6. Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic have struggled to hit their stride this season but I do believe there's a chance that begins to change during the final stretch run of the season. The team is finally healthy and if they're going to make a run up the Eastern Conference standings, it's going to happen now. At this point, this is more about trusting in Orlando's talent compared to the rest of the inconsistent teams in the East. I believe that Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are going to deliver for the Magic over the next few weeks.
Right now, the Magic are the seventh seed in the East and need to make up 2.5 games on the Detroit Pistons to snag the sixth seed. Because I believe that the Pistons could end up regressing a bit over the final stretch of the season, I don't believe this is going to be completely impossible for the Magic to do. Even though the Magic are probably going to finish lower in the East standings compared to last year, there's still a chance this team could finish off the year strong. It all starts with a strong push toward the playoffs.
5. Indiana Pacers
Over the past two months of the season, the Indiana Pacers have begun to play a much better brand of basketball. Tyrese Haliburton has seemingly shaken off the historically slow start to the season and is leading the Pacers back up the Eastern Conference standings. How high could the Pacers climb? That's an interesting question. I believe there's an outside chance they could beat out the Milwaukee Bucks for the fifth seed but I do believe Milwaukee will also be improved down the stretch.
In the end, I just trust the Bucks slightly more than the Pacers right now. That's why I predict that the Pacers will finish as the No. 5 seed. This is not necessarily a bad spot for Indiana. If they want to have any shot of making it out of the first round, this is where they want to be. A first-round rematch with the Bucks could also prove to be an increasingly interesting matchup for the team. Could the upstart Pacers upset the Bucks for a second-straight season in the first round of the playoffs? Who wouldn't want to see that storyline unfold?