NBA Preview (Eastern Conference)

Full disclosure, sadly I do not have a team in the fight for the NBA Championship, I am a Knicks fan so there is no bias whatsoever in this article.

This is going to be a wild two weeks starting Thursday. In the Western Conference there is just one spot left to clinch with six teams in the mix for that last spot. In the east, there are two spots left to clinch and three teams competing for that spot. From eight to thirteen in the West, and seven to ten in the East, all of the teams are within six games of each other.

To reach the play-in tournament the teams will need to be within four games of that last eighth spot. If the play-in tournament rules are too confusing for you and I did not make it simple enough for you, here is a good link that explains it: (which initially was for me, here is a good link that explains it: https://www.forbes.com/sites/shlomosprung/2020/06/03/nba-play-in-tournament-zion-grizzlies-blazers-wizards-basketball/#f99e84014c42) Obviously, if the team in the eighth place spot ends up getting all the way to five games ahead of the ninth place team, there will be no need for a play-in tournament. This tournament will be on August 16th and the 17th. This makes for a wild final eight games and what I am going to do is predict the final standings and predict the final records along with the play-in tournament. My playoff prediction will come after we find out who makes it.

No play-in tournament predicted for the East. Stay tuned because there will definitely be mayhem in the West

Eastern Conference

The Eastern conference is going to be super interesting to watch from top to bottom despite the fact that there will only be three teams competing to get in. The teams that have clinched, still have a lot to play for. There is not a single seed that can be clinched in the East. Everything is pretty much up for grabs with the teams still competing. So here are my final seeding for the playoffs and the last eight games for the nine competing teams.

1. Milwaukee Bucks - It's near impossible for the leader in the east to blow their lead. All they need is to win two games out of the eight or win one and have the Raptors lose one.. This is due to the fact that of the teams they play, they play two teams within ten games of them in the standings. Of those two teams the Bucks are seven games ahead of the highest place team they play (Toronto at second) and ten games ahead of the second highest place team they play (Boston at third). By no measure is their schedule easy but they are at least five games ahead of every single team in the east and forget statistics just by record, playing two teams both four games below .500 it makes it super easy to clinch. Looking at them from a statistics point, they rank top five in shooting threes and their opponents are last and are last in attempting threes. They also give up the second most two pointers in the league but also rank top five in points given up. Super formidable, Giannis being one of the top five players in the league right now and Khris Middleton being to multiple All[Star games they have a scary team.

2. Toronto Raptors - Who would've thought we would see the Raptors with a chance to have "home advantage" (whatever that means) nonetheless a chance to own the title of best team in the East. Obviously I do not believe that will happen but nonetheless they have surprised many people. With many vets from last year's NBA Championship winning team there is no questioning the experience of this team. Their top three players are all previous All-Stars for numerous reasons and are all NBA Champions. Serge Ibaka is contending for DOP (Defensive Player of the Year), Kyle Lowry is a leader this team could not do without and Marc Gasol healthy is one of the best centers in the league and definitely one of the best shooting centers shooting a solid 40% from the three. This is a solid team and I see them as a contender for another Eastern Conference title.

3. Boston Celtics - Simply put, there is not another team in the east that's going to catch the Boston Celtics. Their chemistry is better than it has been in a long time. They do have their stars in Kemba Walker and Jason Tatum and arguably more but as a team they rank eleventh in ppg (points per game) and second in opponents ppg. Their defense is what will get them far into the playoffs and their offense will give them the number three seed in the East. I am tempted to give them the second seed, but I do not see the Raptors losing more than two games and the Celtics would need them to lose at least three and win six. I also think it is very possible they get the two seed but I give the nod to the Raptors simply because they've shown up in big games time after time.

4. Philadelphia 76ers - For me this spot was either the Indiana Pacers or the Sixers, teams that have beyond easy schedules. The Sixers have the easier schedule by far playing five of their eight games against teams that end up having losing records. The other three games are against the Pacers, the Raptors and the Houston Rockets. Two of the three games they play they can definitely win even if they play the Pacers without Joel Embiid. The team has looked very solid thus far in the season and I believe they will keep up their success. This is a battle for "home advantage" that simply comes down to who's left on the schedule.

5. Indiana Pacers - A very solid team and the effect of Victor Oladipo has clearly shown positive when he's healthy for this team. Another star would make this team a title contender. Along with the 6ers, they too have an easy schedule playing three out of their eight games against teams with losing records. I see this team winning a maximum of four with the likelihood of them winning four. I think they very well could reach the fourth seed, just don't see them beating the deep Houston Rockets team filled with star power.

6. Miami Heat - Once again it simply comes down to schedules. They may very well go all the way to second place in the East but that's highly unlikely given their schedule. They play three teams with worse records than them, only one having a losing record. One of those teams, the Pacers, are going to see them twice. I do not see the Heat winning more than three games due to their fierce schedule, but I do see them splitting a pair with the Pacers, beating the Pheonix Suns and losing to a solid Oklahoma City Thunder team. Now it's not like they're playing a bunch of teams way ahead of them, which is why I say they can still be the two seedvin the East, just every single team they play including the Suns, are really good. (Yes the Suns are good, and they are a team that has looked real solid in the scrimmages.)

7. Orlando Magic - They have looked the best out of the three teams in the east yet to clinch. On top of that, they play the Brooklyn Nets twice, the Kings once, and the Pelicans once. All they need is two games to clinch and I would say those are all games they can win and probably should. The team is solid and has shown up in big games before, just go back and look at their last eight games last year and they won six out of and on top of that, ten of their last twelve. I would be very surprised if the Wizards got in over them.

8. Brooklyn Nets - The Nets are obviously worse without Kyrie than they are with him. Despite that, in my view they don't need to win a game in order to be named a playoff team. This is due to the fact that the Wizards are six games behind them and need to win four games. There are only three teams the Wizards play that are within ten games of them. All of them have better records. For those reasons, the Nets can lose every game and still make the playoffs.

9. Washington Wizards - The Wizards are in a deep hole to make the playoffs. If all the Nets do is win one game, it's pretty much game over because the Wizards are most likely not beating the Bucks. If the Nets don't win a game, despite being one of the highest point scoring teams in the league, they are tied for the worst defense in the league. Additionally, five of the eight teams they play are top ten in the league for least points allowed per game. Of those teams, four in the top seven and two in the top five. On top of that, if the Nets were to win just one game the Wizards would have to win them all, the Bucks are the best in points per game scored.