NBA Playoff Preview - EAST

1) MILWAUKEE BUCKS (Odds to win Ship +650)

Keys To Success:

• Giannis Antetokounmpo - My pick for MVP, the guy is averaging 28, 13, and 6. He is an absolute nightmare to guard and will put you on a poster if you try to contest him above the rim

• The loss of Malcolm Brogdon is huge and they will need other guys to step up and fill in where he left off. The good thing is that they have players like Bledsoe and Middleton who can do so

Things They Do Well:

• Score - they're first in the league in PPG at 118.1 per contest

• Playing on the other end - They lead the league in defensive rating at 105.2

Things They Don’t Do Well:

• They don't get many offensive rebounds - as happens when you shoot mostly from deep, there aren't as many opportunities for players to crash the glass and clean up missed layups

• The 3 point percentage for this team is 35% for this team which is 15th in the league. They shoot a ton of them though and that has been one of the many keys to their success. We'll see what they do when better perimeter defending teams force them to take it inside.

2) TORONTO RAPTORS (Odds to win Ship +950)

Keys To Success:

• Can Derozan's replacement/upgrade Kawhi boost the Raptors past their recent playoff disappointments?

• Pascal Siakam - some are calling him the X Factor and for good reason, he's averaging 17/7/3 and absolutely came out of nowhere. Not a bad 3rd option on this Toronto team.

Things They Do Well:

• Their offensive and defensive ratings are both fifth in the league. Bottomline they can play weell at both ends and so far that's given them 58 wins this season

• All around skill - they are in the top 10 of almost every category in the league and have well rounded players and coaching (HC Nick Nurse)

Things They Don’t Do Well:

• Don't guard the paint as well as they guard the perimeter - teams are shooting a high percentage inside the arc (Could Ibaka be getting too old?)

• Weakish Bench - This bench struggles at times and while the stars are out, this second team will really need to perform to beat the best

3) PHILADELPHIA 76ERS (Odds to win Ship +1600)

Keys To Success:

• Can they come out of close games and win in the last two minutes -- so far this season they have but are they too inexperienced when in the playoffs?

• No fluidity - this team has really bad losses on the year and has looked like they haven't fully clicked despite having one of the best teams on paper this year

Things They Do Well:

• Score in bunches - The 76ers average 115.2 PPG (4th in the league)

• This team gets to the line.. a lot. In fact they get to the line more than 29 teams and a huge part of this is the presence down low Joel Embiid

Things They Don’t Do Well:

• Shoot the long ball - they're 19th in the league in 3 pointers made and this is largely because their PG and C struggle from distance

• This team turns the ball over -- 25th in the league

4) BOSTON CELTICS (Odds to win Ship +1600)

Keys To Success:

• This team is IN FORM - they have been playing extremely well as of late and Gordon Hayward is starting to look like his old self again. Can they keep it up?

• Will Jaylen Brown step up in the wake of Marcus Smart's injury and bring the Celtics to the promised land?

Things They Do Well:

• This team gets a bunch of steals ranking 7th in league for overall defense

• Not many TO -- Kyrie facilitates so beautifully and does it extremely effectively

Things They Don’t Do Well:

• This team does not get to the line at all - ranked 28 and 29 in FT and FTA respectively

• FG% is low - only shooting around 46% as a team, this will need to go up moving forward

5) INDIANA PACERS (Odds to win Ship +8000)

Keys To Success:

• Stay Scrappy - This team isn't the best on paper but can give any team a run for their money. They show max effort on every play and play good team basketball finishing with 48 wins this year

• Can they score? We know they have a great defense but offensively have really struggled and allowed teams to stay in games

Things They Do Well:

• Rated 1st in opponents PPG at an incredible 104.7 (They played the Knicks and Bulls a lot but still)

• Guard the paint - allow very few points at the rim and force teams to take contested shots

Things They Don’t Do Well:

• With the loss of Oladipo, they cant score the rock and only have one player averaging above 15 ppg (Bogdanovic)

• Rebound the ball - Ranking 24th in Total Rebounds, you can't win many close games doing that

6) BROOKLYN NETS (Odds to win Ship +10000)

Keys To Success:

• D'Angelo Russell is a cold blooded killer - 21/7/4 doesn't do him any justice, expect him to score 30+ in each of his playoff games

• Since they shoot so many three's... you need to make a lot of three's (cc: Joe Harris (3 point champ)

Things They Do Well:

• This team gets to the line a lot - they're very physical and not afraid to take it to the rack

• They also rebound fairly well and this keeps them in a lot of games they shouldn't be in

Things They Don’t Do Well:

• Average offense and average defense

• Team allows easy points down low without the presence of a real shot blocker

7) ORLANDO MAGIC (Odds to win Ship +12500)

Keys To Success:

• Keep shooting at a high clip (cc: Terence Ross, Vucevic, DJ Augustin). Recently they have been on fire but can they keep it up and for how long?

• Can this team defend elite players? Answer: Probably not

Things They Do Well:

• Play clean defense - this team does not foul a whole lot which keeps their starters in the game

• Vucevic can guard the paint, especially when they go to zone, but this gives up open looks from deep

Things They Don’t Do Well:

• Dead last in getting to the line and free throws made

• Don't cause a lot of turnovers on defense, rely on good team play

8) DETROIT PISTONS (Odds to win Ship +15000)

Keys To Success:

• Must rely on defense only allowing 108 PPG

• Need every other team to get hurt. I'm sorry Detroit fans, but this is the only way they make to the ship

Things They Do Well:

• 5th in the league in offensive rebounds?

• Only allow 10 made 3 pointers game, pretty significant stat

Things They Don’t Do Well:

• Team has a tough time scoring only shooting 44% from the field

• Stop other teams inside -- opposing teams are shooting over 53% from this area