The Eastern Conference is often the neglected side of the NBA, particularly because in recent history, the Western Conference has been the stronger of the two conferences. However in recent years, the East has risen. Not only does the conference feature current superstars, but it’s dotted with several great promising younger players. Think Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Joel Embiid, Trae Young, Bradley Beal, Zach LaVine, and Demar DeRozan. 

We’re going to look at two teams in the Eastern Conference that have really surprisd coming out of the gate this year. While they’re not touted as favorites to win the ring like the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat, their early performances could translate into more wins and making noise in this year’s playoffs. Betting on the underdog Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards isn’t always an easy thing to do, but being informed about their true chances can help and we’ll try to do just that.

Washington Wizards (10-4)

Out of all the surprise teams that came out of the gate and with all due respect to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Washington Wizards might be he most startling of them all. With all the talk of Bradley Beal leaving the DC area, the team added some firepower. We can understand why those additions didn’t necessarily make waves in Vegas as the Wizards added much maligned players Montrezl Harrell and Kyle Kuzma. On top of that, they traded for Spencer Dinwiddie who came off season-ending surgery the season before. 

Not only that, none of the new players had proven to be great contributors to winning teams. Yes, Kuzma won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, but his following season was more-than-forgettable. He was basically run out of Los Angeles. This year, Kuzma is back with vengeance. Shooting outide with consistently. Same with Harrell, who couldn’t get off the bench for the Lakers. He’s shown that ferocity and energy he was known for when he had a Clippers jersey on as the team’s second leading scorer. Dinwiddie is shaking off the rust to the tune of 15 points per game.

Did I mention as of this post, the Wiz are the #1 team in the Eastern Conference with a 10-4 record? All this with Bradley Beal not really having a great shooting (41.1%) or scoring season (23ppg) as we’re used to seeing from him.

Chicago Bulls (10-5)

When the Chicago Bulls ended their offseason adding Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso and DeMar DeRozan along with Nikola Vucevic who was brought in late last season, we have to be honest, we weren’t sure how all of that would all work out with Zach LaVine and Coby White. 

To most everyone’s surprise, those different pieces are working well together. It seems like the new environment for Lonzo, DeRozan and Caruso has invigorated the Bulls into one one of the strongest teams in the East. Full of energy, athleticism, strong outside and midrange shooting buttressed by a surprisingly strong defensive team led by Ball and Caruso, this is the most-exciting brand of basketball since Derrick Rose’s heyday and the collective approach might make them the best that they’ve had since the Michael Jordan days.

It remains to be seen whether the young Bulls can keep it up the winning as other teams start to figure things out, but there’s a good chance that Chicago will be in the mix with their combination of defensive strengths and two of the league’s bes scorers in DeRozan and LaVine on the perimeter and Vucevic down low.

Defining the Favorites to Win the Championship

It’s impossible to predict who’s going to win the championship – no matter what you do. There are plenty of factors that play a role in defining just how much a team can win during a season, and streaks can change massively from negative to positive (unless you’re the Houston Rockets).

Let’s take a look at some factors that define championship-winning teams, which will come useful if you’re looking to place bets on NBA franchises. 

Injuries Play a Huge Part

No matter how good a team is or how good it has performed through the season, injuries could play a major role in defining the outcome of an NBA campaign. Missing out on key players could turn a positive season into a disastrous one, much as it happened to Golden State in the 2020/2021 campaign.

As such, even if some of these teams may be looking like favorites now, there’s a good chance that their performance levels could drop if players like Lavine or Butler sustain blows that keep them out for extended periods of time. 

Teams Evolve Through the Season

It is important to consider that teams change as the season goes on. Since teams play each other multiple times through the year (depending on NBA scheduling, of course), teams that manage to adapt to their rivals could end up winning games against teams that battered them earlier in the season.

Coaching plays a huge role in the evolution of teams across an NBA season. McMillan, Spoelstra, and Donovan have all proved their qualities as head coaches through their careers, but it remains to be seen whether they’ll be able to lead their teams to glory. 

Zach on the team’s play so far:

“We expect to play this way. This is the most excited I’ve been playing basketball.” pic.twitter.com/tpMgOhEyg8

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) October 23, 2021

Look Out for Streaks

Winning and losing streaks affect teams’ mentalities more than you think. When favorites go on large losing streaks, their performances lose more than you may think possible before the season starts. 

The opposite also happens to underdogs. The Bulls and the Heat started the season quite well, which puts them in pole position to do well across the year.

Coaching Matters More than You Think

Tactics and rotations play a massive part in how a team performs, and knowing which players to play -as well as when to play them- determines just how good a team can be throughout an NBA season.

Even if you throw a bunch of stars together, bad coaching can make a team underperform. Favorites may be favorites just because of their starts, but the outcome of a season is often defined by how the team’s head coach deals with eventualities and sets up his team in the court.