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Trending Topics: Who are Top 4 teams in East after trade deadline?

In the wake of the 2023 NBA trade deadline, which teams in the East stand out most after their moves?

Charles, Kenny, Shaq & EJ chime in on the Jae Crowder-to-Milwaukee trade.

Periodically, NBA.com’s writers will weigh in on some of the most important topics around the league.


After trade deadline shuffling, how would you rank the top 4 teams in the East?


STEVE ASCHBURNER:

1. Boston Celtics
2. Milwaukee Bucks
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. Cleveland Cavaliers

Zzzzzzz. That’s what it might seem like, anyway, sticking with the same four teams in precisely the same order in which they’ve stacked up through the first four months. But most of the heavy hitting on deadline day was done out West. And the tweaks in the East seem more likely to be possible series-swingers in the playoffs than game-changers over the sprint to the regular-season wire.

Boston added Mike Muscala, a stretch-big role player, and that’s about all it needed anyway (besides Marcus Smart getting and staying healthy). The Celtics are covered elsewhere and know what it takes to play into June. Note: I’m a sentimentalist when it comes to an NBA Finals runners-up, still a believer in the value of knocking at the door before stepping through. OK, I said the same thing about the Suns a year ago and that didn’t pan out. But this year it will, at least for another shot at whoever survives in the West.

“Jae Crowder will appear in the P.J. Tucker role.” If this were Broadway, that’s how this understudy-like move would be announced. That’s how the Bucks hope it works out, adding a burly defender to deliver and take hits in the frontcourt — assuming a 32-year-old can sit out for nine months and play himself into rhythm/shape in two. The Bucks’ Big Three of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton are as formidable as any trio in the league, assuming they and their teammates aren’t satisfied with a one-and-done Finals resume.

Jalen McDaniels in, Matisse Thybulle out? Doesn’t seem like a deal clincher for Philadelphia, which still will be depending on Joel Embiid’s MVP hunger and James Harden’s impressive embrace of the sidekick role. Tyrese Maxey is the Sixer most likely to play like a third star on most nights, but Tobias Harris and a cast of reserves will need to be more than just reliable to propel this team above and beyond a No.3 finish or a two-round postseason.

Cleveland and Chicago were the only teams that completely sat out Thursday’s trade deadline. That probably wasn’t a good thing for the Bulls but it seemed reasonable for the Cavaliers, whose roster and rotations mostly need more time to mature. One key is Caris LeVert, who can be a weapon off the bench and as an alternate ballhandler if he embraces the role.

Take a look at some of Donovan Mitchell's best plays from this season.


MARK MEDINA:

1. Milwaukee Bucks
2. Boston Celtics
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. Cleveland Cavaliers

The Eastern Conference contenders all improved partly because Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving removed themselves as road blocks to the NBA Finals.

“We’re human and we joke, the more good players that go to the other conference is a good thing,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “But eventually, if you want to win a championship, you’ve got to beat everybody and you’ve got to be prepared.”

Therefore, most top teams did not stay content with just their own star power. In a four-team deal, the Bucks acquired Jae Crowder after doling out five second-round picks. The Celtics landed stretch big man Mike Muscala from Oklahoma City. And the Sixers swapped defensive-minded Matisse Thybulle for more front-court depth and scoring punch.

Questions might persist on why Crowder and the Suns mutually agreed for him not to play this season after serving a pivotal role in the previous two seasons. But the Bucks no longer have such questions after talking to him. Said Budenholzer, “We feel incredibly positive with all the intel and feedback we’ve gotten.”

Nonetheless, the Eastern Conference landscape will mostly depend on other factors. Will the Bucks’ Big Three emulate the chemistry they displayed in the 2021 NBA Finals? Will the Celtics have better health and execution between their stars and big men after falling short in last year’s Finals? Will the Sixers’ Joel Embiid and James Harden match their regular-season brilliance after stumbling on a bigger postseason stage? Will Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell help the Cavaliers taste instant playoff success just as they have experienced in their first regular season together?

Cleveland declined to participate in the trade deadline partly because it expended its resources last summer to acquire Mitchell. The other Eastern Conference contenders didn’t sacrifice their key players, either, but they still upgraded on the margins. Will that make or break a team’s championship fortunes? Maybe not. But one of the moves could become an X-factor.

Jared Greenberg gives insight on why the Milwaukee Bucks went after Jae Crowder at the trade deadline.


