Eastern Conference Power Rankings: Early-April Edition
1. Milwaukee Bucks (48-30) — prev. rank #3
The Bucks did lose to the Mavs at home on Sunday afternoon, but two massive wins over the Sixers and Nets last week in which Giannis dropped 40 and 14 in back-to-back games were a stark reminder of what this team is capable of.
Out of all the Beasts in the East, Milwaukee still feels like the safest pick on the board heading into the postseason. Good luck against Giannis in a 7-game series. (You are going to need it.)
Timing is everything, and those two monster games from Giannis might have come at the perfect time to push him to the top of the MVP race. It would be his third in the last four seasons.
Brook Lopez’s return from his December back surgery has also come at a good time, allowing the Bucks to get some reps in with their starters before the playoffs. But it also makes us dislike the DiVincenzo for Serge Ibaka trade even more… (But then again, they didn’t have DiVincenzo last year when they won it all.)
The Bucks best 4-man lineup that has played at least 400 minutes together this season? Yep, you guessed it: The Bucks Big 3 plus Bobby Portis at +14.9 per 100 possessions. (And Giannis with Middleton, Portis and Grayson Allen is +16.1 per 100.)
Milwaukee is currently in 3rd place with four games left: @Chicago, home for the Celtics and then @Detroit and @Cleveland. One thing that we love about the Bucks is that they aren’t afraid to play anybody. No fear from these deer.
2. Boston Celtics (49-30) — prev. rank #5
Since January 1, the only team in the NBA with more wins than the Boston Celtics is the Phoenix Suns. The Celtics have the best net rating and #1 defense by a country mile since then and they also have the #4 offense which is talked about far less (if at all). The C’s are 13-3 over the last 16 games.
On a recent Lowe Post podcast, Zach Lowe and David Thorpe were talking about how the hardest jump to make in the game is from great to extraordinary and that’s precisely what Jayson Tatum has done this season. Since the All-Star Break, Tatum is averaging 31-7-5 and shooting 41.3 percent from 3 on 9.3 attempts per game!
Almost even better is that Tatum and Jaylen Brown have been coalescing to a higher degree than ever before. And that is thanks in large part to Marcus Smart running the point and averaging a career-high in assists for a third consecutive season. Since All-Star, Smart is slinging 7 dimes a night.
Time Lord’s torn meniscus and subsequent surgery definitely throws a bit of a wrench into things for the Celtics, limiting the extensiveness of what they can do on both defense and offense. Daniel Theis is a serviceable backup, and Brad Stevens has got to be glad he made that trade deadline move.
Only three games left for the Celtics and they are all on the road against playoff teams: @Chicago, @Milwaukee and @Memphis. Currently in 2nd place and 2 games behind the 1st place Heat, Boston seems likely to finish 2nd, 3rd or 4th.
3. Miami Heat (51-28) — prev. rank #1
The Heat have gotten their shit back together since the Jimmy Butler vs. “You think I’m gonna fucking fight you?!” Spo and “I’ll beat your ass!” Haslem kerfuffle. That dark Heat 4-game losing streak has turned into a 4-game winning streak real quick, and all feels right within #HeatCulture once again (for now). Miami does currently sit atop the Eastern Conference Standings with a 2-game cushion, meaning they will likely finish #1 with only three games left.
Get Jimmy Butler to the playoffs and keep the Big Face Coffee flowing, and this isn’t going to be a team that anybody is excited to play.
The Heat offense still feels a little too reliant on Tyler Herro, but Lowry will probably play an even bigger role in the playoffs. And much to his credit, Herro has been the no doubt 6th Man of the Year and has improved a lot as a playmaker.
Oladipo was looking good on Sunday in Toronto, scoring 21 points in 27 minutes off the bench and playing crunch-time alongside Lowry, Bam, Herro and Strus. (No Jimmy on the second game of a back-to-back.)
The Heat finish out the season against the Hornets and Hawks at home and then it’s a quick trip to Orlando to close out 2021-22.
4. Philadelphia 76ers (48-30) — prev. rank #2
Things have sure slowed since those first five games after Harden showed up. There was that embarrassing ass-kicking handed to them by the Nets at home, and a recent 3-game losing streak that included a bad loss to the Pistons. The Sixers have responded with some much-needed bounce-back wins against the Hornets and a narrow win against the shorthanded Cavs on Sunday. It wasn’t pretty, but they will take it.
