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.
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