With the closing of the 2014-15 NBA regular season, I’ve decided to grade each NBA team on how well their season played out, starting with the NBA Eastern Conference Grades. I have looked at each team’s record and compared it with the BovadaLV projected over/under for wins for that team at the start of the season. Projected wins, recent successes and failures, and injuries suffered this season were all taken into account to give a letter grade for each team from A+ to F. As always, this is just one fan’s subjective opinion on how the season played out for each team based on previously developed expectations, so feel free to let me know how you feel with the grades just like any disgruntled student quarrels with their teacher after receiving a less than stellar evaluation.
The teams are listed in alphabetical order followed by their 2014-15 record and their over/under for wins at the start of the season.
Atlanta Hawks, 60-22 (o/u: 41): A+
The Hawks were the biggest surprise of this NBA season. They finished with 60 wins and a first place finish in the Eastern conference. Finishing with almost 20 more wins than projected, the Hawks certainly overachieved and thrived playing team basketball under NBA Coach of the Year Mike Budenholzer. However, the Hawks aren’t without their share of great players with Al Horford, Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, and Paul Millsap.
Boston Celtics, 40-42 (26.5): B+
The Celtics were another team that surprised a lot of people with their late season play, resulting in a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. The mid-season acquisition of Isiah Thomas helped bolster the Celtics’ bench and coach Brad Stevens took a team that everyone thought was headed for the lottery into the playoffs. Despite finshing just below .500, the Celtics finished much higher than expected at the beginning of the season.
Brooklyn Nets, 38-44 (41.5): C-
This season was ultimately a disappointment for a veteran Nets team that saw Kevin Garnett get traded and Deron Williams fall dramatically from his former All-NBA self. The Nets weren’t expected to compete for a championship, but were predicted to remain in the middle of the playoff chase. A stronger second half helped vault them into the eight seed in the East, but it was an ultimately disappointing season in Brooklyn.
Charlotte Hornets, 33-49 (45): D
After experiencing a breakout season a year ago, the newly named Hornets were supposed to continue to improve upon the progress seen in their young core players alongside Al Jefferson. Their offense stuggled mightily, especially free agent acquisition Lance Stephenson. They struggled with some injuries, but what was supposed to be a playoff team came up well short.
Chicago Bulls, 50-32 (54.5): B
What felt like a crushing blow to the Bulls’ season, when Derrick Rose went down with yet another knee injury, is almost forgotten now as Rose is back (we hope) healthy and with the Bulls beginning another title chase. Jimmy Butler vastly improved into one of the best two-way players in the NBA and Pau Gasol turned out to be one of the best acquisitions by any team last off-season. They possibly could have won more regular season games, but the Bulls are right where they need to be for the playoffs.
Cleveland Cavaliers, 53-29 (58.5): B+
The Cavs started the season off slowly and took awhile to gel, which bumps them down from an “A” here, but they had about as good a season as one could expect with all the new faces in Cleveland. After LeBron James came back from his two week hiatus mid-season, the Cavs were a new team on a mission to prove they could compete this year. After falling to a 19-20 record early, they finished second in the East and were arguably the hottest team in the NBA after the All-Star break.
Detroit Pistons, 32-50 (35.5): C-
The pistons fell just short of their projected win total, and had a very mediocre season that has been all too common the last few years. After the arrival of Stan Van Gundy there was more optimism in Detroit coming into this season (even yours truly picked them to sneak into the playoffs). They did go on a nice run after the trade of Josh Smith which saw them enter the admittedly weak East playoff picture, and the acquisition of Reggie Jackson could help them improve in the future, but it was ultimately an underwhelming season in the Motor City.
Indiana Pacers, 38-44 (33): C
The Pacers’ season is difficult to judge at face value because of the injury to Paul George, who missed the majority of the season with a broken leg. However, it was still discouraging to see a team that had been to the conference finals miss out on the playoffs. They had more wins than they were projected, but they still had a solid core of players built on defense and toughness that underachieved this season without their star player. Even more upsetting is the fact they had a chance to make the playoffs in game 82 and ended up losing their final game.
