Early this week, Celtics coach Jim O'Brien gathered his players for a post-practice chat. The Celtics had 19 games remaining and O'Brien had a message for them: go 14-5 the rest of the way, which would result in 50 wins and a likely division, if not conference, championship.
"Who can't you beat?" he asked them. No response.
"Where can't you win?" he asked them. No response.
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| How crazy is the East race? So crazy that D.C., left, has a big role. |
And, finally, cutting to the meat of the issue: "Who do you fear in the East?" Silence.
The way the East is going now, O'Brien could have told his guys to go 5-14 the rest of the way to ensure a playoff berth. With one month remaining, the top six teams are patched together so that any one of them has a shot at the conference crown. But this six-pack is only happening because the Pacers are going Cleveland on us while the Sixers have turned things around with the oft-maligned Derrick Coleman playing a huge role.
Only in the East could you see the Pistons go out west, get slaughtered in five straight games, lose seven in a row and then come back unscathed in the conference race. The Pistons now lead the conference, in fact, and look to be the favorites the rest of the way. Can't have enough of those seven-game skids.
Anyway, here's a look at the tightly bunched East. There's also a dogfight going on for the No. 8 spot as well, but, No. 8 in the East is sort of like the automatic NCAA qualifier from the Ivy League. And, rest assured, whoever survives the conference and gets to the Finals is going to be fodder, once again, for the Western champ. You could easily make a case right now for the top five teams in the West being favored over any Eastern finalist -- and the Lakers aren't even in that group.
Detroit Pistons
The Pistons were 37-16 after a Feb. 19 victory in Toronto. They didn't win again until March 4 -- and it hasn't mattered. The seven-game losing streak involved six losses on the road -- all to Western Conference teams -- and a home setback to the Hornets. In most circumstances, such a skid would drop the Pistons like a stone. But this is the East, where you can seemingly gain ground by losing. The Pistons were a half-game ahead of the Pacers when they went on their losing streak. They now lead the Pacers by three games. Detroit has an advantage in that it has a home-heavy schedule the rest of the way. And the Pistons, as evidenced by their Wednesday night humiliation of the Lakers, can play very well at home, especially in big games. Since that seven-game blip, Detroit has returned to the safe haven of the Palace and won three straight. Chauncey Billups is emerging as a big-time scoring threat to aid Rip Hamilton for the point-challenged Pistons. That helps, because Detroit's defense is still its calling card, and the redoubtable Ben Wallace is, once again, doing his thing on the glass.
New Jersey Nets
The Nets have also stumbled since the All-Star break, allowing the Sixers and the Celtics to think the once unthinkable -- a division title. Jersey was an impressive 37-18 after a Feb. 20 win over Indiana. The Nets then proceeded to lose seven of eight, seeing their Atlantic lead shrink to only a couple of games. While still leading the division, the Nets appear to be a bit shakier this season. Dikembe Mutombo is due back soon, but, frankly, he wasn't much help when he was playing back in the fall. He will be rested, that's for sure. The Nets were dead-bolt locks to win the division after they added Rodney Rogers, Chris Childs and Mutombo over the summer. Those acquisitions have worked about as well as the Celtics' summertime add-ons, Vin Baker and Shammond Williams. Childs is gone. Rogers has struggled. Mutombo has been hurt. The Nets play well at home in front of the folding chairs that follow them -- and they have 10 of their remaining 18 at the Meadowlands. This team will, again, go as far as Jason Kidd takes it -- and he took it a long way last year. But Kidd's future remains uncertain (hint: San Antonio), and the Nets' unremarkable play on the road leaves them more vulnerable this time than last year. But they also know what it takes.
Philadelphia 76ers
Where did these guys come from? Just when you thought they were one Larry Brown woe-is-me away from the lottery, they decide to start playing like they did at the beginning of the season. Coleman has been a major factor -- and he wasn't that far away from being traded. With the loss of Todd MacCulloch, the Sixers had to do something to fortify the middle. Coleman stepped into the breach. Then, Ty (Maintenance) Hill decided to have another go with his former teammates, further strengthening the front line. Since Jan. 23, the Sixers are 15-5. They survived a tough West coast swing, losing only to the Kings and Lakers. They haven't lost at home since the All-Star Game (6-0), and there was a time this season when the First Union Center was a charnel house. Brown has even stopped ripping Keith Van Horn. The Sixers have a slight majority of games remaining at home, but they also have some tough Western Conference foes stopping by, including Portland and the Kings. But they appear to have found their stride, and their experience, along with the ever dangerous Allen Iverson, make them a factor no matter where they finish. Their goal, however, is to get home-court advantage in at least round one. They missed that last year and paid for it.
