The Boston Celtics enter the 2014-15 season coming off a disappointing year. Year two of the Brad Stevens era figures to be a better one as the team added some pieces to a good young core. The story line for the Celtics all year long will be what they decide to do with Rajon Rondo.
The Brooklyn Nets enter the 2014-15 with less hope than they did enter the 2013-14 season after some big offseason moves appeared to propel the team into contention that year. A year later, the team could be in for an even better season, despite the absence of the buzz that predicated their previous campaign.
The New York Knicks enter this season with a new team president and a new head coach. Team president Phil Jackson has spent the offseason crafting a new vision for the Knicks, his vision. He brought in one of his long-time players to help carry out that vision in new head coach Derek Fisher.
Fresh off one of the best seasons in franchise history, the Toronto Raptors look to build on that momentum, with many of the same faces back, and the division once again ripe for the taking.
Is there any team in the NBA that has had a worse last 8 months than the Pacers. They had their terrible slides in the second half of the regular season, looked terrible in the playoffs and to top it all off lost their best player, Paul George.
The Pistons have talent but they are ushering in a new era under Stan Van Gundy as they were not getting the production they want on the court in terms of wins and losses.
Milwaukee was terrible last season with a league low 15 victories. They lost out of the top pick in the draft in the lottery and still do not have a roster that can compete. It is going to be another long year for the Bucks.
The New Orleans Pelicans are an up-and-coming team with an improved roster from the 2013-14 campaign. Players such as Jrue Holiday, Ryan Anderson and Omer Asik will be difference-makers if healthy, but success begins and ends with the health and production of Anthony Davis.
The Dallas Mavericks surprised some people this past season by making the playoffs after multiple offseasons spent unsuccessfully chasing superstars.
The Golden State Warriors have been a near contender the past handful of years, and the hope in the Bay Area is that this is the season the team finally breaks through.
In the Windy City it all comes down to Derrick Rose. If healthy and the the player he is capable of this team can be as good as any in the East. If not they are just another in a group of unpredictable likely playoff participants.
The Phoenix Suns entered the 2013-14 NBA season as a near-consensus to finish last, or at least near last, in a brutally tough Western Conference. As it turns out, fans and analysts alike couldn’t have been more wrong.
The Houston Rockets were shocked last season when the Portland Trail Blazers sent them packing in the first round of the playoffs. This is a championship-or-bust kind of roster, and while that mentality hasn’t changed, the team now has a lot more to prove following a disappointing first-round exit.
No team made an offseason splash like the Cavs did. It would have been more than enough to bring LeBron home but adding others for a possible championship runs makes things pretty exciting.
The Atlanta Hawks looked like the third-best team in the Eastern Conference last season behind the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers when healthy, but “when healthy” didn’t last long, as Al Hoford’s injury set them back, resulting in an eight-seed finish.
The Washington Wizards were a pleasant surprise last season, and should continue showing improvement during the 2014-15 NBA campaign.
