Who is the Biggest Threat to Boston in the East? (Feb. Edition)

[Donoghus]

No "Themselves" or "Coach Joe" option 

Did this poll last month.  Now that we're past the trade deadline, I thought it'd be interesting to revisit.

I said Philly at beginning of season & January.   I don't think that's the case anymore. Torn between Knicks & Cavs but slightly towards Cavs.  It's still Boston's conference to lose though.  I expect them in the Finals in June and do expect a title.

[Who]

It is hard to say with Embiid. It is definitely Philly if he can comeback for the playoffs.

If not Philly, it is Miami or Cleveland. I would have Milwaukee, New York and Indiana a tier below those two.

[Roy H.]

Apparently Cleveland.

[Phantom255x]

Cavaliers.

I rank it as Cavaliers, Heat, Knicks in that order.

Of course all that changes if Embiid returns but by then where is PHI in the standings?

[Jvalin]

I'd expect us to thrive against teams which run drop coverage. Drop bigs have no answer against our 5-out motion offense. Look no further than Brook Lopez from the Bucks who was basically a non factor against us on D. On the contrary, I think we could potentially face problems against teams running a switch-heavy scheme. We heavily rely on 3pt shooting. Switching is the optimal strategy to deny open 3s. Look no further than the Heat which have one of the most switchable bigs in the league in Bam.

drop teams: Bucks, Sixers, Cavs, Knicks

switching teams: Heat

Myles Turner of the Pacers can either drop or switch. Not sure what system they run tbh. Haven't followed them all that much. Fwiw, they've beat us 2 times this season.

The Cavs are on great form right now, but I wouldn't worry too much. Their defense is built to protect the paint. I'd expect them to struggle defensively against our perimeter-oriented offense.

tl;dr
Heat, Pacers

[PAOBoston]

Knicks and Cleveland. Both teams have size and can defend. Typically those type of teams give Cs trouble along with small shifty guards.

A healthy and engaged Cs team should win but think those match ups would be rock fights and very physical.

[Who]

Cavs got a lot to prove. They have a good run lately but they laid an egg in the playoffs last year.

(1) Jalen Brunson absolutely destroyed their little guards. We've played them this year and we've beaten up on their little guards. Most of their run has happened with Garland out and playing a bigger lineup with a much stronger defense & rebounding group than the two small guard mini-backcourt. They still have to prove they can win with this small backcourt. That they can beat better teams.

(2) They have also had a fair bit of this run without Evan Mobley in the team. He still hasn't developed his outside shooting. Their spacing was better without him in the lineup. They still need to prove that they can make the double big Mobley - J Allen duo work on offense. Two non-shooters.

Cavs getting a big pass here on their ongoing issues / question marks.

[Who]

The Knicks do not have the offense to be a threat to the Celtics in a playoff series. They are the same as Orlando. They are a high level defensive team with a mediocre offense.

The Knicks have one legit scorer in Brunson and one mediocre scorer in Randle. Nobody else that is a reliable scorer. Orlando have two so-so scorers in Banchero and F Wagner. They actually have a more offensively talented supporting cast due to Cole Anthony & Mo Wagner. They also have a game changing defensive forward in J Isaac as another high level bench piece.

[Who]

The Heat are hard to be bullish on because they are still working Terry Rozier into the rotation and we do not yet know how successful or unsuccessful that will be.

On the positive side, Rozier gives them that extra scorer & shooter they need.

On the negative side, Rozier and Herro makes them very small and vulnerable defensively on the backcourt. They are also small at forward and at center. Making a small team even smaller.

[greg683x]

I think Embiid is coming back, so I’m picking the Sixers.  Them getting Hield scares me

[liam]

Knicks and Cleveland. Both teams have size and can defend. Typically those type of teams give Cs trouble along with small shifty guards.

A healthy and engaged Cs team should win but think those match ups would be rock fights and very physical.

I voted for the Knicks because of the coaching. If they are healthy they will be a handful. I'm not sure if I'd worry about the Cavs in the playoffs.

[liam]

If we wind up playing the Sixers in the postseason I'd love for Joe to sic Springer on Maxey. 

[Vermont Green]

I say CLE.  Mitchell is better than Brunson as the lead guy (although both are good).  Garland is underrated.  And I am not expecting Embiid to hold up through the playoffs.  Surprising to see MIL fading from contender status.  They will always have a chance as long as they have Giannis, but like most here, I am not seeing them as one of the biggest threats anymore.

[Vermont Green]

If we wind up playing the Sixers in the postseason I'd love for Joe to sic Springer on Maxey.

I like that.

Of course White and Holiday are pretty good defenders also.

[ozgod]

My vote hasn't changed...I worry about meeting the Pacers in the first round.