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The NBA season has begun and the Golden State Warriors will be looking to make it three NBA Championships in a row.
As hard as it may seem for any team to match up to the mighty Warriors, what will be interesting to see is how the Eastern Conference unfolds in the regular season and then going into the Playoffs.
The Eastern Conference, since the inception of the NBA, has generally been the weaker conference with most of the Western Conference teams being much stronger on paper.
But that just makes the East more interesting, doesn't it? The Eastern Conference has a reputation of being unpredictable and more often than not, we see the underdogs sneaking into the Playoffs in the 7th or 8th spot with a win-loss record of less than .500.
The Eastern Conference will be without their face, LeBron James, for the first time since he was drafted into the league by the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron James will be up against the Golden State Warriors at least four times this season as the Los Angeles Lakers feature in the Pacific Division alongside the Warriors.
With LeBron moving to the Lakers and therefore, to the Western Conference, the East has significantly depleted in terms of retaining top NBA talent barring the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kristaps Porzingis, Kyrie Irving, John Wall, Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Kemba Walker, to name a few.
But the Toronto Raptors managed to pick up Kawhi Leonard from the Western Conference's San Antonio Spurs in exchange for their very own 9-year veteran, DeMar DeRozan. Kawhi will be keen on stamping his authority on the relatively easier Eastern Conference and be the leader of the team from Canada.
With LeBron gone from the East, it is a chance for several players to now become the new face of the Eastern Conference and one would not want to bet against Leonard doing just that and taking Toronto to the NBA Finals.With LeBron no more in Cleveland, it is highly unlikely that the Cavs will make the Playoffs, never mind the NBA finals, this season. The real favorites will be the Boston Celtics and now, the Toronto Raptors with the addition of Kawhi.
The East has a few underdogs in the Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers. These two teams could really upset the big guns in the Playoffs over a 7-game series and it will be really interesting to see where these teams finish in the regular season.
Let's have a look at which of the 8 teams out of the 15 are likely to make the playoffs at the end of the NBA regular season this year, from the East.
#1 Toronto Raptors
Predicted result (62-20)
With all due respect to DeMar DeRozan, a loyal star for the Toronto Raptors for multiple seasons, the Raptors made a brilliant move by picking up Kawhi Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs as a replacement for their former leader.
Kawhi Leonard is a much better defender, one of the best in the league and is an equally good scorer who can change a game in a flash. Leonard is a superstar and now, as the main leader in the East, Leonard has a chance to dominate as the competition is less rigorous than the heavy West that he was a part of since he joined the league.
With the addition of Danny Green, Toronto have added another lock-down defender with an ability to hit shots. The Toronto Raptors are very strong defensively. Serge Ibaka, Jonas Valanciunas and Greg Monroe add to the defensive wall of the team from Canada.
Kawhi Leonard's deputy, Kyle Lowry will have a huge role to play again this season. Lowry is capable of averaging a double-double per game, since he will be the main ball-handler for this Raptors team now that DeRozan has departed for San Antonio.
The Raptors finished 1st in the East last season with a 59-23 record and they will look to better that this season. With their defense to likely be the main focus of the Raptors, especially on the road, they can definitely improve their 25-16 away record from last season.
Toronto will be looking to cross the 60 games win mark this time around and expect them to finish at the top of the Eastern Conference once again.
#2 Milwaukee Bucks
Predicted result (55-27)
He is no mere mortal. He is incredibly quick for his size and has an eye to even make passes when driving to the hoop to pick out an open teammate. Surprising, right? The bold choice of picking the Bucks to finish 2nd in the Eastern Conference is simple, the reason being the presence of Giannis Antetokounmpo!
The Greek Freak is the most physically skillful player after LeBron James. Giannis is the complete player. A monster on the defensive end and unstoppable when in full flow, on offense. Antetokounmpo is young but is already carrying the Bucks on his shoulders.
The reason the Bucks can make a big push this season is due to the fact that they have a relatively settled team and have maintained the same pieces going in. With Giannis as the cornerstone and the talented Khris Middleton being a perennial scorer, Milwaukee can make a strong run in the regular season.
The Bucks have a starting five that can be competitive on any given day comprising of Eric Bledsoe at the point, Malcolm Brogdon at Shooting Guard, Khris Middleton as the Small Forward, Giannis Antetokounmpo at Power Forward and Brook Lopez at the five.
Milwaukee also have a deep bench which may be beneficial in the Playoffs. They have more than competent role players on their team - Tony Snell, Ersan Ilyasova, Donte DiVincenzo and Matthew Dellavedova to name a few.
The Bucks finished 7th in the East last season but they have improved a lot and Giannis looks fit and better than ever. They finished with a 44-38 Win-Loss record. They were pretty strong at home as they finished 25-16 but struggled on the road as they finished below 500 with a 19-22 record.
