The Bucks are still atop the Eastern Conference, but has their hot streak ended? The Celtics have lost four of six games and show no signs of stopping. The Raptors also look like they’re losing steam after having a three game win streak snapped on Wednesday night. There is plenty to talk about in this East preview, so let’s dive right into it!
The Milwaukee Bucks are off to their best start in franchise history, but that’s not saying much. They face the Toronto Raptors for the third time this season on Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET with a chance to take over first place in the East from Boston CelticsFor the Bucks, it’s not over yet. The Bucks are still fighting for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Read more in detail here: bucks nba.
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During the off-season, Eastern Conference competitors hustled to create squads capable of dethroning Giannis Antetokounmpo — now with a new, better jump shot? — and the defending NBA champion The Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball team based in. Even the conference’s chronic bottom feeders have assembled squads that will attract basketball fans’ attention. Some clubs are just hoping that distractions do not jeopardize the start of their seasons.
Many people are curious as to how Ben Simmons’ situation in Philadelphia will play out. The 76ers seemed to be stuck in a deadlock with Simmons, a three-time All-Star who has been requesting a trade for months. Simmons was released from his holdout in the middle of the preseason and reported to the squad, although he has yet to participate. The 76ers have said that they want him on their roster, but can they truly go about their business as normal if he agrees to stay?
Meanwhile, the Nets have a championship-caliber roster. They understand this, and despite the uncertainty surrounding Kyrie Irving’s vaccination status, they hope to lift the Larry O’Brien championship trophy at the conclusion of the season.
Could the NBA’s power balance, which has always been skewed toward the West, be moving to the East? Here’s how the Eastern Conference is shaping out this year.
Heat of Miami
It seems so long ago in some respects. However, it has only been a year since the Heat advanced to the 2020 NBA Finals before falling to the Los Angeles Lakers. Was it a fluke, facilitated by the peculiar circumstances of playing in a bubble with no fans? Last season, the Heat were up and down until a lopsided first-round matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks eliminated them from the 2021 playoffs.
Jimmy Butler must be effective. Duncan Robinson must maintain a level of consistency. Tyler Herro needs to reclaim his confidence. And Bam Adebayo must continue to make the kind of leaps that have propelled him to the status of perennial All-Star.
Kyle Lowry, who departed the Raptors after nine seasons at the age of 35, and P.J. Tucker, who helped the Bucks win the title last season, should assist the squad.
The 76ers are a basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
For the time being, Ben Simmons is back in the City of Brotherly Love.
Simmons, who allegedly wanted a trade in late August and was unable to attend training camp, reported to the 76ers before of their third preseason game but did not participate. However, Simmons’ future in Philadelphia is uncertain. His maximum deal is still four years away.
Philadelphia is desperate to win now, with or without him. Joel Embiid is coming off his greatest season, in which he was voted second in the Most Valuable Player Award voting. The 76ers earned the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs last season, but they were eliminated in the quarterfinals, continuing their failure to convert regular-season victories into deep postseason success.
Despite his offensive flaws, Philadelphia is a better team with Simmons, 25. Embiid, Seth Curry, Danny Green, and Tobias Harris should be able to keep the Sixers in contention even if he doesn’t play anytime soon.
Knicks of New York
The Knicks retooled their team from previous season, which reached the playoffs but flamed out in the first round despite a magnificent flare. Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson are back, but Elfrid Payton, who caused a slew of gray hairs among fans, isn’t. The signings of Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker are big, and they should help relieve some of the offensive pressure on RJ Barrett and Julius Randle, who just inked a four-year contract deal.
Mitchell Robinson, the 23-year-old center who is up for an extension and can leap over the ceiling, feels like this is a make-or-break year. He defends the rim and is a great roll guy when he’s at his best. However, he has struggled to keep healthy. Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin, who both impressed as youngsters off the bench last season, could get more playing time.
The Knicks should reach the playoffs with ease, but their bench depth is a concern.
Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks were instrumental in keeping the band together. Coach is the same. The star is the same. Mostly the same core. After all, why not? The Bucks, who won their first championship since 1971, seem to be on the verge of defending their crown.
Fatigue might be a problem. Due to the epidemic, their playoff run was extended into July, and two starters — Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday — were instrumental in the United States winning gold at the Olympics in August. In free agency, the Bucks also lost P.J. Tucker, who was crucial in the last months of last season.
However, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo remains the face of the organization and the happy owner of a freshly minted championship ring. And he could be better than he’s ever been, as seen by his improved jump shooting throughout the preseason. He’s not going away anytime soon, thanks to a deal that goes until the 2025-26 season.
Hawks of Atlanta
The Hawks approach the season with the weight of expectation and the advantage of consistency after a stunning run to the Eastern Conference finals last season. This club has a lot of depth and has the potential to be one of the best in the East.
The majority of the main players have returned. Trae Young and John Collins, the Hawks’ two top players, have signed long-term contracts. Coach Nate McMillan will be in charge of the club from the start, rather than being pushed into it in the middle of the season, as he did last season when Lloyd Pierce was sacked.
Last season, Atlanta came close to making a miraculous run to the NBA finals after defeating the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers, but injuries plagued them against the eventual winners, the Milwaukee Bucks. De’Andre Hunter, Cam Reddish, and Bogdan Bogdanovic, who were unavailable or not 100 percent last season, are anticipated to start the season healthy. The Hawks have added Gorgui Dieng and Delon Wright to their bench, as well as Jalen Johnson, an intriguing youngster they chose late in the first round this year.
Hornets of Charlotte
Charlotte’s exciting young core is highlighted by LaMelo Ball, who was named Rookie of the Year last season. He’ll almost certainly be the Hornets’ main facilitator, and he already possesses excellent court vision and playmaking abilities, as well as a developing jump jumper.
Last season, Ball and forward Miles Bridges were excellent in the pick-and-roll, with Bridges’ strength to the basket and Ball’s precision lob placement on show. This season, that duo should only become better.
Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward were already good veterans for the Hornets, and they acquired Kelly Oubre Jr. and Mason Plumlee. Oubre is a streaky shooter who might be useful in transition. Plumlee is a huge guy with a lot of skills.
The Hornets won’t be pounding on the door of the NBA finals this season, but they’ll be entertaining to watch and have a legitimate shot at a postseason spot.
The Brooklyn Nets are a professional basketball team based in
On paper, the Nets are one of the strongest teams in NBA history, thanks to the additions of Patty Mills and Paul Millsap, as well as the return of Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge. Given their Big Three of Kyrie Irving, James Harden, and Kevin Durant, they would be championship favorites under normal conditions. But the Nets were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs last year as well.
The Nets’ ability to go as far as they can will be determined mostly by their health. The best Nets players all have a lot of miles on their legs and have lost a lot of time in recent years.
If there’s one area where the Nets may be exploited by other teams, it’s on defense, where they suffered last season and where their off-season acquisitions failed to fix. This might backfire in the postseason, especially in the frontcourt against guys like Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, who scored at will last season, and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid.
However, the attacking firepower is exceptional. If the Nets are healthy, it’s difficult to envision them losing a seven-game series.
This season, Chicago might be a surprisingly good squad.
Shortly after last season, Arturas Karnisovas, the Bulls’ executive vice president of basketball operations, expressed dissatisfaction with the team’s 31-41 record. Since then, he’s added DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, and Tony Bradley to a team that already included Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, who were acquired from Orlando around the March trade deadline.
DeRozan is a dangerous midrange player, but some have wondered how he’ll fit in alongside LaVine, given both players are most efficient when they have the ball in their hands. Ball, a skilled passer, will provide a boost at point guard for the Bulls. Caruso, meanwhile, will provide a gritty spark off the bench. Billy Donovan, their coach, will have to determine out how they all fit on the floor.
In any case, Michael Jordan said that the Bulls could contend in the East given the modifications they made. When was the last time such words were uttered?
Raptors of Toronto
In Toronto basketball, a new era has begun. Kyle Lowry, the franchise’s most recognized player, has joined the Miami Heat. Without him, the Raptors are likely to be trapped between being too great to acquire a first-round selection yet not being good enough to compete for the conference’s top seed.
In the tumultuous East, though, there may be an opportunity for Toronto: Scottie Barnes, whom the organization shockingly selected at No. 4 this year, showed promise in the preseason. The Raptors’ frontcourt, led by Chris Boucher and Precious Achiuwa, will be a formidable force.
