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LeBron James owned the Eastern Conference from 2010 to 2018 in his time with the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Last summer, LeBron left the Cavaliers via free agency to join the Los Angeles Lakers. Now, the question is, who will be the new beast of the East?
The Milwaukee Bucks had the best record in the NBA this season and made quick work of the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics. The Bucks are currently in the Eastern Conference Finals and are looking to make their first NBA Finals appearance since 1974.
The Bucks have the best chance to dominate the East because they have the best player in the East, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Giannis is very similar to LeBron in terms of when LeBron first entered the league. Giannis is not great at shooting jumpers, but he can get into the paint at will. Even if there are bodies waiting for him in the paint, he can just kick the ball out to shooters, like LeBron does. This is the same formula LeBron used in his time with the Heat and in his second stint with the Cavaliers.
In the regular season, which was definitely his career-best, Giannis averaged 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. His numbers have remained nearly identical in the postseason. Unlike Giannis, LeBron has always been the focal point of an offense. Hence the term "Point Forward" exists.
LeBron has taken average teams and has elevated them to the NBA Finals. The worst two teams LeBron has taken to the finals were the 06-07 Cavaliers and last year's Cavaliers. LeBron covers up the flaws of his teams by having to play more minutes. LeBron averages 38.6 minutes per game while Giannis averages 32.7 minutes per game.
Giannis does not need to entirely carry a team on his back also because he has good role players around him and a better front office. If Giannis can continue playing this way and becomes a better shooter over time, he'll be in LeBron territory.
The Bucks are in the inferior Eastern Conference. What team in the East can legitimately threaten the Bucks long-term? Boston? With free agency looming, it seems unlikely that Boston will be able to re-sign Kyrie Irving. Right now, the Celtics are just a good collection of players.
If Kawhi Leonard has to keep putting the Raptors on his back, it's very likely he will leave Toronto. Just ask LeBron about carrying a roster. Even if Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Anthony Davis ended up with the New York Knicks, there's no guarantee the three of them will fit together. Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid have their own on-court chemistry issues. Simmons still has not developed his jumper and the future of Jimmy Butler is up in the air.
The future of the Bucks is bright with Giannis at the helm and having plenty of size on the roster. Mike Budenholzer is a strong head coach who worked for Gregg Popovich in San Antonio for 18 seasons. Budenholzer also led the Atlanta Hawks to a franchise record 60 wins and their only Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 2015. He will only be looking to build on his impressive record thus far with Milwaukee.
