Why Each Team Will/Will Not Win the NBA Championship: Eastern Conference
Photo from Detroit Free Press
The NBA season is done, and the playoffs begin this week with the play in game.
And in most American sports, the postseason is a brand new ball game. Anyone can win it all.
In the NBA…
Not so much.
But hey, what’s the fun in that? Let’s just pretend while we still can that everyone can win it all!
Detroit Pistons
Why They Will
They’re the top seed in the East because they play hard, which is typical for Pistons basketball, and they have an MVP candidate in Cade Cunningham.
But more than that, they discovered while Cade was out with a collapsed lung that they can still win when he’s not available, thanks to contributions from Daniss Jenkins and Jalen Duren.
I thought they were a one trick pony, but it turns out they might be more than that.
Why They Won’t
Cade had a collapsed lung.
I know he’s back now, but that’s not a tweaked knee or something.
In the playoffs, your stars have to play, and play a lot.
Can he play close to 48 minutes in his current state?
And if not, can they get by the Knicks and Celtics?
Boston Celtics
Why They Will
This is, in my opinion, the best coached team in basketball.
And no, that’s not WVU bias because that’s where Joe Mazzulla went.
But last postseason, Jayson Tatum tore his achilles tendon and was going to be out for most of this year.
A lot of teams would have completely collapsed without their best player (looking at you, Pacers), and yet here are the Celtics. Still the 2 seed in the East.
A big part of that is Jaylen Brown, who played at an MVP level, but another big part of it is coaching.
The Celtics didn’t collapsed because Mazzulla would not let them collapse.
Now, Tatum is back, and the 1-2 punch for the Celtics can go for their 2nd title in 3 years.
Why They Won’t
How healthy is Tatum really?
Achilles tendon injuries usually take a long time to recover.
Haliburton missed all year. Kevin Durant missed a ton of time as well and made sure it was fully healthy before returning.
I’m not saying Tatum rushed the process at all, but will he truly be 100%.
If not, it may sink their chances.
New York Knicks
Why They Will
This is the best Knicks team since 1994, which was the last time the Knicks made the NBA Finals.
Not to mention, this is year two of this specific core group playing together, and it was a core group that came very close to the Finals last year before they ran into Indiana’s voodoo magic.
Maybe this is the time.
Why They Won’t
It’s the Knicks.
SOMETHING will go wrong.
Two years ago, it was the Pacers that took down the Knicks, just like it was a year ago, both of which were massive upsets.
Would it surprise me to see Karl-Anthony Towns go cold in a series against the red hot Hawks and they drop in round 1?
Not in the slightest.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Why They Will
They finally have some supplemental scoring to help out Donovan Mitchell after trading for James Harden.
Why They Won’t
Their supplemental scoring for the playoffs is James Harden.
Not sure why anyone thinks it will magically work now.
Toronto Raptors
Why They Will
Nobody thought the Raptors would be here this year, but they are a well coached and extremely balanced group.
Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram, Immanuel Quickley, and RJ Barrett are all key pieces that have made this a very good season for the Raptors, and something to build on in the future considering Brandon Ingram is the oldest of that core and only at 28.
Coaching and team balance matters!
Why They Won’t
Last year, I thought the Lakers would win the title, because I still believed the NBA was a purely star driven league, and I was wrong. It was the heavy depth Thunder who won it all.
Despite that, the Thunder did still have the league MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, which does continue the trend that you need a superstar to win a title.
Toronto has no superstar.
This is a team full of really solid players.
That’s not going to move the needle in this league, unfortunately.
Atlanta Hawks
Why They Will
This is one of the hottest teams in basketball.
After trading Trae Young, many thought they Hawks were just going to punt on the season.
Instead, they went 25-10 the rest of the way and just barely missed out on being the 5 seed in the East.
Despite that, they’re still coming in red hot.
And hey, the Pacers rode momentum all the way to game 7 of the Finals last year. Why couldn’t the Hawks?
Why They Won’t
Jalen Johnson turned into a star this year.
He’s still only 24 and is the only guy on the Hawks you feel comfortable getting a bucket.
It’s too early for this team, but they do get the Pelicans first round pick this year, which will be a lottery pick, and this is something to build off of.
So hey, not a bad year.
Philadelphia 76ers
Why They Will
When Paul George came back from his PED suspension, and Joel Embiid came back from injury, the Sixers were red hot.
Add in a budding superstar in Tyrese Maxey, and you have a dominant three that can really make some noise.
Why They Won’t
Joel Embiid, right after returning from injury, is now out with appendicitis.
Because that’s just the luck of Embiid.
But even if he wasn’t, what have Embiid or George done in the postseason to make us think they can win a title?
I sure haven’t seen it.
Orlando Magic
Why They Will
Paolo Banchero figures out how to take a jump shot and the Magic become unstoppable.
Why They Won’t
Because that won’t happen.
Desmond Bane also hasn’t helped this team take a leap whatsoever, and they gave up a ton to get him.
This has been a super disappointing year for Orlando.
Charlotte Hornets
Why They Will
They have a budding young trio that clicked on the back half of this year, and made them one of the hottest teams in basketball.
LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Konn Kneuppel were fantastic down the stretch, and in a weaker Eastern Conference, if they stay red hot, a run is on the cards.
Why They Won’t
It’s too early for this group.
They have never played playoff basketball together (and technically still haven’t, as they’re only in the Play-In tournament), and that’s a whole different ball game.
Still, this has been an incredible year for the Hornets, and I’m excited for the future.
Miami Heat
Why They Will
#HeatCulture
Why They Won’t
Every other reason besides #HeatCulture.
