Southeast

G John Wall (23.1 ppg), G Bradley Beal (23.1), F Otto Porter Jr. (13.4), F Markieff Morris (14.0), C Marcin Gortat (10.8).

F Bojan Bogdanovic. After tinkering with their bench, the Wizards are relying on the same starting lineup in a bid to reach the conference finals for the first time in nearly 40 years. Wall has emerged as an elite player; Beal isn’t far behind. But if they are going to rise higher than a No. 4 seed, the key is whether the rest of the cast is capable of stepping up. The defense — long an issue — must improve. playoffs. Hardaway Calderon.

43-39,

lost

in

first

round

41-41, missed the playoffs. G Goran Dragic ppg), G Dion Waiters (15.8), F Rodney McGruder F James Johnson (12.8), C Hassan Whiteside (17.0). C Willie Reed, F Luke Babbitt, F

of

G Dennis Schroder (17.9 ppg), G Kent Bazemore (11.0), F Taurean Prince (5.7), F Ersan Ilyasova (13.1), C Dewayne Dedmon (5.1, Spurs). F Paul Millsap, C Dwight Howard, G Tim Jr., F Thabo Sefolosha, F Mike Scott, G Jose

The Hawks will be hard-pressed to continue their streak of 10 straight playoff appearances. New general manager Travis Schlenk decided to dismantle the roster, setting up a long-range and likely painful rebuilding process. Coach Mike Budenholzer gets the most out of his players, but this team seems headed toward a big fall. (20.3 (6.4),

Josh

McRoberts.

The Heat went 30-11 in the second half and kept the core of that team together after giving long-term deals to Waiters and Johnson, plus finding the space needed to pick up Wayne Ellington’s option. Free-agent signee Kelly Olynyk does some things that draw comparisons to what Chris Bosh used to do in Miami.

36-46, missed the playoffs. G Kemba Walker (15.1 ppg), G Nicolas Batum (12.5), F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (9.2), F Marvin Williams (11.2), C Dwight Howard (13.5, Hawks). G Marco Belinelli. C Miles Plumlee, G Ramon Sessions. The loss of Batum for the first two months with a torn elbow ligament is a big one as he was expected to trigger the pick-and-roll game with Howard. They can return to being a playoff contender for the third time in five years if Howard returns to an All-Star level.

29-53, missed the playoffs. G Elfrid Payton (12.8 ppg), G Terrence Ross (12.5), F Evan Fournier (17.2), F Aaron Gordon (12.7), C Nikola Vucevic (14.6). F Jeff Green, G Jodie Meeks, G C.J. Watson. After another disappointing non-playoff season, new president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman and general manager John Hammond decided to tweak the roster rather than overhaul it.