For the second straight season, it looks like the Milwaukee Bucks will be crowned the Eastern Conference champions. Well, for the NBA regular season.
The 2019 season saw the Bucks finish first in the East with a 60-22 record, and steamroll through the first couple rounds of the Eastern conference finals. All to eventually run into the eventual NBA champion, Toronto Raptors and lose in six.
Finishing atop the conference after 82 games, doesn’t always make you the favorite to make the finals. In the past six seasons, the East representative has finished the regular season in first place only once.
This season, the Bucks have been the most dominant team in the league by a long-shot. They currently hold the best record in the NBA, and a +11.3 point differential. To put that in perspective, the Los Angeles Lakers hold the second highest point differential at +7.4.
Typically the West has always been the stronger of the two conferences, and that statement still holds true. However, the top of the East seems stronger than ever. With five teams being legitimate contenders, the Eastern side of the bubble could see an extremely interesting battle in these fan-less playoffs.
The real question is, how does each team give itself the best opportunity to run through the rest?
