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Sizing up the East in terms of contenders (Celtics, Cavs, Knicks), dark horses (Hawks, Bucks, Magic), pretenders (Pacers, 76ers, Heat) and tankers (Nets, Hornets, etc.)
ORLANDO — It’s the first week post-Christmas, a symbolic time in the NBA calendar in that it’s typically time to start paying attention.
Adam Silver’s play-in tournament dampened that a little — if 20 of 30 teams make the postseason and five others are set on tanking, what’s the point? — but Christmas nonetheless remains a solid marker for identifying the contenders, pretenders and others.
With that in mind, here’s a stock report of the Eastern Conference.
We’re a little bit more than one-third into the season, and the Knicks, for the first time in over a decade, represent a bonafide threat for the NBA Finals (stats and records are through Dec. 26).
Contenders
Celtics (22-8)
The defending champs occupy the top spot until somebody knocks them off.
They came out this season with a stated purpose of not succumbing to a post-title malaise or hangover, and they followed up with a 16-3 start.
Lately, however, they’ve been sloppy and missing their 3-pointers.
If there’s one weakness to the NBA’s best rotation, it’s that the Celtics are too reliant on treys.
Cavaliers (26-5)
Kenny Atkinson has worked miracles with this roster, and it’s probably time to stop waiting for the Cavs to crash back to earth.
With the NBA’s top-ranked offense, they entered Friday’s high-profile showdown against the Nuggets with a five-game winning streak.
They’re also incredibly deep, with 10 players averaging at least 18 minutes.
Knicks (20-10)
Winners of 15 of the last 19 with a starting lineup that may not be quite as talented as Boston’s but in the conversation.
New York’s offense is incredibly efficient and Tom Thibodeau is beginning to make his mark on “D” behind the WingStop tandem of OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges.
Dark Horses
Magic (19-13)
They’ve been more than respectable despite injuries to top players Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, riding the top-rated defense in the East while forcing over 17 turnovers per contest.
It makes you think of the possibilities with a fully healthy roster.
Hawks (16-15)
Much more dangerous than their record and Trae Young finally seems to have figured out the right balance between shooting and distributing.
Will be a tough out for any team in a playoff series.
Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels are legit.
Sixers (11-17)
Basing this on sheer talent and the off chance the Sixers will have healthy bodies for an entire playoff run.
If you look at the upside of the top-two players, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey rank up there with any East duo after Boston’s. In fact, they just beat Boston on Christmas.
But Embiid is also the most unreliable MVP of this era.
Bucks (16-13)
The roster and coach are deeply flawed but the Bucks still have the best player in the East, Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is 30 years old and doesn’t want to waste another season.
After a terrible start, Milwaukee won 11 of 13 at one point but also just fell to the tanking Nets, though, to be fair, both Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard missed the game.
Pretenders
Heat (15-13)
The NBA’s best coach can only take a roster so far.
And this is the end of the road for the Heat, which is dealing with the headache of whimsical Jimmy Butler while trying to prop up Tyler Herro as a star.
Barring a seismic trade, the famous “Heat Culture” isn’t getting past the first round.
Pacers (15-16)
A run to the conference finals last season was followed up with a steep regression from Tyrese Haliburton, whose numbers are down across the board.
The Pacers now carry the feel and look of an average team with a terrible defense.
Pistons (14-17)
Feel bad putting the Pistons in this category but they don’t fit anywhere else.
They’re playing better than expected but not quite ready to compete for anything other than a playoff spot.
Detroit is exceedingly young and Cade Cunningham is a star.
Bulls (13-18)
Don’t understand how top executive Arturas Karnisovas still has a job because the Bulls remain the most mismanaged organization in the NBA.
This will probably be the trade deadline — finally — he pivots to a rebuild because Chicago is on a road to nowhere with the East’s second-worst defense.
Tankers
Hornets (7-23)
LaMelo Ball has missed a bunch of games – what else is new? – and Charlotte is on the way to a third straight season with at least 50 losses.
The Hornets probably didn’t start the campaign thinking tank, but they’re already there.
Nets (12-18)
Cam Thomas is doing his best to ruin Sean Marks game of Capture the Flagg, but organizations tend to find ways to lose when that’s the goal. Unloading Dennis Schroder for peanuts revealed the commitment to the tank.
Raptors (7-24)
Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett are not tentpole stars and the Raptors are finding that out daily.
The next step is trying to procure compensation for Jakob Poeltl, Chris Boucher and Bruce Brown.
Wizards (5-23)
Predictably the worst team in the NBA with Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole as the top scorers.
Washington’s problem ahead of the trade deadline is nobody wants players on bad contracts.
And the Wizards are filled with those.
