Team to beat

Though they’ve remained fairly quiet during the offseason, the 76ers have quietly built a powerhouse that should make them not only a favorite to win the Atlantic Division, but potentially the NLL championship. Of course, it’s a long season and anything can happen over the course of 82 games, but Philadelphia has the depth to withstand the inevitable injuries and illnesses that hit every team at least once through the course of the season. The starting five of Noah, Aldridge, Leonard, DeRozan and Lillard can match up with anyone, and even the second stringers could give many teams a run for their money.

Key story line

The Atlantic Division may be one of the strongest divisions in the league with a few teams that have the potential to make deep runs in the playoffs. While the 76ers stayed put, Boston made some significant moves in the offseason that could very well make them a very strong contender this year. The Celtics first picked up Kevin Durant in a trade with Toronto. Following that, they moved out several of their players in order to make room for some big pickups, most notably Pau Gasol, Lance Stephenson, and Nikola Vucevic.  The Knicks, who were one of the top teams last season, also brought in a few new players that might have made them even better than they were last year.

Five Best Players

1.       Celtics SF Kevin Durant – The reigning league MVP suffered a fractured foot in the preseason, but is expected to be back to full-strength soon. Durant is a rare talent who, almost single-handedly, can make his team a contender. Watch out for Durant and Boston. They’re going to be scary.

2.       Knicks SG James Harden – Harden has been on an upward trajectory since his rookie year in 2009/10. He averaged 11 ppg his rookie season, 14 ppg in his second year, 17 ppg his third, 21 his fourth, and 25 points per game last season. Will he go even bigger this year? One thing’s for certain: Fear the beard.

3.       76ers PF LaMarcus Aldridge – The L-Train is a beast. He’s possibly the best all-around power forward in the game. He’s a prolific scorer, an outstanding rebounder, and a lock-down defender. There are others who may be ahead of him in each of the individual categories but it’s unlikely that there is another power forward that has the full package that Aldridge possesses.

4.       76ers PG Damian Lillard – This one was actually a toss-up between Lillard and Knicks PG Kyrie Irving. Both have put up almost identical points in the preseason, and both have the ability to take over a game with dominant scoring performances but Lillard gets the edge here because of his willingness to share the ball (11 apg in 2013/14 vs. Irving’s 7 apg)

5.       Raptors C Marc Gasol – While Dwight Howard is the most dominant player, Gasol is possibly the best all-around center in the game right now. He can score, rebound, block (yes, Dwight can do all those things, but better), assist, and even shoot free throws (sorry, Dwight). Just a guess, but Gasol is poised to have a big year.

Sleeper

Because it’s clear that Boston and New York pose a legitimate threat to the division lead, there wouldn’t be much sense is labeling either of them a sleeper. That leaves us with Brooklyn, who traded away Dwyane Wade and Kevin Garnett, in favor of the youth movement, and Toronto, who traded last year’s MVP in Kevin Durant. But the Raptors’ trade was not a giveaway. They got some solid talent in return and nobody should be surprised to see them near making a run at the playoffs. After all, they have the aforementioned Marc Gasol, last year’s Most Improved Player, Nicolas Batum, Michael Carter-Williams, Reggie Jackson and a batch of other players who have the potential to blow up. Keep an eye on these guys.       

 Breakout star

Many wouldn’t consider this much of a surprise as he’s already considered to be a player on the cusp of stardom. But if you look at Kawhi Leonard’s stats last year, he only averaged 10 points per game. Of course his defensive prowess is already well established, but this could be the year that he asserts himself on both ends of the court. Because of Philly’s talent, it seems unlikely that he’ll be putting up Kevin Durant numbers, but his two-way ability should make him a force to be reckoned with.  

Best newcomer               

Because some of the biggest new additions were the result of intra-division trades, they can’t really be considered newcomers to the division. Given that criteria, that leaves Pau Gasol as likely the biggest impact player to make his introduction to the Atlantic Division. At 34, he’s no longer at his peak, but he can still record 20/10 on any given night. He should factor in as a major cog in the Celtics machine this season.  

Prediction