After NBA trade deadline moves, who is the team to beat in the East?

With the NBA trade deadline behind us, it feels like a good time to check back in on the Eastern Conference. To start the season, I had a sneaking feeling the East would be more fun than many expected. I think we can agree they have overdelivered on those expectations. The majority of these teams have played with fire and desire, a belief they are better than each other, jockeying back and forth all season long.

Which brings us to recent events where the top of the East faced off. The Detroit Pistons, standing alone at the top, beat the New York Knicks by 38 points at home on Friday. Those same Knicks took that, continued on the road and beat the Boston Celtics by 22 points on Sunday. If you look at the top-six teams in the East, each has won at least six of its last 10 games with five of them winning 7 of their last 10.

As we turn the corner and prepare for the upcoming sprint to the playoffs, as fun as the East has been, who is ready to truly take it?

Jalen Brunson and the Knicks have won nine of their last 10 games. (David Butler II-Imagn Images)

(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / REUTERS)

The top of the East

The Pistons have turned their booming ascent to the top of the East into a steady metronome. It can almost feel like a broken record at this point, but the Pistons have continued to rely on their identity to stay at the top. It’s why they elected to build on the margins at the trade deadline instead of taking a big swing. It’s not just the consistent play of Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren, it’s the fact that teams know what is coming and have to beat them.

Detroit is going to get after you defensively with physicality, activity and pressure; anything you get will be earned. On the other end, the Pistons are going to attack the paint (second in the NBA in points in the paint with 56.9, second in paint touches per game with 27.4), forcing you to continue to guard. And the most impressive part has been their resilience. The Pistons have yet to lose more than two games in a row this season and, as teams have tried to trap Cunningham, have found different ways to respond.

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The Knicks flipped a stretch of losing 9 out of 11 games into winning 9 of their next 10 games, the only loss coming to Detroit. A lot of that had to do with their overall self-awareness and understanding that to get to where they want to go, the defense had to play at a certain level. During this 10-game stretch (since Jan. 20), the Knicks have the No. 1 defensive rating in the NBA (100.8).

Simplifying their pick-and-roll defense to try and keep the ball in one direction has given them a boost — as will the addition of Jose Alvarado — but it’s been the commitment to activity and help defense that has allowed the trend to stick. Do the Knicks now have enough lineup versatility and defense behind Jalen Brunson to finally put all the pieces together?

The Celtics have thrived by doing their best to control what they can control and avoid beating themselves. Jaylen Brown’s career year has played a large part in their consistency, but do not downplay the process. This is a team that leads the NBA with the fewest turnovers per game (12.1), working to limit mistakes. This is also a team that leads the NBA in opponent points per turnover (14.1), is fourth in opponent fast-break points (13.2) and second in opponent points in the paint (40.8) — which means whatever you thought would be easy does not exist. The Celtics compete on both ends, which has presented a tough formula to deal with on a nightly basis.

What does the addition of Nikola Vučević mean? Look at him as adding more to what the Celtics already do rather than purely elevating them. His ability to space speaks for itself, but it’s easy to forget he can screen, roll and post, too. That should be a useful weapon for the Celtics if teams want to try and switch against them. He can win matchups and be a focal point with second-unit lineups. While he may not be as much of a hub as he’s been in previous spots, his passing ability should fit in once the Celtics get teams in rotation.

The question is, will the defense hold up? The Celtics have the infrastructure with their personnel and scheme to protect the paint and rotate around Vučević if teams try to attack him 1v1. But they will have to find a comfort with his pick-and-roll coverage, at the level or in drop, as the Knicks had a good time poking at him with Brunson and Alvarado on Sunday.

Here come the Cavs?

That brings me to the team that could and should shake things up the most in the East: the Cleveland Cavaliers. Despite high expectations before the season, the Cavs have survived a lot of injuries to find themselves as the No. 4 seed in the East with the addition of James Harden.

The key element in adding Harden next to the play of Donovan Mitchell is further unlocking Cleveland’s offense. Darius Garland is a tremendous talent, but being able to stagger two All-NBA talents will feel a little bit different to opposing defenses. This should unlock Jarrett Allen (and Evan Mobley upon return) as rollers, which should create advantage basketball for Cleveland.

Harden can start and end possessions, and his pace in pick-and-roll allows for a more natural short roll for Allen. The question is how many teams will switch against them, and is this the move to take them over the top?

Best of the rest

The Toronto Raptors have consistently produced on both ends of the floor thanks to the play of Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram. How much does that mean this year for a playoff run? Can they find a way to make the top teams in the East pay on both ends?

The Philadelphia 76ers have played the long game, leaning on Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe as Joel Embiid comes along (and boy has he come along). Will that be enough to make them a team you don’t want to deal with in the postseason?

The Miami Heat and Orlando Magic have shown flashes, but can they make enough noise to bother the top of the East? The Charlotte Hornets have found a flow offensively, attack defensively and are on a win streak we have not seen since 1999. Can they make some playoff buzz?

Playoff series tend to come down to matchups, and we are dealing with a whole lot of teams that believe they can beat each other. Sit back and watch how this comes to a crescendo down the stretch. The conference is wide open.

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