The Eastern Conference Sampling
- 10 Games
- Level of Difficulty: Hard
- 4,686 miles traveled
- 2 back-to-backs
The new and improved Eastern Conference will make for a very competitive play-in tournament come playoff time.
This may be the best iteration of the East we’ve seen in the past 20 years in terms of top tier talent.
The Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks are two teams that massively improved throughout the offseason, both likely to obtain a playoff spot.
On the fringes of the playoff picture, there are many question mark teams — the Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, and of course the ever mediocre Orlando Magic.
Yes, the “Tampa Bay” Raptors lost some depth during the offseason, and the Pacers and Heat stayed in neutral, but at the top, this will be a much harder Eastern Conference.
On a quick side note, the NBA could have likely utilized the series style opportunities to squeeze in these back-to-back games.
Think about it this way: what’s worse, travel + back-to-back or no travel + back-to-back?
I am sure there exists some mathematical reason for why this isn’t the case. Still, fewer back to back + travel games is a much more player-friendly outcome given the already tenuous task of traveling during a pandemic.
The Boston Celtics play precisely 50 percent of the Eastern Conference during their first ten games, including two separate series-style games in Detroit and Indianapolis.
They can make up ground with their two games against Detroit and a back-to-back home matchup against the Grizzlies. The likely Kemba-less Cs will face the top-tier Eastern Conference teams posing a problematic start to the season.