Bucks lose Portis to MCL sprain....East outlook

[Ballerhogger]

Tough sledding they will be top 4 team still . Without middleton they are 1st round exit

[Dr Aki]

Probably accelerates Crowder to the Bucks

[cupcakesnake]

The Sixers are the second best team in the east currently. Infact they are the hottest team in the east. They are 18-3 in their last 21 games. I think Boston is the only better team

When I project contenders I try to do a little more than simply look at the current standings. Currently I like the Cavs and Nets slightly more than the Sixers (I still don't trust Harden or Doc) but I think all of these teams are legit contenders.

I don’t buy the Cavs hype. I think Embiid will tear them apart and they lack scoring/ shooting to go with the Sixers élite offense. The Sixers will have too much firepower. The nets with Durant is a different beast.

You can buy whatever hype you like!

But I'm not really sure about your reasoning. The Cavs are the 11th ranked offense and the staring backcourt has 2 high-volume 3-point shooters at 39%. They aren't the best shooting team in the NBA, but they've managed to be solid, they just got Dean Wade back (who was shooting 40% from 3 before his injury), and they bring Kevin Love off the bench when they need to space more. Obviously a team that starts 2 non-shooting bigs (though Mobley is okay on long 2s) is going to have some offensive tradeoff, but for me it's that defense that's going to be the reason they might get through a couple playoff series. Garland and Mitchell with screen & roll bigs is going to be enough offense most of the time.

I like the Sixers raw firepower more, but I think in the playoffs they'll constantly be choosing between offense and defense since they have many 1-way players. Offensively: Harden, Maxey, Niang, Trez and Harris in some matchups. Defensively: PJ Tucker, Thybulle. They're currently only 1 point better than the Cavs on offense per 100 so it's not like we're talking about different tiers of offense. And again, there's a lot of characters on the Sixers I worry about in a tough series.

I think both these teams are amazing and wouldn't be very surprised to see either in the finals. To me the Cavs are more solid, but I have no beef with someone liking the Sixers more!

[JonFromVA]

When I project contenders I try to do a little more than simply look at the current standings. Currently I like the Cavs and Nets slightly more than the Sixers (I still don't trust Harden or Doc) but I think all of these teams are legit contenders.

I don’t buy the Cavs hype. I think Embiid will tear them apart and they lack scoring/ shooting to go with the Sixers élite offense. The Sixers will have too much firepower. The nets with Durant is a different beast.

You can buy whatever hype you like!

But I'm not really sure about your reasoning. The Cavs are the 11th ranked offense and the staring backcourt has 2 high-volume 3-point shooters at 39%. They aren't the best shooting team in the NBA, but they've managed to be solid, they just got Dean Wade back (who was shooting 40% from 3 before his injury), and they bring Kevin Love off the bench when they need to space more. Obviously a team that starts 2 non-shooting bigs (though Mobley is okay on long 2s) is going to have some offensive tradeoff, but for me it's that defense that's going to be the reason they might get through a couple playoff series. Garland and Mitchell with screen & roll bigs is going to be enough offense most of the time.

I like the Sixers raw firepower more, but I think in the playoffs they'll constantly be choosing between offense and defense since they have many 1-way players. Offensively: Harden, Maxey, Niang, Trez and Harris in some matchups. Defensively: PJ Tucker, Thybulle. They're currently only 1 point better than the Cavs on offense per 100 so it's not like we're talking about different tiers of offense. And again, there's a lot of characters on the Sixers I worry about in a tough series.

I think both these teams are amazing and wouldn't be very surprised to see either in the finals. To me the Cavs are more solid, but I have no beef with someone liking the Sixers more!

The matchups are important and if the refs let him, Joel very well could dominate the Cavs lighter weight front-court ... but there's a big assumption at the core of that scenario and it's that a) the Cavs meet the Sixers in the playoffs and b) that Joel is healthy and ready to play physical .vs. leaning heavily on his jumper which may or may not be on.

Certainly the Sixers as a squad have a lot more playoff experience than the Cavs, but there's nothing impressive about reaching the 2nd round in the East. And there's a potential trap there ... that a team like the Sixers might assume they can turn it on when they want and beat a team like the Cavs; but that's a pretension they haven't earned.

otoh, the Cavs need to get some help at the deadline or otherwise round in to shape come playoff time, because there's no guarantee they enter the playoffs healthy let alone without massive holes that can be easily exploited.

As for the Bucks, they still have Giannis, Brook, and Jrue with plenty of other guys who can help them - just might have to go small for stretches unless Ibaka still has something in the tank or they can add someone.

