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This year's Eastern Conference is stacked, and it will be a fascinating playoff to see who is going to be the team that comes out of the highly talented conference.
At least two of the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics, and Cleveland Cavaliers will be eliminated in the first round. In the Western Conference, you could make a case that all of those teams would be top-three in terms of winning in the playoffs.
The Eastern Conference playoffs are going to be exciting, and we're going to see some surprises that no one predicted. Teams like the Bulls, Celtics, Cavaliers, and Raptors, must be feared by the Nets, Bucks, and Sixers because if they play their best basketball, they can and will beat some of the top teams in the league.
Let's take a look at the Eastern Conference's six-nine favorites and rate them. The Bucks, Nets, Sixers, Celtics, Bulls, and Heat are the teams ahead of them.
Winning an NBA title is never easy. As we have seen with the past 20 champions, every team is going to need something significant to go their way. Whether that is an unfortunate injury to someone, or having guys on the roster step up more than they ever have. There is a reason why winning a championship is so hard, and a reason why whttps://clutchpoints.com/wp-admin/admin.php?page=wpseo_workoutse have seen crazy upsets in the past. If a team is going to win a title, they’re going to need everyone on their roster to be playing the best basketball they possibly can, and even sometimes that isn’t enough to get the job done. Matchups are always something that is going to play a major factor, and some teams just know how to get the job done against certain teams when it matters most.
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The Third Tier Of Eastern Conference Contenders, Ranked
3. Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets will most likely not have enough to beat some Eastern Conference contenders, but if they can score like they have shown they can at times, it's a possibility.
Even though the Charlotte Hornets aren't in contention for an NBA title right now, they still have the potential to surprise a few teams in the Eastern Conference playoffs if those teams aren't playing their best basketball. Strange things happen in the NBA playoffs, as everyone knows, and the Hornets have a shot to win the Eastern Conference if everything comes into place at the right time. Yes, that sounds absurd, but are they that much worse than the Atlanta Hawks, who came close to winning the Eastern Conference last season? Not at all.
There's no denying that if the Charlotte Hornets are at their best, they can create a lot of noise in the playoffs. They don't have a terrific defense, and they have to sit players like Lamelo Ball when the game is close because he isn't ready on defense yet. All of those issues will play a huge role in whether the Hornets win in the playoffs or shock a few teams, so if they want to make a splash in the coming months, they'll have to at least become average defensively.
2. Raptors
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The Toronto Raptors deserve to be higher on the list, but given how well the other Eastern Conference teams have performed, it would be unreasonable to imply they should be higher than eighth.
Toronto has one of the top defenses in the NBA, and they throw different defensive schemes at them that they aren't used to. Nurse put up that wall for Giannis Antetokounmpo a few seasons ago, and you saw the results.
Although he won't be able to deploy that style of defense against Giannis Antetokounmpo anymore because of the Bucks' outside shooting, he still does a fantastic job game-planning for him, as evidenced by their recent games versus the Bucks. Embiid could get that treatment this year because Philadelphia isn't the best from three-point land.
When you look at the roster of the Toronto Raptors, you'll see that they have a lot of defensive guys on it. Defense is a strength for Pascal Siakam, Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, and plenty of other players on the roster. If they want to succeed the rest of the season and in the playoffs, they'll have to maintain playing this kind of high-level defense.
1. Cavs
The Cavs will be on the list of teams that other teams do not want to face in the playoffs.
Nobody wants to face the Cavs because they have great length throughout their roster, and they have a guy in Darius Garland who can potentially take over a game if he is playing his best basketball.
Although Cleveland has a youthful core, they also have several veterans on their roster who will be highly valuable in the playoffs. Guys like Kevin Love and Rajon Rondo understand how to win in the playoffs, and despite being past their prime, they are still more than capable of providing them with valuable minutes in the postseason.
