By Bill Huan | Pounding The Rock (PtR), 2024-10-22 21:00:00
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
随着 2024-25 赛季 NBA 的到来，是时候对各支球队进行分级了。
经过漫长的四个月，NBA 回来了！
为了迎接即将到来的戏剧性事件和闹剧，现在是时候对各支球队进行分级了。和往常一样，这些是 有保证的 、万无一失的预测——只要我们不在年底重新审视它们。
在介绍完 西部 之后，现在让我们将目光转向东部。
注意：每个级别内的球队均按字母顺序排列，而非排名。
夺冠热门
波士顿凯尔特人
艾尔·霍福德和中锋轮换阵容能撑得住吗？
在一支拥有准全明星级别首发五虎的球队中，克里斯塔普斯·波尔津吉斯可以说是上赛季最有影响力的球员——当他健康的时候。由于这位独角兽至少要到 12 月才能复出，波士顿需要依靠“老”艾尔·霍福德 (Al “Old” Horford) 和替补球员来填补他的空缺。他们在常规赛应该没问题，但波尔津吉斯能在季后赛保持健康吗？如果不能，面对实力雄厚的东部，凯尔特人队可能被迫增加 reinforcements 来增强实力。
真正的竞争者
密尔沃基雄鹿
克里斯·米德尔顿还能被视为第三选择吗？
很多人都不看好雄鹿，但他们仍然属于东部精英球队。上赛季他们在诸事不顺的情况下差点赢下 50 场比赛，只要扬尼斯保持 100% 的状态，他们对波士顿来说就是一个实实在在的威胁。然而，他们最大的不确定因素是米德尔顿，他接受了双脚踝手术，将缺席赛季揭幕战。人们很容易忘记，米德尔顿在密尔沃基过去两轮季后赛中场均得到 24 分、7.9 个篮板和 5.4 次助攻，而且大部分时间都是作为第一选择。如果他能在季后赛保持健康，那么他和扬尼斯、利拉德组成的三巨头仍然有能力赢得总冠军。
纽约尼克斯
德怀斯·麦克布莱德和替补席能提供足够的支持吗？
尼克斯队决定把所有的赌注都押在友谊上，但在看到大猫 的怪异抖音合集后，他们就放弃了这个想法。结果，他们的替补席上只剩下麦克布莱德和……卡梅伦·佩恩的灵魂？尼克斯上赛季的败因是他们缺少健康的球员，这对一支阵容单薄、教练使用首发球员像使用坚不可摧的终结者一样的球队来说可不是什么好兆头。尼克斯需要麦克布莱德取得进步，以避免重蹈上赛季的覆辙，而新秀泰勒·科莱克也可能发挥重要作用。
费城76人
泰瑞斯·马克西的上限究竟有多高？
由于精英级别的负荷管理二人组“季后赛 P”和“第二轮恩比德”都将缺席无数场常规赛，76 人队将更加依赖马克西。上赛季开始时，他的表现达到了全明星级别，之后略有下滑，但他季后赛场均 29.8 分和 6.8 次助攻，投篮命中率分别为 48%、40% 和 89%，这表明这位年轻的后卫还有提升的空间。年仅 23 岁的他如果能再次取得突破，76 人队将一跃成为东部第二强的球队，而这将减轻恩比德和哈登的负担，最终有可能打进东部决赛甚至总决赛。
季后赛席位
克利夫兰骑士
埃文·莫布里会在进攻端提升多少？
莫布里是所有数据分析师最喜欢的球员，但他缺乏进攻端的进步让球迷们对他的上限产生了质疑。考虑到他的职业生涯罚球命中率只有 68%，我们不应该对他成为一名三分球射手抱有太大希望，但成为一名更好的篮下终结者和低位球员是一个合理的要求。如果这位 23 岁的球员能够最终提升自己的比赛，那么骑士队可能会成为真正的竞争者，而不是像现在这样只是常规赛的强队。
印第安纳步行者
安德鲁·内姆哈德能复制他在季后赛的成功吗？
在他的第一次季后赛之旅中，内姆哈德场均得到 15 分，投篮命中率高达 56%、48% 和 76%。他不会再像全明星赛那样投篮了，但内姆哈德的组织能力可以帮助步行者队的进攻，上赛季他们的进攻受到了巴迪·希尔德离队的严重影响。内姆哈德也是一名出色的防守后卫，他的崛起可能会使印第安纳成为一匹黑马球队，再次取得超出预期的季后赛成绩。
奥兰多魔术
杰伦·萨格斯和弗朗茨·瓦格纳的投篮命中率会是多少？
萨格斯和瓦格纳上赛季的三分球命中率分别为 39.7% 和 28.1%。考虑到他们之前的职业生涯平均水平，我们可以有把握地说，萨格斯的命中率高得不正常，而瓦格纳则恰恰相反。在一支难以持续输出进攻的球队中，魔术队第二和第三好的球员的三分球命中率将决定他们是否会再次在首轮被淘汰，还是有机会爆冷击败东部更强大的竞争者。
“不死”热火
迈阿密热火
吉米·巴特勒会在常规赛中认真对待吗？
