Most Important Questions Already-Eliminated Eastern Conference Playoff Teams Will Have to Answer This Summer
The Washington Wizards, Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers are the teams that have already bowed out of contention
At least by seeding, the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs went as expected, with all top four teams advancing.
The eliminated teams did not go down quietly though, with no sweeps taking place and two matchups needing to be decided by a seventh game.
Still, losing in the first round is never ideal, and so the already vanquished teams must head into the offseason focused on trying to get better and they will also have to answer important questions that will affect their futures.
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1. For the Washington Wizards: Will the front office listen to John Wall and try to add an "athletic big?"
After another up-and-down regular season, the Washington Wizards once again showed up for the playoffs and pushed the top-seeded Toronto Raptors in six hard-fought games.
In John Wall, Bradley Beal and Otto Porter Jr., the Wizards have the foundation for a modern NBA team, but it can still be improved upon.
Wall himself has an idea for how the roster can be improved.
Speaking recently to members of the media, Wall talked about the importance of having an "athletic big" in the modern NBA, the Washington Post reported.
Wall is right in that athletic big men are more valuable now than they have ever been and if the Wizards can add one, they definitely should. The problem though is that the Wizards don't really have the cap space or the draft assets required to add a player like that, so they may need to deal someone from the current rotation.
Whether or not the front office is willing to make such a significant change will be worth monitoring this summer.
2. For the Milwaukee Bucks: What can be done to make things easier for Giannis Antetokounmpo?
The Milwaukee Bucks would not have been anywhere close to the postseason were it not for the tremendous season Giannis Antetokounmpo just had.
Antetokounmpo will likely get some down-ballot MVP votes for the season he just had, though he probably would have gotten serious consideration for the award had he been surrounded with better players.
Khris Middleton and Malcolm Brogdon have played well alongside Antetkounmpo and they deserve to stick around, but the other members of the roster should not be considered untouchable.
The Bucks need to take advantage of the attention Antetokounmpo draws by surrounding him with more shooters and they also need to ease his burden on the other end of the floor by having him play with a more reliable rim protector.
Acquiring those players will obviously be easier said than done for the Bucks, but that needs to be their offseason priority if they want to take a step forward.
3. For the Miami Heat: How can Hassan Whiteside still improve?
Considering his lackluster performance against the Philadelphia 76ers, many Miami Heat fans would probably be okay with the team trading center Hassan Whiteside this summer.
Here's the thing though. It will be nearly impossible to move Whiteside this summer, and even if a team agrees to take him, they may only do so if the Heat will include other assets in the deal.
Trading Whiteside this offseason will not accomplish much for the Heat, so they may as well just hang on to him and help him improve instead.
Whiteside has already flashed a good feel for the game on defense, so it's still possible that he can develop those same instincts on offense. He does not need to turn into a shooter to remain effective on offense as long as he becomes capable of making smart cuts and passes.
4. For the Indiana Pacers: Which players should they target in free agency this summer?
The Victor Oladipo-led Indiana Pacers were arguably the most surprising team of this season, as they went from projected lottery team in the preseason to pushing the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games in the playoffs.
The Pacers have something special in Oladipo, and now, they need to give him the right running buddies that will help him and the team thrive in the Eastern Conference.
Per Hoops Hype, the Pacers currently have a little over $75 million worth of contracts on the books for next season, provided that they decline all pending team options on Joseph Young, Lance Stephenson and Al Jefferson.
With the 2018–19 salary cap projected to end up at $101 million, the Pacers have the room available to bring in one big acquisition or a few rotation players.
Just like the Wizards, the Pacers could benefit from adding more athletic big men, but unlike the Wizards, they may actually be able to sign that kind of player this summer pretty easily.
