2023-24 NBA season preview: Our expert best bets and predictions for every NBA division

The countdown for the 2023-24 NBA season is slowly coming to an end and we couldn’t be more excited for the new season to tip-off! With opening night being less than 7 days away, it’s the perfect time to dive into each division and pick out our who will come out on top in each of them. Along with these NBA divisional predictions, be sure to check out our detailed NBA analysis for the 2023-2024 season.

Without wasting any more time, let’s get straight into it!

Atlantic Division: Boston Celtics (-240)

The Atlantic Division might be the easiest one to predict this season. Boston is set to dominate once again and their main competitors Philadelphia and New York are projected to win 6 and 9 games less respectively. Marcus Smart is the most significant departure from Joe Mazzulla’s roster, but that has been more than compensated with the savvy veteran Jrue Holiday coming over from the Portland Trail Blazers. Kristaps Porzingis is another key addition, he has already shown signs of promise during the preseason and if he is able to avoid injuries he will give the Celtics a scoring presence on the inside they haven’t had in the Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown era. The departure of Robert Williams III could raise a few issues on the interior defensively, but even without him this team has the potential to be a top 5 team both on offense and defense this season. In a season in which they have only 1 true competitor in their conference, getting the number 1 seed and home court advantage could be crucial down the line in the postseason, so look for Boston to pile up the wins this year.

Central Division: Milwaukee Bucks (-360)

The Central Division is one of the weaker ones in the NBA with only 2 teams making it into the postseason last year. Not much should change in that aspect with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks being the two headliners here. Giannis and co. clinched the division with 7 games ahead of the Cavs and after all the moves made during the offseason they should be one of the frontrunners for the NBA title. Gone are Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen, Joe Ingles and Wes Matthews, while in return the Bucks were able to acquire Damian Lillard, Malik Beasley, Cameron Payne and Robin Lopez. All the spotlight will be on Giannis and Dame to start the season, they’ve already won their pre-season debut as teammates against the LA Lakers. Antetokounmpo will be highly motivated after the 1st round exit against Miami last season, we’ve already seen him hustle one defense in meaningless pre-seasons games. Look out for Milwaukee this season, they might even break the 60-win mark if they stay healthy.

Northwest Division: Denver Nuggets (-390)

The defending champions Denver Nuggets are my pick for the Northwest Division. Although they lost a couple of depth pieces like Bruce Brown and Jeff Green, the core four remains the same as they enter the season looking to win repeat as champions. This team did play basketball up until mid-June, so it remains to be seen what kind of effect that has left on them. Jamal Murray will be extra motivated this season, if he is able to make the All-NBA team in the next 2 season he will be eligible to sign a supermax extension that could net him around $303 million. Nikola Jokic doesn’t have such issues, he will once again stuff the stat sheet in hopes of winning his 3rd MVP trophy. Denver has won this division 3 times in the last 5 season and with the inexperienced OKC Thunder and inconsistent Minnesota Timberwolves being their two main rivals in the division, I can’t see anyone taking them down.

Pacific Division: Sacramento Kings (+650)

I’m amazed at just how everyone is disrespecting the Sacramento Kings despite them being the breakout team last season and finishing as the 3rd seed in the West after accumulating 48 wins. De’Aaron Fox won the clutch player of the year award, Domantas Sabonis no longer has the wrist injury that slowed him down in the late stage of last season and they’re bringing back almost the same team as they had last year. The continuity should benefit their chemistry and if they are able to improve just a tad on the defensive end (they finished 24th last season in defensive rating), I think they are more than capable of winning the same amount of games than they did last season. Their biggest issue is a loaded division with teams like the Suns, Lakers, Clippers and Warriors all gunning for a high seed. None of those teams is without issues though and only one of them (the Clippers) had a positive road record last season. At +650 odds I think the Kings are worth a small wager to win the division for the 2nd year in a row.

Southeast Division: Atlanta Hawks (+220)

Only two teams are bound to make the postseason from this division in my opinion – the Miami Heat and the Atlanta Hawks. Although the oddsmakers favor the Heat to win the division for the 3rd season in a row, I feel like there is a lot more value in backing Atlanta at +220 odds. Last year only 3 wins separated them with the eventual winners Miami, as the two teams met in the play-in tournament Game with Atlanta coming out on top. The Hawks won the division just 3 seasons ago when they made the Eastern Conference Finals and this time around they are projected to win around 41.5 Games, exactly where they finished last season. After hiring a new head coach in Quin Snyder with 22 Games remaining last season, Atlanta’s offense elevated to 4th best in the NBA during that stretch and a +1.6 net rating. Trae Young also didn’t have the best of season with his scoring output going down by more than 2 points per Game, but with more time to build chemistry alongside his backcourt teammate Dejounte Murray, I think Atlanta will be better than the team that danced around the .500 mark for most of last season. Defense could be an issue, but in today’s offensive driven NBA I think the Hawks have enough to surprise everyone and take the Southeast Division crown.

Southwest Division: New Orleans Pelicans (+210)

Another team that could make some significant noise this season are the New Orleans Pelicans. As some of you might remember, the Pels were actually on a 54-win pace back in December of last season while occupying the top seed in the West, but an injury to Zion Williamson caused them to fall off all the way down to 10th place in January. Health played a major role last season for this team, their top 3 players Zion, Ingram and C.J. McCollum spent only 172 minutes together on the floor in 10 regular season Games. It remains to be seen if Zion is able to stay on the court for 60+ Games, but if that is the case the Pelicans have the potential to be one of the scariest teams in the NBA. Their two main rivals to take the division crown are Memphis and Dallas, both of which have had their fair share of issues last season. New Orleans might not sound like the sexiest pick, but at +210 odds and so much talent on the team they offer really solid value in my opinion.