热火还配得上“僵尸热火”的称号吗，还是说他们已经死了，被埋葬了？吉米·巴特勒将决定这一切，但他已经 35 岁了，在热火队效力期间，他还没有一个赛季的出场次数超过 64 场。要想再次打进季后赛，热火需要获得足够高的排名，以避开东部的强队，也许在合同年的吉米会 finally 在常规赛中全力以赴。
有望进入附加赛的球队
亚特兰大老鹰
杰伦·约翰逊接下来会有什么表现？
约翰逊是上赛季最大的惊喜之一，他从一名替补席球员变成了真正的首发球员，场均得到 16 分和 8.7 个篮板，投篮命中率分别为 51%、35% 和 73%。这在很大程度上是由于机会——他的出场时间从前两个赛季的 14.9 分钟增加到 33.7 分钟。然而，随着德章泰·默里的离开，约翰逊的使用率还会继续增加。如果他能再次取得突破，可能会再次引发特雷·杨的交易传闻，尽管老鹰队没有理由变得更糟，因为他们欠圣安东尼奥不受保护的首轮签。
夏洛特黄蜂
拉梅洛能打破“数据刷子”的指控吗？
在过去两个赛季只打了 58 场比赛之后，拉梅洛终于恢复了健康。这么长时间的缺阵让一些球迷忘记了他在第二个赛季就入选了全明星阵容，看起来很有可能成为联盟的门面球员。对于一个 23 岁的球员来说，这听起来很奇怪，但考虑到他的伤病史和场外闹剧，即将到来的赛季可能会决定拉梅洛是黄蜂应该围绕他建队的球员，还是应该交易的球员。
为弗拉格摆烂
芝加哥公牛
芝加哥会把钥匙交给年轻的约什·吉迪吗？
具有讽刺意味的是，公牛队可能会有太多人需要球权，但现在还不清楚他们中是否有人真的很优秀。扎克·拉文和尼古拉·武切维奇等老将还在队中，他们刚刚给了帕特里克·威廉姆斯 9000 万美元的合同，因为他很年轻。然而，他们应该做的是看看新 acquired 的吉迪能否作为控球手产生积极的影响。吉迪在年满 22 岁之前，在他的前两个赛季中展现出了全明星球员的潜力，但在上赛季表现挣扎。公牛队现在很烂，所以是时候看看吉迪能做些什么了，尤其是在他明年将获得一份新合同的情况下。
底特律活塞
德韦恩·凯西能让杰登·艾维回到正轨吗？
蒙蒂·威廉姆斯从活塞队那里偷走了 7800 万美元，这起盗窃案比《十一罗汉》系列电影中任何一起都令人印象深刻，但这甚至不是他犯下的最大罪行。让基利安·海耶斯首发而不是艾维才是，这导致后者难以复制新秀赛季的成功。值得庆幸的是，凯西似乎正在纠正错误，他在季前赛中让艾维担任凯德之后的第二组织者，并在替补阵容中让他掌控球权。艾维能否投出稳定的投篮以适应无球进攻还有待观察，但至少他已经处在了正确的位置上，可以取得成功。
多伦多猛龙
格雷迪·迪克能有多大的进步？
在新秀赛季开局缓慢后，迪克在全明星赛后逐渐进步。猛龙队缺乏深度，这将为这位年轻的后卫腾出一个首发位置，而迪克精准的三分球将为这支缺乏优秀射手的多伦多队拉开空间。迪克作为一名持球进攻球员还能有多大的进步还有待观察，但本赛季他很有可能成为一名优秀的射手和可靠的防守球员。
华盛顿奇才
在交易截止日期前，球队会被拆散多少？
奇才队将是本赛季联盟中最差的球队之一，但他们仍然有一些可以交易的球员。华盛顿已经用德尼·阿夫迪亚换来了两个首轮签，如果他们选择交易凯尔·库兹马，他们可以得到类似的回报。像约纳斯·瓦兰丘纳斯和马尔科姆·布罗格登这样的老将对争冠球队来说也可能是有用的球员，所以奇才队在交易截止日期前的决定可能会影响整个联盟的冠军争夺战。
卡姆·托马斯（还有本·西蒙斯？）的表演
布鲁克林篮网
卡姆·托马斯真的只是一个“数据刷子”吗？
在获得无限开火权的情况下，卡姆·托马斯可能会成为 NBA 中最精彩的表演，尤其是在 他的队友也想要球权 的情况下。这位年轻的后卫目前被贴上了“数据刷子”的标签，现在他要证明自己是否也能成为一名可靠的组织者和防守者。托马斯可能会以一种不 ironical 的方式领跑联盟得分榜，所以如果你在梦幻联赛中需要得分，一定要在他排名很高的时候选择他。
另外，请注意本·西蒙斯复仇赛季的到来！自从围绕他每年休赛期投篮视频的热潮被锡安的体重观察(者)所取代后，这位老兄就一直很不爽。
祝所有庆祝 NBA 开赛的人开赛夜快乐！让我们期待所有参与者都能度过一个精彩纷呈、竞争激烈的赛季。
点击查看原文：2024-25 NBA season preview: Eastern Conference tiers and questions
2024-25 NBA season preview: Eastern Conference tiers and questions
With the 2024-25 NBA season upon us, it’s time to place teams into tiers.
