by Michael Spadaccino

Who are the four best teams in the East right now?

Obviously the Boston Celtics, followed by the Detroit Pistons. The Cleveland Cavaliers, based almost solely on the strength of Lebron, would have to be three.  Who’s four and rising like a balloon you ask….the Philadelphia 76ers!

I know you can make a strong case for Orlando or even Toronto after getting O’Neal, but is there a more athletic team 1-8 on the roster than Philadelphia?  Think about the fact that Philly had a stretch in the second half of the season where they went 19-5.  They also were .500 against the West- the only teams better in the East were Boston, Det. & Cleveland.  They had Detroit down 2-1 and 10 at the half before they froze up.

Oh and did we mention that they have cap space to lure either Josh Smith or Elton Brand?  A starting five of Andre Miller (17.0), Willie Green (12.4), Iguodala (19.9), J Smith or E Brand (17.0) & S Dalembert (10.5) gives the team balanced scoring & athleticism at every position.  Throw in up-and-comers Thaddeus Young (8.2), Louis Williams (11.5), and first round pick Marreese Speights and you have one of the deepest, most athletic teams in the East that can legitimately have 7 double digit scorers.

Obviously the key is locking up either Josh Smith or Brand to give the team rebounding help and much needed low post scoring.  Sixer GM Ed Stefanski is pulling out all the stops in making a run a one of these two.  To clear even extra cap space he just traded Rodney Carney & Calvin Booth and a future #1 pick to Minnesota now giving him a chance to offer $14 million a season to one of those two.

Maybe Boston has a post championship hangover and Ray Allen gets old overnight.  Maybe Philly will finish the deal against Detroit if they get them in a series again. Are Wally Szczerbiak, Ben Wallace & Delonte West really the help Lebron needs? Is Jermaine O’Neal really healthy? Has Orlando improved at all? Philly may be one PF away from making a serious run towards the top in the East.  This year gave us some old school with Lakers/Celtics.  How about an Eastern Conference Final of Sixers/Celtics?