I live in the Southeast, which means I should get plenty of Hornets games. Instead, the NBA wants me to drop 20 bucks a month on a streaming plan—and nobody’s about that life. If they ever show up on Hulu Live, then bet. But that’s an access problem. On the court, the Southeast has some of the league’s most intriguing teams: contenders, rising squads, and the Wizards—who would be first in line if the NBA ever decided to try relegation.
Atlanta Hawks: Hotlanta is going for it, but keep an eye on the frontcourt. Jalen Johnson and Kristaps Porzingis will start at the forwards. If you haven’t noticed, they miss a lot of time. They have historically missed a lot of time. Chances are, they will miss time this season. Johnson had a shoulder last year and multiple ankle issues the year before. Porzingas played only 41 games, missing time with a weird illness and an ankle issue. Zaccharie Risacher will have minutes to play with all season as their primary backup, and will have even more when the injury strikes.
Luke Kennard is my backup guard. Look at that, it’s a rhyme! They love their shooters alongside Trae Young. Kennard’s only skill is shooting. Fire him up, look for a solid 24 minutes or so and lots of threes.
Onyeka Okongwu by the way finally has an open runway to start. No longer do we have to talk about center minutes for Atlanta! It’s a bit sad, but also happy. Nostalgia.
Charlotte Hornets: When you look at the depth chart for Charlotte, and go to the SF section, it’s empty. Like, there’s not a good option at the three. I’m not sure why you wouldn’t just plug rookie Kon Kneuppel in there, right? He can hit the open jumper. Consistency will be a tough one as he’s a rookie with just one year of college ball, at least at first. Safely ignore anyone else at this spot.
At center, Moussa Diabate is the only one with actual NBA potential. I do like Mason Plumlee and appreciate all he did for my Duke Blue Devils, but he’s 35. Diabate per 36 averaged a steal and a block. That’s 2 stocks! In 8 starts, the Michigan alum (well, I don’t think he graduated in his one college season) averaged 7.6 points and 11 rebounds. The offensive skills aren’t there and he can’t shoot (59% free throws). But if you’re looking for the big man stats and not worried about free throws (as a starter averaged 2 per game) he’s your huckleberry.
Colin Sexton is a must own. LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller have looooooong injury histories. Now that I look at it, Miller could be the SF and Ball and Sexton could be the guards. All three are locks for 30 minutes
Miami Heat: Tyler Herro is out, and the obvious beneficiary is………..Nikola Jovic? Jovic just inked an extension. NBA teams don’t sign people to extensions unless they’re planning to play them. He’s going to get in this season. Take him expecting 24 minutes or so off the bench.
Orlando Magic: The center battle is the one to watch here again. It’s not quite the Hawks, but Wendell Carter and Goga Bitazde will duke it out once again for minutes. I have my doubts there’s a sure winner. Fine, you’re forcing me. I’d pick Carter, but I’m a biased Duke fan on this one.
Jalen Suggs is still recovering from a knee injury. You know the drill. This hasn’t been announced, but likely no back to backs, minutes restrictions, all that. Anthony Black is getting a bit of hype. He is 6-7. He does shoot and make occasional three pointers. For the start I’m predicting an even split. Suggs is too valuable to Orlando’s playoff hopes to risk him in the early going.
Washington Wizards: Point guard Bubs Carrington hurt his thumb, so theoretically Kyshawn George will get minutes to start.
CJ McCollum and Khris Middleton are on this team. I didn’t remember it either, don’t worry. They’re at risk for being dealt or having minutes cut.
Carrington, Bilal Coulibaly, and Alex Sarr are all safe. The rest of the roster is TBD. This is, after all, a team that won 18 last season.
Carry on, my wayward sons. Off to the West next.
No mention of tre Johnson ?
I have a hard time with young rookies when projecting playing time!