What we've learned about the Heat, Celtics, 76ers and the NBA's East elite

For a generation, being a prime Eastern Conference squad has meant guaranteed transition into the NBA postseason.

Unlike its Western counterpart, wherever bully teams routinely person been near retired of the playoff picture, the East -- since the Charlotte Hornets reentered the league successful 2004, bringing the NBA to its existent 30 teams -- has seen a beneath .500 squad marque the playoffs 8 of those 18 seasons and a four-win spread betwixt the mean fourth-best squad successful each conference, and a five-win spread betwixt the mean eighth-best team.

Those days, however, are over.

Teams volition routinely person stretches similar the 1 the Toronto Raptors are enduring to unfastened 2022-23: 7 consecutive games against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Brooklyn Nets, Miami Heat (twice), Philadelphia 76ers (twice) and Atlanta Hawks.

"The East," Raptors manager Nick Nurse said with a smile, "is not for the faint-hearted."

Over the archetypal week of the season, ESPN was successful attendance for six games featuring six of the 7 teams successful ESPN's win-loss projections: the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors.

Here is what we learned astir each contender arsenic they statesman to navigate what should beryllium a season-long gauntlet to the playoffs.

Boston Celtics: Malcolm Brogdon is already a seamless fit

When asked to interruption down Boston's aboriginal play play, respective league scouts and executives pointed to Brogdon's contiguous impact.

"He's precisely what they needed," 1 East scout said aft watching Boston play.

Brogdon, whom the Celtics acquired from the Indiana Pacers successful a commercialized this summer, has shown an quality to make discourtesy aft attacking the bosom of the defense, each portion being capable to clasp up arsenic portion of Boston's antiaircraft schemes.

Case successful point: In the archetypal 4th of Boston's season-opening triumph implicit Philadelphia, Brogdon grabbed a antiaircraft rebound, pushed the shot upcourt and deed Grant Williams for a 3-pointer connected 1 possession, past caught a shot connected a plaything successful the corner, attacked James Harden and got rim to the rim for a layup connected the next.

For each of the understandable absorption connected Stephen Curry's violative brilliance during the Golden State Warriors' six-game triumph successful the NBA Finals, the information is the Celtics mislaid that bid not due to the fact that they failed to incorporate Curry and the Warriors' weapons, but due to the fact that the Celtics' struggled to enactment up points of their own. Boston's 105.6 violative standing successful the Finals would person tied the Detroit Pistons for 28th during the regular season.

Only Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown could beryllium relied upon to make shots for themselves. Adding different high-level creator successful Brogdon, who averaged 19.1 points and 5.9 assists past play for the Pacers, takes a important load disconnected of their All-Stars' shoulders. His 3.3 assists per crippled truthful acold is doubly arsenic galore per crippled arsenic the antheral he's replaced successful Boston's rotation, Payton Pritchard, averaged during past year's playoff run.

Cleveland Cavaliers: What is the solution astatine tiny forward?

Even though Darius Garland has been retired for each but the archetypal fractional of Cleveland's archetypal crippled owed to a near oculus injury, the Cavaliers person looked similar the contender they were billed to go aft dealing for All-Star Donovan Mitchell, who slid into Cleveland's discourtesy with 3 consecutive 30-point games.

Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley have, arsenic expected, walled disconnected the paint. And Kevin Love has remained a walking 3-pointer coming disconnected the bench.

The lingering question surrounds the tiny guardant spot successful Cleveland's starting and closing lineups adjacent to Mitchell, Garland, Mobley and Allen.

Initially, Caris LeVert, who had a beardown preseason, got the nod. But portion LeVert has taken connected a bigger instauration relation with Garland out, averaging 6.3 assists per game, he's shooting 3-for-24 connected 2-pointers and opposing scouts and executives question whether his deficiency of antiaircraft quality is the close acceptable adjacent to Mitchell and Garland.

Meanwhile, Isaac Okoro, the 5th prime successful the 2020 draft, has changeable 3-for-12 from the tract and missed each six triples he's attempted. Dean Wade is the closest approximation to what Cleveland got from Lauri Markkanen past season, but Wade is inactive moving his mode backmost from a preseason ankle injury.

While Allen and Mobley are Cleveland's anchors, erstwhile the Cavs look the elite, big, prima wings successful the East -- Tatum, Brown, Harden, Jimmy Butler and Khris Middleton -- determination isn't a wide reply for however they'll effort to dilatory them down. It's a concern worthy monitoring up until the Feb. 9 commercialized deadline.

Miami Heat: How Bam goes, they go

As the Heat hosted the Celtics, and past the Raptors twice, a acquainted inclination emerged: Miami would physique a pb with prima large antheral Bam Adebayo connected the court, past astir instantly springiness it backmost erstwhile helium went to the bench.

In Friday's nonaccomplishment to Boston, Adebayo was plus-20 successful a crippled Miami mislaid by 7 points. He was plus-5 successful each of the 2 contests against Toronto connected Saturday and Monday, games the Heat won by 3 and mislaid by eight, respectively.

Across those 3 games, Adebayo was disconnected the tribunal for a full of 35 minutes, 40 seconds. In those minutes, the Heat were outscored by 42 points.

That gait is untenable implicit an 82-game season, but with P.J. Tucker present successful Philadelphia, Miami's beforehand enactment is simply a work-in-progress.

"Everybody is trying to drawback a rhythm, trying to fig it out," Adebayo said aft the nonaccomplishment to Boston.

The impending instrumentality of second-year large antheral Omer Yurtseven, who has been retired with an ankle wounded to statesman the play but is with the squad connected its existent three-game West Coast trip, should help. Yurtseven's instrumentality would let Heat manager Erik Spoelstra to beryllium Dewayne Dedmon, who had a nett standing of minus-25.5 done 4 games.

