With all five teams making significant changes to their rosters this offseason, here’s how the NBA’s Atlantic Division will pan out in 2016-17.
The Atlantic Division had quite a year in 2015-16.
The Toronto Raptors reached new heights, breaking a franchise record with 56 wins in the regular season on their way to their third consecutive Atlantic Division title and their first-ever Eastern Conference Finals appearance.
A young Boston Celtics squad led by emerging star guard Isaiah Thomas along with Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder and others returned the franchise to relevance, posting a 48-34 record and making the playoffs for the second consecutive season in the post-Big 3 Era.
The New York Knicks failed to make the playoffs for the third consecutive year, but saw a rebirth in excitement surrounding the team with the arrival of dynamic rookie Kristaps Porzingis.
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Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers continued to struggle among the ranks of the league’s cellar dwellers, with the latter winning only 10 games the entire season.
In light of all that, the offseason was kind to most of the teams in the Atlantic Division.
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One team added a potential franchise player, another brought on former stars in hopes of revitalizing the franchise’s competitiveness while another added an established star who could possibly be the piece that catapults them back into contention.
Now, at the tail end of the offseason, many questions surround the outlook of the Atlantic Division in the coming season.
Will The North maintain their chokehold on the division crown for four straight years, or will the Celtics reclaim the throne and once again be a force in the Eastern Conference? Will the Knicks and Carmelo Anthony end their playoff drought and bring the postseason back to the Garden?
Will rookie Ben Simmons help the 76ers finally begin to turn their fortunes around and start the journey back to relevancy?
With the competition sure to be stiffer at the top of this division next season, here are some early predictions for how the Atlantic Division will pan out in 2016-17.
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