7. Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are one of the most well-coached, well-oiled machines in the entire league. Nate McMillan has done wonders with this ball club. Their star player, Victor Oladipo, suffered a season-ending injury on January 23, and the Pacers still managed to finish the 2018-19 season with 48 wins. That’s impressive. How many other teams could lose their only star player in January and still win 48 games?
Oladipo will likely be sidelined for a large chunk of the 2019-2020 season, but the Pacers did a nice job this summer of improving their roster. They added Malcolm Brogdon, the perfect complement to Victor Oladipo in the backcourt. Both Brogdon and Oladipo can handle the ball, create scoring opportunities and defend at an incredibly high level. When Oladipo returns, Indiana will have one of the best defensive backcourts in the league.
The Pacers also added Jeremy Lamb and T.J. Warren, two quality wings that can make shots when called upon. Plus, they have a nice young frontcourt in Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner. Oh, and don’t sleep on Doug McDermott as a quality role player. His nickname is “Dougie McBuckets” for a reason.
Indiana will once again be one of the best teams in the East.