The NBA season is only a few weeks away, and for the first time in many years, the landscape of the league is completely different. Gone are the days of easily predicting who will end up in the Finals. Each team has questions surrounding their squad, so we will take a deep dive into each team in each division, to see what the main questions are. Starting things off in the Eastern Conference in the Atlantic Division. Here are the five questions for the Atlantic Division.
Boston Celtics: Will Jayson Tatum make the leap?
Jayson Tatum is a 3rd overall draft pick for a reason. When Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward were out with injuries, he led the Celtics to the Eastern Conference finals. Overnight it felt like a legend was born.
Then, the 2018-2019 season happened. Irving went nuclear on the Celtics young supporting cast, killing the confidence and chemistry of the team. With Irving now replaced by Kemba Walker, Tatum will have the opportunity to insert himself as the team leader. On paper, he has the skillset to be a dynamic wing, in a league led by dynamic wings. Will he accept the challenge to pick up the pieces of last season and lead his team back to the Eastern Conference finals?
Brooklyn Nets: Will Kyrie Irving be the leader they need him to be?
Kyrie Irving is single-handily dismantling the top teams of the East. Or so it has seemed. He forced his way out of the Cleveland Cavaliers just one season after winning a championship there. The Celtics were clear favorites in the East until Hayward went down with an injury and Irving became vocally upset with his teammates.
He has a fresh start in Brooklyn, teaming up with Kevin Durant this offseason. Irving will once again be relied upon to be the face of the franchise, but can he do it? He wanted to be the man, so he left Cleveland. He grew tired of the inexperience of his young teammates, so he left Boston. With Durant out for possibly the entire year, what is going to happen if things do not end up the way he expects them to?
Irving is one of the most talented players in the league. The Nets are going to need him to be laser-like focused this season with eyes on bigger prizes next year when Durant has fully recovered from his Achilles tear.
New York Knicks: Who is the face of this franchise?
The start of the offseason was rough for the Knicks. They didn’t land Zion Williamson in the draft. They didn’t land Kyrie Irving or Kevin Durant as free agents. However, they did land countless jokes on twitter about throwing money at every power forward available.
The truth is, all the players they acquired are pretty good, albeit they are all more so role players than franchise cornerstones. Even the contracts they doled out to players weren’t so bad, but they also reflect the nature of these next few seasons being stopgap seasons and not building block seasons. In the Atlantic Division, it’s eat or be eaten, and things don’t look too promising as of yet for the Knicks.
So who leads this team? Is it Julius Randle? He is certainly paid the most, and last season he showed signs of being capable as a featured player. Is it newly drafted RJ Barrett? He’s going to have big shoes to fill if so. He was in Zion Williamson‘s shadow at Duke and is now in the bright lights of New York where expectations are going to be high. Is it Dennis Smith Jr.? The Knicks traded the face franchise of the past few seasons for Smith Jr. and two future first-round picks. However, Smith Jr. is battling injuries and has not proven that he can be depended on to lead a team himself. Someone is going to have to take the reins and be the number one option.
Philadelphia 76ers: Can Ben Simmons develop a jump shot?
Ben Simmons has attempted 17 three-pointers in his entire career. He’s yet to make one. Although most of those attempts are half-court heaves at the buzzer, Simmons is going to have to prove that he can get buckets further away from the basket.
Simmons doesn’t have to carry the responsibility of leading the team in points. That will fall on the shoulders of Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris. However, with the departure of key shooting guard J.J. Redick, a perimeter player is going to have to keep the defenses honest and hit the open shot. Simmons does so much well, that it’s often easy to overlook what he’s bad at. However, what he is bad at, he’s really bad at. His career shooting percentage from 10-16 feet from the basket is an abysmal .127. For the 76ers to truly win the Atlantic Division and get past the conference finals hurdle. They are going to need Simmons to get better.
Toronto Raptors: Is Pascal Siakam ready to be a superstar?
The Raptors went all-in last season by trading DeMar DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard. It obviously worked as they won the Atlantic Division and went on to win their first championship as a franchise. Unfortunately for them though, Finals MVP Leonard was only a one-year rental.
While that wasn’t too surprising. What was surprising was seeing third-year player Pascal Siakam turn from a solid role player to a starter on the verge of a breakout. Siakam picked the perfect time to break out too, averaging 19 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game in the playoffs while earning the leagues Most Improved Player award.
Those numbers are great as a second, or third option on a team. Yet for the Raptors, with the departure of Leonard, Siakam is going to be the next man up in the rotation to take the role as alpha-dog alongside Kyle Lowry, who just inked a one-year $31 million extension. Is he going to be able to handle the pressure that accompanies being the one leading the charge and elevate his game to another level? These are the five questions for the Atlantic Division.
