Why The Pacers, Raptors, & Magic Are Headed Towards Purgatory
The NBA has never been more competitive than it is now. The margins matter. This is why the Pacers, Raptors, Magic will not be contenders in the East. Tyrese Haliburton, Scottie Barnes, and Paolo Banchero are not on the level of Damian Lillard, Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell, Jimmy Butler or even Jalen Brunson. Banchero, Barnes, and Haliburton are very good players, but they are not the #1 players on a championship team the way Butler, Tatum, Mitchell, Dame, Giannis, and Embiid are. Due to the fact, that they are very good players, they will never have their teams in a position to tank for better players, which is purgatory. This means they will always have a draft pick in the middle of the draft where there is a steep drop-off in talent the lower the pick.