The Southeast Division was not supposed to look like this.
The projections were the Atlanta Hawks would have the inside track to repeating as division champions. The Washington Wizards would be the young, upstart team ready to take the next step. The Miami Heat were the old guard fighting to stay in the middle and stay relevant, with the potential to challenge.
The Orlando Magic and Charlotte Hornets? They were the teams on the outside no one was quite sure what to do with. They were the teams that had nice collections of talent but likely were not ready to compete at a high level.