Portis is the backup 5. He’s obviously too small and not good enough at defense for a full time 5 but he plays well with Giannis

Defensively scary. Real lack of spacing and ball handling on offense.

Before the replies get toxic, I would like to say this is going to be the strongest the East has been in years, objectively. You can make the case for 5 or 6 different teams making it to the Finals I’d argue

Isn’t Larsson going to be part of the rotation?

Good regular season team but probably a 1st round exit unless they get another ball handler/scorer.

I think Pelle Larson who you didn’t even include in the roster is going to have a killer season. Watch out for him starting too.

Not very dangerous imo. I think they’ll be a really fun and competitive team that I could see making it into the second round. But they don’t have a single shot creator. Like you’re in a phone booth and need a bucket to not lose the game, type of guy.

Giannis and Bam are not that. That’s why they’re not very dangerous imo. They’ll be fun to watch though

That’s a solid 7-8th seed in this year’s East (assuming Giannis doesn’t get hurt).

Miami just didn’t do enough to move the needle, I think NY, Cleveland, Philly, Boston, Indiana, Detroit, Toronto and possibly even Atlanta will all be better.

OP really trying to sell Davion hard in that first sentence lol

They’re not serious contenders, but clearly playoff team. I’d put them between 4-6 with a ceiling of third seed.

People are really sleeping on this team now. Even as a biased Celtics fan I would put 1. Philly 2. New York and then 3. Miami but I could see Miami coming out of the East for sure.

Am I crazy or is this only marginally better than what the bucks had last year? I guess bam is the obvious upgrade

That’s a solid 40 win team right there.

Probably play-in tbh. That offense looks completely putrid.

I like a lot of these players in a vacuum, but the lack of a lot of what really makes a good Giannis team work has me concerned. Not sure, outside of Giannis, who is supposed to be creating any offense.

Maybe an 8th seed if all goes well. The roster looks tough and a pain in the ass to play against but we don’t have a closer and I see us losing a lot of close games. 44-38 was my original prediction just cuz the eastern conference is going to be a bloodbath again this year. A couple of bad weeks will sink you.

They’ll be scary but get exposed in the playoffs

I don’t think Pelle will start but I do think he’ll be top 5 on the team in minutes and I think he’s a sneaky 6 MOTY bet. It’s weird to me how overlooked he is.

the guard and wing scoring is some of the worst in the league, with I guess wiggins the number 1 option? or counting on a THJ heater every night? that being said, the heat always maximizes role players and the defense will just shut some teams down, but I really don’t see them cracking top 4. top 6 is possible

A heathy Giannis is still the best player in the East so they have a legit chance if he’s healthy.

Larson is 6th man come on now. Arguably could start

Forgetting Pelle means you don’t have a clue about what the HEAT about to do

Depth is garbage. Nuggets/wolves level of garbage

You’re forgetting Simone, who I had slotted in as the backup 3.

PG: Davion / Dru

SG: Klay / THJ

SF: Wiggins / Simone (or Pelle)

PF: Giannis / Jovic (or maybe Pelle could play up a position)

C: Bam / Portis

Backup 1 and 4 could use some improvement imo. Dru Smith had his first really consistent minutes last season but the efficiency wasn’t there. Jovic obviously struggled last season so you’re hoping a reduced role will reign that back in.

7-10

They probably won’t be a play-in team so better than they’ve been recently. Not a contender though

Reminds me of how nba teams were built when I first started watching the nba but the biggest difference is they are encouraged to shoot 3s way more. I think there is big potential for them to figure it out and be contenders.

Mitchell. THJ, Klay, Wiggins, Portis, jovic and Bam all have potential to have good to great shooting years. I think there’s enough shooting to win games where Gianni’s finishes them

I think they will be the first seed. Then again, Giannis really hasn’t stayed healthy in a while.

I don’t think there is a better roster on paper. Maybe the Sixers.

I think the top six teams in no order are the Knicks, Sixers, Raptors, Cavs, Pacers, and Heat. Not the seeds, but the teams themselves

Purgatory type of team. Expect them to finish somwhere between 7 and 11. If everyone stays healthy and they manage to get into a groove, they might be a 6th seed.

Giannis / Bam obviously is very strong, especially defensively. But Giannis has been hurt a lot in recent years. And if Bam gets hurt, they’re completely screwed. Portis as a small ball 5 is… not that good. Wiggins is alright, but past the point of significant improvement. Not the ideal 3rd best player, but at least he’s reliable. The backcourt is hard to judge. On paper, Mitchell / THJ sounds really bad, but maybe Spo works his usual magic. I don’t expect much from Klay, Jovic and Smith. A lot depends on Mitchell’s development and if they can find another random guy (the Miami special). Also, don’t forget Pelle. He might come in handy.

