Win Total Prediction: 60 The Philadelphia 76ers have arguably the best starting five in the league. They are huge, and the defense is going to be terrorizing. Teams won't scheme as much for Ben Simmons ' deficiencies in the regular season, and even with those flaws, the Sixers were one crazy Kawhi game-winner from taking the eventual champion Raptors to overtime in Game 7. They lose Jimmy Butler and the shooting of JJ Redick , but Josh Richardson is really good, and what Al Horford brings defensively and as a pick-and-pop floor spacer is huge. This helps Brett Brown's lineup flexibility without compromising size and defense when Joel Embiid is off the floor, as Horford, a natural occupying the perimeter, allows Simmons to play down low. Philly is going to win a ton of games against the weaker East schedule.

Win Total Prediction: 55 The Bucks , who lose Malcolm Brogdon and Nikola Mirotic , won't repeat their 60-win season of a year ago, but another summer of improvement for Giannis Antetokounmpo is scary. The core of the team returns, and Wesley Matthews is a sneaky-nice signing to make up for at least a small portion of what Brogdon brought as a shooter and tough defender. The play of Eric Bledsoe is another of next year's bog X-factors. If he's an All-Star, or close to it, Milwaukee won't miss Brogdon nearly as much.

Win Total Prediction: 52 The addition of Brogdon was pricey but could be huge as an added perimeter weapon alongside Victor Oladipo . The Indiana Pacers are built to win a lot of regular-season games. They defend. They play hard every night. And frankly, they're not one of the games other teams circle on the schedule. Not that they're completely overlooked, but a Tuesday night in Indiana can catch you off guard with how hard and disciplined they play. Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner are a nasty big-man duo as long as Indiana stay committed to keeping them together. Even if they trade one mid-season, they'll get a pretty good return.

Win Total Prediction: 51 Everyone wants to pick on the Boston Celtics because they didn't land an Anthony Davis trade and they lost Kyrie Irving and Al Horford. But listen, Kemba Walker is a stud. He's going to come very close to canceling out whatever the Celtics lost on the court in Irving, and he's going to be worth even more in terms of the mood-change he should facilitate for this team. He's as fun a player as there is in the league, and he leads a Boston perimeter that is stacked: Walker, Marcus Smart , Jayson Tatum , Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward . The front line could be a problem. Enes Kanter is a huge downgrade from Horford, but this Celtics team feels most dangerous when nobody expects much out of them, just like their playoff run two years ago. I think Boston surprises a lot of people.

Win Total Prediction: 47 The Nets won 42 games a year ago and have replaced D'Angelo Russell with Kyrie Irving. I don't think that's going to lead to as many added wins as it might look like on paper, but Irving is far from alone. Caris LaVert missed a good chunk of last season and he was probably Brooklyn's best player. Spencer Dinwiddie is awesome. Joe Harris is one of the best shooters in the league. Jarrett Allen and DeAndre Jordan (who, granted, is being wildly overpaid) give them size. Kyrie should be able to cook in Kenny Atkinson's super-spaced system that almost always leaves the lane open. Oh, did we bury the lead? With the No. 5 seed, Kyrie Irving's Nets are looking at a first-round matchup with the Celtics. I really believe this is going to happen.

Win Total Prediction: 46 I've made an adjustment here. Originally, I had the Raptors missing the playoffs because I believe they will ultimately look to move Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka -- all three aging vets with one year left on their contracts -- to begin the post-Kawhi rebuild. But that hasn't happened yet. So as it stands, Toronto remains a good team. Lowry, Gasol, Ibaka, Pascal Siakam should be an All-Star this year, Fred VanVleet, Normal Powell ... in the East that's a playoff team, no doubt. For now. But I do believe this team will look a lot different by the trade deadline.

Win Total Prediction: 45 The Heat basically flipped Josh Richardson for Jimmy Butler, so they're going to be better. Miami grinds games out and stays close a lot of nights, and Butler will be a guy that can get them over the top. Justise Winslow and Bam Adebayo need to, and should, take another step. I'm big in Tyler Herro as more than just a shooter -- and even if he is just that, dude can straight fill it up. Goran Dragic is still good for 15 a game. Plus, there's a chance Chris Paul ends up here if OKC decides to move him after the Westbrook blockbuster. Depending on what Miami might give up in a potential Paul deal, we might have to start talking about the Heat as a top-four seed.

Win Total Prediction: 44 Orlando fortified its playoff positioning by re-signing Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross , but they didn't really get better. If somehow Markelle Fultz shows some life, perhaps this is a different conversation as Orlando still lacks a true impact point guard. But the defense is going to be long and athletic, and the four-prong scoring attack of Vucevic, Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon in the starting lineup, with Ross off the bench, is formidable.