NBA: The intrigue of the wide open Eastern Conference

With LeBron James no longer present, the Eastern Conference playoff race is shaping up to be must-see TV for the NBA and its fans.

In an interesting turn of events, the 2018-19 season has seen a new development take place, at least at the top of the standings. What has been dubbed the Leastern Conference appears no more, replaced with four souped-up powerhouses all eager for a shot at the crown in the first wide open race in years. Each one brings something different to the table as a way to convince the general public they are worthy enough to be taken seriously.

The Milwaukee Bucks have impressed everyone with the league’s best record and a top-three ranking in both offensive and defensive rating. The Toronto Raptors sit not far behind after replacing DeMar DeRozan with Kawhi Leonard.

Despite their relative struggles, the Boston Celtics still have the talent necessary to make a deep playoff run after last season’s convincing finish, while the Philadelphia 76ers made two major blockbuster deals that have shown their desire to compete in the present.

For what has felt like the longest time, LeBron James considered the Eastern Conference his own personal warmup stage for the NBA Finals. It didn’t matter what jersey he wore or the teammates around him, James’ presence in the game’s grandest stage seemed inevitable each and every season, in part due to the relative lack of competition he had to face along the way.

Don’t get it twisted; James’ play was elite in every sense of the word, and eight straight runs to the Finals is no small feat no matter who stood in his path. But every season, the East was deemed inferior compared to its Western counterpart, where sometimes even 45 wins wasn’t enough to secure a playoff berth and each round was considered another bloodbath to conquer.

Compare this to the East, where a number of teams have snuck into the postseason with sub-.500 records with resistance rarely arising before the conference finals (if at all), and you could see why some were quick to taint what was ultimately a historic accomplishment by one of the game’s greatest players.

For years, the NBA has had to watch as the Western Conference playoffs produced thrilling postseason moments with some of the game’s best stars in seemingly every matchup, and subsequently wince at the underwhelming product the East was putting out on a nightly basis.

In the present, not only do we have a quartet of elite teams with some of the most entertaining athletes in Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kyrie Irving and Joel Embiid, but there are a number of legitimate questions within each team that need answering to create intrigue. The gap between them all is small enough to the point where there is no clear-cut favorite.

Call it the perfect timing of a number of factors coming together to create what is shaping up to be a dynamic postseason out East. Or describe it the awareness of a King’s absence to pounce on a golden opportunity not seen in nearly a decade, but the Sixers, Bucks, Raptors and Celtics all feel like they can advance to the NBA Finals, and truthfully, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if any of them were to make it a reality.

Unfortunately, the totality of the Eastern Conference is still a hot mess, with four of the five worst records in the league and the sixth-seeded Detroit Pistons just two games over .500, but up top, they have the only two teams in the league with 50 victories on the season, with possibly more on the way.

Let’s also not forget the Indiana Pacers who, despite the loss of All-Star Victor Oladipo, have managed to stay afloat with a 44-27 record. Indy may not be a legitimate title contender, but with a top defense and terrific coaching, it could definitely play the role of spoiler for one of the aforementioned teams.

James ruled with an iron fist over the last eight seasons, tearing through anything in his way no matter the circumstances. With No. 23 now out of the picture, anything seems possible. Given how predictable the NBA has come to seem in the last few seasons during the reign of the Golden State Warriors, maybe a little bit of chaos and randomness is just what we need to add some juice back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture.