The NBA Eastern Conference is competitive. Of that there is little debate from the Miami Heat or elsewhere, with at least four, maybe five, legitimate conference contenders, and arguably 13 playoff/play-in competitors.
So as teams reach the midpoint of their 82-game schedules, the question was put to a veteran NBA scout to sort out the contenders, pretenders and question marks.
To avoid any perceptions of bias, a scout from a Western Conference team was approached by the Sun Sentinel for the perspective, with the lone request of anonymity because of the nature of assessing opposing teams.
The interview was based on the East standings entering the weekend.
— Chicago Bulls: “Oh, a contender, yeah, they’re a contender.”
A follow-up was asked if there is enough playoff-proven talent, considering the limited such resumes of Nikola Vucevic, Lonzo Ball, Zach LaVine.
“Sure there are doubts,” the scout said. “But by default they’re a contender. They’re not an unknown.”
The thought being that DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine can play as closers.
“We’re talking about the East here,” he said. “They have as good a chance as anyone, except for maybe Brooklyn. So maybe put them as a contender with asterisks.”
— Miami Heat: “I think they’re for real. They’re clearly a contender.”
The gnawing question, though, remains about who are the real Heat? The team that thrived in the halfcourt and midrange early in the season with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, or the 3-point-a-thon in recent weeks amid absences?
“The real team is going to be the halfcourt team,” the scout said. “Those guys are going to play. Butler is going to slow down the pace. They’re just not going to be aesthetically, theoretically, actually the team you’ve been seeing with all the threes. I’m not even sure that’s winning basketball with the Heat. I think you’re going to have to grind it out.”
— Brooklyn Nets: “Well if they’re all three there. Look at their record with all three. That’s enough to me. Aren’t they the best team in basketball with those three?”
So basically, Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving or bust.
And yet, if Irving does not become cleared to play home games because of his vaccination status, could the Nets be better served by being a No. 5 seed, playing all of their best-of-seven East series as the road team, with four Irving games instead of a maximum of three?
“Well, that’s interesting,” the scout said. “But that’s too many losses. They’ll certainly be resting people. Can you manipulate that? Too many things can go wrong with that.”
— Milwaukee Bucks: “I think they’re one of four or one of five that could win it. They are not stand-alone. They were, what, three inches away from going nowhere last year.”
As in if Durant’s foot had not been on the 3-point line with his critical conversion during Game 7 of the East semifinals.
“I don’t think they’re a great team,” the scout said. “They’re in the conversation, and I think they’re a contender for sure. But there are questions of if they’re the best.”
— Philadelphia 76ers: “To me they are pretenders. They’re still missing the key piece. They’re still missing the go-to guy. This is where they’ve been — pretenders.”
The reality is that go-to guy remains possible, depending on what the 76ers do, or don’t do, with Ben Simmons by the trading deadline.
“You need a perimeter guy or two or three who can get their own shot in May,” the scout said. “John Collins won’t do it, if they get him. Jerami Grant won’t do it. They needed to make the Kyle Lowry trade last year. Now C.J. McCollum, is that the answer? I think that gets them closer.”
— Cleveland Cavaliers: “In the playoffs I don’t see it. I don’t know if you want to call them a pretender. I think they’re an unknown.”
The scout pointed to the season-ending injury losses of Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio as mitigating factors.
“There’s a lot of untested guys,” the scout said. “They’ve been underestimated all year, but playoffs are another matter.”
— Charlotte Hornets: “They could surprise I think, because they can really score. They play well together.”
So, like the Cavaliers, the scout views them more as an unknown than necessarily a pretender.
“I could see them maybe win a round,” he said. “It wouldn’t be totally surprising. I could see them making a little noise.”
— Toronto Raptors: “I think there is something tangible. They’re tough-minded. It’s the old Pat Riley thing: They bring out four or five guys who are 6-9. They can defend. Their coach is great.”
So for a team that some (perhaps including Lowry) might have thought was rebuilding, the East semifinals are not viewed as out of the realm.
“They could win a round. I would not be surprised,” the scout said. “They’re battle-tested. They won a championship. They’ve got athletes.”
— Washington Wizards: “I think they’re probably pretenders. They looked like something early, and it didn’t pan out.”
From a solid start there largely has been mediocrity.
“They’ve got a lot of role players,” the scout said. “[Bradley] Beal is very good. But I’d be surprised if they’re contenders.”
— Rest of the East: “The Knicks? No, no. They did get Cam Reddish for nothing. But is he going to be the answer? He could help them some.
“Forget Indiana.
“Boston, they certainly have the talent. They should be a lot better. Would it surprise me if they kind of jelled and got on an eight-game winning streak going into the playoffs and they’re all of a sudden scary? That would not surprise me.
“Atlanta? Their defense is so bad. Are they suddenly going to turn around their defense? They’ve sold already [the Reddish trade]. So are they now also going to be buyers?”
