Celtics win total set at 49.5 by Vegas

[liam]

So much will depend on getting out of the gate fast and health. It's very hard to predict an NBA season. I think this team will be surprisingly good. They have a lot to prove. I hope Jaylen's contract gets done before the season starts.

[SHAQATTACK]

I think i guessed 48 .

they are more optimistic I guess.

I thought they were going places last year.....so...yeah ...ya never know

[droopdog7]

I’ll pick the over.

[SparzWizard]

Under.

The East is too good with Bucks and 76ers being the two best teams in the conference. Followed by Indy and the acquisition of Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn.

[jambr380]

I thought they could be a slightly better regular season team than last year so I guess I'll go over...but barely. Glad to see the Cs are getting some respect - this team should be a lot of fun, even if they don't have the championship expectations of last year's group.

[Muzzy66]

You can't predict wins without also predicting losses.  A lot of teams got better, but only a few got appreciably worse (e.g. the Hornets). 

Under, but lots of noise in the playoffs.

I'm not sure I agree.
 
I mean Bucks are clearly worse after the loss of Brogdon and Mirotic.  They are still an excellent team and they are honestly my favorite to take the #1 seed in the East, but Brogdon was a huge piece for them and was considered by many to be their second best player.  I don't feel that adding  Wes Matthews and Robin Lopez makes up for that.  But they will be very good regardless.   

Raptors are clearly far worse given that they lost an MVP calibre player without a replacement.  Look what happened to the Spurs when they suffered the same loss. They won 61 games in the 16/17 season with Kawhi, and they won 47 games the following season without him.  That's a drop of 14 wins.  If the Raptors suffer a similar loss (and it's reasonable to expect they will) then you are looking at around 45 wins, which is probably putting them in a #4 seed at best.

Philly IMHO are the most overrated team in the East right now.  Most people seem to thing got dramatically better this year.  I think they got a tad worse.  I think the loss of Reddick & Butler hurts them quite a bit more then the addition of Horford helps. Riddick's elite shooting was critical in creating the space that they needed for Simmons and Embiid to work, and Butler is a preferential All-Star in his prime who can do everything (handle the ball, make plays, score, get stops). Those two guys were also the only two capable clutch scorers on the team, which was crucial for them in the playoffs and at the end of close games.  The Sixers will still be excellent and will probably finish with a top 2 seed, they simply have too much talent not to. But I the only reason i see them finishing so highly is because almost everybody else has regressed.

Indiana should be be improved.  It's hard to say for sure because losing Bogdanovic is big, and they are depending a lot on the healthy recovery of Oladipo and Brogdon.  But if those guys do come back strong this team will be VERY good.  Turner is a defensive beast who can also score, Sabonis has proven himself to be a very nice big man with possible all-star potential, Brogdon is an outstanding two-way PG and Oladipo is showed flashes of MPV calibre talent.  The Pacers are my wildcard team in the East, and if everything falls in to place i think they could surprise people and compete for a top 2 seed in the East

After that it's really just Boston that's left - I just do not see any other competition.

My prediction:

1- Milwaukee
2- Philly
3- Indiana
4- Boston
=5- Toronto
=5- Brooklyn

I think the 49.5 game prediction for Boston is pretty much on the money.  I don't see them falling much above or below that personally.

[GreenCoffeeBean]

I’ll take the over. We will go slightly above 500 against the west and lose a dozen games and a half in the East.

[Big333223]

Over by a bit. 50-52 wins.

If the locker room was really as dysfunctional as it seemed last season and the changes allow guys like Jaylen and Jayson to step into their rightful roles, and Hayward isn't complete trash, I think the remaining guys will feel like a weight has been lifted and the new guys are going to be hungry at an opportunity to win.

I'm optimistic.

[Csfan1984]

Under, unless C's all join FIBA. I think bonding and getting a jump on chemistry during that could equal 5 to 8 more wins.