Miami Heat, 37-45 (44): D+
The heat receive a D+ here rather than anything lower only because of the loss of Chris Bosh for the season due to blood clots. If Bosh had been healthy, the Heat likely would have made the playoffs. With that aside, this team had a disaster of a season after making the NBA Finals four straight years. Dwyane Wade showed flashes of his former self when healthy, but was not able to carry his team to the playoffs in a putrid East with help from Luol Deng, the surprising Hassan Whiteside, and the mid-season pick up of Goran Dragic. This season will be looked back on as one of the more disappointing in Wade’s and Pat Riley’s careers.
Milwaukee Bucks, 41-41 (24): A-
It is tough to give a team that finished with just a .500 record an “A” grade, but what the Bucks did this year was nothing short of remarkable. A projected lottery team, they started off the season on a great run that was enough to propel them into the six seed in the East even after faltering a bit down the stretch of the season. Giannis Antetokounmpo is a future star in the league, and the Bucks’ defensive style is one that team will likely try to emulate. Jason Kidd did a great job after being thrown out of Brooklyn, and had a more successful season with a team full of great young players.
New York Knicks, 17-65 (40.5): F
There isn’t much more to say about the Knicks’ season besides that it garnered an “F” grade here, and they really were not close to anything higher than that. One of the iconic franchises in the NBA was a laughingstock this season, finishing with the second worst record in the NBA after being picked by some to make the playoffs. It was a disaster of a season for first year coach Derek Fisher and for Carmelo Anthony. Here’s hoping that Phil Jackson can turn the Knicks around.
Orlando Magic, 25-57, (27.5): D
Everyone knew that the Magic were in a rebuilding year, and they had about as much success as was expected with such a young team. They fired Jacque Vaughn in the middle of the season after the team struggled to a 15-37 start. They have some solid young pieces in Victor Oladipo, Elfrid Payton, Tobias Harris, Nikola Vucevic to build a competitive team around. This team was just too young and inexperienced to compete this season, making this firing of Vaughn seem a bit premature.
Philadelphia 76ers, 18-64 (15.5): F
Despite being one of the teams that surpassed its projected win total this season, the 76ers deserve an “F” as a franchise for putting the product on the court that they did every night. Their players play hard and are not trying to lose, or “tank”, but the front office has been fielding a team that past few seasons that cannot compete at an NBA level. The mid-season trade of Michael Carter-Williams was also a head scratching choice. The lone bright spot for Philly was the great play of rookie Nerlens Noel, who was one of the best defensive players in the NBA and a Rookie of the Year candidate.
Toronto Raptors, 49-33 (48.5): B
The Raptors are coming off their first back-to-back division championships in franchise history, very nearly got to 50 wins for the first time ever, and surpassed last season’s win total that was the franchise’s best finish. They still somehow left a bit more to be desired this season. They finished fourth in the East, but lost a good opportunity to position themselves better for the playoffs with the injury to Rose in Chicago, the struggles of the Washington Wizards, and the Cavs needing time to gel this season. If the Raptors could have won five more games, they would have been in a better playoff position instead of battling with Washington in the first round in a season where they had hopes of reaching the Eastern Conference Finals.
Washington Wizards, 46-36 (50): B-
A projected 50 win team, the Wizards did not live up to the high expectations people had for them at the start of the season following last year’s success and the acquisition of Paul Pierce. They still had a solid season, but fifth in the East is not where this team wanted to finish. Their offense was particularly underwhelming considering all the firepower they have on their roster. John Wall was a breakout star this season, but the Wizards underachieved slightly. All will be forgotten if they can beat Toronto in the first round and possibly get past Atlanta to reach the Eastern Conference Finals.
