Can anyone take down the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference this season?
The Cavaliers have had a bumpy summer, and there’s no telling what their roster will look like when the 2017-18 NBA season tips off. Kyrie Irving reportedly wants out of Cleveland, but the Cavs still have LeBron James, arguably the best player on the planet, and the East figures to be weak … again.
So, while it’s fair to question whether Cleveland’s reign atop the East is nearing its end, it’s also reasonable to suggest the Cavs have at least one more NBA Finals run in them before giving way to someone else in the conference, like, say, the Boston Celtics?
An “ESPN Forecast” panel of 44 experts recently ranked its top three choices for the 2017-18 Eastern Conference champions, with a first-place vote receiving five points, a second-place vote receiving three and a third-place vote receiving one.
Based on the results, Cleveland still is the team to beat in the East, although the Celtics, who actually locked up a No. 1 seed last season before falling to the Cavs in the Eastern Conference finals, look like they’re closing the gap.
The complete results from the ESPN poll are below.
1. Cleveland Cavaliers, 200 points, 34 first-place votes
2. Boston Celtics, 143 points, 10 first-place votes
3. Washington Wizards, 33 points, 0 first-place votes
Also receiving votes: Toronto Raptors (10 points), Milwaukee Bucks (9 points), Miami Heat (1 point).
Here’s the explanation given for the Celtics ranking second behind the Cavs, per Micah Adams of ESPN Stats & Info:
If the Cavaliers do trade Irving, no team is ready to pounce quite like the Celtics. History will remember the 2017 Eastern Conference finals as a noncompetitive five-game series in which the Celtics were clearly outclassed. And yet were it not for Irving delivering a transcendent Game 4 performance with James saddled in foul trouble, it would have been tied 2-2 going back to Boston.
Should they meet again — with or without Irving — one can see how swapping out Avery Bradley for Gordon Hayward might be enough to swing the pendulum in Boston’s favor. If Jaylen Brown develops and rookie Jayson Tatum hits, Boston’s perimeter suddenly looks spry, switchy and far more imposing. Perhaps that’s what the 10 members of our expert panel who picked the Celtics see playing out.
It should be an interesting season in the East, even if the Western Conference continues to dominate.
Thumbnail photo via Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports Images
