The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Chicago Bulls have established themselves as the Alpha-dogs of the Eastern Conference after each team pulled off massive free-agent coup this offseason. However, if there’s any team capable of coming up a surprising upset in the postseason, it could be perhaps Michael Jordan’s rebranded franchise – the Charlotte Hornets.
Kennedy, senior writer/ analyst for Basketball Insiders, stressed the Cavs and the Bulls are the clear-cut favorites to meet up in the Eastern Conference finals because of their exploit this offseason.
As everybody knows, the Cavs had the best offseason in franchise history after welcoming back four-time NBA MVP LeBron James, re-signing Kyrie Irving to a long-term deal, and trading for Minnesota Timberwolves double-double machine Kevin Love (which is made possible after getting Andrew Wiggins with the first overall pick in the 2014 draft).
Meanwhile, the Bulls loaded up their frontline by signing Spanish power forward Pau Gasol to a three-year deal, drafting Creighton shooter Doug McDermont, getting Nikola Mirotic from Europe, and of course, seeing Derrick Rose healthy again after undergoing surgery to repair a torn MCL.
These teams are so stacked-up with talents that they could even compete with Western Conference teams for the best regular-season record. Then again, as powerful as they are, a feisty and well-coached team like the Hornets could perhaps take either one of them to the limit, if they ever meet in the postseason.
Kennedy clearly stressed his point in his latest chat session on Basketball Insiders last Thursday.
“For the last month, I’ve been saying that I think Cleveland and Chicago are the only contenders in the East. Every other team is a notch below those two, since they’re clearly the top-tier squads in the conference.”
“If I had to choose one team that could give Cleveland and Chicago a scare, I guess I’d go with Charlotte. Al Jefferson, Lance Stephenson, Kemba Walker, etc. form a good core and Steve Clifford is a very good coach. But like I said, there’s a big drop off after Cleveland and Chicago and Charlotte isn’t on the same level as those two teams.”
Making a Point!
Hold on Cavs and Bulls fans, don’t grill Kennedy yet. As mentioned above, he clearly stated that these teams will most likely end up duking it out in the ECF. Still, he’s also aware there’s got to be a team out there that can compete with these big boys (no matter small of a percentage it is), and the analyst believed it’s going to be Charlotte, because of the team’s defensive-minded philosophy under the tutelage of Steve Clifford, who is one of the better coaches in the league. Other than that, it looks like a Cavs-Bulls rumble indeed, period!
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