Predicting Eastern Conference standings

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Periodically, NBA.com’s writers will weigh in on key storylines or trending topics around the league.
Make your early predictions on how you see the Eastern Conference standings heading into the postseason.
In a society seemingly obsessed with “change,” standing pat occasionally can be a very cool hand. Nothing was broken in Boston, so there was no need to fix anything. It’s a great, two-way roster with plenty of versatility and depth and stars who are getting prime-ier.
New York looks resourceful enough to rise to the top of the East’s “others,” with a combination of lead guy, supporting cast and toughness that none of its rivals boasts. The Pacers’ whole is greater than the sum of their parts. The Sixers really can’t count on Joel Embiid, can they? Cleveland and Orlando are the little brothers aching to be noticed. Miami isn’t about regular seasons.
Milwaukee is my pick to plummet — the bench is weak, Lillard is headed down and this window has closed.
Boston remains in a tier of its own despite opening the season with Kristaps Porzingis sidelined.
New York (Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges) and Philly (Paul George, new supporting cast) both must incorporate new stars into the mix quickly, while teams like Milwaukee, Cleveland and Philadelphia must avoid injuries to key players (see last season’s drop by Philly without Joel Embiid).
If any of the teams above falter, Orlando, Indiana and Miami will be ready to pounce and avoid living in the dreaded playoffs-or-SoFi Play-In Tournament bubble like last season.
Atlanta and Toronto round out the Play-In field. The Hawks added No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher after parting ways with Dejounte Murray and the Raptors are ready for a full season with its new young core centered around All-Star swingman Scottie Barnes.
Boston should claim the top seed although it won’t be breezy as the Knicks are built to strike some fear into the Celtics. The Sixers should rate higher, but if Joel Embiid and Paul George are preserved for the playoffs, that’ll cost Philly some seeding.
The young Magic could gain home-court advantage for the first round if the Sixers aren’t careful. Lastly, the wild card is Milwaukee and whether the Bucks realize this is their last stand.
The Celtics could be in cruise control for most of the season if they wanted to, but it’s hard to fathom coach Joe Mazzulla ever taking his foot off the gas. The same can be said for Tom Thibodeau in New York. You could put the next five teams in any order, but the Cavs and Pacers are the best candidates to snag the other two top-four seeds. Cleveland has terrific talent that’s still improving, while Indiana will be a pain in the butt to defend every single night.
At full strength, the Sixers could be right there with the Knicks, but keeping Joel Embiid fresh will come at the cost of regular season wins. At the bottom, the re-tooled Pistons should be hungrier for a SoFi Play-In Tournament spot than teams like Chicago and Toronto.