Indiana Pacers
Uh, exactly when did John Lucas start coaching this team? What has happened to the Pacers? They are threatening to become this year's Milwaukee Bucks, except, well, this year's Bucks are last year's Bucks. And we can't see the Pacers falling all the way out of the playoffs, can we? We also couldn't have envisioned what we're now seeing -- one win since Valentine's Day and 10 straight road losses. The betting line on Indy is now this: which will come first, another Ron Artest suspension or another win? The Pacers certainly looked like they had every base covered at the All-Star break. Isiah Thomas was coaching the East and had two players on the team. No one was seriously injured, although Artest is a ticking time bomb with a very short fuse. But this team looked like the best, deepest and most talented ensemble in the conference. It still does. But 12 losses in 13 games have dropped the Pacers to the middle of the pack. Their best hope now is to turn things around at home, where they usually play well. They play eight of their next nine and 11 of their final 17 at Conseco Fieldhouse. Another thing to keep an eye on is the list of Indy free agents. A lot of attention is focused, rightly, on Jermaine O'Neal. But the Miller boys are also free agents. Donnie Walsh says he expects to sign all three. The question is this: if Indy can't reverse this slide, will he still want to sign all three? And will all three want to stay?
Boston Celtics
Gee, the Celtics really miss Vin Baker, don't they? They've now jettisoned both players from last summer's big deal with Seattle, sending Baker to alcohol treatment and Shammond Williams to Denver. (We're not sure which is a worse place.) O'Brien's challenge will not fall on deaf ears, for the Celtics have seen the East come back to them and feel the whole thing is up for grabs. The Celtics are the only team of the top six to still have a Western swing on the agenda, and it involves games at the Lakers and at Utah, two Western Conference teams fighting for positioning as well. There's also a home game remaining against the Kings; the Celtics are 1-6 against the top four teams in the West. O'Brien will continue to rely heavily on Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker. Pierce is bothered by a sore back but he seems to be turning the corner. Another concern for Boston is point guard and the rookie, J.R. Bremer. How many teams win with rookie point guards? Kenny Anderson's play last year was a big reason behind the Celtics' playoff push. That's why Boston went out and snagged Bimbo Coles (who also was considering Indiana). Coles, along with new additions Grant Long and Mark Bryant, will give the team a veteran's presence, at least in the locker room. O'Brien's conference title may be a stretch. But home-court advantage is not.
New Orleans Hornets
After getting bludgeoned on Wednesday night in Boston, coach Paul Silas allowed himself to think down the road. "If we play them with our A game, and they play us with their A game, it'll be a battle," he said. The Hornets are one of the East's hottest and deepest teams and should be further emboldened by the return of the dynamic Baron Davis. Right now, Silas has Davis coming off the bench because he had such success when he moved George Lynch into the starting lineup (13-3, including eight straight wins before the blowout loss at Boston.) After this weekend's swing through Florida, the Hornets will have eight of their remaining 14 games at home, so that should help. Beyond that, Silas, a free agent by the way, must get his rotation in order and pray that his players make shots. That seems to define the Hornets' success: If they make shots, they win. The Hornets are 23rd in field-goal accuracy, which, by the way, puts them ahead of both Boston and Detroit. But of the six Eastern contenders, only Philadelphia has a lower opposition field-goal percentage figure, often times a better indicator of defense than points allowed. Top to bottom, these guys, along with Indiana, look to have the two deepest rosters. Silas needs Jamal Mashburn to continue his remarkable season (he missed virtually all of the postseason last year) and for Davis to return to the form that made him an All-Star and a member of the U.S. World Championship team. The Hornets can be a quirky bunch. They can also be a terror when everything is working.
Peter May, who covers the NBA for the Boston Globe, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.
