Who’s The Team To Beat In The East?

Sep 11

Several teams in the Eastern Conference made moves that made elevated their rosters. Three-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell was recently traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, while Atlanta Hawks acquired 2022 All-Star Dejounte Murray from the San Antonio Spurs earlier this offseason. The reigning Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics added Malcolm Brogdon, a move that only strengthens their elite unite. Not to mention, some teams are improving their situations.

Kevin Durant is now committed to the Nets, who still have Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons. James Harden has gotten himself in much better shape than in previous seasons, raising the potential of the Harden-Embiid duo. The Miami Heat are also a team that is constantly in the mix for the best team in the East.

With all that said, given the current state of the East, the Milwaukee Bucks are the conference’s best team right now. For starters, they have Giannis Antetokounmpo, who many believe is the best basketball player in the world right now. Antetokounmpo played an entire seven-game playoff series in 2022 without three-time All-Star teammate Khris Middleton. The Boston Celtics were arguably the NBA’s best defensive team last season and were at much more strength than Milwaukee in last year’s second-round playoff matchup.

Despite this, Antetokounmpo took the Celtics to seven games, and if Middleton had been available, the series’ outcome could have been different. What is also important to note is that the two-time NBA MVP is only 27. The last time the Bucks were at full strength in the postseason, they won the title behind Finals MVP Antetokounmpo’s 50-point performance in a close-out Game Six in the 2021 Finals against the Phoenix Suns.

Giannis Antetokounmpo in the 2022 NBA Playoffs in Round One against the Chicago Bulls *(Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports)*

Guards Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, Giannis’s primary running mates, have both established themselves as respected names around the league, and the dominance and skills of the trio on the floor are often too much for opponents to handle.

Milwaukee is a team that doesn’t need a top-one or even two seed to succeed in the postseason, as we saw just two seasons ago. When at full strength, the Bucks have been able to beat any opponent, making them still the team to beat in the East.