Eastern Conference Playoffs: One Week In

As expected, the Beasts of the East have prevailed over their less illustrious brethren and are now ready to move onto the next round. Here are the things that surprised and didn't surprise us.

SURPRISING:
FIRST GAME UPSETS. No one really saw the Magic winning over the Raptors or the Nets winning over the Sixers in the first game. But it was really more the case of the higher seeds acclimatizing to the playoff atmosphere while the lower seeds went for the haymakers from the get-go. Of course, soon the NBA universe righted itself and the Raptors and Sixers won the next four games.

THE BOSTON SWEEP. The only matchup that truly seemed compettitive was also one that went via sweep. Boston leveraged on their playoff experience to bully their way into the next round, pounding the relatively less inexperienced Pacers into submission.

NBA Eastern Conference Playoff: Thoughts and Predictions

It's the NBA playoffs and here are some thoughts before we start with our do-or-die games.

Eastern Conference

(1) Bucks vs (8) Pistons - Bucks win, 4-1

The Bucks are the scariest team in the league. Yes, scarier than the Warriors, the Rockets, and the Sixers. And that's because they not only have the current best player in the world, Giannis Antetokounmpo, but also stud players like Khris Middleton, Eric Bledsoe, and Brook Lopez, with starter-quality role players in Malcolm Brogdon, Tony Snell, and Nikola Mirotic ready to contribute. The Pistons, on the other hand, are of the Eastern team favorites who underperformed in the regular season. There were modest expectations of this team, considering their roster, and they barely lived up to it. As things get tougher in the playoffs, there is no indication that they will suddenly find that higher gear they need to move up.

Matchup to watch out for: Giannis Antetokuonmpo vs Blake Griffin. The best players of each team will need to be even better. The Greek Freak should have no trouble stepping up while Griffin needs to fire up on all cylinders to give the Pistons a fighting chance.

The Shift Of Power In The East

We are about one week away from the start of the NBA season so we'll give you guys a quick rundown on hot topics, predictions, and things to watch out for.

First, we take a look at the Eastern Conference where the departure of Lebron James has created a seismic shift in which team will now reign supreme.

Here are the new "Beasts of the East":

The Boston Celtics. Last year, they didn't have Gordon Hayward for basically the entire season and Kyrie Irving for the latter part of the season, including their playoff series against the Cavs and they still looked like a juggernaut. Giving Brad Stevens an entire year to work with a starting five of Irving, Jaylen Brown, Hayward, Jayson Tatum, and Al Horford should scare everyone in the Eastern conference. There is no better coach nor is there a better starting five than that Celtics lineup.

And then you get the likes of Marcus Smart, Terry Rozier, Marcus Morris, Daniel Theis, Aron Baynes, Semi Ojeleye, and Guerschon Yabusele on your bench and that is just staaaaaacked. They're basically a superteam, except no one seems to have realized it yet.

And The New Best Player In The Eastern Conference is...

With Lebron James taking his talents to LA, there is now a void which the remaining players in the Eastern Conference must filll...and that is the position of best player in the East.

It's a task easier discussed than decided on, given that no one seems to be clearly the best player. But here are my top four candidates for that position.

Candidate #1 Kyrie Irving
Lebron's former teammate in Cleveland averaged 24.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.1 steals in his lone, cut-way-too-short season in Boston. He's a dynamic scorer, very dangerous in the open court, and starting to learn how to be a playmaker for others.

His defense is suspect though and his athleticism may have taken a hit with this season's knee injury. Until he comes back and shows he is the same player he was in his days in Cleveland plus improve his defense and playmaking, I'd hesitate to crown him as the East's best player.

The NBA's Secret Contender

They currently sit as the third seed in the NBA’s much-improved Eastern Conference, with a 34-25 record (which would put them at the West’s 5^th spot).

They also boast of quality wins over top tier teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Houston Rockets, the Chicago Bulls, the LA Clippers, the Miami Heat, the Indiana Pacers, and the Atlanta Hawks.

So why isn’t anyone talking about the Boston Celtics?

Here are the four reasons why people aren’t talking about the Celtics but also, why they should be talking about the Celtics

TEAM “NO-SUPERSTARS”

Take a quick look at the Boston Celtics lineup and tell me if you see a bonafide super star. Or even a clear cut top 20 player. The closest you’d get is All-Star Isaiah Thomas (21.6 ppg, 6.8 apg, 2.9 rpg), who started out the season ranked #65 by ESPN. Even then, sexier names like Derrick Rose, Kyrie Irving, and Jeff Teague (all non-all stars this year) are more likely to be considered “better” players than Thomas.