Eastern Conference: A mid-season look
Eastern conference teams have won the prestigious NBA finals trophy 35 times out of the contested 62. The legendary Celtics, the Bulls, the Pistons, the Knicks, the 76ers have all brought glory galore to the teams from out east. But this season, even more so than last, paints a very gloomy picture for all basketball fans. The Western conference teams have simply decimated their Eastern counterparts. The gap is so wide, so early in the season, that you can bet your house on the top 6 teams in the East making the playoffs (and the Celtics aren’t in the six).
Miami Heat
If you had just completed a summer which included winning the Larry O’Brien trophy, Bill Russell finals MVP, the Olympic gold, Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year and the US Basketball Athlete of the Year, even your staunchest detractor would be ok with you taking the foot off the accelerator, sitting back and just letting life pass you by. But NEVER LeBron James. The reigning MVP has put up another strong start to the season and is looking set for MVP trophy #4 in 5 years. But the Heat have played like a team which is waiting for the playoffs to show what they are really made of. They have almost sleep-walked their way to the top of the East with a 22-8 record. Coach Spolestra has tinkered with his style of positional basketball, eventually realizing that James is the only one who can play all five positions. Bosh has shown his dominance ever so sparingly and Wade has mixed his good games with the occasional dismal ones. Ray Allen looks older with every game and Chalmers has been mismanaged a lot. But, James has made sure to not let anything else bother him as he has truly lifted their game when it matters most, at both ends of the court.
PREDICTION for Conference position: #1
New York Knicks
Spike Lee must have been extra good this year as Santa brought home his favorite Knicks at #1 in the East at Christmas. Since then, injuries and a ragged defense have caused them to drop to 2nd behind Miami with a 22-10 record. There is no doubt as to who to credit for this extraordinary turnaround for the Knickerbockers. Carmelo Anthony is the man of the hour. Not only has he shot lights out, but he has also improved his defense and off the ball movements, which used to be his main weaknesses. Coach Mike Woodson, known for his emphasis on defense, has made the Knicks a solid defensive unit. Led by the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, center Tyson Chandler, the Knicks have shut down teams with their active rotation on the pick and roll and the scary menace of Chandler in the middle. Another important cog in the wheel has been the presence of guards Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton. Yes, they are old and yes, they’ve lost more than a step, but their experience and distribution skills are exactly what the Knicks offense needs. With them controlling the flow, Anthony delivering the goods inside and out and spot up shooters like Steve Novak, Pablo Prigioni raining 3 on slow defenses, the Knicks look set to head into their second consecutive playoffs. It remains to be seen how they shuffle their starting 5 once Amar’e Stoudemire returns to the fore (He recently completed his 2nd game back playing limited minutes).
PREDICTION for Conference position: #2
Brooklyn Nets
The Knicks’ inter-city rivals started out the season on a high following their move from New Jersey to the $1 billion brand new Barclays Center. After getting Deron Williams to sign on the dotted line and pairing him in the backcourt with the talented Joe Johnson, the Nets started out very impressively, rounding it by beating the Knicks in the inaugural “Battle of the Borough”. But since December they have gone downhill. Center Brook Lopez, playing at an All-Star level, got injured and had to sit out for close to two weeks. Deron Williams, used to much more control and possession of the ball, didn’t like the offense being run by Coach Bradley. Things became so bad that Nets’ owner Mikhail Prokhorov had to fire him to appease Williams. Interim coach P.J. Carlesimo has been handling the reins for 3 games now and it’s too soon in the day to judge him.
PREDICTION for Conference position: #5
Chicago Bulls
For a team playing without the face of the franchise, the Bulls have strung together quite the impressive run this season. They are currently 5th in the East with a 17-13 record. Luol Deng and Joakim Noah have played their hearts out and coupled with a string of useful performances from the bench, have ensured that when Rose returns (hopefully pretty soon), they have a great foundation laid. They should make the playoffs but going any further would depend completely on the 2011 MVP.
PREDICTION for Conference position: #6
The other playoff predictions for NOW (in no particular order): Atlanta Hawks (#3), Indiana Pacers (#4), Milwaukee Bucks (#7) and the Boston Celtics (#8).