NBA Opening Night saw the Boston Celtics receive their championship rings and ran the new-look New York Knicks off the court in a 132-109. In the nightcap, NBA history was made with LeBron James and Bronny James becoming the first father-son duo to play on the court together in the Lakers 110-103 victory over the Timberwolves.
The expectations for this NBA season are through the roof, with the league being deep with talent and a lot of teams ready to contend for the title. Here are five bold predictions for the 2024-25 NBA season.
5) A 50-loss team will make the play-in in the Eastern Conference
The Eastern Conference definitely has its fair share of contenders, as the presumptive top seven teams (Celtics, Knicks, Sixers, Bucks, Cavs, Magic, Pacers), each have a case to make a deep run in the postseason. After that though is where the drop off is steep.
The 50 loss team likely won’t come from the seventh or eighth seed, but the nine and ten seeds look like where it could happen. In the short history of the play-in tournament, there has never been a 50-loss team.
The teams likely battling it out for the nine and ten spots are the Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, Charlotte Hornets, and Chicago Bulls. All four of these teams are in the rebuilding phase and lost major talent in the offseason.
The Hawks have a very young core around Trae Young that is unproven, but talented. The Raptors have a solid foundation in Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, and RJ Barrett, but likely won’t be a threat most nights.
The Hornets and Pistons are coming off of historically bad seasons and will need more than a year to reach 40 wins. The Bulls let go of DeRozan in the offseason and likely will have more moves coming. All of these teams could also be sellers at the trade deadline as well, causing them to lose talent. With that said a 50-loss team in the play-in looks very likely.