When LeBron James took his talents to LA, the NBA's Eastern Conference was finally able to prosper and once again become competitive after 15 years of the "King James Reign". Most NBA analyst predicted that Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics would become the new favorites to make it out of the East. However, young teams like the Milwaukee Bucks (Currently #1 27-11), the Toronto Raptors (#2 29-12), the Indiana Pacers (#3 26-12) & the Philadelphia 76ers (#4 26-14) are proving to be at least four reasons why the Celtics (#5 23-15) may not see the 2019 NBA Finals. Giannis Antetokounmpo (26ppg, 12rebs, 6apg) is having an MVP Season in Milwaukee, Kawhi Leonard (27ppg,7rebs,3apg) appears to have found a new home in Toronto, Victor Oladipo (20ppg,6rebs,5apg) & Myles Turner (12ppg & 7rebs) are leading a young and hungry Pacers team in Indiana, and Jimmy Butler (18ppg,4rebs,3apg) continues to push Joel Embiid (26ppg,13rebs,3apg) & Ben Simmons (16ppg,9rebs,7apg) every game in Philly. In my opinion, Kyrie Irving (23ppg,4rebs,6apg) will have to show and prove why he deserves the crown through strong and consistent leadership in order to carry his young core of talented Celtics out of the Eastern Conference and back to NBA Finals prominence. Ironically, Irving's former Championship teammate Lebron James is attempting the exact same feat with the Los Angeles Lakers. I wouldn't be surprised if NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is trying to revive the legendary Lakers vs Celtics rivalry thru reigniting the Lebron vs Kyrie rivalry...I can't even front, the Lakers vs Celtics NBA Finals would be a great 7 game series.