How many NBA teams have a real chance to win the Eastern Conference?
Honorable mentions
Whether because of injuries, offseason losses or slow starts from key players, these teams aren’t quite in the mix of contenders yet. There’s still plenty of time for them to join the club, though.
Indiana Pacers
If the Indiana Pacers were fully healthy, they’d belong in the conversation of teams that could win the East. However, they’re down two starters for the foreseeable future.
T.J. Warren is “expected to miss a significant portion of the regular season” after he underwent surgery “to correct a stress fracture on his left foot,” according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. He led the team in scoring with 19.8 points per game last season, so the Pacers can only hope he’s available when the playoffs begin in late May.
Caris LeVert, whom the Pacers acquired for Victor Oladipo in mid-January, is also out indefinitely after undergoing surgery to treat renal cell carcinoma of his left kidney. Head coach Nate Bjorkgren told reporters Saturday that the team has yet to decide whether LeVert will return this season, but the doctor who performed his surgery told Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files that he’s likely looking at an eight-week recovery time.
The Pacers do still have Myles Turner, who’s among the front-runners for Defensive Player of the Year; Domantas Sabonis, who’s playing at an All-Star-caliber level; and Malcolm Brogdon, who isn’t far behind Sabonis in that regard. But unless LeVert and Warren both return by the start of the playoffs, the Pacers may not have the firepower to keep up with the other top Eastern Conference contenders.
Toronto Raptors
Losing Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol in free agency was always bound to hurt the Toronto Raptors, but they look nothing like the team that finished second in the East last season.
Pascal Siakam made two big leaps over the previous two years, but he has stagnated if not regressed this season. The Raptors waived Alex Len after only seven games, and Aron Baynes is shooting a crisp 40.0 percent overall and 23.4 percent from 3, leaving the Raptors frontcourt in relative disarray.
On the bright side, Chris Boucher is in the midst of a breakout season, averaging 13.9 points on 54.5 percent shooting, 6.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in only 22.9 minutes per game. OG Anunoby has also taken a big step forward offensively, and the backcourt of Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet remains the heart of this team.
Given the state of their frontcourt, it’s difficult to imagine the Raptors outlasting Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks or Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers in a seven-game playoff series. But as long as they don’t conduct a sell-off at the trade deadline, they at least figure to be a nuisance in the first round.