Eastern Conference Second-Half Superlatives
The All-Star break has come and gone, so it’s time to get into the nitty gritty. We are less than two months away from playoff basketball and the Eastern conference is anyone’s for the taking.
Just about one game separates the one and the two seeds and the three through fives seeds, while four games separate the six through ten seeds. There may not be much basketball left, but there’s still time for plenty of some moving and shaking.
In the words of Marc Zumoff, hold on Alaa, we’re coming in for a landing!
With the unofficial second half of the season kicking off, I thought it would be fitting to hand out second-half superlatives to all of the Eastern conference. Some teams may not be having the best season, but everyone’s tried their best – for the most part – and deserves some sort of recognition. Without further ado, here are my totally unbiased superlatives:
Most likely to figure things out and go on an annoying, magical run
Winner: Boston Celtics
It’s going to happen. I know that it’s going to happen. I hate that it’s going to happen. But, it’s going to happen.
On paper, the Celtics are the best team in the East. They’ve dealt with injuries and controversies for a solid chunk of the season, but when they’ve been good, they’ve been the best in the conference. If they can get most of their issues sorted out before the end of the season, they’re going to be a tough out in the playoffs.
The Celtics can match up well against any team in the East. They have too many players who can do too many things well. When one guy is having a down night, they’ve got five more who can pick up the slack in some way, shape, or form.
I can already hear analysts stroking off Brad Stevens for being able rally his ridiculously deep team and go on a dominant playoff run. Why does it always have to be Boston?
Most likely to disappoint
Winner: Philadelphia 76ers
*Quickly ducks*
Please don’t hate me for this.
The Sixers have the best starting five in the East, but I have serious doubts about the rest of the team once playoffs come around. Elton Brand completely revamped the bench at the trade deadline, but it still just doesn’t feel like enough.
After JJ Redick and Tobias Harris, the Sixers’ best shooter is probably Mike Scott and that’s not a good thing. Losing Furkan Kormaz to a torn meniscus doesn’t seem that bad initially, but it leaves the team with just Jonathan Simmons and James Ennis coming off the bench. The return of Zaire Smith will add a lot, but the question remains if the Sixers will have enough fire power off the bench to make a deep playoff run.
Personally, I think the Sixers lack too much on the wing to hang with a teams like Boston or Toronto. If they have any hope of reaching the Eastern Conference Finals, they’ll need to lock in a top-three seed and hope someone can beat the Celtics for them.
Most likely to overachieve
Winner: Indiana Pacers
When Victor Oladipo’s season came to an end, it seemed as though the Pacer’s did as well. Since then, the Pacers won six of their last seven before the All-Star break and look like a team that can still compete in the East.
The Pacers dropped their first four games after Oladipo’s injury, but look to have figured things out since. Bojan Bogdanovic is averaging 20 points per game in Dipo’s absence and seems to be taking over the lead scorer role.
The Pacers are one of the deepest teams in the east. They’re a team that doesn’t really lose much when switching between their first and second units and should be able to compensate for their injured star.
This is one of the last teams I’d want to see early in the playoffs.
Most likely to underachieve
Winner: Milwaukee Bucks
Call me a Mike Budenholzer hater, but I just don’t see it with the Bucks.
They seem like a very good regular season team and they have the Eastern conference MVP, but I just don’t think they’re up to snuff.
They have 2014-2015 Atlanta Hawks written all over them; another Budenholzer production. The Hawks finished the season with the best record in the East that year and managed to reach the Eastern Conference finals, but were ultimately swept by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
I wouldn’t be shocked to see a similar fate in the Buck’s future.
Most likely to blow it all up after this season
Winner: Toronto Raptors
Soak it up Raptors fans because this is as good as it’s going to get for a while.
The Raptors can stake a claim as the best team in the East and may even be on their way to a Finals loss against the Warriors, but that’ll all change this offseason because once Kwahi Leonard hits free agency, he ain’t looking back.
I’ve seen nothing that leads me to believe Leonard has really bought into Toronto. He’s played like his usual MVP-caliber self, albeit injury plagued, but it just doesn’t seem like he has plans of making Toronto his longterm home. He recently bought a $13.3M mansion in Southern California, which kinda feels like a hint.
