The NBA regular season is coming to an end. It’s been a long joyful season to watch as we’ve witnessed massive moments and one of the moments was the tidal shift in the Eastern Conference. Remember, LeBron James inches ruled over the East for almost a decade and ever since his change of scenery the Eastern Conference has come to light. Never mind the dominance between the Bucks and the Raptors but there have been a sudden rise of promise in certain teams.
Mind you, the Western Conference is already settled (as expected) and there’s no reason to look into that conference when we all know the two teams that could meet up on the doorstep of The Finals; Golden State Warriors & Houston Rockets. Yet in the Eastern Conference it’s really anybody’s game. Speaking of which let me remind you of what’s going down in the East.
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The first five seed spots are already occupied leaving the sixth, seventh and eighth spots still up for grabs. Sure these teams won’t get any home court advantage but a spot in the Playoffs is better than ending the NBA season early. The three remaining spots are contested between a whopping four teams! Which means one of them will unfortunately have to begin an early offseason; Detroit Pistons, Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic & Miami Heat.
These teams have been doing extraordinarily superb this season and they’ve made their case as to why they deserve a spot in the Playoffs and if life was really a wonderful joy, we’d be seeing all four of these teams make a statement in the Playoffs. Yet here we are, on the edge of our seats wondering who will possibly end their season early?
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If bets had to be made, I’d say it’s safe to place your bets on the Pistons and the Nets because theses are teams with players that have amazingly improved and stepped into an elite level they were supposed to be in in their respective Los Angeles days. Blake Griffin and D’Angelo Russell. Both of these players made it to the All Star Game and have changed and made new barriers in their respective teams and we’re looking forward to see the potential the players will bring when the stakes are high.
This leaves the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat competing for the allusive eighth spot. Sure the Pistons and Nets haven’t officially clinched their Playoffs spots but let’s be real here, those two teams are making it through which will leave the Florida teams to compete for the eighth and final spot.
The unfortunate thing about the Magic-Heat race, is that we’ll be saying goodbye to teams that were a joy to watch all season long. In Orlando’s case, this is a young team that have made history for achieving 10 straight home games and this hasn’t been done in a decade! Not to mention the awesomeness of Nikola Vucevic who has been playing at an absolute elite level that had him being called up for the All Star Game. In Miami’s case, it’s Dwyane Wade we’re talking about! The man is on the verge of retiring! And what’s a better way than ending your career IN THE PLAYOFFS!? Potentially The Finals.
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Point is, I want to see all these teams make their way to the Playoffs but unfortunately only three can make it. And I’m willing to bet that
Detroit Piston, Brooklyn Nets and….Orlando Magic are making it to the Playoffs. Unfortunately I don’t see the Heat making it…but I’m leaving room to be wrong…for Dwyane Wade.
The Baseline 