The top three seeds in the Eastern Conference are set, as the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, and Milwaukee Bucks will host first-round playoff series. All three teams are under immense pressure to win the conference and the NBA Finals given the road to this point both in progression and blockbuster moves.
That said, which team is under the most pressure to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals? Here's a ranking of the urgency for these teams to do as such.
3) Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks are looking to exact revenge on the Miami Heat for stunning them in five games in the second round of the 2020 NBA playoffs. This came a year after the Bucks blew a 2-0 series lead to the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals.
It's now year three with Giannis Antetokounmpo at the helm of a Bucks team with championship aspirations and its driving force being one of the five best players in the sport.
Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday have been sturdy forces all season. Meanwhile, the likes of Brook Lopez, Donte DiVincenzo, Bobby Portis, Bryn Forbes, Pat Connaughton and midseason pickup Jeff Teague have done a phenomenal job complementing head coach Mike Budenholzer's offensive pillars.
The primary reason why the Bucks have less of an urgency than the pair of NBA Atlantic Division teams is that their core is under contract for the long haul. Antetokounmpo signed a five-year, max extension in the offseason. Middleton is in year two of a five-year deal. Holiday signed a four-year, $134 million extension for the Bucks. Lopez has two more years remaining on his four-year deal.
The core of this team isn't going anywhere barring the organization feeling desperate in the offseason to significantly shake up the roster. Failing to win the East and/or not reaching the NBA Conference Finals will be a failure for the Bucks, but it wouldn't cease their powerhouse status.
2) Brooklyn Nets
Any team that has one of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving present is going to be under a lot of pressure to win. Well, the Nets have all three, so they're under a wee bit of pressure to win an NBA championship.
The Nets' big three have played only a handful of games together due to a combination of injuries and personal absences. They make for quite possibly the best trio in the NBA over the last 20 years from a talent standpoint.
The stars are surrounded by a combination of efficient shooters (Joe Harris and Landry Shamet) and inside finishers (Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and Nicolas Claxton). Brooklyn has been in the upper echelon of the East all season, performing at nothing short of a stellar level. With a smooth and encouraging regular season comes the expectation of keeping the train chugging in the postseason.
Brooklyn didn't have to acquire Harden because they had a combination of capable players like Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen. However, they opted for the spectacle, and that means having an overwhelming scoring trio. Keeping in mind the minimal games that Durant, Harden and Irving have been on the floor together, it's fair to wonder how the Nets will fare late in tight games.
There's also the contractual factor: Durant, Harden and Irving all have opt-outs in their contract after the 2021-22 NBA season. It's likely they test the market and pursue new contracts. What happens if they don't win in Brooklyn: do they go elsewhere?
One could argue that the Nets are still in the raw stages of their development as a team given how many firsts are present including new stars and a new head coach in Steve Nash. One plus for the Nets is that this bunch will be back next season, giving them more time to win if the product they envisioned doesn't come to fruition this postseason. But that still leaves a potential two-postseason window for them; that's short.
1) Philadelphia 76ers
The 2020-21 NBA season has been the 76ers' best work in the Joel Embiid-Ben Simmons era. Everything is clicking, and that's partially because of the work done in the offseason to alter the rotation. Philadelphia added a combination of shooting, scoring (Seth Curry, Danny Green and Tyrese Maxey), and a starting center to backup Embiid (Dwight Howard).
Embiid has put together an MVP-caliber season. Simmons has been his exuberant self on both ends of the floor. Tobias Harris has been the reliable scorer the 76ers have been in dire need of. Curry, Green, Maxey and Shake Milton have been spark plug scorers who have stretched the floor. Howard has been a starting-caliber center off the bench. Furkan Korkmaz has been a stealthy outlet.
The 76ers have it all: star power, veteran scorers, shooting and defense. This is year four of the Embiid-Simmons pairing (with them playing together).
Philly was swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA playoffs last season, as Simmons was nursing a knee injury. The postseason prior they lost to the Raptors on a buzzer-beater in Game 7. In 2018 they lost in five games to a wounded Celtics team in round two.
There are powerhouses around the 76ers and plenty of young teams making rapid progress in the East like the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks. This is the 76ers' best chance to win the East. The Nets and to a degree the Bucks are in year one with a new scorer who has the ball in their hands at a high frequency.
Year one of the Doc Rivers era has gone well for Philly. With that said, if it ends in peril like the last three postseasons, the regular season was for nothing. They need an NBA trophy.
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