In addition to Leonard, Danny Green is also scheduled to hit free agency making things even more complicated. Then after next season, Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, Fred VanVleet, and Marc Gasol are all set to hit free agency, so it’s not like things are getting any better.
Pascal Siakam may be a future All-Star and OG Anunoby is a solid, young three and D wing, but the Raptors don’t have many building blocks outside of that. They will probably be looking to shed some of their aging and expensive core this offseason.
Most likely to make you do a double take
Winner: Brooklyn Nets
Are the Nets good? I can’t tell, but I want to say, “yes.”
For a team that hasn’t had their own first round pick in the last 50 years, they’re playing some solid basketball. They won eleven out of 15 in the month of January.
D’Angelo Russell and Caris LeVert look like they have the makings of a dangerous young duo. Joe Harris is coming off a surprise victory in the three point contest. Jarret Allen is becoming one of the best defensive bigs in basketball. Sprinkle in a few solid role players like Spencer Dinwiddie, DeMarre Carroll, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and this is a pretty good basketball team.
Considering they were the worst team in the league two years ago and didn’t have a first round pick to show for it, sitting at the six seed is pretty impressive. Depending on the match-up, the Nets could make the first round of the playoffs interesting.
Most likely to exist
Winner: Charolette Hornets
I have no idea what the Hornets have going for them.
Kemba Walker is good, but he’s a free agent after this year. This is a team full of mediocre players on really bad contracts. Bismack Biyombo is making $17M until 2020. Nicolas Batum is making about $26M until 2021. Marvin Williams is making $15M until 2020. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is making $13M until 2020. The rationale behind most of these contracts make absolutely no sense to me.
Hell, they signed Tony Parker to a two-year, $10M deal this offseason, why? I don’t know.
The Hornets also have very little in terms of young talent. Malik Monk and Miles Bridges don’t do much to move the odometer.
This is a team thats just floating. They’re too good to be bad and too bad to be good. They should just let Kemba walk this offseason, burn down the house, collect the insurance money, and then build again. The only question is, can Michael Jordan actually do it?
Least likely to find any sort of an identity
Winner: Miami Heat
The Heat are a lot like the Hornets in that, I have no idea what they have going for them. They’ve got plenty of mediocre players on bad contracts, very little in terms of young talent and almost no hope in the playoffs.
The Dwyane Wade farewell tour has taken center stage for the Heat and it’s probably for the best. The team is currently five games below .500 and sit tenth in the East. Whats worse, I can’t tell who their best player is.
Josh Richardson? Hassan Whiteside? Goran Dragic? A geriatric Dwayne Wade?
This is a team in desperate need of some star power, but I’m not sure how it’s going to get there. Miami is a free agent destination, but most big names seem to have their eyes set on Los Angeles or New York this offseason. They could try building through the draft, but they’re projected to earn the 15th pick in the draft and have had almost no success drafting in the past decade.
Things are going to get worse before they get better for the Heat, but that’s probably for the best.
Least likely to get their best player any love
Winner: Detroit Pistons
Blake Giffin is having a really good season.
Like, really, really good.
So good, that we should all be talking about him a lot more than we currently are.
If he were actually on a competitive team, Griffin would be getting some MVP hype.
Griffin is averaging 26.3 pts (9th in the league), 8 rebs, and 5 asts, while shooting 37% from three on seven three point attempts per game. He also leads the league in touches per game. Griffin is also 19th in Win Shares with 6.4 and 20th in offensive Win Shares with 4.2.
Griffin has quietly become one of the most important players in the East, but no one really cares because it’s happening in Detroit. It’s a shame the Clippers gave up on him because he would’ve been fun to watch on this year’s team.
Who knows, maybe the addition of Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk will completely change the Pistons and push them to Eastern Conference relevancy. Or maybe it won’t.
Most likely to start a rebuild before the end of their current rebuild
Winner: Orlando Magic
How many super athletic players does it take to finish a franchise’s rebuild? The world may never know.
The Magic have spent the better part of the last decade drafting guys who are more athlete than ball player and have yet to reap any of the benefits. I like Aaron Gordan, Jonathan Issacs, and Mo Bamba, but the Magic have spent too many picks on guys with great physical traits, rather than guys who have great on the court skills.
Trading for Markelle Fultz is right in line with all of this. Fultz has all the athleticism and explosiveness you’ll ever need in a basketball player, but he doesn’t have very much basketball player in him.