SHAUN POWELL:

1. Milwaukee Bucks
2. Boston Celtics
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. Cleveland Cavaliers

A tough call here between the Bucks and Celtics, and in that situation, always lean toward the team with the more dominant player. Which of course is Milwaukee and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Jae Crowder will help even though he hasn’t played a minute this season due to being in limbo in Phoenix.

The Celtics have sat atop the East for a good portion of the season and bring obvious credentials. This team is built to sip champagne in June. After the Bucks and Celtics, there’s a gap which, depending on your view, can be overcome or is simply too wide to cross. That’s what the Sixers and Cavaliers aim to find out.

Of the two, Philly brings a more compelling argument for being defined as a title contender. Joel Embiid remains beastly and has three solid core players orbiting around him. But when will James Harden finally shed his reputation, deserved or not, for coming up short in the postseason? It’s either now or never.


JOHN SCHUHMANN:

1. Boston Celtics
2. Milwaukee Bucks
3. Philadelphia 76es
4. Cleveland Cavaliers

Celtics-Bucks is a really tough call. The Bucks are 9-0 since Khris Middleton returned, they’ve won 14 of the last 15 games in which Giannis Antetokounmpo has played, and they’ve had the better defense between the two teams. With Middleton’s minutes limited (and with Jae Crowder now just coming on board), we still haven’t seen them at full strength.

But you can say the same about the Celtics, who’ve had their top seven guys available for just seven games this season. Their two most important defenders — Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III — have played just total 144 minutes together. The Celtics are still 9-3 against the other seven teams that are more than five games over .500 and, while their offense has fallen off quite a bit since that ridiculously efficient first 22 games, they’ve still been better offensively than the Bucks, who (even with Middleton) can really struggle on that end of the floor.

The Sixers have looked like a real Finals contender at times, and they’re one of three teams — the Celtics and Cavs are the others — that rank in the top 10 on both ends of the floor. It certainly wouldn’t be shocking to see them in the Finals. But they’re 1-3 against the Celtics (0-2) and Bucks (1-1) after their loss in Boston on Wednesday, having struggled to score in three of those four games. The Thybulle-for-McDaniels swap at the deadline wasn’t much of an upgrade, if at all, and Philly just has more to prove than the two teams above them. The same obviously goes for the Cavs, whose time may be a year or two away.

Boston's depth and all-around ability make it a tough out in the East.


MICHAEL C. WRIGHT:

1. Boston Celtics
2. Milwaukee Bucks
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. Cleveland Cavaliers

The current top four in the standings will likely hold throughout the regular season because Brooklyn will only fall further behind after trading away its most important pieces, leaving the Heat and Knicks as the outsiders most capable of challenging the top four.

Boston suffered a blow with Jaylen Brown’s facial fracture that will lead to missed time. But not only are the Celtics deep and teeming with big-game experience over the years, we’re also talking about a team that’s still hungry after squandering away an ideal opportunity last season to win just the franchise’s second championship since 1986. Boston stayed relatively inactive in trades for a reason, knowing it possesses the requisite pieces to make another run to the Finals.

Milwaukee seems like the only real obstacle in Boston’s path, in part because two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is producing arguably his best season, and the Bucks are really starting to round into form after missing Khris Middleton most of the season. Milwaukee has won nine in a row since Middleton’s return on Jan. 23, and it added veteran leadership, solid shooting and defensive toughness with the acquisition of Jae Crowder.

The presence of MVP candidate Joel Embiid, the NBA’s most dominant center, and veteran guard James Harden keeps Philadelphia in contention provided they stay healthy. A nagging foot injury continues to affect Embiid’s availability game to game, and let’s not forget that as good as he’s been, Harden is still 33. The loss of Matisse Thybulle hurts defensively. The truth is the 76ers need more contributions on both ends from the supporting cast.

Cleveland seems like a bit of a wild card here. But you’ve got to commend the job J.B. Bickerstaff has done while acknowledging the way Donovan Mitchell transitioned almost seamlessly into his new setting. Mitchell and Darius Garland form a dynamic backcourt, and the Cavs’ young bigs Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen are the backbone of the team’s top-rated defense. A No. 1 defense and a 10th-ranked offense seem like an ideal combination to make some real noise in the East.

Take a look at some of Joel Embiid's best plays so far this season.


> Trending Topics: Who are top 4 teams in West now?

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