The 2022-23 NBA season is upon us!

It’s time for our annual tradition of previewing the season — division by division — asking two very important questions for each team:

What’s the case for the Over?
What’s the case for the Under?

5. New York Knicks — 38.5 wins

What’s the case for the Over?

Jalen Brunson’s arrival is going to transform the offense. The Knicks offense already had an extra gear and a good sense of direction in the preseason. The spacing and ball movement were far and away better than last season’s malaise.

The Knicks will be so much more competent with a legit point guard running the show.

As a result, life is going to be so much easier for a highly-motivated Julius Randle this season with Brunson around.
RJ Barrett aggressiveness shined in the second half of last season. If he continues to have an attacking mindset and can shoot like he did two years ago, look out.
D-Rose is back. He still has that quick first step and will guide the second unit, bringing stability and steadiness while adding a spark and controlling the tempo of the game.
Cam Reddish, rocking his new number 0 and a t-shirt, actually got playing time in preseason, and so did Obi Toppin. Dear Thibs, please play Quickley, Toppin and Reddish real minutes. Deuce McBride and Quentin Grimes also deserve a chance.
Hartenstein was one of the Clippers best bench players last season.

The defense here in the preseason also played like the New York Knickerbockers defense that Thibs wants them to play. The Knicks D forced 22 and 19 turnovers in the first two games (against the Pistons and Pacers, but still). Don’t forget that after the All-Star Break last season, the Knicks had the #1 defense in the league.

The Knicks transition game, a direct result of the defense playing stronger, could be more of a factor this season. They were 24th in fast break points last season and dead last two years ago. More points in transition can only help this offense.

What’s the case for the Under?

To be blunt: This is the Knicks.

For all the preseason praise awarded, the Knicks did not play any “good” teams. (Pistons, Pacers, Pacers again and then the Wizards).
Year 1 Thibs is/was great, but he always wears out his welcome. Year 2 Thibs last year was too real, running his guys into the ground same as always. Will he actually play the young guys here who clearly deserve real minutes?
This Knicks team is LEFTY’S GALORE. Seriously, has a team ever had so many left-handed players? Brunson, Randle, Barrett, Hartenstein.

Final Prediction: The Knicks feel like a .500 team. Over 38.5 wins.

4. Toronto Raptors — 46.5 wins

What’s the case for the Over?

The Raptors won 48 games last year and essentially return the entire roster, plus they added Otto Porter Jr., a positive contributor for the Warriors championship run last season.

This Raptors team is basking in continuity and we are forever a strong believer in the notion that continuity is a vastly underrated aspect of the game.
The longest-tenured Raptors, Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet are coming off terrific seasons.
- Siakam was a third team All-NBA selection, besting the numbers from his breakout 2019-20 season.
- VanVleet set the franchise record for most 3-pointers in a season, the third-most 3s behind only Steph and Buddy Hield.
Scottie Barnes, the reigning Rookie of the Year,
The Raptors defense with their extreme length and athleticism is suffocating. Toronto has the personnel to switch everything.
Nick Nurse is innovative, unleashing all hell on the league with his no-center-but-humongous-everywhere-else lineups that attacked relentlessly with length, speed and aggressive ball-pressure to get up and GO in transition.
Gary Trent Jr. is still very capable of turning into The Man Possessed a.k.a. Gary Bubble Trent Jr.

Over the last month of the season, no team in the NBA won more games than the Toronto Raptors, a record of 14-4 over the last 18 games that included two 5-game winning streaks.

Toronto has hit the Over in four out of the last five seasons and 11 out of the last 12 (!!) years.

What’s the case for the Under?

The Raptors had some not-so-great 3-point shooting performances in the preseason, a category in which they were bottom-10 last season.

The Raptors still lack a true center and should continue to struggle in matchups against the league’s elite big men.
There is still some work to be done in the offensive half-court sets.
The Pelicans of the East, it’s difficult to make the case for the Under for this team. (Probably means that both will hit the Under.)

Final Prediction: This one feels like a Pure Lock. Over 46.5 wins.

3. Brooklyn Nets — 50.5 wins

What’s the case for the Over?

Kevin Durant must be so excited to just play basketball and hoop after everything that went down this summer. He’s still one of the best players to ever play the game. One of the purest scorers of all time.

Maybe this is the year that the Brooklyn “Dunder Mifflin on papers” finally put fantasy into reality on the court.
Kyrie and Ben Simmons have as much to prove as anybody. No vaccine mandate for Kyrie. Simmons flanked by some of the best shooters in the game: KD, Kyrie, Seth Curry and Joe Harris. Two of the literal best 3-point shooters in the game, above 45 percent (!!)
Royce O’Neal will help with the perimeter defense and lineup flexibility.
No more Blake and Aldridge to slow things down. T.J. Warren is here, he might play again one day.
Cam Thomas! Ed Sumner! The original WHO HE!?

