NBA East Playoff Picture Starting to Take Shape
For most of the NBA season, the Eastern Conference has been getting laughed at and for good reason. There have been two teams, the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers that have been well over .500 and everyone else who have been under .500. And while that is still the case for the most part, there are a few teams that are starting to assert themselves ans playoff contenders.
The Atlanta Hawks have inched over .500 at 15-13. They have won six of their last 10 games and would have the third seed in the East as of today. The Hawks are certainly not a team that looks as if they will make a deep playoff run as of now, but they do have some talent on that team and with the right trade at mid-season, they could make it to 50 wins.
A nice story that has gone largely under the radar is the Charlotte Bobcats who are 14-15. That may not sound like much, but consider where the Cats were two seasons ago. Michael Jordan has taken a lot of criticism for his decisions as a team owner/GM. But he should be getting some love for the season his team is having thus far. The Bobcats could wind up with a winning record this year and a playoff spot.
The Washington Wizards are another team making a push towards the playoffs. At 12-13 they are right in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference. They are hanging in there too without one of their best players, Brad Beal, who should get back shortly. John Wall is becoming one of those elite point guards as well.
Don’t sleep on the Chicago Bulls either. Once they get over the loss of Derrick Rose and realize they were a playoff team last season without him, they could get back over the hump. With Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer and company, they still have a pretty good team.
Let’s give a little love to the Boston Celtics too who are in total rebuilding mode and yet are not completely awful. Yes, they are only 12-17, but in the Atlantic Division if they can get to .500 they could win it. And they are ahead of the Brooklyn Nets who they unloaded Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce on. They have some young guys who could come around n the second half like Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk. Brad Stevens looks like he might be a good NBA coach too.
Today, the only game involving teams from the East is the game between the Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Carbon Sports has the odds on this game:
Atlanta is -3 -110 and the Cavs are +3 -110 ATS. Moneyline is Hawks -155 and Cavs +135. Over/Under is 205 with over and under both -110. We are going to go with the Hawks -155 in this one. It is time for them to start playing like a team going for the third seed. We also like the under -110.
