Eastern Conference Playoff Preview

In today's NBA, the Western Conference gets a lot of the attention, most of the best teams have been in the West the last couple of years. This year it's the top four teams in the West of the Warriors, Spurs, Thunder, and Clippers who get all the attention. But the East is starting to look more promising, LeBron is always a contender, no matter which team he is on. But the second place team the Toronto Raptors have been very good this year, mainly because of the Kyle Lowry-Demar Derozan duo. However I feel like the Raptors need another piece to really challenge the Cavs in the playoffs. I just don't see this Raptors team taking down LeBron, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love in a seven game series. The Boston Celtics are at third in the East at 35-25, they are a very strange team, they aren't really led by one player in particular. The Celtics have seven players who average 10 or more points per game, and have good pieces all around. That's why it is important for the Celtics to make a push for a big name free agent this summer, because one All-Star caliber could take this team from good to great. Even if they don't get a big name free agent this summer the Celtics are still in great shape for the future. Boston has probably the brightest future in the NBA because they own a lot of draft picks acquired from other teams that they can use in the future, including a couple first rounders in the upcoming NBA Draft.

The other teams that I could see making some noise in the playoffs would be the Bulls, Pistons, and Pacers. Not all of these teams are for sure playoff teams, but I think all of these teams have the necessary talent to shake up the playoffs as lower seeded teams. The Bulls have been probably been one of the most underachieving teams in the NBA, and are again severely effected by injuries. Jimmy Butler, Joakim Noah, and Nikola Mirotic are all out right now. Surprisingly Derrick Rose hasn't been the main one out with injuries this year, only missing 10 games, mainly due to minor injuries. But the Bulls have proved to be difficult for contending teams the last couple of years. Last year they took the Cavs to six games, and probably would've won the series had it not been for a LeBron James game winning shot in game four. This year they own a 2-1 series lead over the Cavs, 3-0 versus the Raptors, and 2-0 versus the Thunder. The Pacers were the number one seed in the playoff just two years ago and still have their star player Paul George. I think the Pacers still have it in them to make some noise the playoffs, especially with the core of Paul George, Monta Ellis, George Hill, and Myles Turner.