When LeBron James left the eastern conference, it gave teams a breath of fresh air since the chances of making the playoffs and winning the East Finals became greater.
After last years playoffs, Boston Celtics and Philadelphia Sixers are considered favorites to make it to the East Finals. Toronto Raptors are on that list even with firing the MVP coach Dwane Casey and losing DeMar DeRozan for an injured but talented Kawhi Leonard. The other teams who made the playoffs were the Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat and the Washington Wizards.
John Wall feels the Wizards should be considered a favorite since the only team that was guaranteed to make it to the Finals was whatever team LeBron was on. Wall told YAHOO Sports:
“I feel like we’re all equal. None of them won a championship. This is no knock on no other team. Don’t get me wrong. Boston is a hell of a team. Philly has great young talent with those guys [Joel] Embiid, [Ben] Simmons. And Toronto, losing DeMar [DeRozan], they still get Kawhi [Leonard]. Y’all might have been to the Eastern Conference finals, where we haven’t been to, but none of y’all were going to the Finals. It was one guy going to the Finals. Ain’t nobody separated from nothing. I know one guy that separated himself from the Eastern Conference every year and that was LeBron James and the Cavs. Other than that … if you lose in the second round, or the conference finals, you still didn’t get to your ultimate goal.”
It was LeBron versus the West according to Wall. The Cavaliers won every conference title when James came back from Miami and when he was in Miami won all three title there. James has been to 6 NBA Finals winning only 2.
Celtics gave James a hard time in the East Finals this past season and were close to making the Finals without their star players Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. With that being said, many feel adding Irving and Hayward back on to a team that almost beat James without them makes them the best in the East. Wall explains why that doesn’t matter:
We look great. Boston looks great on paper. But how are all those young guys going to mesh with Kyrie [Irving] being back? Or Gordon Hayward being back? Nobody knows how that’s going to work. Now, they’ve got a hell of a coach in Brad Stevens, and [with GM and president] Danny Ainge, they’re going to figure it out. But you still got to put it all together. You’ve still got to make it work on the court. We don’t know how Kawhi is going to work. We know what Simmons and Embiid are going to give you, but it’s a new year.
Wall has brought the Wizards to four playoff runs averaging 21.9 points per game. Dwight Howard recently joined the team due to Wall’s recruiting and after theWarriors signed DeMarcus Cousins for cheap.
LeBron’s departure does make the East exciting as the outcome won’t be the same like it as for the past several years. Maybe LeBron can make change the outcome in the West as well.