Celtics vs Cavs,Wizards,Raptors,Hawks,Bucks

[Tr1boy]

I get some ppl here have pre big 3 celtics horror in mind. Even last year without kg/pp in the lineup string of losses. But this years team is not the same. Sullinger was pretty good b4 he went down, rondo for the most part was good b4 he went down, bradley was not 100 percent and green finally was hitting his stride. Plus its not like minus kg/pp and thats it. Wallace and hump started for a pretty good nets team last year , in addition brooks is a nice scorer off the bench. U even add celts finally signed a pure backup pg in pressey and also a saught after international player in faverani, the celts have more depth. Last year was so bad at times bass had to play center and we had to pickup three guys from the chinses league to help out

[Celtics18]

Top five, near locks to make playoffs:

Miami
Brooklyn
Chicago
New York
Indiana

Next five, any three could be a playoff team:

Detroit
Boston
Washington
Cleveland
Toronto

Bottom five, unlikely to make playoffs:

Atlanta
Milwaukee
Orlando
Charlotte
Philadelphia

How is it that Atlanta is 'unlikely to make the playoffs' when they were pretty decent last season and exchanged Josh Smith and Zaza Pachulia for Paul Millsap and Elton Brand?

I think one could easily make the case that the Hawks may have improved this offseason.

You could argue that Josh Smith and Paul Millsap are equals individually as players, but I still think the loss of Smith hurts them more than the addition of Millsap will help them.

Smith's versatility was very valuable to them.  They were able to play some big, yet athletic lineups with him at the three.  This was helpful considering that they have an undersized center in Horford. 

Now, their frontline is, although talented, very undersized.  Millsap can really only play the four.  This means that when they want their best lineup out there, they have to play Millsap and Horford together up front.  They've lost their best asset which was that versatility that Smith gave them. 

It also seems like they really lack elite level talent at the 1 through 3 positions.  On paper, it looks like their backcourt and wing starters could be Jeff Teague, John Jenkins, and Kyle Korver.  Two of those guys shouldn't be NBA starters, and while I believe that Teague is a starting level NBA point guard, he's definitely in the bottom tier. 

That said, I like their rooks--Schroeder and Noguiera.  They probably won't be difference makers just yet, though.

My guess is that the Hawks miss the playoffs this year.