NBA Playoffs: 5 overlooked potential x-factors in the Eastern Conference

5 potential x-factors that could arise in the NBA Playoffs in the Eastern Conference. 

With only a few regular-season games remaining, it’s only natural to begin to look forward to the NBA playoffs. This year, it will include an inaugural playoff play-in tournament.

Even though this year will be considered by some as unprecedented, due to a shorted NBA season and having to navigate through a global pandemic, this year’s playoffs is going to feel a little more normal than last year’s (which took place in a bubble) and could be one of the most entertaining in recent history.

From the Los Angeles Lakers possibly having to win a play-in game to officially qualify for the playoffs to the Brooklyn Nets’ trio possibly playing just its eighth game together when the playoffs start, there are interesting storylines peppered on both conferences.

As we inch closer and closer to the start of the playoffs – the play-in tournament begins April 18 and the NBA playoffs begin May 22 – we take a closer look at five potential x-factors that could change a series or two in the Eastern Conference.