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.



The Philadelphia 76ers. Last year, we saw how good they can be. The questions now really are 1) can they be better than last year and 2) can they be better than the Celtics? I know that Joel Embiid is definitely one of the top centers in the league, but then again, so is Al Horford. The Sixers have a hardcore starting five but again, so do the Celtics. And the Celts bench guys are better than the Sixers.

So now it comes down to random factors like injuries, off-and-on-court issues etc... Will Markelle Fultz be as good now as he was college. Will Ben Simmons continue to improve? Will Dario Saric and Robert Covington take another leap forward in their development? As long as it isn't the Celts the Sixers are facing, chances are good they'll take the W.

The Milwaukee Bucks. Another young team who is finally starting to live up to their potential. Giannis Antetokounmpo is a season away from being the best player in the world (sorry, Durant), Khris Middleton is turning out to be more than just a shooter, and Brook Lopez should give them a scoring threat from the middle, one the Bucks have not had in recent years.

It is a shame though, that they were unable to keep Jabari Parker because now they have to hope that either Thon Maker or John Henson develop an offensive game to complement their primary scorers. Once we go beyond their first eight guys though, the drop in talent is steep, which is why the Sixers and Celtics have the upper hand against them.

What, no Toronto Raptors? Nope. While Kawhi Leonard is a better individual player than DeMar Derozan was, this season will be one where the Raptors will be redefining their team identity yet again. Maybe they'll have it figured out by next year. That is, if Kawhi doesn't join Lebron James in LA.