NBA Swing: 30 Teams, 30 Questions: Southeast Division

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For two of the last three seasons, Miami has sat atop the Southeast Division, showing what impact Heat culture has had. Right behind the Heat have been the Atlanta Hawks, led by one of the best young guards in the league, Trae Young. In addition to the Heat and Hawks, the rest of the division is full of young and hungry teams. LaMelo Ball has shown out on the young Charlotte Hornets while Orlando Magic are looking to take a leap this year with first overall draft pick Paolo Banchero. Finally, the Bradley Beal-led Washington Wizards are looking to return to the NBA playoffs after a disappointing 2021-22 season.

Miami Heat: Can Miami remain at the top of the East?

Last season, Mami had a strong season, finishing with a 53-29 record, the best in the Eastern Conference. Jimmy Butler showed why he is one of the hardest working players in the league while Bam Adebayo proved why he’s one of the best big men. Tyler Herro had a breakout season and won NBA Sixth Man of the Year. Veteran Kyle Lowry had a strong season when he was on the court. The Heat also had a reliable bench with players that include Victor Oladipo, Max Strus, and Duncan Robinson. The team matched evenly against some of the best teams in the league. Miami had a deep playoff run that unfortunately ended in a Game 7 loss in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics. While the season can be seen as a win, Miami still has everything they need to be one of the best teams in the East. Can they remain at the top of the East though? Miami split multiple series with some of their key competitors in the East including Milwaukee and Philadelphia. The Heat had a losing record against the eventual Eastern Conference champions. In the offseason, it can be argued that Boston, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee all got stronger while the Heat have taken a small step back. In addition, Brooklyn has kept their core in KD and Kyrie, while Atlanta and Cleveland are looking to shock everyone after trading for Dejounte Murray and Donovan Mitchell, respectively. The East has grown stronger, something that is good for the league overall, but bad for the Heat. It may be hard for Miami to remain at the top, but don’t expect a major drop-off.

Atlanta Hawks: What can Trae and Dejounte accomplish together?

The first big move of the 2022 NBA offseason, the Atlanta Hawks acquired All-Star Dejounte Murray in a trade that included veteran Danilo Gallinari and three first-round picks. Atlanta adds Murray to one of the best young guards in the league in Trae Young. In an Eastern Conference that has only gotten stronger in the offseason, the Hawks may be one of the most overlooked teams. Many forget that the Hawks reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. While hopes were high last season, injuries had their effect on the Hawks. John Collins 28 games while Bogdan Bogdanovic, De’Andre Hunter, and Danilo Gallinari missed significant games as well. Trae Young would play 76 games, second most on the team. He averaged 28.4 PPG, 9.7 APG, and 3.7 RPG, landing his second All-Star appearance in the process. Meanwhile in San Antonio Dejounte Murray made his first All-Star appearance, averaging 21.1 PPG, 9.2 APG, and 8.3 RPG on a Spurs team struggling to rebuild. The pairing of Young and Murray makes the young backcourt one of the best duos in the East. Having to compete against Eastern Conference duos including James Harden and Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the young backcourt duo will have their work cut out for them. After finishing eighth last season and several teams improving in the offseason, the expectations for the new Hawks have ranged from a sleeper contender in the East to sitting outside of the playoffs. With Young and Murray having an exciting showing at the CrawsOver Pro-Am event in late July, fans can only hope to see the same during the 2022-23 season.

Orlando Magic: Can Banchero lead the Magic to the Play-in?

Last season, the Orlando Magic finished with a 22-60 record, the worst in the Eastern Conference and second worst in the league. Although the Magic have plenty of promising young talent including Cole Anthony, Franz Wagner, and Wendell Carter Jr, the Magic struggled to compete during the 2021-22 season. Being one of three teams to have a 14% chance to land the first overall draft pick of the 2022 NBA draft, the Magic won the lottery and would go on to select Duke forward Paolo Banchero. In his single season with the Blue Devils, Banchero averaged 20.9 PPG, 9.5 RPG, and 3.9 APG. In two Summer League games, Banchero would average 20.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 6.0 APG. He would be pulled from Summer League with Orlando saying how good he was on the court. Heading into the 2022-23 season, the NBA is a different beast, compared to Summer League and college. Many outlets and league personalities see Banchero as NBA-ready. What can he do for the Magic though? While they may not be a championship contender, the Magic could make the Play-In Tournament. There won’t be a lot of movement between the 1-8 seeds as many of those teams from last season either improved or kept their same roster. With several Play-In teams from last season heading into the season with uncertainty, several teams could be competing for those spots. If Banchero can have an immediate impact in Orlando, the Play-In Tournament could be a real possibility for the young Magic.

Charlotte Hornets: Can they find help for LaMelo?

In his two seasons in the league, Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball has looked like a superstar and franchise player. After a strong Rookie of the Year season, Ball followed it up by making his first NBA All-Star appearance. While LaMelo has looked strong, the same cannot be said for the team. In back-to-back seasons, the Hornets have lost in the Play-In Tournament. Injuries have dampened the team’s playoff hopes as well. Gordon Hayward is on the wrong side of 30 with a history if injuries while Kelly Oubre and Terry Rozier have underperformed for their contracts. When it comes to the bench, Charlotte has one of the weaker benches in the league. The only other bright spot for the team last season was Miles Bridges and it’s possible he’s played his last game in the league due to his actions off the court. Missing Bridges, it’s likely more of the scoring load will be put on LaMelo. While he could take this and turn it into another good season, Ball cannot take the team to the playoffs by himself when the East is as stacked as it is. There were rumors of the Hornets being interested in Lakers guard Russell Westbrook, but that could take away from LaMelo’s play on the court. With Charlotte not being a free agency destination for superstars, the Hornets could try to improve their roster through trades. Ball is set to be a restricted free agent in 2024. It’s clear that Charlotte will match whatever offers LaMelo gets, but will he want to stay there if he can’t get any help?

Washington Wizards: What’s a good season look like?

The Washington Wizards were one of the more surprising teams in October and November but fell back to the eighth seed by the end of 2021. Washington would then fall from eighth down to 12th by April. Bradley Beal played less than half the season due to a wrist injury, Kristaps Porzingis only played a handful of games after being traded from the Mavericks, and Kyle Kuzma had a strong season, but that wasn’t enough. The team was decimated throughout the season by health and safety protocols, having one of the largest rosters. In the offseason, there were not many changes to the roster. Bradley Beal signed an extension with a no-trade clause after being in trade rumors for years. The team signed veteran Taj Gibson in addition to Delon Wright. While Washington has made those small moves, many Eastern Conference teams have gotten stronger. This raises the question of what the Wizards can accomplish next season. A healthy Bradley Beal is one of the best scoring guards in the league. If Porzingis can stay healthy, he can easily be a 20+ PPG scorer. Kyle Kuzma has improved over the last couple of seasons and will only continue to improve. If everyone remains healthy, the NBA Play-In Tournament should be a realistic goal for the team. If the Wizards look similar to how they did last season, rumors of Beal wanting out of Washington will likely pop up again.