MIAMI — The prevailing notion once LeBron James put pen to paper on July 27 was that the stage was set in the Eastern Conference, that assessments could be set when it came to standings, seedings.
Yes, there was some cleanup work around the conference in the interim, most notably the Cavaliers' acquisition of Peyton Watson, but otherwise mostly ancillary stuff, like the 76ers adding Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Charlotte adding Dennis Schroder, and the Heat signing Klay Thompson and Nick Richards .
And t hen came Kawhi Day on Wednesday, in all its NBA drama in regard to the death penalties delivered to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Because with that finality, it meant that Kawhi Leonard to the Raptors again was a thing, an East acquisition on a level somewhere between Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Heat and Jaylen Brown to the 76ers.
So, no, we weren't done with the LeBron-a-thon resetting the East.
But now we seemingly should be.
Because the Raptors are for real, perhaps as for real as when Leonard last was in the team's colors, during that run to the 2019 title.
So now, and only now, can stock truly be taken of where Pat Riley's massive Miami makeover has left the Heat in a conference upgraded with significant talent, what with both LeBron and Kawhi coming East.
At the moment, FanDuel lists 10 Eastern Conference teams with projected winning records, which also is the limit for postseason spots (when counting the four play-in seeds).
From that list, FanDuel has the Heat tied with the Raptors for the sixth and final direct entry to the playoffs, as the No. 6 seed, at 45 1/2 wins.
So Heat play-in for a fifth consecutive season?
Or ready to challenge not only for direct entry into the playoffs, but potentially even homecourt in the first round?
A case could be made for both.
But at least now, with Kawhi resolution, cases can be made in earnest.
New York Knicks (52 1/2 projected wins):Considering the Pistons won the East last season at 60-22, projecting the conference's best at 52 1/2 wins speaks volumes about the competition in the East.
Last season's championship had a lightning-in-a-bottle feel, with New York City seemingly celebrating as such.
Subbing in Andre Drummond for Mitchell Robinson is a downgrade, which could lead to a downturn from the Knicks' 53 victories last season.
This is not like chasing the Thunder at the top of the West.
The top seed in the East is there for the taking.
Boston Celtics (50 1/2):In light of the Jaylen Brown trade, it's almost as if the Celtics are being viewed as top two in the East based on reputation.
For all the power tandems in the East, who exactly stands as second-best Celtic to Jayson Tatum? Derrick White? Paul George?
And for all the doubts about the Heat's depth, it's not exactly as if the Celtics are rolling out starting-level talent off their bench, with all due respect to Sam Hauser, Hugo Gonzalez and Baylor Scheierman.
Detroit Pistons (50 1/2):Tobias Harris out and John Collins in. Is that necessarily an upgrade? And don't discount the loss of Isaiah Stewart and his incredible bulk.
Yes, there were gains in the margins with the additions of Isaiah Joe, Gary Harris and Taurean Prince, but there remains the question of one-year wonder or something more from the Pistons.
Cleveland Cavaliers (47 1/2):The addition of Peyton Watson is meaningful, but consider also how it came at the cost of Max Strus, Dean Wade and Dennis Schroder.
After consecutive playoff flameouts, is the motivation still there?
Any time a team puts this much stock into James Harden, doubts are reasonable.
Philadelphia 76ers (47 1/2):Is it fantasy (as in stats) or reality when it comes to this much talent in a single lineup?
The usage rate with Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James, Anfernee Simons and VJ Edgecombe seemingly would require at least 1 1/2 balls in play to sate all six based on last season's numbers.
Something has to give. The talent is there, but it is a huge sum of a lot of parts for Nick Nurse to manage.
Toronto Raptors (45 1/2):When it comes to measuring up to the Heat, you could start here: Which duo is better – Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo for the Heat or Leonard and Scottie Barnes for the Raptors? Taking either side would be by the slimmest of margins.
Then, looking at the remainder of the Raptors' roster, a case that with the likes of RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Ja'Kobe Walter, Jakob Poeltl and Collin Murray-Broyles, there is depth that measures up to the Heat.
The games between the teams have always been close … so could this season's final record.
Miami Heat (45 1/2):As mentioned above with the example with the Raptors, where does Antetokounmpo-Adebayo stand in the East? On par with Toronto's Leonard-Barnes, the Knicks' Jalen Brunson-Karl-Anthony Towns, the Celtics' Tatum-White, the Pistons' Cade Cunningham-Jalen Duren, the Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell-Harden, or any 76ers two-man group?
Otherwise, the Heat's supporting case seemingly is being sold short by most, when considering the presence of Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell, Bobby Portis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Klay Thompson and Pelle Larsson, to name a half-dozen supporting players.
Indiana Pacers (44 1/2):Did we mention that Tyrese Haliburton is back? Or that Ivica Zubac is about to start his first full season with the Pacers?
