The Crowded Race in the East

The Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, and Brooklyn Nets could all win it, but who will come out on top?

Miami Heat

They are number 1 in the conference at the moment, and they seem to be one of the more consistent teams in the league. Their schedule is also very manageable from now on, so I’d imagine that they’ll be the 1 seed going into the playoffs. They have a very well rounded team and Tyler Herro will most likely be the Sixth Man of the Year. My only gripe with them is that they do not have a some sort of MVP caliber player. The 2013-2014 Spurs might be the only team in recent-ish past that didn’t have somebody of MVP caliber at that time (Tim Duncan was past his prime, and Kawhi wasn’t at that level yet). Then you may have to go back to the 2003-2004 Pistons to find a team without an MVP caliber player. That is the only thing that may hold them back.

Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks are 2nd in the East and they definitely have an MVP caliber player in Giannis Antetokounmpo. They won in the finals last year, and they have a similar starting line-up this year. My problem with them though is that they do not have a very good bench. Serge Ibaka and Pat Connaughton are fine, but that’s basically it.

Philadelphia 76ers

They are no. 3 right now and Joel Embiid is my pick for MVP. Embiid and Harden together is possibly the most dangerous duo in all of basketball, and Tyrese Mazey has been very good lately. What I don’t like though, is the rest of the roster. Tobias Harris has not been used very much with Harden coming in, Thybulle is good at defense, but not particularly stellar on offense, and Danny Green is a good shooter, but that is basically it as far as the rest of the roster goes. If one of their stars gets injured or tired, Philadelphia could be in trouble.

Boston Celtics

The Celtics have been on FIRE lately. Their defense has been tremendous and Jaylen Brown along with Jayson Tatum have been cooking. Since the beginning of February they have only lost 3 times! I think their bench is good, but it could be debated whether or nit Jayson Tatum is a MVP caliber player. They also were not good going into Jan 29 when things seemed to start clicking. We’ll see how thing go in the last few weeks.

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls have not been playing well lately. DeRozan has been playing like an MVP, and Lavine has been good, but the rest of the team has been lacking. They have lost 9 of their last 12, though most of those teams are pretty good. If they don’t get back on track soon, they’ll be in trouble.

Brooklyn Nets

They have been quite good lately winning 6 of their last 7, but it was a relatively easy stretch. The have an MVP caliber player with Kevin Durant and a decent bench. The only problem is Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons. Kyrie Irving has been playing amazing, but can only play on the road. Ben Simmons has had back problems, and I suspect won’t be back till the playoffs if he comes back at all. With the vaccine mandate probably not leaving anytime soon, I don’t think they’ll be able to win the East.

The Verdict

With the Nets eliminated, there is one other team that I am not confident in. The Bulls have been bad lately, so I don’t they’ll be able to get the momentum they need to make a big run. This when stuff starts to get tough. I’m not feelin the sixers right now. I feel like James Harden has not shown up in the big moments, and after him, Maxey, and Embiid, Philadelphia kind of sucks. 76ers are out. I’m also not feeling the Celtics. They have been great for last month now, but they just don’t have the explosive offense that could help them if they get behind. That leaves the Bucks and the Heat. While the Heat are the deepest team in the East, I’ll give the edge to the Bucks. They have someone who can take over a game on both ends of the floor with Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Heat don’t have that guy. That is why I think the Bucks will make it to the finals once again. Despite me picking the Bucks to make for the 2nd straight year, I don’t believe it will matter which team makes it in the end. The Suns are gonna finish what they started last season no matter the opponent, and it will be even sweeter for them to do it against Milwaukee.