Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images 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.