Stacking up the Eastern Conference
By: Adam Markowitz
It wasn't exactly "Separation Sunday" on the NBA betting hardwood in the Eastern Conference, but it sort of felt that way. The top teams in the conference were all in action, and there were some big time statements made.
The chase at the bottom of the East is on as well. Here's a quick look at all of the legitimate conference title contenders coming into play on Monday night.
Boston Celtics (+170)
The C's have really shown us. We were scratching our heads about that deal that brought Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic to Beantown for essentially five players, but all of a sudden, Boston looks like it is going to overcome all of these issues.
The beast of the East? It's a legitimate possibility that the Celtics really are the team to top.
Chicago Bulls (+600)
There was no team that really made the same type of statement that the Bulls made this weekend, hitting the road and taking out both the Magic and the Heat in close encounters. Derrick Rose is still playing like an MVP, while the combo of Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah is really making life a living hell on the inside for opponents.
Miami Heat (+100)
Still believe that the Heat are the best team in the league? If you did before the last week, you might be thinking again. In the last three games, Miami has blown a 24-point lead against Orlando, gotten blown away by 30 by San Antonio, and blown a game that should've been in the bag against Chicago.
When push really comes to shove in the postseason, we'll see what LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are really made out of, but for the time being this team looks awfully mortal and it could be caught in the Southeast.
Orlando Magic (+600)
The forgotten boys of the Southeast, the Magic are playing well, save for that blunder against Chicago at home on Saturday. Dwight Howard will be serving a one-game suspension tonight for accumulation of technical fouls, and that's a real sin for the hometown crowd. The Magic aren't back at home again until March 18. Even worse, there aren't two home games back-to-back for the rest of the regular season.
Atlanta Hawks (+3500)
Atlanta has a ton of home games left this season, something that really could play right into its hands for the remainder of the schedule. The Hawks have finally gotten some good play out of Kirk Hinrich for the first time since the trade with the Wizards, and they are really going to bring it together at some point in all likelihood now that Josh Smith is back in the fold as well. Catching Orlando might not be the only thing on Atlanta's mind for the rest of the season.
New York Knicks (+1400)
The Knicks really don't have anywhere to go but down from here, as they aren't running down any of the Top 5 seeds in the Eastern Conference. Even so, is there really that much of a difference between being No. 6, 7 or 8?
Either way, New York still has to go right through all of the big boys if it thinks that it is winning the Eastern Conference. Chauncey Billups has been ailing, but the key is going to be getting him on the same page with Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony for the push into the playoffs. We've seen some great things out of the Knicks since this triumvirate has come together. We've also seen two losses to Cleveland.