Things have gone so south for the Nets that it feels like they are due for some good vibes.

What’s the case for the Under?

Kyrie is bound to find a way to fuck this up.

This team could disband by Christmas and nobody would be surprised.
Ben Simmons in the fourth quarter of a close game? Forced to shoot free throws? On the court the same time as Nic Claxton?! Two of the worst free throw shooters in the playoffs of all time.
KD usually misses time. Hasn’t played more than 55 games since he was in a Warriors uniform.
Steve Nash is on the hot seat from the jump.
Since KD and Kyrie arrived in Brooklyn, the vibes have been bad. They just have.
Can they beat the good teams in the league?

Will they have the chemistry and camaraderie necessary to win 51 games?

Final prediction: There are just too many questions here. Under feels like the safe bet. Under 50.5 wins.

2. Philadelphia 76ers — 51 wins

What’s the case for the Over?

Joel Embiid is coming for that MVP.

After back-to-back runner-up finishes, Embiid is out to get what he feels is rightfully his. He scored the most points per game in the entire NBA last year at 30.6 points and is fresh off his most durable season yet. He will benefit from having James Harden around for a full season of their stout two-man game. An Embiid-Harden pick-and-roll with Maxey slashing is a potent play the Sixers will run early and often.

Speaking of Harden, he does look like he’s in the best shape to start a season in quite some time. And Maxey looks like the same bright spark that he always is.
P.J. Tucker and D’Anthony Melton will help this defense, especially on the perimeter.
Danuel House is here too — the ex-Rockets are back together!
Thybulle, not a playoffs guy, but a regular-season defensive wizard.
Korkmaz was ballin’ in the preseason. Niang can still snipe the 3-ball.
Montrezl Harrell is a regular season innings eater. He’s played his best ball under Doc, same as Tobias Harris. Trez is back with Harden, too. They have pick-and-roll chemistry.
Regular-season Doc >>>>>> Playoffs Doc.

So much more so than last season, Philly is going to be able to play different types of lineups.

What’s the case for the Under?

Embiid had his healthiest season last year, but can he replicate it? He still falls down too much.

Will Harden continue on his decline?
P.J. Tucker is 37 years old and plays a bruising style of ball.
Are we sure the defense with Harden and Maxey on the court at the same time is going to hold up? Can they share the court in late-game crunch-time situations?
Will Harden be sure to give the ball to Embiid at the end of games? He didn’t always do that last season.

Doc is still in charge of the lineups…

Final Prediction: Philly seems destined to roll. Over 51 wins.

1. Boston Celtics — 53.5 wins

What’s the case for the Over?

The Celtics could be the Suns of last season.

The team coming off a Finals loss dealing with internal drama that rallies around playing their best ball.

With their top guys on the court together, the C’s looked good in the preseason. Real good.
The J-Team duo has really started to play their best basketball at the same time and together. Tatum and Brown get better every season. This year should be no different.
- After the All-Star Break, Tatum averaged 30-7-5 and shot 41.5 percent from 3 on 9.2 attempts per game! He looked smoother and more in control than ever. The game looked so easy for him.
- After Jan. 1, Brown had 11 games of six or more assists. He only had one such game in the first 2.5 months of the season. After Brown started distributing more, that’s when the C’s commenced their winning ways.
Malcolm Brogdon brings a steady presence to the bench, somebody that can run the offense and hold his own on D. Perhaps Smart’s arrival to Beantown will push Marcus Smart to be an even better version of himself.
Sam Houser was a 3-point sniper in the preseason.
The C’s didn’t play that bad when Time Lord missed time at the end of last season and into the playoffs. They are at least familiar with life without him.

The Celtics started last season 18-21 and still won 51 games.

This team feels like it has something to prove.

What’s the case for the Under?

The injuries are a precarious start.

Time Lord is out for months. We know that the Celtics, and especially this defense, cannot reach their highest potential without Robert Williams.
Gallinari didn’t even make it out of EuroBasket.
Ime Udoka is a good coach and really kept this team in line. Some (Simmons and Russillo) have even called him the team’s true leader. Kind of an important piece that will be missing.
Al Hordord is getting up there in age. He’s 36 and this is Year 16 for him. The frontcourt is lacking. See: Blake Griffin.
The Celtics might be too reliant on Grant Williams. He did hit seven 3s in the Game 7 of his life vs. Milwaukee, but he was not heard from again.

The drama can be distracting. We know this group didn’t handle the Kyrie distractions very well.

Final Prediction: This number is just too ridiculously high in a gauntlet East. Under 53.5 wins.

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2022-23 Division Season Previews

WEDNESDAY NIGHT is OPENING NIGHT RD. II.

A glorious 12-game slate awaits!

We love this game!