Ranking 5 best Eastern Conference teams after Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns trade
The New York Knicks already had a very successful offseason picking up Mikal Bridges and they just added another big piece. According to Shams Charania, the Knicks sent Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a Detroit 2025 protected first-round pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Karl-Anthony Towns.
This trade fixes a lot of problems the Knicks had with their scoring, shooting, and overall size at the center position. With a new dynamic duo formed between Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, the Eastern Conference got a whole lot deeper.
Including this Knicks team, there is the defending NBA champions in the Boston Celtics, the 76ers with their newly formed big three, the Bucks with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, the Cavaliers, the run-and-gun Pacers, the bruising Orlando Magic, and the Miami Heat.
The Eastern Conference has a lot of great teams, but which are the five best?
5. Cleveland Cavaliers
Ever since Donovan Mitchell became a Cavalier, they have been a good team. In their first season they went 51-31, finished as the fourth seed and lost in the first round. Then last year they finished as the fourth seed again and lost in the second round to the eventual NBA champs.
They still have their 'big four' in Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen. After former head coach J.B. Bickerstaff's failed tenure, they hired Kenny Atkinson to find a better system for them to work in.
When this team was fully healthy, they are top 10 in both defense and offense. Their demise, like most talented teams, was health. Last season, Mitchell played in 55 games and got hurt in the playoffs, Garland played in 57 games, Mobley played in 50 games, and Allen played in four playoff games.
Cleveland has the talent to compete with the best teams in the east, it's just they don't have a superstar level player that some of the other teams have along with a reliable co-star.
4. Philadelphia 76ers
The top four teams in the east are four of the eight best teams in the NBA. All four have a legitimate shot to win the title. As for the Philadelphia 76ers, they had a very successful offseason in adding star power.
Already having an MVP winner in Joel Embiid is huge as well as a rising star in Tyrese Maxey. In the offseason, they added Paul George. He's an elite two-way wing and three-level scorer. Adding a third star will help with their lack of depth that hurt in the playoffs.
Usually, a team that is this talented should be ranked much higher, but they have a major x-factor, which is health. Throughout Embiid's career he has been hurt and was a big reason they lost to the Knicks. For four of the last five seasons, Paul George has been banged up too and getting older. With their lack of depth, if one of their stars are missing, then they won't be as good.
The unreliability of their star’s health is the main reason why the 76ers won't be able to bring home the championship. Also, Embiid and George have had horrible playoff moments and performances where it's hard to trust them playing well in big moments.
3. Milwaukee Bucks
Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo are one of the best duos in the NBA and they have a good supporting cast. They struggled a lot last season, finishing 19th in defensive rating, Lillard came into the season out of shape, and they went through three different head coaches.
On defense, Philly struggled guarding the perimeter. In the offseason they signed Taurean Prince and Gary Trent Jr. They are two solid wing defenders to help Lillard out on the perimeter and they have two great help defenders to back them up in Brook Lopez and Antetokounmpo.
With a full training camp ahead of them to understand Doc River's system and Lillard coming into camp in shape, they should start this season off on the right foot. Antetokounmpo is the best two-way player in the NBA and arguably the best player in the league too. He's led this team to a championship and with the experience this team has, they should be rolling out the gate.
They get the edge over the 76ers because Embiid has historically struggled playing against the Bucks. What gives the Bucks a real shot against the Celtics is that they went 2-2 against them last year with each loss being by three points each. In the playoffs, the Bucks are 10-9 aganist them since 2018.
2. New York Knicks
Even if the Knicks didn't pull off the Karl-Anthony Towns trade, they would still be ranked No. 2 on this list. Now that they did, them being the second-best team in the east is even more convincing.
Towns fixes their lack of size with the loss of Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson's injury. He also provides elite three-level scoring, good playmaking from a center, and with Tom Thibodeau as the head coach, it should improve his defense.
The Knicks are going to have great defenders with Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, and OG Anunoby and fbe a top defensive team. The floor spacing is going to help Jalen Brunson score at the rim with ease, and when Robinson is healthy, they can have a double big lineup for the Bucks and 76ers.
They did lose depth with Donte DiVincenzo being shipped out, but Leon Rose is probably going to make one more trade. When healthy, they have the wing defenders to slow down the Celtics, the size to go against Milwaukee and Philly, and the space to create easy looks for everyone on the floor.
1. Boston Celtics
It's only fair that the defending NBA champions deserve to be the best team in their conference. Not only did they have the best record in league last year, but they also had one of the greatest point differentials of all time too.
For this season, they are bringing all their core pieces back. Their starting five either been an all-star or all-star caliber players: Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Kristaps Porzingis. Their bench pieces in Sam Hauser, Al Horford, and Payton Pritchard makes them one of the deepest teams in the league.
Porzingis will be out for roughly the first half of the season and because of that, they may not get the number one seed. Whether he's in or out, Boston is still one of the best teams in the league. They were first in offense, second in defense, and still made the finals with him missing most of the playoffs.
They are not only the team to beat in the Eastern Conference, but the team to beat for the entire league. Boston was dominant last season and will bring everyone back. Until someone beats them in the playoffs, they are the best team in the east.