This season, expect the Bucks to win a few more in Milwaukee and maybe snatch a couple more games away from home. Don't be surprised if they cause a few upsets this season.
Under head coach, Mike Budenholzer, Antetokounmpo is going to thrive as he is going to be bringing the ball up the court much more to create plays for himself and the team. It is going to be a nuisance for opposing teams to deal with him and not too many players will be looking forward to dealing with the All-Star.
The Greek Freak is looking to take the NBA by storm once again as he will strive to make a claim for the MVP trophy this season. Watch out!
#3 Boston Celtics
Predicted result (54-28)
Many would have the Celtics as #1 or #2 in the East and that is understandable. Their rich history, their playoff run all the way to the Conference Finals only to throw it away in Game 7 against LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers. There are a lot of positives to look at for the Boston Celtics.
They made it so far after losing their newest recruitment, Gordon Hayward with a nasty injury very early on in the 2017-18 NBA Regular Season. Kyrie Irving majorly carried the Celtics during the regular season but when the playoffs came, injury kept Uncle Drew out as well. In stepped a young rookie, Jayson Tatum, who did more than he was asked for the TD Garden faithful. But by no means was he alone.
The Celtics were probably the best team in the league after the Golden State Warriors, last season. They have an incredible head coach in Brad Stevens who knows the team's limitations and utilizes his resources to their optimum abilities.
With their big names out last season at crucial junctures, the veteran Al Horford stepped up to lead the team and made the Celtics competitive on a nightly basis. To support him, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier and Jayson Tatum contributed, sharing the spoils. It was great to watch the young Celtics perform last season.
With Hayward and Irving back and having retained most of their players, the Celtics will want to go one step further than last season and try to make the NBA Finals this time for a chance to bring Championship #18 to Boston.
Last season, the Celtics finished 2nd with a 55-27 record. Surprisingly, they ended up with a better away record than home. If the Celtics can win a few more games at home then they are sure to better that record from last season. But with the trades over the offseason, it will be extremely difficult for Boston to finish with 28 wins again as they did last season, on the road.
#4 - Detroit Pistons
Predicted result (50-32)
The city of Detroit has seen it all. After finishing 9th last season in the Eastern Conference with 39 wins, there was a need to add a star or two to get the juices flowing and something clicking for the head coach, Dwane Casey.
The Pistons did just that. They hit the jackpot by picking up Blake Griffin from the Los Angeles Clippers and managed to retain Andre Drummond, making them the best big man duo in the league currently.
With Blake Griffin being a perennial All-Star and Drummond making the All-Star team last season due to an injury to John Wall, the two big men can do special things for this franchise to bring back some hope of an NBA championship in the near future.
Both, Griffin and Drummond are relentless on the boards. The Pistons are nearly sure to end up as rebound leaders this season in the league.
Just the simple addition of Blake adds so many wins to the Pistons. One star player can make such a massive difference. Griffin fits into Dwane Casey's system incredibly well. With Reggie Jackson running the point, the Pistons can play the pick and roll with Griffin and Drummond with ease.
The weakness that the Pistons do have is their bench. They lack handy role players barring Jose Calderon and Zaza Pachulia.
As strong as the backcourt of Detroit is, their frontcourt is just that weak. The Pistons may struggle on the road or if they end up losing either one of their big men due to injury. If the Pistons do get on a run and their big men stay hot then expect them to end up with more wins than losses for sure.
They do say rebounding wins you games. Drummond and Griffin will try to make sure of that. No matter how the Pistons play, one thing is for certain - There are going to be lots of alley oops at Little Caesars Arena this year.
#5 - Indiana Pacers
Predicted result (48-34)
One of the most consistent teams on the Eastern Conference. They are not always flashy but they get the wins and have a habit of making the playoffs every season.
Indiana finished 5th in the regular season in 2017-18 with a pretty impressive record of 48-34. They were strong at home as they went 27-14 and finished just above 500 on the road with 21-20.
With the team pretty much the same, the Pacers will look to do much of the same in the regular season as they did last time out but will try to maybe add a couple more wins overall.
Victor Oladipo was outstanding for Indiana last season and he will be ready to produce the same results once again as he will try to stake his claim for an All-Star slot come January 2019.
The Pacers have the tall and crafty Lithuanian, Domantas Sabonis and the sharpshooter, Bojan Bogdanovic amongst their ranks and it will be very entertaining to watch the two of them getting substantial minutes every game.
Indiana not only have a strong frontcourt with Myles Turner, Doug McDermott, Thaddeus Young and Kyle O'Quinn but also a deep backcourt with Tyreke Evans and Darren Collison to step in for Victor Oladipo.
The only disappointment for the Pacers last season was getting knocked out to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. They lost out in a fantastic series in Game 7 and they will want to make things right this time.
The Indiana Pacers have a real chance of going further in the Playoffs in the 2018-19 season as long as they finish higher up in the Conference standings but it seems like a slight uphill task as the Bucks and Pistons have become stronger than last season.
