Written by Ryan Weinkauf at The Lottery Mafia
The Eastern Conference is a logjam. The 10th seed is only five games back of the first seed. How it looks today could be completely different come playoff time. Still, there are early signs as to which teams are truly contenders, and which are pretenders.
Contenders
Indiana Pacers (16-12)
The Pacers find themselves seventh in the East, only four games back of the first-place Cavaliers. They have a solid record of 16-12, but have had mixed results as of late, dropping a disappointing game against the Grizzlies but also recording impressive wins against the Mavericks and Raptors. Everyone expected the Pacers to be an improved team with the return of Paul George to the lineup, but what wasn’t expected was George having the best season of his career despite coming off a fractured leg injury. Led by the rejuvenated George, the Pacers are faster and smaller, but just as good at defense as the Pacer teams of a few years ago. With wins over many of the Eastern Conference teams currently in the top half of the standings, Indiana looks poised to return and make some noise in the Eastern Conference playoffs this season.
Detroit Pistons (17-13)
The Pistons are 17-13, good for eighth in the East. But they have shown early that they are able to handle the Eastern Conference’s best than teams, going 8-2 so far against teams currently in the top half of the east, including 2-0 versus the Heat. This young Detroit team has gone through some swings in success early in the season, but they have the pieces to put together a run this year. Andre Drummond is a destroyer of worlds, with no one being able to compete with him on the boards, where he generates almost all of his offense. The other young core piece is Reggie Jackson, who has exploded offensively for Detroit, averaging 20 points per game, while upping his three point percentage by five points (35 percent) compared to his career percentage (30 percent). The Jackson-Drummond duo is killing opponents in the pick-n-roll. Plus, those two core players are surrounded by shooters, including younger guns Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Marcus Morris as well as veterans Ersan Ilyasova and Anthony Tolliver. Detroit is inconsistent offensively, but they have the potential to make a dent this year.
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