December Prediction: A dichotomy between the Bucks and everyone else in the East
This prediction is two-fold. First, and most importantly, it’s a testament to how good Giannis Antetokounmpo is. In my November takeaways I had Luka Doncic as my MVP right now, but Giannis isn’t far behind at all.
He’s somehow taken another leap forward this year and is making it work with a roster that isn’t as good as the one he had last year. Giannis is already the most dominant physical presence in the league right now and is certainly in the conversation for the best player in the world with LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard. I suspect he’ll be playing one of them in June, with the winner taking a firm claim to that title.
Second, while the depth in the Eastern Conference appears to be better than originally expected, it doesn’t look like there are very many serious contenders.
I was pretty bullish about the 76ers before the season started, and even though I’m not going to completely write them off, I’m also not particularly loving what I see from them through the first 20ish games.
It’s not that the 76ers look bad, it’s that they look the same. The same Brett Brown moments that make you scratch your head, the same Joel Embiid who continues to shoot four 3;s per game even though he’s not a good shooter, and the same Ben Simmons (details above).
I think they’re built for playoff basketball and maybe they can put a plan together to slow Giannis down if they see him, but the same questions from the past are getting the same non-answers that have led to their same premature eliminations in the playoffs. Something has to change.
As for as the other teams in the Eastern Conference, even when the Boston Celtics are healthy they don’t have the interior defense to handle Giannis in a playoff series. And while the Raptors and Heat are better than expected, they don’t have a roster that can push for the NBA Finals.
Go ahead and pencil the Bucks in for a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals and a likely date with the Western Conference champs after that.