[ZouldiersParticipant]

 The East has been very good so far compared to the West with teams from 1-13 have a realistic shot at making the playoffs. Looking at the record from the East, 1-9 have winning records while 10-13 are around .500 or close to .500. The top 3 teams from the East have been the same namely the Cavs, Bulls and Hawks but seeds 4-13 could change at any given night.

Here are the records so far for seeds 4-13:

4. Heat 6-4
5. Raptors 7-5
6. Pacers 7-5
7. Wizards 5-4
8-9. Celtics/Pistons 6-5
10-12. Knicks/Hornets/Magic 6-6
13. Bucks 5-6

 This could be the year where an Eastern Conference Team will have a winning record and still not make the playoffs.

[Chilbert arenasParticipant]

Still very very early, good to see the Knicks Hornets and Magic exceeding expectation so far. Bucks have been disappointing IMO. But still  none of those teams would scare me if I were the Cavs

[Chilbert arenasParticipant]

Still very very early, good to see the Knicks Hornets and Magic exceeding expectation so far. Bucks have been disappointing IMO. But still  none of those teams would scare me if I were the Cavs

[Arc12345Participant]

 Glad to see teams really fighting for those spots.

There may actually not be any below .500 teams in the playoffs, which would say so much about the East and it’s improvement. But I guess we don’t usually have a team like Philadelphia giving everyone free wins.

Yet again though, who the cavs really have to fear? Maybe the Bulls if they can get hot. Other than that, nobody. They cavs still aren’t even close to 100%.

[Arc12345Participant]

 Glad to see teams really fighting for those spots.

There may actually not be any below .500 teams in the playoffs, which would say so much about the East and it’s improvement. But I guess we don’t usually have a team like Philadelphia giving everyone free wins.

Yet again though, who the cavs really have to fear? Maybe the Bulls if they can get hot. Other than that, nobody. They cavs still aren’t even close to 100%.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

 I would be mildly shocked if the Cavs didn’t come out of the East.  Although they aren’t world beaters.

On paper, the Heat look great.  Will they mesh well enough to get to the Finals?  Who knows…

The middle and bottom of the East (except for Brooklyn and Philly) is better than it has been in years — maybe 15 or 20 years.

The West looks really jumbled up too.  Lots of teams a couple of games above .500 or a couple of games below .500.  Only the Lakers and Pelicans are truly bad.  Portland is 4-9 but has lost 7 straight.  I can see them hanging in there a bit…  same with Sacto who is at 4-8.  

Other than the Cavs in the East and the Warriors in the West (and probably also the Spurs), any playoff team can beat any other playoff team.  So, get in the playoffs, avoid the 8th seed and roll the dice.

It’s more like a classic NBA where you have a team absolutely beasting it (Warriors), two other really, really good teams in either conference (Cavs, Spurs), then a ton of good to above average teams beating each other up every night.  Really only four disaster teams at the moment: Philly, Brooklyn, Lakers, and Pelicans.  Literally every other team is respectable.  

Might be a crazy year where 45 wins gets you a decent seed, but 42 wins might not get you in the playoffs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

 I would be mildly shocked if the Cavs didn’t come out of the East.  Although they aren’t world beaters.

On paper, the Heat look great.  Will they mesh well enough to get to the Finals?  Who knows…

The middle and bottom of the East (except for Brooklyn and Philly) is better than it has been in years — maybe 15 or 20 years.

The West looks really jumbled up too.  Lots of teams a couple of games above .500 or a couple of games below .500.  Only the Lakers and Pelicans are truly bad.  Portland is 4-9 but has lost 7 straight.  I can see them hanging in there a bit…  same with Sacto who is at 4-8.  

Other than the Cavs in the East and the Warriors in the West (and probably also the Spurs), any playoff team can beat any other playoff team.  So, get in the playoffs, avoid the 8th seed and roll the dice.

It’s more like a classic NBA where you have a team absolutely beasting it (Warriors), two other really, really good teams in either conference (Cavs, Spurs), then a ton of good to above average teams beating each other up every night.  Really only four disaster teams at the moment: Philly, Brooklyn, Lakers, and Pelicans.  Literally every other team is respectable.  

Might be a crazy year where 45 wins gets you a decent seed, but 42 wins might not get you in the playoffs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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