#6 - Philadelphia 76ers
Predicted result (47-35)
The 76ers were fantastic last season! They were the biggest surprise. After drafting the Australian, Ben Simmons with the first pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, they found a future superstar.
A triple-double machine, Ben Simmons joined the league and took it by storm. Many claimed that he should have made the NBA All-Star team in his rookie year itself. He himself was vocal about it when Goran Dragic was given the nod ahead of him.
But Philadelphia was not only about Ben Simmons. Philly's best player was the Power Forward, Joel Embiid. "The Process" as he is popularly known, Embiid was a monster last season as he was voted to the All-Star team as a starter.
Embiid averaged a double-double in the regular season (22.9 PPG & 11 REB) while Ben Simmons averaged 15.8 PPG, 8.1 REB & 8.2 AST per game last season. The dynamic duo were majorly the reason the Sixers made a major push towards the end of the season to push themselves to 52 wins.
Philadelphia were fantastic at home, notching up 30 wins. They struggled a little on the road but still ended up with 22 wins. 52 wins was an incredible effort last season.
One must not forget the outstanding contribution made by JJ Redick in the 2017-18 regular season. He averaged 17.1 PPG with 46% FG% and 42% from beyond the arc. Dario Saric also improves the shooting efficiency of the team as well and it will be interesting to see how many minutes he gets this season.
The 76ers had a decently successful Playoff run as well as they comfortably beat the Miami Heat 4-1 but then were absolutely thrashed by the Boston Celtics in five games.
The Philadelphia faithful have high hopes from their team for the 2018-19 season and having drafted Markelle Fultz with the 1st pick in the 2018 NBA draft, they have added more young talent to the roster. The only significant loss for the Sixers has been Ersan Ilyasova. The Turkish big rebounder has been traded to the Bucks.
Philly had an incredible regular season last year and it almost guarantees them a place in the playoffs this time as well if they can produce the same quality once again. The problems they will face are the facts that JJ Redick is not becoming any younger, Ben Simmons disappearing in big games and Joel Embiid not being consistent enough.
The pressure of outperforming themselves may be a bit much for the 76ers but they are too good to not make the playoffs. They may not replicate their performance from last year but they could still make the Conference semifinals once again.
We will have to just wait and see.
#7 - Miami Heat
Predicted result (43-39)
The Miami Heat finished with 44 wins last season, tied with the Bucks but due to a better home record, they finished 6th in the Eastern Conference, only to be crushed 4-1 by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the Playoffs.
The Heat won 26 games at home and 18 on the road, last season. Putting these numbers into perspective, the Heat did a pretty good job overall.
With Erik Spoelstra still at the helm and Dwyane Wade playing his last season in the NBA, the Heat will try to make a deep run this season and feature in the Playoffs, in an attempt to cause an upset by knocking off one of the bigger teams in the conference.
The Heat have the perfect blend of youth and experience. With Goran Dragic running the point, the Heat will be slow but highly efficient. Hassan Whiteside is a fierce rebounder and one of the best Centres in the league. Dwyane Wade will have an important role to play in mentoring and leading the young players the Heat have.
Erik Spoelstra is a master tactician and will make sure his team digs in deep and is tough to beat. Miami will not be world beaters but on their night, they can definitely be a handful.
The Heat will be very happy if they end up making the playoffs again and will be even happier if the end up +500 in their W-L.
#8 - Washington Wizards
Predicted result (42-40)
The Washington Wizards just made the NBA Playoffs last season in the 8th spot of the Eastern Conference. They ended up with 43 wins with a poor showing at home but they held their own on the road.
Spearheaded by their leading All-Star Point Guard, John Wall and their team captain, Bradley Beal, the Wizards push the ball up the court and are relentless in transition.
One of the fastest teams in the league, Washington are a joy to watch. They have a lethal backcourt filled with youth. The Wizards are a little weak on the defensive end so will be highly dependent on outscoring their opponents.
It is going to be a really challenging season for the team from the capital but they are highly likely to make the playoffs again. Well, just about, at least.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks are going to most likely not make the Playoffs this season. With Kristaps Porzingis still out, it is going to be nearly impossible for the Knicks to win 40 games this season.
The real fight is going to be for the last 2 spots in the Eastern Conference. Here are the possible contenders -
- Miami Heat
- Brooklyn Nets
- Atlanta Hawks
- Orlando Magic
- Washington Wizards
- Charlotte Hornets
Out of the other 6 teams that will be at loggerheads for the 7th and 8th spot, division matches and home games will be the key difference makers. Whichever teams can steal a victory against the bigger Western conference sides will really benefit in making a playoff push.
Regardless of how the playoff picture ends up, NBA fans are in for an absolute treat this season.
Can the East reign supreme against the mighty West? Highly unlikely but you never know.
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