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NBA 2016-17 Eastern Conference Roundtable: Cavs, Trades And Takes

By Michael Saenz

Oct 18, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts against Washington Wizards in the first half at the Jerome Schottenstein Center. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 18, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts against Washington Wizards in the first half at the Jerome Schottenstein Center. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 26, 2016; White Plains, NY, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (left) addresses the media as point guard Derrick Rose looks on during the New York Knicks Media Day at Ritz-Carlton. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 26, 2016; White Plains, NY, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (left) addresses the media as point guard Derrick Rose looks on during the New York Knicks Media Day at Ritz-Carlton. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports /

Hottest Eastern Conference East Take?

Saenz: The Miami Heat will finish with a better record than both the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls.

Morton: Pistons will be better than expected.

Murray: The New York Knicks are a top-2 team in the East and make the Conference Finals.

Polazzon: Jae Crowder, not Isaiah Thomas or Al Horford, is the most important player on the Boston Celtics – Isaiah Thomas is the Celtics’ leading scorer and their lone All-Star from the 2015-16 season. Al Horford also travelled to Toronto last year to represent the Hawks in the All-Star Game. However, I believe that Jae Crowder is more valuable and more integral to Boston’s success than either of the two.

If Thomas or Horford were to suffer injuries that put them out for an amount of time, there are other ways that the Celtics can try and replace their production, even if it isn’t as great as what they can provide. If Crowder goes down (like he did last year),however, the Celtics won’t have anyone to be able to do what he can do unless Jaylen Brown has a monster rookie season (which is something no one should be counting on from the young prospect).

McFee: The Knicks do worse than the Nets. I already wrote about this recently, but I’m just not buying my ticket on the Knicks hype train. I think the best addition the Knicks had this offseason was Courtney Lee. He’s like Jared Dudley – one of those guys every team needs to glue together a winning product – savvy veteran, productive on both sides of the ball. I think all the other starters are too injury prone for them to earn a high seed in the East. If they get in, it’ll be as a low seed.
The Nets on the other hand actually are in better shape than people realize, and while they won’t be the no. 1 seed, they won’t be the worst team in the East. (Sorry 76ers fans).

Clark: The Celtics WILL beat the Cavaliers in the playoffs. Their defense and depth excite me. I think Kyrie will miss a large percentage of the shots he takes with Avery Bradley guarding him. Love will also disappear.

Staple Jr: The New York Knicks will not make the playoffs. Many Knicks fans have become optimistic about this roster, and had this been 2010, their excitement would have been justified. However, over the course of an 82 game season, I can’t see this team pulling out a playoff spot barring a major injury to one of the lower tier playoff teams in the East.

This is all predicated on health. Carmelo Anthony is starting to rack up the injuries as he’s missed 42 regular season games in the past two seasons. Derrick Rose’s health issues have been well documented, and the same goes for Joakim Noah. I liked some of the signings in Courtney Lee and Brandon Jennings, and of course, Kristaps Porzingis’ ceiling seems to be very high with a relatively successful rookie campaign. But one wrong misstep could mean another disappointing season.

Webb: The Knicks will not be good. The starting 5 might look on paper, but you have injury prone PG and C, Taps is still developing and Melo gonna Melo.

Petree: It’s hard to gauge the collective conscious of the basketball world, but Detroit seems to be getting a lot of love. Like a lot, and it’s really perplexing. Ron Jeremy is a fun coach, and Andre Drummond is a rebounding machine, but I’m not sold on his supporting cast. Especially now that Reggie Jackson is injured for a few months. Detroit may be on the up-and-up, and they may have stole the eighth seed last season, but the Eastern Conference has only gotten better. Don’t be shocked if they miss the playoffs.

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