The Atlantic is the best division in basketball. The Celtics, 76ers, Knicks and Nets own four of the East's top-six records. Our writers weigh in on superlatives, storylines and more. The year's biggest surprise? The Knicks’ ascension.
I was weighing whether to put Siakam or Randle in there over Brown, but Eric’s explanation hits on a key part of this exercise: This is the most competitive division in the league. Only the Central has two bonafide contenders, and New York has been too good to completely write off as a dark horse. To make an All-Division team, you have to be leading one of those contenders or putting up some sort of otherworldly outlier stats. Siakam and Bridges aren’t quite there.
The most difficult omission on my ballot would be Randle, who would edge out Siakam, because Randle is more efficient as a scorer, averaging 118.5 points per 100 shot attempts compared to Siakam’s 111.8 points per 100 attempts, according to the advanced analytics database Cleaning the Glass. Randle also arguably is the best rebounding forward in the league.1. Embiid; 2. Tatum; 3. Brunson. This was pretty straightforward.
Thibodeau finally got the man he needed in Brunson to accentuate the culture he wants on the floor and once the rotation settled into place, they have been on an upward trajectory all year. I’m in favor of the teams that improve over the course of the season and see that often as a strong reflection of the coaching staff’s ability to understand and devise the team the front office gave them at training camp.
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