The New Kings of The Eastern Conference
For the last four years, the LeBron-led Miami Heat have been the kings of the East, and consequently went to four straight NBA Finals and claimed two titles. Now that he’s returned home to Cleveland, and has formed a new Big 3 with Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, they were prematurely anointed as destined champions.
How wrong people were to say it was so foregone. Their team hasn’t lived up to expectations on either end of the floor (yet), in particular their lackluster efforts on defense has led to them ranking only 23rd in defensive efficiency.
Meanwhile up in Canada, the Toronto Raptors have had a red-hot start to the year. Their 22-7 record is tied for 2nd best in the NBA. Even though they have the advantage of being in the weaker Eastern Conference, they have still been terrific so far. Even during the absence of their All-Star and arguably their best player, DeMar DeRozan, the Raptors have still won nine of their 13 games without him.
They still look like the best team in the East, and that will only be reinforced once DeRozan makes his return in early 2015.
Next: Mark Gasol's Grizzlies