00:18Robin, who is your pick to win the Eastern Conference and why?
00:23I'm going with the Orlando Magic.
00:25You know, I feel like every team, there's that, every year, I'm sorry,
00:29there's that one team that sort of takes that leap from before.
00:32And the Magic look most poised in what should be a wide-open East.
00:36Obviously, we don't know when Jason Tatum will be back.
00:39Tyrese Halliburton out for the Pacers.
00:42And the Magic, they added to their core.
00:45You know, they get Desmond Bain.
00:46They've got Wagner, who's a hell of a player.
00:49They've got Bancaro, who's a hell of a player.
00:51I just like that core group and the depth that they have around them.
00:56And it seems like the situation is unfolding for them to make that kind of run.
01:03So, that's the team I'm putting a pin in and predicting to come out of the East.
01:08And they did address their shooting deficiencies with getting Desmond Bain.
01:13And I think that's a good look.
01:14I think Orlando is a top-four team.
01:16Maybe, I think, actually, third-best team in the East.
01:19But for me, it's the Knicks.
01:20You know why?
01:21It better be the Knicks.
01:22After getting this close and firing Tibbs, now try to strengthen their bench with Clarkson,
01:29with Yabaselli, right, with possibly Brogdon.
01:33They've strengthened their bench.
01:35But to me, the biggest one to look at for the Knicks, honestly, folks, is Mitchell Robinson.
01:40If he is healthy and you slide cap to the four and you go big, big, they're going to be a problem.
01:46Let's head to the surprise team.
01:49Robin, who is your surprise team in the East this year?
01:52I'm going with the Atlanta Hawks.
01:54I like the addition of Alexander Walker, Kristaps Porzingis.
01:58You know, health is always an issue with him, but talent really isn't.
02:03And Trey Young, you know, sometimes he gets a little bit discredit.
02:07Not a defensive stalwart.
02:08I think that's fair.
02:09But probably he's had a better career than he gets credit for.
02:13So I think from a surprise standpoint, which means doing better than people expected, to me, it's the Atlanta Hawks, given I think they improved their roster quite a bit.
02:23And they should be a top six pick team in the East.
02:26Let's be honest, folks.
02:27You look at the fact that they've had Lloyd Pierce.
02:31They've had Nate McMillan.
02:32They've had Quinn Snyder.
02:33They've had Clint Capella.
02:35They've had DeJounte Murray.
02:36They've had John Collins.
02:37They've had DeAndre Hunter.
02:38The only person that hasn't moved is Trey.
02:42If this team does not make the top six, you've got to start looking around and saying, there's only one guy that hasn't been moved.
02:49Maybe that person that gets moved is Trey Young.
02:52But I do expect them to be top six.
02:54And I agree, Robin.
02:55They are a surprise team.
02:57My surprise team is Philadelphia.
03:00Why we are last year, we were talking about them being the biggest threat to Boston.
03:07Now, everybody's back.
03:09Now, health is going to be a concern.
03:11But Philadelphia, to me, if they stay healthy, and this is Joel Embiid, this is McCain, who's hurt, this is Maxie, this is Paul George, this is all of them.
03:20If they're healthy, Philadelphia could be a serious problem.
03:24Because when he's the healthiest, Joel Embiid, along with Giannis, are the two best players in the Eastern Conference.
03:31Robin, quickly, who is going to be the team or teams you think that may disappoint?
03:35I go with the Knicks and the Cavs just because everybody in those respective fan bases is expecting everything.
03:42So if either of those teams doesn't do that, then it's disappointment.
03:46And I think for the Cavs specifically, I still question their in-between.
03:51You know, their guards are good and their bigs are good.
03:55Are their wings good enough?
03:57And I don't know if that's been addressed.
03:58And then for the Knicks, my biggest question would be, in the past, Tom Thibodeau has a penchant for running a team into the ground.
04:07Like getting every last bit, every last squeeze out of the orange, if you will.
04:14So that's not the case with the Knicks.
04:17We'll see.
04:18I mean, maybe that's why they thought they needed a fresh perspective because he wasn't using the bench enough.
04:22All those things.
04:23But that has been his track record.
04:27And I thought that they did about as well as could be expected.
04:30The fact that it somehow got framed through disappointment is almost retroactive in a sense.
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