Eastern Conference Power Rankings
What’s up everybody, it’s been a wild couple weeks in the NBA. I can’t believe we still don’t have resolution with Ben Simmons, and Embiid being out is really hurting them. The Warriors lost a close one last night for only their 2nd loss of the season, I was beginning to think they were going to make a run for the regular season wins record again. Meanwhile the Suns put their 8 game win streak on the line tonight against the Timberwolves.
The East is competitive as ever though, and so I thought I would update my conference power rankings starting with the East.
Eastern Conference Power Rankings:
Brooklyn Nets - they are still the top dog, sitting at 10-4, they battle the scorching Warriors on Wednesday which will be a fun matchup. They are still hurting a bit without Kyrie, but continue to be a powerhouse on the back of KD and Harden. Patty Mills has shown to be a decent addition for this team.
Miami Heat - This is a dangerous team. They can beat just about any team on any given night. If you’ve watched them play at all this year, you know what I am talking about.
Chicago Bulls - Really this next cluster of teams is so close, but the Bulls get the nod from me. They are offensively explosive and continue to gel, they have been holding their own on the defensive side of the ball too which was the biggest concern coming into the season. DeRozan and Lavine are proving to be a top tandem in the league.
Washington Wizards - this team just keeps finding ways to win. Bradley Beal is having a hell of a season and they seem to have gotten better by getting rid of Russ. They are not fully healthy yet, and could get even better when they are.
Philadelphia 76ers - this team could also be higher on the list, but they have been slipping with Embiid out, and without having Simmons to take some of the weight when he is out, they are struggling. Depth could prove to be an issue for this team if they don’t do something with Simmons soon.
New York Knicks - This Knicks round off that 4 team cluster that sits in the middle of the East. They are playing some good ball, but the Knicks are still gonna Knicks. Thibs wins regular season games, it’s what he does.
Cleveland Cavaliers - This is definitely a surprise team for me. Some may include them in that slightly higher tier as well, but I am having a hard time buying it. I think they have been fortunate thus far, and will start to drop off a bit, nevertheless, they are outperforming my expectations.
Charlotte Hornets - This is still a young team, but they are loaded with talent and when they are hitting, they aren’t losing. The problem seems to be consistency which has them in the fringe.
Milwaukee Bucks - The reigning champs have been dealing with injuries, and should surge back up the list, but for the time being, they find themselves outside the top 8. Once healthy, this will be a playoff team no doubt.
Indiana Pacers - They just can’t seem to get a solid footing. They had a rough stretch to end October, but have looked pretty good in the early part of November, if they can keep it up they could be knocking on the door of the play in tournament.
Toronto Raptors - This team is scrappy. They aren’t all that flashy but they hustle and can catch teams off guard. I consider them a fringe play-in team at this point in the season.
Boston Celtics - They are having some ego issues. Brown and Tatum look great for most of the game but when the 4th quarter comes around the ball doesn’t move as much and they seem to get stagnant. There’s plenty of talent on this team, but new coach Ime Udoka has some work to do in the locker room.
Atlanta Hawks - The Hawks are struggling on the road, just 1-8 when they are the visitors. This is a team that I thought earlier in the year could be a dark horse to win the East, if they don’t put something together soon, they are going to have a tough climb to get back into relevance.
Orlando Magic - Not a whole lot to say here, this is about what we expected from this team.
Detroit Pistons - Same as the Magic, we weren’t expecting a whole lot. Cade Cunningham needs to settle into his role, he had a rough stretch but I think he will continue to get better as he gets more and more comfortable.
Well, there you have it. Your mid-November Eastern Conference power rankings. I will work to get the Western Conference out this evening or later this week, and ideally have overall rankings out this week as well. The East is definitely shaping out to be interesting and will be a fun race as the season progresses.
As always, thanks for reading, I hope you have a kick ass week, this is All Net!