Since trading Dwight Howard, this franchise has been a mess and is still looking for a new face. They need to stop betting on potential and go after some guys who are a little more proven. It’d be in the Magic’s best interest to start selling on players like Terrance Ross and Evan Fournier sooner rather than later.
Most delusional
Winner: Washington Wizards
A report came out of All-Star weekend that Brad Beal was playing recruiter for the Wizards. Players were coming up to him and asking about DC and he says he did his best to try and court some potential teammates. Beal said he All-Star weekend left feeling like there were some interested parties.
Yeah, I’m not buying it. If you want me to believe – even for a second – that players like Kawhi Leonard, Klay Thompson, and Khris Middleton have any interest in playing for the Wizards, than you’re living in a freaking fantasy world, buddy.
The Wizards are a mess. Their two best players don’t play well together. Their star point guard, who just signed a $207M contract extension, is expected to miss all of next season with injuries. trading away Otto Porter gives them room for another max, but I can’t imagine anyone picking DC when there are so many other, better teams to pick from.
Honestly, the Wizards are more likely to unload one of their star players before they bring another one on.
Most likely to turn things around in a few years
Winner: Atlanta Hawks
Not gonna lie, I love the Hawks’ rebuild.
John Collins seems legit. Trae Young and Kevin Huerter may be the best, young backcourt in basketball. They also have two lottery picks in this year’s draft after swapping spots with the Mavericks last year. The Mavs pick could look even better by the end of the year considering they traded away their entire starting lineup outside of Luka Doncic at the trade deadline.
Throw in the potential to trade off role players like Taurean Prince for extra picks and a whole lotta money and things are looking up in A Town.
Depending on how the draft shakes out and what kind of developmental steps their young players take next season, the Hawks could quickly become a threat in the East.
Least likely to have any sort of a clue
Winner: Chicago Bulls
Maybe it was the whole Jabari Parker fiasco, but I have very little confidence the Bulls’ management knows what they’re doing.
Signing Jabari in the first place was a bad idea, but unloading him for Otto Porter isn’t the worst thing in the world. My only concern is that the Bulls aren’t very good and are starting to make big financial commitments for players who aren’t worth it. In addition to Porter’s $27M annual salary, the Bulls signed Zach LaVine to $80M offer sheet last offseason. These are huge, multiyear contracts for a rebuilding team to take on simply because they don’t want to give up on youngish talent. The Bulls are trying to be competitive now and build toward the future, but that rarely works during a full scale rebuild.
LaVine has played very well this year, but is it real? Are his stats just the results of playing for a bad team? This is the problem with making the type of commitment the Bulls did, you don’t really know what you’re paying for.
In the event things don’t work out with LaVine and Porter, their contracts are going to be very hard to get rid of. That’s why it’s normally best to build a team before you start throwing your money around, something the Bulls might have to learn the hard way.
Least likely to tank on purpose
Winner: Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavs are so bad it’s almost impressive. It’s kind of amazing that there are actually two teams in the league worse than them.
The Cavs are going to have a top three pick in the draft. There isn’t anything they can really do about it. Their best player is hurt, their next best guy is only a rookie, and then everyone after that is bad. They are just too bad of a team not to be picking in the top three.
On the bright side, the last time LeBron James left Cleveland, the Cavs lucked into the number one pick in the draft three times out of four years. This team is just bad enough to do it all over again.
Most likely to dickeat off the Sixers and be praised for it
Winner: New York Knicks
“Tanking is bad for the sport.”
Yeah, when the Sixers are the one’s doing it.
I swear to God, if I have to see one more photoshopped picture of Zion Williamson, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant all in Knicks uniforms. I hate how excited everyone is over the Knicks blatant tanking efforts. They traded away their only players worth a damn just to guarantee a shot at the top pick and enough salary space to offer two max contracts and ESPN couldn’t be happier.
“A good Knicks team is good for basketball,” said all of the people I hate.
The league will probably award the Knicks Zion, just like they did with Patrick Ewing, and they’ll gladly take all the revenue from Kyrie and KD Knicks jersey sales. Meanwhile, the league straight up forced the Sixers to hire a new GM because they made too many good moves.
Screw the Knicks. I hope Zion gets drafted by the Suns and Kyrie and KD sign with the Clippers.
