The Eastern Conference was pretty open and shut this season. The Cleveland Cavaliers went wire to wire as the number one seed, starting 15-0 and never looked back. The Celtics were not far behind as the second seed and the top ten was set in stone with a little over two weeks left in the season.
The playoffs might offer some fireworks out East, but which teams are for real and have what it takes to get to June? Here are burning questions for each East playoff team.
1. Cleveland Cavaliers: Can this core win a title?
The Cavs were the East’s best team all year, winning 64 games with the league’s best offense and a top ten defense. Evan Mobley took an All-Star leap, Darius Garland returned to form, and Donovan Mitchell took a step back statistically, but is still a superstar.
Their bench, led by Ty Jerome and De’Andre Hunter, a deadline acquisition, was a top ten unit. However, this core of players has yet to see a deep playoff run. As good and as dominant as the Cavs were, they have not shown it at the highest level yet. Does their current core have enough to make a deep run, or were they just a fun regular season story?
2. Boston Celtics: Will health doom them?
The Celtics are the defending champs and looked every bit as dominant as last year. It helps that they have the same core of players. Jayson Tatum has grown into the best version of himself. They were top five in offensive and defensive rating. However, they have dealt with injuries all season.
Kristaps Porzingis has missed a lot of time, Jrue Holiday was battling injuries after the All-Star break, and Jaylen Brown just got an injection in his knee. The Celtics aren’t super deep either outside of their top eight. Less than a year removed from going full throttle for the title, will Boston break down, or will they reign supreme in the East once again?
3. New York Knicks: What version of this team will show up?
The Knicks traded a king’s ransom to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges. Yet, throughout the regular season, New York came up small against the elite teams. The Knicks’ record against the top three teams, record-wise in the NBA this season (Oklahoma City, Cleveland, and Boston) was 0-10.
Even if you take those losses out, they were just 15-13 against teams above. 500. They even finished 1-2 against the Detroit Pistons, their first-round opponent. Is this a sign of things to come? Fortunately, their five-man lineup of Brunson-Hart-Bridges-Anunoby-Towns will be tough to stop offensively in the playoffs, so New York has that to fall back on. But the Knicks are under a lot of pressure, and they need the best versions of themselves to make a deep run.
4. Indiana Pacers: Was last year a fluke?
Indiana surprisingly made it all the way to the conference finals last year, but started off this year 16-18. They went 34-14 the rest of the way and it seems that Tyrese Haliburton has rediscovered his All-NBA form. Pascal Siakam turned in an All-Star campaign and this team is deep with defenders and creators.
However, the Pacers did benefit from health luck last playoffs, most notably Giannis Antetokounmpo missing the entire first-round series, but he is now healthy for the Bucks, and Damian Lillard will also be playing in this series, most likely. Can Indiana do it again against healthier teams?
5. Milwaukee Bucks: Is this it for Giannis and Dame?
The Bucks have yet to see a healthy Giannis and Dame in the playoffs, and despite Lillard suffering from blood clots, it looks like he’ll be back in this series. Both players want to win at the highest level, and Milwaukee has been very up and down throughout the year.
If they flame out in the first round again, could this lead to their superstar duo making their exits? The Bucks desperately need a deep run, given their aging core and lack of assets, so despite this being their duo’s debut together, this may be their first and last time in the playoffs if they exit early.
6. Detroit Pistons: Does Cade have enough support?
Cade Cunningham has been brilliant this season and will be on an All-NBA team. He has led a renaissance in Detroit, thanks to his elite offensive talent. We rarely see one-man shows succeed in the playoffs, and the Pistons don’t necessarily fit in that category, but they will need their supporting cast to step up on both ends of the floor.
Malik Beasley, Tobias Harris, Isaiah Stewart, and Ausar Thompson have been great, but all have shortcomings that could be exposed in the playoffs. Under the bright lights for the first time in a while, can the Pistons rely on Cade’s brilliance and their depth to upset the Knicks?
7. Orlando Magic: Can they make things interesting against Boston?
Orlando was not projected to be the seven-seed at the start of the year, but thanks to an unwatchable offense and injuries, here they are. Fortunately, they have been shooting the ball better over the last month, as they shot 36 percent from three to close the season, and since March 16th, they are making 46 percent of their wide-open looks.
Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner also have the ability to take over games. In a series where Boston will dare them to shoot outside shots, can Orlando make enough of those and rely on their second-ranked defense to make things tough?
8. Miami Heat: Do they have more magic in them?
The Heat as an eighth seed? Yeah, this isn’t the first time. Miami was an 8 seed in 2023 and went all the way to the NBA Finals. This year, they became the first team to make it out of the play-in as a tenth seed, even after the Jimmy Butler saga.
Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo have been a great duo as of late, and their supporting cast is full of experience and toughness. Head coach Erik Spoelstra has been known to get the most out of his teams, and can he lead the Heat to making more magic this playoffs?