NBAEastern Conference: It’s Wiiiiide Open

Demarre Carol of the Toronto Raptors is the biggest name to move inter-conference out East. In a recent interview he stated that “the Eastern Conference is wide open, and there is no clear cut champion.” For the past 5 seasons Lebron James has been in the Eastern Conference Finals. His last appearance was probably his hardest, as 3 of his most important teammates were absent. Im talking about Kyrie Irving, Anderson Varejao, and Kevin Love. It’s my belief that with these three pieces, the Cavaliers will be less efficient, until they build a strong chemistry. The finals is not a proving ground. This means that respect and tactics must already be there. Adjustments and learning happen before the finals, not during. The team with the most preparedness will win. That’s it.

 

I think there are going to be some huge surprises this year in the NBA. We are about at the 1/4 mark. And there have been a lot of surprises. Let’s go through 4 groups/ tiers of teams that are in the Eastern conference. They are split into 4 groups. The Beasts of the East, The Playoff Contenders, The Playoff Outliers, and The Bottom Feeders.

The Beasts of the East

These are the teams everyone was expecting to be good (but not great). The Cavs, the Bulls, and the Heat. All of these teams have a +.600 winning percentage. Their rosters have not changed a whole lot since last season. Right now they are healthy. These three teams can go head to head with any team in the league, and have a good chance of winning. Right now they are the favourites to win at least one play-off round, maybe even two.

The Playoff Contenders

These guys are tricky. They have solid rosters, but many changes over the offseason means they might be able to perform as a unit down the stretch. The teams in this tier include: Pacers, Hornets, Raptors and Hawks. I think the biggest surprise is the Charlotte team. They had some hey additions including Batum and Jeremy Lin. They have a deep roster and look like they are ready for the play-offs. All these teams had key losses, as well as key additions to their roster. It all depends on how coaching  makes adjustments down the stretch. For example, Indiana changed their offensive philosophy. After loosing Hibbert and West, they picked up Monta Ellis, and joined the small-ball side.

Play-Off Outliers

This group of 5 teams is very interesting. They have the potential and talent to make it to the playoffs, but experience and chemistry are their biggest issues at this point. These teams include: Magic, Celts, Wizards, Pistons, and Knicks. These teams are fairly young, and are on the good side of a rebuild. The only surprise here is the Wizards. They went from a deep play-off run last year, to struggles this year. They lost one of their leaders in Paul Pierce, and essentially replaced his minutes with Otto Porter. I can see these teams being very good in 2-3 seasons if they continue to develop young talent. The Knicks’ have good young core of Grant, Porzingas, and Galloway. I expect them to take the final play-off spot.

Bottom Feeders

These guys are almost definitely headed to the lottery in 2016. The Bucks and Nets are looking like teams who need a couple weeks off. They do not have clear leaders. They have talented rosters but they are not playing to their level. The Sixers are most likely getting Ben Simmons in July.

This brought me to my last point: average age. This is a list of the current NBA Eastern Conference and their average age.

 

Kids entering the NBA

A recent trend has developed in the NBA. The top young talents destined for the NBA, are spending one season in College programs. They are enticed by the money and endorsement deals they can make if they rush into the NBA draft. NBA greats of the past, in most cases spent at least 2 years in collegiate programs. It wasn’t until 1995, that players began to regularly enter the NBA from High School. Before that only three players entered the NBA straight from High School, Moses Malone, Darryl Dawkins and Bill Willoughby.  [1][2][3]

In 1995 Kevin Garnett started a trend for young players that would have an impact for 10 years. After going the NBA straight out of High School in ’95, 38 other players followed his lead until 2005. This is when Commissioner David Stern made a rule that players could go directly from High School to the NBA.

The purpose of this article is to outline the pros and cons of players creating a mandate for NBA hopefuls to spend atleast 2 years in other programs, before entering the NBA. I think this is better for the maturity of the players, both physically and mentally. It teaches them responsibility, and how to better themselves for the next year. with the current one and done trend, players really have nothing to play for if their season starts getting rough halfway through.

Let me try to prove how important being a part of a college system is. Historically one of the best drafting organizations is the San Antonio Spurs.

2014- Kyle Anderson: 2 yrs at UCLA

2011- Kawhi Leonard: 2 yrs San Diego State

2009- Dejuan Blair: 2 yrs University of Pittsburgh

2008- George Hill: 4 yrs Indiana University- Perdue University Indianapolis

1997- Tim Duncan: 4 yrs Wake Forest University

1987- David Robinson: 4 yrs United States Navel Academy

To me the benefits of staying in school as much as possible outweigh the financial advantages. Players learn responsibility, which is a quality each of the 30 NBA franchises value.

1.  “Moses Malone Bio”. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
2. Jump up ^ “Burden, Dantley top list”. Lawrence Journal-World. May 9, 1975. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
3. Jump up ^ Broussard, Chris (November 16, 2003). “Why Pros Spent 20 Years Shunning High Schoolers”. The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved July 28, 2010.