2022 NBA Southeast Division preview
NBA Southeast Division Preview
Going into the 2022-23 NBA season, the Southeast Division doesn’t have a lot of media attention. This is mainly because most of the teams didn’t make big offseason moves.
Despite this, the Southeast should have a competitor for a top seed. This division still has a lot of talent and a lot of youth who have shown promise, which should make this a fun division to watch, despite the lack of offseason movement.
Miami Heat
Miami’s performance last season was able to get them a spot as the No 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Heat were able to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals and pushed the series to seven against Boston.
Despite last year’s success, Miami was unable to land any key free agents this offseason and lost big role players in PJ Tucker and Markieff Morris via free agency.
With Jimmy Butler entering the season at 33 years old, the question of how much longer he can lead a team comes into play.
Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro are both still very young and may not be able to handle the weight of being the team’s top options if Butler regresses.
Miami will still be a solid team because of its depth and will be a tough out in the postseason. But the combination of Butler aging and the lack of moves in the offseason won’t allow the Heat to get over the hump.
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks made the biggest move in the Southeast and one of the biggest moves in the NBA this offseason by trading for Dejounte Murray.
Murray is a stat sheet stuffer to say the least, as he averaged 21.1 points per game, 8.3 rebounds per game and 9.2 assists per game last season. To add to that, he is one of the best defensive guards in the league.
The issue with this trade is that both Murray and Trae Young are very ball-dominant guards. These two young stars must learn to play with each other and learn to play off the ball.
The Hawks might get off to a slow start due to this learning curve, but this addition should allow them to obtain a better seed than last year.
Charlotte Hornets
At points last season, it looked like Charlotte was going to make the playoffs. The team had a good combination of young players learning how to excel in the NBA as well as veterans who could take the younger players under their wing.
But the team ended up losing in the first play-in game against the Hawks.
Like many of the other teams in the division, the Hornets didn’t make any key additions in free agency. Not only that, but Miles Bridges, a candidate for Most-improved Player last season, is still a restricted free agent because of his legal issues.
Charlotte took steps to improve last season, but its inability to make the playoffs and the possibility of Bridges not playing this season will cause regression this season.
Washington Wizards
The Wizards proved last year that they are still far away from competing, which makes Bradley Beal’s decision to re-sign with them very confusing. Especially since he is good enough to keep them out of the cellar of the league, which will most likely prevent them from getting a top pick.
Washington still has young talent that doesn’t make its future extremely bleak. It should focus on developing players like Johnny Davis, Deni Avdija and Rui Hachimura so they can contribute to future playoff pushes.
Orlando Magic
The Magic were one of the youngest teams in the league last year and they will be again this season. Because of this, Orlando most likely won’t be competing for the playoffs this season.
But the future is very bright in Orlando because of performances from Franz Wagner and Cole Anthony last season. They also have the number one pick in this past year’s draft in Paolo Banchero
It might take a while for Orlando to compete, but Magic fans have a lot to look forward to with this young roster.
Jayson O’Connell is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jbo5216@psu.edu.
