So how wide open is the East really?

So assuming that Chicago gets the shaft once again (supposedly that's the case on Twitter), what are the chances that they can still come out of the East?

The teams likely to be in the playoffs imo are Cleveland, Indiana, Chicago, Miami, Washington, Toronto I guess, Brooklyn, and one of NY, Atlanta, and Charlotte. Maybe I missed a team...who cares the East sucks and Cleveland, Indiana, and Chicago are the only relevant teams anyway.

Do we actually have a shot at topping the Cavs? Vegas has them as the favorites to come out of the East I believe. They have Kyrie, Wiggins, and Lebron which is very good and that's not even considering the possibility of getting Kevin Love. Meanwhile, we're still banking on the health of Derrick Rose and the likelihood that Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic pan out. Indiana possibly gets weaker losing Lance Stephenson and not getting anyone really to replace what he brings.

East would appear to be wide open as matching up with the Cavs is a bit easier than matching up with the old Heat team. They're still at a disadvantage down low, but it's a deadly set of talent on the wings. Given the glaring weakness we have at SG, how do we fare?

We may still be doomed for mediocrity, but I think we have a better chance than before.

It depends on if Love ends up with the Cavs. If he doesn't, I don't think the Cavs would be favorites. It's a roster filled with a bunch of young players that have never played in the playoffs. Their 2nd best player, while he is a great talent, plays no defense and can't be counted on seeing as how he is the definition of injury prone. Wiggins is a question mark, no one knows how good he's even going to be. Even if he does turn out to be a great player, more than likely it will take some time to adapt.

If the Pacers get Stephenson back and Rose comes back to form, I could see either team beating the Cavs. I would actually think either of those teams would be the favorites over them.

Both George Karl and PJ Carlissimo said on ESPN that with what both teams had right now they had the Bulls ahead of Cleveland. Adding that would change if the Cavs traded for Kevin Love but they didn't go any farther like how would Gasol and/or Anthony change the equation.


I guess there's just a segment of Bulls fans who don't think Derrick Rose will come back strong or even if he does he won't change the team from last year and apparently that includes no Bulls player returning at an improved level. Which shows they don't know much about basketball. Has anyone seen the improvement Joakim Noah has made year to year over the past four? The improvement Jimmy Butler made from year 1-3? Why is it so improbable that they can continue to make gains and that Tony Snell could improve, is it so beyond some people's comprehension that Derrick Rose actually could return at the level of play he had before? It happens on other teams, why do you not think it could happen here? Is all you care about is getting a lottery pick and drafting some great freshman? When you look at players like Taj Gibson and Mike Dunleavy they are steady year in and year out they don't slump if they are part of the rotation. They did draft the college player of the year in some people's minds at #11. The Bulls will add some players along with having Rose return so to think they're not contenders in the east is just stupid.

I think the health of two injury prone guards from the city of Chicago will make the difference in the East. You can guess who they are.

Getting Lebron will automatically make the Cavs the favorite in most peoples eyes. I'm not so sure. If they get Love (He wants to go to the Cavs.), they probably will have to give up Wiggins. I think the Bulls can compete with the Cavs, but it's still too early to speculate, IMO. We will have a better feel for the Eastern Conference once a few more moves are finalized.

I think it depends on how Rose bounces back, but I don't think the Bulls will win the East

I see the Cavs as the team to beat which can be done for maybe two years. ..than the next four or so years it becomes extremely difficult to beat them

Someone has to lose to the West in the finals.

RoseMVP1 said:

It depends on if Love ends up with the Cavs. If he doesn't, I don't think the Cavs would be favorites. It's a roster filled with a bunch of young players that have never played in the playoffs. Their 2nd best player, while he is a great talent, plays no defense and can't be counted on seeing as how he is the definition of injury prone. Wiggins is a question mark, no one knows how good he's even going to be. Even if he does turn out to be a great player, more than likely it will take some time to adapt.

If the Pacers get Stephenson back and Rose comes back to form, I could see either team beating the Cavs. I would actually think either of those teams would be the favorites over them.

Click to expand...

This.

I feel like a lot of people are forgetting about the Wiz. I wouldn't be surprised if they made a run to the ECF

I honestly can't tell you who's going to win the East. Probably not Miami, because Wade is bound to get hurt. If they sign Deng, they might be decent, but I'd take a healthy Bulls(lol), Pacers, and Cavs over them.

If the Bulls are healthy(again,lol) with Noah,Gasol,Rose,Mirotic,etc. they could be in serious contention for winning the East. Pacers aren't really getting better this offseason, but they probably won't be much worse. Paul George will be continually improving his game(he's only 24,by the way) as the #1 of that franchise. They'll Hibbert to not completely shit the bed though.

Can't forget about the Wizards either, as someone mentioned.

Still wondering what's gonna happen with Kevin Love, I think that's important, but as of now I would say the East is pretty open.

I think Spurs or OKC win it all. Clippers,Rockets, and the Warriors will be really good but I think they are a peg below Spurs and OKC. If the Warriors get Love, then damn this gets interesting.

Toughest division in basketball is now the Central.

All depends on K Love. If he goes to Cleveland, they are without a doubt the favorites and that big 3 is better than Miami's.

If Love doesn't come and GarPax can secure Gasol, a solid wing player and Mirotic...They have to be the favorites in the East for at least 1 season.

The West is incredibly strong though. Spurs and OKC will be the Finals favorites.

Even as presently constructed, I would take the Cavs. Bulls and Pacers are right there with them but neither is a great team. Heat/Wizards are probably the 4th/5th seeds in the East. Neither has much of a shot.

Don't see the Cavs being better than this Chicago team. Wiggins is a good defender and athlete but doesn't have a consistent jump shot which will hurt him in the half court. Waiters is average, Varejao is a shittier version of Noah, Thompson is not as good as Taj and if Rose is healthy, Kyrie has nothing on him.

That team isn't built like Miami. Lebron doesn't have a bunch of floor spacers in Cleveland, in fact it is the opposite. Put Butler on Lebron and clog the lane on him and make him dump it off and kick it out to Wiggins, Waiters, Thompson and Varejao. None of them are consistent offensive threats.

Who is defending Gasol in the post? Can't double team or give help defense on Rose when you put players like McBuckets, Dunleavy and Mirotic on the court either.

I'm already calling it, if K Love stays in Minny or goes somewhere else and this Bulls team is healthy come playoff time, they will win the East.