2011 EASTERN CONFERENCE MID-SEASON REVIEW

1.  Boston Celtics...32-9

2.  Miami Heat...30-13

3.  Chicago Bulls...28-14

4.  Atlanta Hawks...28-15

5.  Orlando Magic...27-15

6.  New York Knicks...22-19

7.  Philidelphia 76ers...17-24

8.  Indian Pacers...16-23

With half of the NBA season behind us, it's now time to take a look at where teams are placed in the standings.  High expectations for some teams may have been realized, while others disappoint.  The opposite is also true when teams expected to do poorly defy the odds and put themselves in a position to make the playoffs. 

Top 5: Celtics, Heat, Bulls, Hawks and Magic

Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh all play for the top 2 teams in the east; The Celtics and Heat.  There are no real surprises there seeing as how the Celtics went 7 games last year in the NBA Finals versus the Lakers, and the Heat acquired Bosh and LeBron in the 2010 summer free agency.  The Boston Celtics as of today are 32-9 and the Miami Heat are 30-13.  The Heat had people expecting a period of struggle to start the season as Coach Spoelstra attempted to find a system in where 3 young All-Stars could co-exist, and struggle they did.  Most of their wins came at the hands of teams with losing records and they seemed unable to compete with winning teams.  However, over the last several weeks they have gone on long winning streaks with great defense and an unstoppable offense.  The Boston Celtics share the same pros as the Heat, great defense resulting in great transition offense, however they also share the same cons.  It will only take 1 or 2 key injuries to their star players to put them at risk during the playoffs.  The difference in my opinion lies with their benches.  The Celtics can rely a lot more on their bench than the Heat can and that might make all the difference come Spring.

When it comes to the Bulls, Hawks and Magic, if the playoffs started today, the match ups would be Chicago versus New York and Orlando versus Atlanta.  I would never try to predict the outcome of a newly rejuvenated Knicks team with the help of Amar'e Stoudamire, against the much improved Bulls and their unstoppable star Derrick Rose.  At the time of writing this, free agent acquisition Carlos Boozer is not playing due to an injury, and with him not being in the line up, they lose their interior presence.  Orlando swept Atlanta in 4 games during the 2010 NBA Eastern Conference Semi Finals, later losing to Boston.  The Orlando Magic have also made some new additions in Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu, which makes the once slept on Eastern Conference the one to watch during the playoffs.