4. New York Knicks
Over the last 20 games of the season, there haven't been many teams in the league playing better basketball than the New York Knicks. The hope is that the trend will continue and that this team will be headed into the playoffs at their peak. Even though they did get off to somewhat of a rough start to the season, the Knicks still have a top-5 offensive rating and net rating at this point in the year. If their defense is able to recover after a poor start, this is a team that could be dominant heading into the playoffs.
Since the Knicks began playing better basketball as a unit, their defense has shown some promising signs. They still may need to add some depth ahead of the trade deadline but there's reason to believe that the Knicks are still on the upward trend as a team. For as talented as they are, something tells me that this team still hasn't hit their peak as a unit. Whether New York will fully be able to get there remains to be seen, but this is a team that does have a recipe for a deep run in the postseason.
3. Boston Celtics
Even though the Boston Celtics have been as statistically dominant as they were last season, this is a team that remains very much a sleeping giant in the Eastern Conference. It should be noted that they don't have to push to play their best basketball at the moment. After winning the title last year, this is a team that is only going to be judged by what they do during the postseason. It would make sense for the team to pace themselves so they are put in a position where they begin playing their best basketball of the season later into the season.
That's ultimately what I believe the Celtics are doing. Whether it's schematic or not, this is not a team that should be worrying about playing their best basketball yet. They know they can get to championship form considering what they were able to accomplish last season. The best baskeetball will come for the Celtics. The question is, will it prove to be better than every other team's best basketball in the postseason?