[Moranis]

Under, unless C's all join FIBA. I think bonding and getting a jump on chemistry during that could equal 5 to 8 more wins.

but how much do they lose with less talent, especially down low?

[Greengang5]

Ainge and Stevens need to clearly set expectation this off season for roles.  The Celtics need to have a good preseason schedule.  Last years was horrible.  The early portion of the schedule will be big as well since this team will need to start off quickly in my opinion.  If those three things (among others) happen then I could see more than 50 wins.   

[Evantime34]

You can't predict wins without also predicting losses.  A lot of teams got better, but only a few got appreciably worse (e.g. the Hornets). 

Under, but lots of noise in the playoffs.

I'm not sure I agree.
 
I mean Bucks are clearly worse after the loss of Brogdon and Mirotic.  They are still an excellent team and they are honestly my favorite to take the #1 seed in the East, but Brogdon was a huge piece for them and was considered by many to be their second best player.  I don't feel that adding  Wes Matthews and Robin Lopez makes up for that.  But they will be very good regardless.   

Raptors are clearly far worse given that they lost an MVP calibre player without a replacement.  Look what happened to the Spurs when they suffered the same loss. They won 61 games in the 16/17 season with Kawhi, and they won 47 games the following season without him.  That's a drop of 14 wins.  If the Raptors suffer a similar loss (and it's reasonable to expect they will) then you are looking at around 45 wins, which is probably putting them in a #4 seed at best.

Philly IMHO are the most overrated team in the East right now.  Most people seem to thing got dramatically better this year.  I think they got a tad worse.  I think the loss of Reddick & Butler hurts them quite a bit more then the addition of Horford helps. Riddick's elite shooting was critical in creating the space that they needed for Simmons and Embiid to work, and Butler is a preferential All-Star in his prime who can do everything (handle the ball, make plays, score, get stops). Those two guys were also the only two capable clutch scorers on the team, which was crucial for them in the playoffs and at the end of close games.  The Sixers will still be excellent and will probably finish with a top 2 seed, they simply have too much talent not to. But I the only reason i see them finishing so highly is because almost everybody else has regressed.

Indiana should be be improved.  It's hard to say for sure because losing Bogdanovic is big, and they are depending a lot on the healthy recovery of Oladipo and Brogdon.  But if those guys do come back strong this team will be VERY good.  Turner is a defensive beast who can also score, Sabonis has proven himself to be a very nice big man with possible all-star potential, Brogdon is an outstanding two-way PG and Oladipo is showed flashes of MPV calibre talent.  The Pacers are my wildcard team in the East, and if everything falls in to place i think they could surprise people and compete for a top 2 seed in the East

After that it's really just Boston that's left - I just do not see any other competition.

My prediction:

1- Milwaukee
2- Philly
3- Indiana
4- Boston
=5- Toronto
=5- Brooklyn

I think the 49.5 game prediction for Boston is pretty much on the money.  I don't see them falling much above or below that personally.

I thought Oladipo would be out until mid season. If that's the case I'd say it's very unlikely that Inidiana is better than Toronto, Boston and Brooklyn.

[bopna]

52 wins easily.

[bellerephon]

52 wins easily.

I would say 52 is possible, but I wouldn't say they'll get there easily. There are a lot of questions about how the defense will be without Horford.

[Csfan1984]

Under, unless C's all join FIBA. I think bonding and getting a jump on chemistry during that could equal 5 to 8 more wins.

but how much do they lose with less talent, especially down low?

I got them at 45wins so 5 or 8 wins for me is just 50 to 53.
As for down low impact, consistent contributions could make up for last year's total. I say that because Baynes was 32 years old and only played 51 games. Horford 32 years old at 68 games and Theis banged up managed 66. All three had poor moments that looked slow and tired. A Healthy Theis, 27 year old Kanter, 26 year old VP trying to establish himself and 22 year old Time lord working hard could manage 72+ game seasons and hyper activity every minute they play putting more pressure on teams than what we saw last year. It's wishful thinking but still it's possible.