The Raptors have a number of questions heading into the season: Is Pascal Siakam, who will miss the first several weeks of the season due to shoulder surgery, a real franchise cornerstone? Will Goran Dragic, Lowry’s replacement at guard, endure the whole season in Toronto? Or will Masai Ujiri, the Raptors’ president of basketball operations, sell Dragic’s contract before it expires?
The Pistons are a basketball team based in Detroit, Michigan
There aren’t many Pistons supporters who haven’t already declared rookie guard Cade Cunningham to be their Magic Johnson. Johnson, who was picked first overall by the Lakers in 1979, won an NBA championship as a rookie.
Cunningham, a skilled scorer and shot creator, was selected No. 1 overall by Detroit earlier this year in the hopes of rescuing the team from years of obscurity. He missed the preseason due to an ankle ailment, and the club is being careful.
Despite finishing with the poorest record in the Eastern Conference last season, Detroit’s youthful squad showed potential, but the Pistons are another club in rebuilding mode. The aim for this season, according to coach Dwane Casey, is to gain a position in the playoffs play-in competition.
Cavaliers of Cleveland
Only someone like LeBron James has the ability to turn an entire organization into a footnote. But that’s exactly what he did when he left the Cavaliers for the glitz of Hollywood in 2018, leaving them to fend for themselves in the wilderness. The Cavaliers went from championship contender to lightweight in an instant, but they do have several promising young players in the backcourt, including Collin Sexton and Darius Garland.
None of this implies that the Cavaliers will even come close to making the postseason. The path back to respectability, though, is a gradual, steady reconstruction aided by wise draft decisions. There’s more good news: Kevin Love (remember him?) just has two seasons left on his monstrous contract, which might make him a more enticing trade target.
Celtics of Boston
Ime Udoka, the Celtics’ first-year coach, has placed a strong focus on ball movement from the start of training camp. He doesn’t want the ball to stick in his hands. He wants his players to collaborate to create the greatest shots possible.
Fans who were sick of seeing the Celtics’ offense deteriorate into isolation setups last season must have been relieved to hear this. Jayson Tatum, 23, and Jaylen Brown, who will be 25 this month, are one of the league’s most talented young duos, but they have yet to deliver on their potential in the playoffs.
Udoka may be able to assist them. He took over for Brad Stevens, who was promoted to the front office following a.500 record and a first-round playoff exit in his ninth season as the team’s coach.
Wizards of Washington
Wes Unseld Jr., Washington’s new head coach, has a difficult challenge.
Even after signing excellent veterans like Spencer Dinwiddie, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma, and Montrezl Harrell, the Wizards are not a championship-caliber club. So the focus this season will be on enticing Bradley Beal, who is set to become a free agency next summer, to sign a long-term contract with the team.
Without several exceptional playmakers, it’s difficult to win, and the Wizards only have one in Beal after dealing Russell Westbrook to the Los Angeles Lakers. Even if the Wizards are in yet another transition year, they should have a playoff squad at the very least. They’ll have Thomas Bryant, their potential center, returning from injury, and the club may expect for some development from Deni Avdija (2020) and Rui Hachimura, the team’s past two lottery choices (2019).
Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in
Jamahl Mosley, the Magic’s first-year head coach, leads a youthful squad. In the previous nine seasons, they’ve only made two playoff appearances and sold away its top players, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic, in the midst of last season. Then they selected Jalen Suggs of Gonzaga at No. 5 in this year’s draft.
Markelle Fultz, who will return from a knee ailment, RJ Hampton, Terrence Ross, Cole Anthony, and Gary Harris are among the guards on the roster. Suggs, on the other hand, has the biggest upside of the group, and he was impressive in the summer league until hurting his thumb.
The Magic won’t be serious competitors for a long time, so they have plenty of time to reorganize their team.
The Indiana Pacers are a basketball team based in Indiana
Rick Carlisle is the Pacers’ third coach in three seasons, returning for his second tenure with the franchise. Indiana could use some consistency to help build a youthful core that includes Malcolm Brogdon, Myles Turner, and Domantas Sabonis, a two-time All-Star who is just 25 years old.
However, the Pacers are coming off a 34-38 season and Caris LeVert is sidelined indefinitely with a stress fracture in his back. They haven’t moved beyond the first round of the playoffs since 2014.
From 2003 through 2007, Carlisle coached the Pacers for four seasons, leading them to three playoff berths. It will take a lot of effort to bring them back there.
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