NBA: 5 East teams that will make a playoff run down the stretch

Brooklyn Nets Kyrie Irving (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Brooklyn Nets Kyrie Irving (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant (Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)

Brooklyn Nets

The Nets are a team that I feel has had all the odds stacked against them so far this season. New York City laws still do not let any unvaccinated players from the home team participate in home games. That is why the Nets have only had Kyrie Irving for away games. Even NBA commissioner Adam Silver had something to say on the matter.

"“It just doesn’t quite make sense to me that an away player who’s unvaccinated can play in Barclays, but the home player can’t.”"

Hopefully, New York state will change these rules so that Kyrie can return to being a full-time player. On top of Kyrie being out, the Nets are also without Kevin Durant, who should be returning within the coming weeks. In the midst of all this, Brooklyn traded James “I’m too good for Brooklyn” Harden to the 76ers in return for some players who are already boosting the team.

Players like Seth Curry and Andre Drummond helped snap an 11-game losing streak the team was on before the All-Star break. Brooklyn has 23 games left in the regular season and the 18th easiest schedule renaming. Having Kyrie and KD back fully, with a mentally stable Ben Simmons could be a problem for other teams come playoff time.

The 2021-22 NBA regular season ends on April 10th. In that span of time, teams around the league will be fighting for every win possible. Ten initial teams will have a chance at a playoff spot including the play-in tournament. After that, the eight best in the East and eight best in the West will battle to be the top dog. Who do you think is going to win the NBA Finals?