After long four months, the NBA is back!
To prepare for the inevitable drama and shenanigans that will ensure, it’s time to place teams into tiers. As usual, these are guaranteed, fool-proof predictions — as long as we don’t revisit them at year end.
After covering the West, let’s now shift our attention out East.
Note: teams within each tier are placed in alphabetical order and not ranked.
The favorite
Boston Celtics
Can Al Horford and the center rotation hold up?
On a team with a fringe All-Star-level starting five, Kristaps Porzingis was arguably their second most impactful player last year — when healthy. With the unicorn out until at least December, Boston will need to rely on Al “Old” Horford and depth players to fill his shoes. They’ll be fine for the regular season, but can Porzingis get through a playoff run healthy? If not, the Celtics might be forced to add reinforcements to combat a loaded East.
Legitimate contenders
Milwaukee Bucks
Can Khris Middleton still be counted on as a third option?
Many people are writing off the Bucks, but they still belong among the East’s elite. They almost won 50 games last year when everything went wrong, and will be a legit threat to Boston as long as Giannis is 100%. Their biggest X-factor, though, is Middleton, who had double ankle surgery and will be out for their season opener. It’s easy to forget, but Middleton’s averaged 24 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 5.4 assists across Milwaukee’s past two playoff series while mostly playing as the first option. If he can stay healthy for the postseason, a big three that includes him, Giannis, and Dame are still capable of winning a championship.
New York Knicks
Can Deuce McBride and the bench provide enough support?
The Knickerbockers decided to invest all their stock into friendship, before blowing that up after seeing a freaky TikTok compilation of Big Purr. As a result, their bench is reduced to Deuce McBride and… the ghost of Cam Payne? New York’s downfall last year was that they ran out of healthy options, which doesn’t bode well for a thin team whose coach deploys his starters like they’re unbreakable terminators. The Knicks will need McBride to take a leap to not have a repeat of last season, and rookie Tyler Kolek could play a big role too.
Philadelphia 76ers
Just how high is Tyrese Maxey’s ceiling?
With elite load management duo “Playoff P” and “Second Round Embiid” both set to miss countless regular season games, the Sixers will lean more on Maxey. He started last season playing at an All-NBA level before tailing off slightly, but his insane playoff averages of 29.8 points and 6.8 assists on 48/40/89 splits suggest that the young guard has another gear to reach. Still just 23, another leap from Maxey could vault Philly into the clear #2 team in the East, and the load that’ll take off of Embiid and PG could finally result in a conference finals or finals appearance.
Playoff-bound
Cleveland Cavaliers
How much will Evan Mobley expand his offensive game?
Every analytics nerd’s favorite player, Mobley’s lack of offensive growth has made fans question his ceiling. There shouldn’t be much faith in him ever becoming a 3-point shooter given that his career free-throw percentage is 68%, but becoming a better rim runner and post player is a reasonable ask. If the 23-year-old can finally expand his game, then the Cavs could become a legit contender rather than the regular season merchants that they currently are.
Indiana Pacers
Can Andrew Nembhard replicate his playoff success?
In his first taste of postseason basketball, Nembhard averaged 15 points on blistering percentages of 56/48/76. He won’t continue making shots like it’s the All-Star game, but Nembhard’s playmaking can help a Pacer offense that was heavily impacted by the subtraction of Buddy Hield last year. A good defensive guard as well, Nembhard’s emergence as a potential third option could make Indiana a dark horse team to once again go on a longer playoff run than expected.
Orlando Magic
How well will Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner shoot?
