Here’s a look at the matchups in the East, with what to look out for and, our prediction of who will be moving on to the conference final.

Philadelphia Union saw its historic season conclude on Sunday evening, falling in the Eastern Conference Semifinals to New York City FC by a 1-0 scoreline.

Maxi Moralez opened the scoring in the 27th minute and New York City FC beat the No. 1 seed Philadelphia Union 1-0 to win the Eastern Conference semifinals.

That might be a slight exaggeration. By most measures, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets are the two best teams in the league. The rest of the West’s top six — the Rockets, Lakers, Spurs and Timberwolves — clock in as potential spoilers, most of whom have long runways for success.

A look at the records in the Eastern Conference shows that the first 15 teams are separated by seven points. Narrow it down even more and the first 11 squads are separated by five points. Is there an impact to this?

This season, with most clubs just shy of the quarter mark, nine teams have played at least seven OT games. Eight others have played six. So 17 of 32 teams are playing OT games at a rate that would match or exceed the top number from a year ago.

Eleven teams in the Eastern Conference are playing at least .500 ball so far, with several surprises among them.

There's always pressure on the Toronto Maple Leafs, but that has only been amplified thanks to a lackluster start this season. The Maple Leafs are trending in the wrong direction as the Eastern Conference looks as competitive as it's been in a long time.