Starting lineup is solid, bench is a bit slim - but I think the coaching will lift them a little, and the Heat always seem to find some hidden gems as well. I don’t think they’re clear cut contenders but I think it’s at least a solid foundation for one offseason

Star player team-ups usually take about a year to gel and reach their best anyway, so I don’t think it’s too big a deal that they’re not running away as favorites

Least obvious play in team or first round exit 🤣🤣

playoff team but not a contender 5-7th seed would be my prediction

Klay does not move the needle

6th seed if healthy, play-in if Giannis isnt healthy. East is just stacked now. Knicks, 76ers, Cavs, Pistons, and Celtics are better than Miami imo. Pacers are a question mark til we see how Hali is but they did upgrade from Turner to Zubac imo, otherwise pretty much same team from ‘24-‘25. The Wizards have a chance to exceed expectations. Miami has like no offense, so unless they hold teams to 80 it’s every game, idk how they can win 50+ games in the East.

Middle of the pack in the east but not a serious contender

Bottom end of east playoff teams. Knicks, sixers, raptors, celtics, Cavs, pistons all ahead of them. In no particular order besides the first 2

5th or 6th behind the Knicks, Sixers, Cavs, Hawks, Pacers , and Magic

Giannis, Bam and a bunch of roster fodder and scrubs. Team’s not making any noise in the East.

I think they remain the same as where I had them before. 3rd or 4th in a tough Eastern Conference. Not having a shot creator outside of Giannis is their biggest issue, I think

I’m not even hating on Klay but I think their top possible ranking is like 5 or 6 with or without Klay but more likely a play-in team.

Butler and these guys went to the Finals, I ain’t going to doubt the Heat just yet if they have Giannis. The East looks tough this year, but I’m not counting out the Heat, they always make something happen.

i think we have to add another player to fufill roster requirments

also how do u have dru smith and not pelle larrson on here lmao

If you’re drafting a team to win on paper next year they have the number one coach in the league number one player in the east player in the argument for number one Duo in the league, gotta see how the auxiliary pieces work out though

Keep forgetting that Giannis is a Heat, maybe it’s just me but can’t remember a MVP candidate changing team with this little hype.

I think they will be solid and could be dangerous in the playoffs despite all their flaws if Giannis stays healthy. So maybe 6th or 7th in the regular season, the team nobody wants to play in the first round if Giannis is healthy.

They will probably play pretty ugly basketball, not a league pass team.

this is their 2019 lakers year, id put us philly boston raps indy assuming hali bounces back cavs detroit above them. maybe atlanta too but idk. we’ll see the first real iteration of this team in 2027-28

I’d be surprised if they are top 6 because the East is suddenly stacked and Giannis is getting older and will miss time.

Giannis’s health is key to their success

I have them as a 6th seed.

Knicks, Celtics, Sixers, Cavs, and Pistons ahead of them.

It’s going to be a very competitive east so I don’t think there’s going to be any huge gaps. 6th seed won’t be that far off from the 1st seed imo

I don’t get why teams without a true option at backup center don’t give Dwight Howard a shot. I know I haven’t seen his game, but hopefully he can give 15mins to guard and grab boards.

Davion Mitchell as your PG is pretty terrifying. There is basically no one else on the team besides Giannis who creates their own shot.

Big concern about the bench they shoulda kept Norm

Seems like the type of team that is built more for the playoffs than the regular season. Defensively, in the post season, this team is going to be a tough match up if everyone is healthy

Probably the 4th or 5th seed and a tough out. Probably loses in the second round

Their gonna be the team the timberwovles for the east if you beat this team your a real contender

And Fontecchio 🇮🇹

They will be excellent defensively but that offense and spacing is going to be a rough watch. They have limited ball handlers so if something happens to Giannis even for a short period they will be in significant trouble.

Defense: Scary

Offense: Don’t ask

I think they’re solid, but I see their floor as ⁷⁄₈ seed assuming and ceiling at 4 - assuming Giannis healthy of course

5 seed not a contender

They have Giannis who is the best player to be stuck in the worst situation out of the top 5. Those players tend to overperform once they get good/great coaches.

So it all depends on Giannis’ health.

Mid on mid. There’s no spacing on offense, limited shooting, and ball handling. Upside: at least Giannis gets to live in Miami. He won’t be a contender but at least he gets South Beach

Giannis gonna be injured and they won’t even make the playin or he has a full healthy season and surprise us

Milwaukee east (Minus THJGod 2nd best player)

Tim Hardaway Jr gets his own acronym now?

Anyway, even adding Klay the Heat have the worst guard rotation of any playoff contender.

Their frontcourt is really good, but I don’t see how they can hang with the Knicks, 76ers, Cavs, Pistons or Celtics. Heat will be in the mix with Toronto, Atlanta, Orlando, and Indiana and while their top two players are better than the top two on any of those teams, I think all of those teams have better depth. Heat will be a play-in team that will have a chance to do well if they make the playoffs because they have Giannis.

If Giannis misses significant team they might not make the play-in. Washington and Charlotte will be better than most people are thinking. Not nearly as good as Heat with Giannis, but better than the Heat if Giannis is out.