Suggs and Wagner shot 39.7% and 28.1%, respectively, from three last year. Considering their previous career norms, it’s safe to assume that Suggs’ percentage was unsustainably high with Wagner being the exact opposite. On a team that struggles to produce sustainable offense, how the Magic’s second and third-best players shoot from deep could determine whether they’ll lose in the first round again or have a legit shot at upsetting one of the East’s more established contenders.
The undead(?) Heat tier
Miami Heat
How seriously will Jimmy Buckets take the regular season?
Does Miami still deserve their “Zombie Heat” moniker, or are they dead and buried now? Jimmy Buckets will determine a lot of that, but he’s already 35 and hasn’t played more than 64 games in a Heat jersey in a single regular season. To make another playoff run, Miami will need to have a high enough seed to avoid the East’s juggernauts, and perhaps a motivated Jimmy in a contract year will finally go all out in the regular season.
Frisky play-in teams
Atlanta Hawks
What does Jalen Johnson have for an encore?
One of the biggest surprises last year, Johnson went from a deep bench player to a bonafide starter and averaged 16 points and 8.7 rebounds on 51/35/73 shooting. A lot of that was simply due to opportunity — his minutes increased from 14.9 to 33.7 between the two previous seasons. With Dejounte Murray gone, though, Johnson’s usage will continue to increase. Another leap from him could reignite Trae Young trade rumors, although the Hawks have no incentive to get worse given that they owe unprotected picks to San Antonio.
Charlotte Hornets
Will LaMelo beat the empty stats allegations?
After playing just 58 games over the last two seasons, LaMelo is finally healthy again. Missing that much time has made some fans forget that he was a deserving All-Star in just his second season and looked like a potential face of the league. It sounds strange for this to be the case for a 23-year-old, but the upcoming season could determine if LaMelo is someone whom the Hornets should build around or trade given his injury history and off-court shenanigans.
Sag for Flagg
Chicago Bulls
Will Chicago hand the keys to the youthful Josh Giddey?
The Bulls ironically might have too many mouths to feed, but it remains to be seen if any of them are actually good. Vets like Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic are still around and they just gave Patrick Williams $90 million because he’s young. What they should do, though, is see if the newly acquired Giddey can make a positive impact as the lead ballhandler. Having just turned 22, Giddey showed flashes of All-Star potential in his first two years in the league before struggling last season. The Bulls aren’t any good, so it’s time to see what Giddey can do — especially since he’s up for a new contract next year.
Detroit Pistons
Can J.B. Bickerstaff get Jaden Ivey back on track?
Monty Williams stole $78 million from the Pistons in a heist more impressive than anything shown in the Oceans films, and yet that wasn’t even the biggest crime he committed. Starting Killian Hayes over Ivey was, and it led to the latter struggling to replicate the success from his rookie season. Thankfully, Bickerstaff seems to be righting the ship by using Ivey in the preseason as a secondary creator behind Cade and giving him the keys when he plays with the bench. It remains to be seen if Ivey can shoot reliably enough to play off ball, but at least he’s being put in the right position to succeed.
Toronto Raptors
How much growth will Gradey Dick experience?
After a slow start to his rookie season, Dick showed gradual improvement post All-Star break. The Raptors’ lack of depth should open up a starting spot for the young guard, and Dick’s pure stroke from deep will space the floor for a Toronto team that doesn’t have great shooting. It remains to be seen how much more Dick can grow as an on-ball creator, but being a good shooter and reliable defender is in the cards for him this season.
Washington Wizards
How much of the team will be dismantled at the deadline?
The Wizards will be one of the worst teams in the league this season, but they’ve still got interesting pieces that can be moved. Washington already dealt Deni Avdija for two firsts, and they can receive a similar return for Kyle Kuzma if they choose to trade him. Veterans like Jonas Valanciunas and Malcolm Brogdon could also be useful players to a contender, so what the Wizards decide to do at the deadline could impact the title race across the league.
The Cam Thomas (and Ben Simmons?) show
Brooklyn Nets
Is Cam Thomas really just an empty calories scorer?
Cam Thomas with the greenest of lights might be the best show in the NBA, especially when his teammates want touches too. The young guard has so far been labeled as an empty calories scorer, and it’s now up to him to show if he can also be a reliable playmaker and defender. Thomas might unironically lead the league in scoring, so make sure to draft him high in your fantasy leagues if you need those extra points.
Also, beware of a revenge season from Ben Simmons! The man’s ticked off since the craze surrounding his annual off-season shooting videos has been replaced by the Zion weight watch(ers).
Happy NBA opening night for all those who celebrate! Let’s hope for an entertaining and competitive season for all parties involved.
By Bill Huan, via Pounding The Rock