3 of the 4 previous conference finalists are doing significantly worse than expected

[TheGoatest]

Heat
Nuggets
Celtics

All having mediocre or poor seasons, so far at least. There is no doubt what the cause of this is: The shortest offseason ever. Teams who had long stays in the bubble are severely handicapped.

[SouBeachTalents]

Truth be told, at least 2 of these teams were never expected to make the conference finals last year. The battle of LA had been penciled in basically the entire season, while the Bucks were substantial favorites to to win the East/ So I don't dispute that their ridiculously short offseason has potentially played a role, but I also see it as those teams advancing further than what was expected of them last year

[TheGoatest]

Regardless of how they did last season, all of these teams would've been expected to do better than they are doing now due to their young, talented rosters. All were expected to be better simply because they were a year older.
The fact that they did well in the playoffs last season and despite that still doing not as good as expected this season makes it extra noteworthy.

[Akeem34TheDream]

You know what they say. What happens in bubble stays in bubble.

[Axe]

The teats currently have the worst record of the three that's also below .500 as we speak, which is a big shame considering they were the eastern champions just last year.