[old skool]

Tough sledding they will be top 4 team still . Without middleton they are 1st round exit

I see nothing that would indicate Milwaukee would be a 1st round exit without Middleton. They have the 2nd best record in the NBA against teams. 500 or better, at 17-10. Which team would eliminate Milwaukee in the first round, a team with a losing record against opponents. 500 or better?

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[rocketsfan100]

Tough sledding they will be top 4 team still . Without middleton they are 1st round exit

I see nothing that would indicate Milwaukee would be a 1st round exit without Middleton. They have the 2nd best record in the NBA against teams. 500 or better, at 17-10. Which team would eliminate Milwaukee in the first round, a team with a losing record against opponents. 500 or better?

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I agree as it stands today they would play Milwaukee the first round and should beat them even with Middleton. Second round would most likely by Philadelphia. That’s a different story. With Middleton it’ll be very tough

[AussieBuck]

Weird thread. We just got Middleton back, if he's got no lingering issues his return is way more impactful than Bobby missing games.

[Pachinko_]

With all those people in and out I can't really pick a favourite, but there's definitely a nice top-6 in the East that will make the playoffs interesting from round 1. Celtics, Sixers, Nets, Bucks, Cavs, Heat, they all have a chance to make it out of the East if things go their way.

[old skool]

Tough sledding they will be top 4 team still . Without middleton they are 1st round exit

I see nothing that would indicate Milwaukee would be a 1st round exit without Middleton. They have the 2nd best record in the NBA against teams. 500 or better, at 17-10. Which team would eliminate Milwaukee in the first round, a team with a losing record against opponents. 500 or better?

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I agree as it stands today they would play Milwaukee the first round and should beat them even with Middleton. Second round would most likely by Philadelphia. That’s a different story. With Middleton it’ll be very tough

I don't understand what you are saying. Milwaukee essentially without Middleton is 17-10 this season against teams .500 and better. Which team would beat Milwaukee without Middleton in the first round?

[rocketsfan100]

I see nothing that would indicate Milwaukee would be a 1st round exit without Middleton. They have the 2nd best record in the NBA against teams. 500 or better, at 17-10. Which team would eliminate Milwaukee in the first round, a team with a losing record against opponents. 500 or better?

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I agree as it stands today they would play Milwaukee the first round and should beat them even with Middleton. Second round would most likely by Philadelphia. That’s a different story. With Middleton it’ll be very tough

I don't understand what you are saying. Milwaukee essentially without Middleton is 17-10 this season against teams .500 and better. Which team would beat Milwaukee without Middleton in the first round?

Boston, Philly and Maybe fully healthy Brooklyn. That’s the only teams in the east. Given the scenario the Bucks playing those teams in the first round is highly unlikely…. This is a moot point considering Chris is back anyway

[old skool]

It's a 2-3 weeks absence. Milwaukee will be fine in the short term but Horst will have to make a consolidation trade and bolster the backcourt since Jevon is volatile and Hill/Wes are old and brittle

I think it is more likely that Portis sits out until after the All-Star game. A 5 week hiatus. That would give him 8 weeks or so to get ready for the playoffs.

Milwaukee's back court depth is weak, but I don't see that being improved via trade. Yes, Hill and Matthews can only do so much, but in the playoffs they won't be asked to do much more than fill in for a few minutes off the bench. Carter is only being asked to defend and harass, as all offensive initiation will come from Holiday, Middleton, Antetokounmpo and Ingles.

I see their trade deadline focus being on a strong wing defender who can slow down SF and PF scorers.

Trades notwithstanding, their tight rotation playoffs bench would be Portis, Ingles, and Connaughton, with spot minutes from Carter, Hill and Matthews.

[Wooderson]

The Bucks are coasting off a Championship run from 3 years ago in which everyone in the East was injured and the competition was weaker. Its really not relevant anymore.

3 years? It's been 19 months.

The Portis loss will hurt, but it if it's only 2-3 weeks, we should be fine, particularly with Middleton back. Having Ingles healthy the last month has been a nice addition.

Trading for Crowder would probably help, but damn, I hate that guy.

Bro the Nets had they been healthy would have won that series in 5 or 6. Having said that injuries are part and parcel of Sports so that’s no excuse.

They led by 50 in game 2 and had game 3 but some crazy bad shooting by Harris and Kyrie getting injured kept them going up 3-0

Kyrie didn't get injured until game 4, funny how memories work to fit whats already in your head