We are now two months into the NBA season, and things in the Eastern Conference are starting to take shape. There are 4-5 teams clearly separating themselves from the rest of the pack, and really there are only 2 teams that I think are serious contenders for the championship. Here are the current NBA Eastern Conference standings:
1. Boston Celtics (23-5)
2. Miami Heat (23-9)
3. Chicago Bulls (19-10)
4. New York Knicks (18-12)
5. Orlando Magic (18-12)
6. Atlanta Hawks (19-13)
7. Indiana Pacers (13-15)
8. Milwaukee Bucks (12-16)
9. Philadelphia 76ers (12-18)
10. Toronto Raptors (10-19)
11. Detroit Pistons (10-20)
12. Charlotte Bobcats (9-19)
13. New Jersey Nets (9-21)
14. Cleveland Cavaliers (8-22)
15. Washington Wizards (7-21)
Obviously only the top eight teams make the playoffs, and right now things are shaping up like many of the experts thought they would. Its pretty clear who the best teams in the conference are, so let's take a look at each of the teams who might be contenders to make the NBA Finals this season.
1. Boston Celtics: I think they are easily the most complete team in the NBA. I know they have some questionable losses (Toronto and Cleveland), but those were near the beginning of the season. The Celts have unbelievable depth in the front court with Garnett, Shaq, Big Baby Davis, Jermaine O'Neal, Kendrick Perkins (when he comes back from injury), and Semih Erden. That is just their front court. They also have a great rotation of guards, and three all stars in their starting back court (Rondo, Pierce, Allen). They do everything well on the offensive end, and are the best defensive team in the league. Clearly they have the best chance of representing the Eastern Conference in the Finals.
2. Miami Heat: The Heat seem to have figured out how to use their "Big Three" effectively. LeBron James continues to play at an MVP level, Wade has rebounded very strongly from a terrible start to the season, and Chris Bosh has shown that he can be a really good third wheel. However, the Heat still struggle in the post. They are near the bottom of the league in points in the paint, but it doesn't really matter because they are very good in transition, and they spread the floor with good shooters as well. Mike Miller coming back from injury will only help them, and give them another shooter to spread the floor for LeBron and Wade. They aren't as complete a team as the Celtics, but they have an all-star cast, and should be capable of competing with the Celtics in the Eastern Conference.
3. Chicago Bulls: The Bulls have had bad luck with injuries this season. Boozer missed the first fifteen games of the season, during which the Bulls were 9-6. When Boozer came back the Bulls went on a stretch where they went 7-2, including wins over the Thunder and Lakers. Then, just at the end of a seven game win streak, Joakim Noah goes down for at least 8 weeks, and they have to figure everything out all over again. They should be alright without Noah in the meantime, especially since they are in the weakest portion of their schedule. Derrick Rose is having an unbelievable season, and Carlos Boozer has been better than advertised since his return. When they get Noah back, and if they can trade for a bonafide starting shooting guard, the Bulls can compete with anybody. The problem is that they are young, and don't have much experience when it comes to winning a long series.
4. New York Knicks: The Knicks have been a surprise. Amar'e Stoudemire is playing the best basketball of his career, and Raymond Felton has given them a spark as well. They are running the D'Antoni offense perfectly, and they can spread the floor with fantastic three point shooters (Gallinari, Fields, Chandler, Douglas, etc.). They don't play enough defense to be a serious championship contender this year, but they are good enough now to attract Carmello Anthony is next summer's free agency. If that happens, they might jump into the championship equation next season.
5. Orlando Magic: Orlando is a completely different team from the start of the season. Gone are Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat and Mikael Pietrus. The Magic in return for those players got Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson and Gilbert Arenas. They will still be able to shoot the three, and they still have Dwight Howard, but they don't have enough around him to seriously contend anymore. Plus, they gave up their back up center, so now when Howard gets in foul trouble, they have nobody to back him up. Howard gets into foul trouble almost every game, so that could be a problem. However, they did just beat the Spurs and the Celtics, two of the best teams in the league, so I guess they do have the potential to contend in the East.
After those 5 teams the talent pool in the East gets thin. The Hawks are up and down, and without Joe Johnson, they shouldn't be a major player in the East this season. The Pacers and Bucks are improving, but will most likely be one and done in the playoffs.
Here are my revamped predictions for how the rest of the season will play out:
1. Boston Celtics (62-20)
2. Miami Heat (61-21)
3. Chicago Bulls (54-28)
4. Orlando Magic (52-30)
5. New York Knicks (48-34)
6. Atlanta Hawks (45-37)
7. Milwaukee Bucks (44-38)
8. Indiana Pacers (40-42)
We'll see how the rest of the season pans out, but I don't see how anybody other than the Celtics and Heat can get to the Eastern Conference Finals. I thought maybe the Bulls would have a chance to get there, and I really didn't expect the Celtics to be as good as they have been to this point. Those two teams at the top are the best in the conference, and I would expect to see them playing eachother at the end of the season in the playoffs.
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