In most seasons, the East tends to lag behind the West in the NBA; however, recently the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks have led the East in gaining more respect. This is not the case this season.
Boston will be without Jayson Tatum and trade Jrue Holiday, so they won’t be real contenders in the East. Last season’s defending Eastern Conference champions, the Indiana Pacers, will be without Tyrese Haliburton, who is the heart and soul of the entire organization. Orlando and the Hawks have made steady progress and are looking to compete this year, but they both still have a lot of question marks, especially when it comes to coaching.
That leaves two teams, both poised to face each other in the East in recent years.
The Cleveland Cavaliers (+210) and New York Knicks (+360) are the two biggest favorites in the East this season.
Since facing each other in the 2022-23 season playoffs, these two teams have suffered a similar fate.
In 2023, both teams fell short against teams they thought were superior. In 2024, the Cavs lost to a significantly better Celtics team, while the Knicks stumbled against a less talented Pacers team. Last season, both teams were dispatched by a very underrated Indiana team.
Cleveland had a little more success in the regular season, while the Knicks went further in the playoffs, but it ended the same way for both: a disappointment.
Between injuries and setbacks, something still isn’t right for these two organizations in the postseason, but there can be no excuses this year. These are by far the two most complete teams in the Eastern Conference.
For New York, they sold the farm to acquire Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby, and made some nice veteran signings in Jordan Clarkson, Malcolm Brogdon, and Guerschon Yabusele. They also moved from Tom Thibodeau to Mike Brown. I’m not sure this is an improvement for the Knicks, but at least with the added depth and Thibs not driving the starters into the ground, the team should be less depleted when the playoffs roll around.
Cleveland made fewer moves this offseason, but also added some veteran depth pieces like Larry Nance Jr., Thomas Bryant and flipped Isaac Okoro for Lonzo Ball. Moving Okoro might be addition by subtraction, but I’ll be interested to see how they replace Ty Jerome’s minutes from last season. Jerome was carted off the court against the Pacers, but he manned the Cavs bench several times last season.
The point of describing the offseasons of these two teams is to show that no big fixes were needed for either of these cores. I believe the front offices of both teams know that if things go well, they can make the Finals this year. Not only that, but both would and should be disappointed if it doesn’t happen.
The Oklahoma City Thunder would be a tough matchup for either team, but if anyone else comes out of the West, I think they’ll have a real chance at a Larry O’Brien Trophy. If it doesn’t happen this year, given all the injuries and transition times in the East, when will it ever happen?
The Cavs’ core four is a bit younger than the Knicks’ core four, but if they can’t get it done this year, it seems like something will have to be changed. Are the Knicks going all-in and trying to steal Giannis from the Bucks? Or do the Cavs split the young core and try to trade Darius Garland or Jarrett Allen to add a player who better fits Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley?
For Cleveland and New York, if either team doesn’t make the Finals, it looks like both front offices will finally “break the glass in an emergency.” You’ve seen what these cores can be, but will their front offices be patient enough to allow the team to continue to grow together?
Look at the Boston Celtics; this core failed several times, but they finally got their ring. Especially this Cavs team – Mitchell is 29, Garland is 25, Allen is 27 and Mobley is only 24. Teams that blow their cores rarely practice. Let your teams continue to grow and see what happens. However, if one of these units is healthy and bounces in the first turn, then I might hit the panic button.