And there still are Pascal Siakam, Aaron Nesmith, Obi Toppin, Andrew Nembhard, T.J. McConnell, plus the addition of Kelly Oubre.
Remember, two seasons ago the Pacers were a 50-win team and in the NBA Finals.
Orlando Magic (43 1/2):Yes, the team that went 5-0 last season against the Heat, with a returning core, is ranked below.
With Nikola Vucevic in for Moe Wagner, the Magic will stand as Exhibit A of how much a coaching change, alone, can change a culture.
Atlanta Hawks (42 1/2):It was an offseason of quality gained (Devin Carter, Lu Dort, Ryan Nembhard and Aaron Wiggins) and little of contribution lost (Jonathan Kuminga, Zaccharie Risacher).
It likely will come down to whether a defensive-driven roster can find enough scoring beyond Jalen Johnson. If Atlanta does, the win total could far exceed expectations.
( Note:The remaining FanDuel projected wins in the East are Charlotte Hornets 37 1/2; Washington Wizards 35 1/2; Milwaukee Bucks 26 1/2; and Brooklyn Nets 21 1/2).
IN THE LANE
STANDING ALONE:From the moment Giannis Antetokounmpo joined the Heat, the question was whether there would be another Antetokounmpo alongside. A final answer came this past week, with Thanasis Antetokounmpo signing to play in Greece with Aris Thessaloniki. "A lot of these guys are not in the professional leagues because they either want to be in the NBA or don't want to play professionally, which is an insane concept because playing basketball, you have such a big privilege because basketball is a global game," Thanasis said on his podcast . "It's not like the NFL. The only way you can be a football player is the NFL. It's nowhere else. But basketball, and making a living, you can go anywhere. You can go to Europe, Australia, Asia, Italy, Spain, anywhere you want to go if you're good at it." Thanasis had spent the past six seasons with Giannis with the Bucks, now joining his brother Kostas with Aris Thessaloniki. Alex Antetokounmpo, the third of the brothers, plays in Greece for Promitheas Patras.
EVEN MORE:Not only did the NBA's initial schedule release last month show a jump in Heat nationally televised games from last season's five to this coming season's 25, but beyond those 25 scheduled for ABC, NBC, ESPN, Prime and Peacock, NBA TV this past week added six more national appearances, to show the Heat Oct. 26 vs. Dallas, Nov. 5 at Golden State, Nov. 14 vs. Detroit, Jan. 14 at New York, March 19 at Phoenix and March 27 vs. Boston. So that's 31 of the 82 regular-season games going national, with potentially two more to be added as part of the NBA Cup in-season tournament. NBA TV also will televise the Heat's Oct. 3 preseason opener against the Raptors in Quebec City. The NBA TV games also will be available as part of the Heat's local South Florida broadcast schedule.
SUNDAY FUN DAY?:While Sept. 6 does not have a specific delineation on the NBA calendar of key dates, it is one to monitor. With NBA teams not allowed to aggregate players acquired in trades for two months, that makes Sunday the first day players acquired at the July 6 end of the offseason moratorium can be paired with one or more other players in trades. Among those players are Heat acquisition Bobby Portis Jr., as well as the players sent out in that Giannis Antetokounmpo deal: Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kasparas Jakucionis. What it means is Sunday is the first day players from trades finalized on July 6 can be packaged with other players in deals.
FAMILY AFFAIR:The shame for the Heat is they will not be the opponent when the Brooklyn Nets stage Swamp Dragons Night on Jan. 29, when they host the Clippers. "Swamp Dragons"? In 1995, while playing at the Meadowlands in the New Jersey swamps, the Nets came up with the idea of a franchise rebrand of Swamp Dragons. Actually, Jon Spoelstra came up with the idea, as in the longtime NBA executive and marketing whiz who is father of Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. As it was, six of the Nets' seven owners (yes, ownership was far different than today) approved. But one holdout proved enough to void the purple-teal-black color scheme, even with the NBA's Board of Governors, by a 26-1 majority, willing to go along with the whimsy for a franchise that at the time barely was drawing crowds. In 2016, Jon Spoelstra told ESPN of the idea, "We had no redeemable history. We had never won anything, and our name — it was like calling the Yankees the 'New York Second Bases.' The team never had a chance with that name." Said then-NBA Commissioner David Stern, "I always appreciated Jon's originality. He was always trying. He cared."
NUMBER
8. Number taken by new Heat center Nick Richards, a Heat number previously worn by Isaac Austin (1997-1998), Tang Hamilton (2002), Steve Smith (2005), Antoine Walker (2006-2007), Shaun Livingston (2009), Jamario Moon (2009), Carlos Arroyo (2010-2011), Michael Beasley (2014), Tyler Johnson (2015-2019), Trevor Ariza (2021), Maurice Harkless (2021), Markieff Morris (2022), Jamal Cain (2023-2024), Josh Christopher (2025) and Trevor Keels last season.
