Literally the exact same team as last season, minus the coach and Bobby Portis. Why should I expect a different result. Noah and Pau are a year older, Rose still needs to prove he can play a full season and remain elite throughout, Butler needs to continue ascending towards superstardom and sure up his offensive game, McDermott, Snell and Mirotic all need to find a way to get more playing time, Gibson needs to come back from his surgery and continue leading the second unit.
For a team that's essentially the same thing as last year, it sure has a lot of questions. Again, I'm not optimistic about the result being much different. And I'm not seeing anyone in the East giving the cream of the West a run for their money. Golden State and San Antonio are both going to be ridiculous. Oklahoma City can't possibly suffer the same player injuries. Dallas will be much improved. Houston, Memphis, the Clippers and New Orleans all figure to be in the mix.... And if we're being realistic, nobody in the East stands a chance. Unless Rose can play 70+ games and return to an All-Star level, we aren't getting past the conference Finals.