I think anyone can win the east this year it’s just too tough it’s gonna come down to health and a little bit of luck. We got a year ahead of us for sure can’t wait for football and basketball to start seems like it’s the end of the dynasties and every season anyone can win it all

The guard depth isn’t great, Klay and THJ at least add shooting, but there isn’t any playmaking there and the defense is quite horrible at the 2. Davion is a good defender and decent playmaker with an improving shot, but Dru Smith is not very good. I don’t love the backcourt very much at all, lots of flaws

The front court starters are very good, but the depth leaves a lot to be desired. Jović just isn’t good, Portis can score well and is a decent enough rebounder, but is horrendous defensively and I don’t like not having a good defensive big. I guess their other wing will be Fontecchio? He’s a decent enough wing offensively but again doesn’t give much value outside of this.

Long story short, there’s a lot of question marks on the team, but a Giannis/Bal frontcourt is scary in both sides of the ball. They are going to need to find some production from lesser regarded guys to be great, but I think they’ll be in that tier behind Boston/NY/76ers along with Toronto/Detroit/Cavs/Pacers

Pretty flawed in terms of both shooting and depth. I put them around 5 or 6 in the east, with no chance of any meaningful playoff run if Giannis isn’t completely healthy in the post season.

It’s honestly hard to say.

Best big rotation and the worst guard rotation imo.

Larsson can change the guard part but i just don’t know.

Does Bam’s 3pt shot improve?

Giannis’s body gonna hold up when his game is like 80+% based on athleticism?

a lot of teams in the east have high ceilings and low floors. going to be bunched up I think and not a big spread between the 2 seed and 6 seed.

47 win team

Assuming Gianni’s is better than the power forward in Detroit, Boston, toronto, and magic, plus spoestra makes use of the 7 footer you could be 3rd but the rest of your line up other than bam, have to have career season.

Klay hasn’t been a SG for five years. He’s best used as a Power Forward these days

Maybe as high as 6th, but NYK, Philly, Boston, Cleveland, IND, are definitely better and deeper and Toronto is somewhere in the same range and ATL has improved.

I mean portis will be the backup 5. It’s a role he’s played before he’s a little undersized but with bam as ur starting 5 you don’t need more than like 15 min a night from him. And he plays well with giannis. The east is gonna be pretty solid I think. Miami has depth questions and some health questions. I feel like they will struggle to consistently create good shots for themselves at times but defensively they’ll be very good. They’ll be at the worse a playoff team and avoid the playin barring injuries. 

This teams gonna be ass, I guarantee it

I’m not sure if this is anything more than a play in team. Are they better than 6 teams in the east ?? I don’t think they are.

And honestly if Giannis isn’t 100% the whole season I could easily see them missing the playoffs altogether. It just a really badly built basketball team right now. I think they have to trade bam for two really good ball handler/shot creator types and have Giannis play the 5 if they have any chance of being good this season.

I do think Riley will figure it out next offseason when he has more flexibility to put the right kind of pieces around Giannis. They will be a much better team a year from now. But this year, is gonna be tough.

I think people need to temper their expectations of Giannis, people are talking about him like he’s 26 and is gonna come in and rule the league. Dudes been hurt quite the last few seasons and getting up there in age, it’s gonna be hard for him to be what they need on offense and also be elite defender as well. The same goes for Thompson and hardaway.

If I had to put money on it right now I would say the Heat are a play in team that gets beat pretty soundly in the first round by the Knicks , sixers, or pistons.

In 2k you have to have at least 12 dudes on tbd roster does that not apply to real life? Why are we assuming there are no new additions to the Miami roster?

I’d say 5th in east sounds about right.

38-44

Biggest weakness seems to be the point guard. They don’t provide much three point shooting and playmaking putting a ton of pressure on Bam and Giannis which can work but those are supposed to be your defensive workhorses and scorers so your asking a lot from them. Defensively they are amazing. They should be top 5 seed in the regular season but they will struggle in the playoffs if they face team that can effectively take advantage of their mid pg/playmaking.

To answer the question posed, I wouldn’t take them over New York, Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Detroit or Toronto (if Kawhi is playing). So, I’d have them, Orlando and Indiana fighting for the last two playoff spots.

The 5th best team in the east

Look I love Davion but in the playoffs his immense heart will be overshadowed by his lack of size. He’s a real dawg but man, the way the firepower in the east is looking lately, it’s gonna be tough.

Probably Larson/Jovic/Portis as the backup 3/4/5. Very interested to see what spo cooks up with the lineup, seen him do well with much worse

It can’t touch the Celtics, Knicks or Sixers

They’re gonna get cooked

Remind me in six months

They have a good starting five, defense should be great and they have shooting 1-3. They are just a really thin team, and offensively it could be a little awkward. I’d probably put them in the 5-8 range in the East.

³⁄₄ seed , 2nd round potential if they get the right matchup. gotta factor in Spoelstra and organizational competance

I’m a big fan of No Backup Center. Hoping he gets some time to shine this year.

Solid play in team.