Orleans Pelicans shortly after the draft, which could bring a positive impact in both the short and long term. It may not bolster the team’s recent outlook as a mere play-in contender, but landing veterans Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance Jr., and Cody Zeller provides the kind of two-way leadership the defensively dense team needs to shift its identity. So will No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher, a 6-foot-9 swingman with impressive length and wingspan. The Hawks’ season may not hinge on how Risacher develops on both ends of the floor, but his ability on defense growing rapport with Young allows the Hawks to like their chances of escaping playoff purgatory sometime soon.
Get to know …
SF Jalen Johnson
Injuries have hovered over Johnson in his first three seasons but he capitalized on the chance to be a frontcourt starter in 2023-24. After making just six starts in his first 92 career games, Johnson started in 52 of 56 appearances last season while averaging 16.0 points and 8.7 rebounds. Johnson also boasts a bit of bulk and the ability to defend in the paint. He’ll look to take an added role in the offense with Murray gone.
–Charlotte Hornets
Predicted 2024 record: 29-53
Last season: 21-61, 13th in NBA Eastern Conference
Last time: That LaMelo Ball played in more than half the Hornets’ games it was 2021-22, when he started 75 games. Injuries have limited Ball to 58 games in the past two seasons.
FanDuel championship odds: +100000
Roster roll call
Draft picks:
No. 6, PF Tidjane Salaunn, France
No. 42, PG KJ Simpson, Colorado
DEPARTURES: Davis Bertans, Bryce McGowens, Aleksej Pokusevski, J.T. Thor
VETERAN ADDITIONS: Charlie Brown Jr., Taj Gibson, Josh Green, DaQuan Jeffries, Duane Washington Jr.
Big picture
Prominent new faces on the bench (coach Charles Lee) and front office (executive vice president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson) knew the narrative in Charlotte before coming aboard. Lots of youth, far less minutes. LaMelo Ball and Mark Williams have been primed to lead the Hornets from the recesses of the East but injuries and inconsistency too often have stunted their pursuit. Still only 23, Ball has played in 58 games since earning an All-Star selection in 2021-22 as he works through ankle injuries. Williams is a former first-rounder with durability concerns of his own. Leading scorer Miles Bridges is back and Brandon Miller hopes to bolster the franchise outlook after a promising rookie season. He could form a solid combo at wing with the Hornets’ most recent lottery pick, Tidjane Salaun.
Get to know …
F Brandon Miller
The Alabama product made 68 starts and 74 appearances as a rookie, with his 17.3 points per game not far behind Bridges’ 21. He possesses the talent to break out regardless but could be even more potent if Ball can stay healthy as a distributor at point guard. Miller can make plays, too, and create off the dribble while starring as a shooter. The ceiling is high.
–Washington Wizards
Predicted 2024 record: 22-60
Last season: 15-67, 14th in NBA Eastern Conference
Last time: That the Wizards had the second overall selection in the NBA Draft it was 1968, when they were known as the Baltimore Bullets and chose future Hall of Famer Wes Unseld out of Louisville.
FanDuel championship odds: +100000
Roster roll call
Draft picks:
No. 2, PF Alex Sarr, France
No. 14, PG Bub Carrington, Pittsburgh (acquired from Trail Blazers)
No. 24 SG Kyshawn George, Miami (acquired from Knicks)
DEPARTURES: Deni Avdija, Jules Bernard, Hamidou Diallo, Tyus Jones, Eugene Omoruyi, Landry Shamet
VETERAN ADDITIONS: Saddiq Bey, Malcolm Brogdon, Jonas Valanciunas
Big picture
Already bracing for tumult in an election year, Washingtonians shouldn’t look to the Wizards for an escape too often this season, unless they don’t mind imagining change. The rebuild is real, if not yet spectacular, but still offers reasons for excitement. In addition to tracking Sarr, who endured calf soreness near the end of preseason after playing capably in his first two games, there’s guard Bilal Coulibaly. The No. 7 selection in 2023, Coulibaly averaged 8.4 points and 4.1 rebounds as a rookie. With Brogdon (thumb surgery) injured to begin the season, likely point guard Jordan Poole will have an array of options in the offense, which still features veterans Corey Kispert and Kyle Kuzma and added Jonas Valanciunas as an experienced post presence.
Get to know …
PF Alex Sarr
Another season, another French 7-footer as NBA Rookie of the Year? Sarr seems about as good a pick as any to follow the lead of San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, although he would do so with understandably less hype. As with his countryman, though, Sarr comes aboard a retooling team with ample opportunity for minutes at the start of his career. Although his preseason shooting percentage proved somewhat Sarr-y (what’s “rimshot” in French?), his potential as a versatile shooter, rim attacker and defender offer plenty of intrigue.
–Field Level Media