Milwaukee Bucks: Brook Lopez's backmost looks ... back

It's casual to forget, fixed the Bucks cruised to the East's 3rd effect past season, that starting halfway Brook Lopez missed virtually the full regular play due to the fact that of backmost issues.

If the archetypal week of the play has shown anything, however, it's that the seasoned large man, who is successful the last twelvemonth of his contract, looks much than acceptable to go.

In past week's season-opening triumph against Joel Embiid and the 76ers, Lopez provided an contiguous reminder of wherefore his singular operation of immense size -- he's listed astatine 7-feet and 280 pounds -- and extracurricular shooting interaction is truthful integral to Milwaukee's success.

Against the 76ers, Lopez deed 4 3-pointers, blocked 2 shots and was a large portion of Milwaukee holding Philadelphia to conscionable 88 points.

"This morning, if you would person told america we were going to people 90 points and we're going to triumph the game, I'd astir apt [have said], 'No way,'" superstar guardant Giannis Antetokounmpo said aft the Philadelphia victory.

"But astatine the extremity of the day, this is our goal. We privation to beryllium 1 of the champion antiaircraft teams."

Having Lopez adjacent to Antetokounmpo provides a monolithic partition for opposing offenses to navigate -- helium recorded six blocks and was a game-high plus-21 successful Milwaukee's comeback triumph implicit Brooklyn connected Wednesday -- portion Lopez's floor-spacing creates country for Antetokounmpo to enactment astatine the different end.

While Middleton remains sidelined pursuing offseason wrist surgery, Lopez's play was a reminder that if the Bucks person their 4 halfway players steadfast -- Antetokounmpo, Middleton, Lopez and Jrue Holiday -- it's going to beryllium hard to prime against them successful a seven-game series.

Philadelphia 76ers: Everything is retired of sorts

Through their opening 5 games, 1 connection could beryllium utilized to picture the 76ers: disjointed.

A squad expecting to contend for a title losing 4 of its archetypal 5 games is atrocious enough, but what makes it adjacent much concerning is how the losses are mounting.

Against Boston and Toronto, it was the 76ers getting routed successful transition, outscored by a combined 53-19 borderline successful fast-break points crossed the 2 games. Against Milwaukee, it was a 5-for-24 effort from 3-point scope portion Joel Embiid went 6-for-21 wide and didn't marque a changeable successful the 2nd half. Against San Antonio, Rivers admitted afterward that the 76ers didn't play hard capable against an underdog opponent.

While idiosyncratic players person performed good offensively -- idiosyncratic has scored astatine slightest 29 points successful each 5 games, including Embiid going for 40 against San Antonio and some helium and Tyrese Maxey scoring 31 against Toronto -- determination hasn't been a crippled wherever this radical has clicked.

Considering the 4 starring scorers (Embiid, Maxey, James Harden and Tobias Harris) each played plentifulness of games unneurotic during past year's regular play and playoffs -- Philly had the eighth champion discourtesy successful the NBA aft trading for Harden -- the aboriginal violative issues person been an unusual development.

It's what besides makes the calls for much clip to mesh -- thing Rivers, Embiid and Harden person stressed this play -- confusing.

"It's a reasonably caller squad and it's going to instrumentality clip to get everyone connected the aforesaid page," Embiid told reporters aft Saturday's nonaccomplishment to San Antonio. "But we'll beryllium fine."

In moments similar these, it's worthy remembering that the 2013-14 mentation of the 76ers -- the archetypal "Process" squad -- won their archetypal 3 games, including 1 against the Heat with LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.

That squad finished the play 19-63. In different words: The play isn't settled 1 week in.

But, let's conscionable accidental the 76ers should beryllium feeling awfully fortunate that the Phillies are successful the World Series and the Eagles are the NFL's lone unbeaten team.

Toronto Raptors: Why each crippled volition beryllium a fight

Here are the scoring margins successful each of Toronto's archetypal 4 games:

• A three-point win implicit Cleveland.

• A four-point loss to Brooklyn.

• A three-point loss to Miami.

• An eight-point win implicit Miami that was a three-point crippled with little than 2 minutes left.

Such is beingness for the Raptors. Toronto volition each but surely beryllium among the league's elite antiaircraft teams, but without a wide go-to scoring enactment determination volition beryllium plentifulness of times erstwhile this radical struggles to enactment up points.

The result? Plenty of breathtaking clutch-time hoops -- and plentifulness of late-game accent -- for Raptors fans.

That's not to accidental Toronto is uncomfortable successful those types of environments. The team's archetypal 2 victories this season, implicit Cleveland and Miami, saw Toronto technologist fourth-quarter comebacks aft dilatory wearing down their opponents.

"We cognize we've got to guard, and make immoderate discourtesy retired of our defense," Nurse said aft Monday's triumph successful Miami.

But thing astir however the Raptors play is easy. Unlike galore of their competitors successful the East, they deficiency the benignant of go-to violative enactment that tin make discourtesy by themselves erstwhile the crippled slows down -- though Pascal Siakam has been fantastic frankincense far, and should erstwhile again beryllium a contender for an All-NBA spot if his opening week has been immoderate indication.

But erstwhile Toronto is astatine its best, similar during Wednesday night's triumph implicit Philadelphia, the Raptors are winning by turning their hostile implicit and getting retired successful transition. Against Philadelphia, the Raptors turned 13 76ers turnovers into 21 points and held a 29-17 borderline successful fast-break points, including going 10-for-10 from the tract successful transition.

As a result, they won without ever getting successful the benignant of shot-for-shot concern that would've perchance tipped the scales successful Philadelphia's favor.