Growing up an NBA fan, I was conditioned to believe that the West was the superior conference. Each year, an underdog, Lebron James-led team came out of the East against some behemoth like the San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks or Golden State Warriors.

Oh, how times have changed!

For the first time in years, the top three odds to win a title belong to teams in the Eastern Conference. Presenting your “Beasts of the East:” 

But apologies to Mr. Joel Embiid and Mr. Donovan Mitchell. Born and raised as a Sixers fan, watching this team compete every night, they are one piece away from being in the top three. The Cleveland Cavaliers will be a bona fide championship competitor for many years. Just not this year. 

Three frontrunners are poised to capture the Eastern Conference Championship and punch their ticket to the NBA Finals: the Boston Celtics, the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Brooklyn Nets. The championship odds, according to FanDuel, are below: 

Celtics +390

Bucks +550

Nets +800.

Boston Celtics

Boston currently houses the NBA-best record of 35-14. They rank first in net rating, assist-to-turnover ratio, defensive rebound rate and player impact estimate (PIE).

Perhaps more importantly, Boston has two of the best two-way wings in the league today. Jayson Tatum has emerged as a leading MVP candidate, pacing the Celtics career-bests at 30.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game/

Jaylen Brown is a formidable partner, giving Boston a secondary wing threat that can put it on the floor or shoot deep threes. Brown is widely regarded as one of the best wing defenders in the league. But is he good enough to be the second option on a championship team? Time will tell. 

Speaking of defense, Marcus Smart has proven to be the heart and soul of this Celtics team. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year plays with a grit and determination that perfectly counterbalances the poetic finesse of Jayson Tatum.

The Celtics, on paper, have the team best equipped to take home the trophy this year, comprising a perfect balance of offensive skill set with defensive versatility and firepower.

Milwaukee Bucks

It’s hard to watch Giannis Antetokounmpo play basketball and not regard him as the best player in the world. The former back-to-back MVP dominates the game on both ends of the floor. We have not seen such a physically-domineering presence since Shaquille O’Neal.

The Bucks Big 3 houses veteran point guard Jrue Holiday and star shooting guard Khris Middleton to go along with the Greek Freak. This veteran group has been there, done that, as they say. They took home the 2021 trophy after defeating the Phoenix Suns 4-2.

They’ve surrounded their three stars with pieces such as Brook Lopez, Grayson Allen, and Bobby Portis. Milwaukee arguably has the best chemistry in the league, as this group is comfortable playing with each other. And, again, having the best player in the world certainly doesn’t hurt. 

Brooklyn Nets

It turns out that the Brooklyn Nets are a pretty good basketball team when Kyrie Irving actually plays basketball. The Nets currently sit fourth in the East, five games behind Boston for first. 

The Nets have seemingly moved past their drama-filled offseason surrounding Ben Simmons and Irving and have been on a tear (pushing through a brief setback while Kevin Durant recovers from a knee injury).

Durant and Irving teamed up were always going to be explosive at the box office, but many were skeptical if this razzle-dazzle iso ball would translate into actual wins. 

It turns out it has.

The addition of Simmons has given the Nets the versatile defender they desperately needed, while Seth Curry and Joe Harris serve to space the floor for the two stars. Nic Claxton has proved invaluable by anchoring the defense and rebounding the ball for Brooklyn. 

Only one beast will emerge from this year’s mighty Eastern Conference. Prediction? Coach Joe Mazzulla leads those young-gun Celtics back to the NBA Finals. And this year, they finish the deal.