I'm fascinated. I legit have no idea. Part of my brain thinks they will be god awful. And part of my brain says the East is so bad, they could do exactly as you say.
Just to pencil in some teams...
1) Boston, with everyone healthy
2) Philly
3) Toronto. I'll say they regress after a 59 win season and new coach but I think they'll still be a very good team(in the regular season).
After that, it's anyone's guess.
Indiana is up and coming. I wouldn't be surprised to see them overtake Toronto.
The Bucks have been dysfunctional with flashes of Greek Freak brilliance. Maybe Budenholzer turns them into a legit East contender, it isn't out of the question.
I don't trust Washington. At all.
The Pistons could be interesting but their roster is built so much differently than Dwane Casey's Raptors I imagine there will be some growing pains.
Maybe the Heat put together another winning campaign but I don't anyone sees them as a real threat.
I see no reason the Cavs can't make the playoffs, even if it is as a lower seed.