NBA: 2 sentence summaries for each East team’s season thus far
By Weston Titus
Southeast Division
Atlanta Hawks (20-22, 9th in East)
Uncertainty and drama have surrounded the ninth-place Hawks, turning what should have been a huge step forward after trading for All-Star Dejounte Murray, into a massive organizational step back. It seems inevitable that Atlanta will be looking for a new head coach soon, and they will find out how much blame lies there, and how much lies in their stars.
Charlotte Hornets (11-32, 15th in East)
Young star Lamelo Ball has played great since coming back from injury, but the team currently holds the second-worst record in the entire NBA. While this should give Hornets’ fans a bright future to look forward to, coach Steve Clifford’s unwillingness to play their young players gives them more uncertainty about their roster and ability to develop a winning team.
Miami Heat (23-20, 8th in East)
Despite franchise cornerstones Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, and Bam Adebayo all missing at least seven games, Miami finds themselves holding onto the eighth seed. While still a sharp drop from leading the Eastern Conference last year, Miami fans should be happy about the team’s resiliency, although their legitimacy as true contenders remains questionable.
Orlando Magic (16-26, 13th in East)
Orlando’s recent drafts have made themselves look like geniuses, and as they have found more health, they’ve found some winning basketball as well. While they will still likely finish with strong lottery chances at the bottom of the conference, Orlando’s growth and future, headlined by Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero, look Magical.
Next. Can the Nets keep the momentum without Durant?. dark
Washington Wizards (18-25, 12th in East)
It’s looking to be another season of mediocrity for Washington, as they’ve seen great improvement out of possible free agents Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma. This could be the season they finally take a step out of the middle ground of the NBA, whether that be toward winning or rebuilding, but ownership has indicated they are happy with middling disappointment.