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The Eastern Conference is arguably the best it has ever been this year and it has led to some questions about who can really come out of the conference to represent the East in the NBA finals. The true answer is that the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, or the Boston Celtics all have a chance to win the Eastern Conference.
Whether it be the Heat, Bulls, Bucks, Nets, 76ers, or the Celtics, at least two of those teams are going to have to go home in the first round.
It's tough to say who has been the best team in the Eastern Conference this year because everybody outside of the Miami Heat definitely has some questions about them. There can be cases made that each team has been better than the other, but the top-six teams in the conference can all truly knock each other out if they play their best basketball.
It is going to be an interesting Eastern Conference playoffs, and we are going to see upsets that nobody really expected.
Let's take a look and rank the three-six favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference. Although these teams might not be as good as the other three favorites in the Bucks, Heat, and Nets, they can still win an NBA title because they are right there with them in terms of talent.
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 we 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 Second Tier Of Eastern Conference Contenders, Ranked
3. Bulls
The Chicago Bulls have plenty of talent, but it's hard to determine whether they're a top-five team in the Eastern Conference right now. Obviously, they could be better than the other top-five teams in the Eastern Conference, but they haven't found a way to beat good teams this year, which is quite concerning.
There's always the argument that they haven't beaten some of those teams because of injuries, but the cruel reality is that every team in the NBA has dealt with injuries and Covid issues, so that excuse doesn't hold much weight.
DeMar DeRozan has been playing fantastic basketball this season, but he has a bad playoff track record. He has played the best basketball of his career this season, so claiming that won't change is unjust, but we still need to see that he can perform in the postseason.
Because Zach LaVine has never played in a playoff game before, there are to be some concerns about what he will do when the spotlight is shining brightest on him.
Chicago also has one of the worst interior defenses in the league, and good luck in the Eastern Conference when that is an issue. If they want to get to where they want to go, they'll have to beat the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo, as well as the Philadelphia Sixers and Joel Embiid.
This isn't to say that Chicago can't be the team they believe they can be, but there are a lot more questions about them than there are about some of the other Eastern Conference's elite teams.
2. Celtics
The Boston Celtics have finally begun to play the way that everyone has come to expect them, but there are still some unanswered questions. They have times when they seem like a team capable of winning an NBA championship, and evenings when they don't appear like they belong on the same court as the Eastern Conference's other top teams.
If Boston wants to be the team that everyone knows and expects them to be, they'll have to find out how to consistently get the job done in the playoffs.
They have to be pretty confident when Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are on the same squad due to their offensive abilities. They've played well against some of the best teams in the Eastern Conference this season, and they'll try to do so again in the playoffs.
1. Sixers
We could legitimately argue that the Philadelphia 76ers are the best team in the Eastern Conference. On the other hand, it would be a stretch to claim so, given that their three most essential guys have had little to no success in the playoffs.
This year, Joel Embiid has been playing like an MVP candidate, but he does have issues in the playoffs. Doc Rivers and James Harden are both well-known for failing to deliver in the playoffs as well.
Obviously, these three could get to where they want to be if they can work through their playoff woes, but we have to have doubts about their ability to work together given their track record.
There is no reason for Philadelphia not to win the NBA title this season, and anything less would be a huge disappointment. Because they haven't been able to win in the playoffs the last few years, Philadelphia must figure out how to change that. They appear to be a team capable of winning an NBA championship, but given how these three have struggled in the playoffs, there are still many questions to be answered.