It felt like Embiid was the MVP for the first 75 percent of the season. Alas, the final 25% matters a lot. But it’s also progress from last season when he was just the first half of the season MVP.
Harden not getting the ball to Embiid at the end of that Bucks game was a tough look. But at least he made the right plays down the stretch against the Cavs. The spotlight is going to be so bright on his late-game execution in the weeks to come.
The Georges Niang minutes feel more important than we even initially thought. It hasn’t helped that Korkmaz has been basically out of the rotation completely.
The Sixers have four games left: @Indiana and @Toronto and then they get to finish the season on a back-to-back, but at least it’s against the Pacers and Pistons. Philly will finish somewhere in the top-4 of the East standings.
5. Toronto Raptors (45-33) — prev. rank #8
The Raptors did lose at home to the Heat on Sunday on Kyle Lowry Day, but the Raps have still won 11 of the last 14 games. It has been said that teams are more afraid to play the Raptors in the first round than the Nets. To that we say: That’s because the Raptors are a better team than the Nets.
Pascal Siakam in the month of March: 25.6 points per game on 52% shooting from the field and 42.6% from 3. He’s making a serious push for an All-NBA nod.
On the day that Kyle Lowry returned to The 6, Fred VanVleet broke Lowry’s Raptors team record for most 3-pointers in a season. Sometimes the student becomes the master.
Is Scottie Barnes the Rookie of the Year? He really might be. But just like MVP, there are three spectacular players to choose from.
The currently 6th-place Raptors have a 2.5-game lead over the Cavs in 7th, so barring the Raptors losing all remaining games and the Cavs winning all of theirs, the Raptors have successfully avoided the play-in. Toronto has four games left: home vs. the Hawks, Sixers and Rockets and then @MSG for the finale.
6. Chicago Bulls (45-33) — prev. rank #4
Everyone keeps talking about how the Bulls are 2-19 vs. the top 8 teams in the league, and rightfully so, because that is a crazy stat. Since the All-Star Break, the Bulls are 7-12 with the #26 offense and #23 defense.
Don’t worry, the King of the Fourth is still here! DeRozan took over that Clippers game last Friday night, scoring a season-high 50 points. FIDDY.
In the 43 games this season that DeRozan has posted a positive plus-minus, the Bulls are 36-7. In the 34 other games in which DeRozan has posted a negative plus-minus or did not play, the Bulls are 9-25.
The Bulls are at least finally getting the gang back together again. Caruso has returned and Pat Williams, too. Still waiting on Lonzo, though.
The Bulls are currently in 5th place with the same record as the Raptors and with a 2.5-game lead over the Cavs to avoid the play-in. The Bulls last four games are all quality competish: Home for the Bucks, Celtics and Hornets, and the last game of the season @Minnesota.
7. Atlanta Hawks (41-37) — prev. rank #9
Since January 17, the Hawks are 24-12 with the #4 offense and #16 defense, which is a lot better than their 26th ranked defense for the season. Atlanta is also currently on a 5-game winning streak and has won 10 out of the last 13 games.
Over the last three weeks, Trae Young has four 40-point games, all resulting in Hawks wins. He can be the best player on the court on any given night. And a lot of nights, he is exactly that.
John Collins has been out since March 11, dealing with plantar fasciitis, which means the Hawks have been doing all of this recent winning without John the Baptist. They would still like to have that added firepower for the play-in and possibly playoffs.
Bogdanovic has increased his points per game in every month this season, up to 18.4 a night in March after just 11.6 in October/November.
The Hawks last four games feature two lottery teams and two Eastern Conference heavy hitters: @Toronto, home for the Wizards, @Miami and @Houston. Sitting in 8th place at the moment and with a 1-game cushion on Charlotte and Brooklyn, the Hawks control their own destiny.
8. Brooklyn Nets (40-38) — prev. rank #6
The Nets followed that stretch where they lost 17 out of 20 games by winning 8 out of 11, but they have since lost two big games that they really needed to win: at home to Giannis and the Bucks in OT and in Atlanta on Saturday night.
KD is fresh off scoring his career-high 55 points, and yet… it came in a loss. And Kyrie took four more shots than him! The biggest problem, though, is certainly the defense. Can they get stops when it matters most?
The Nets record this season with Kyrie playing? 10-14. Turns out that playing a real NBA schedule is harder than just a game here or there.
Word on the street was that Ben Simmons is “ramping” up for a return from his back injury… but Steve Nash just said today that it won’t be in time for the play-in… So, like, are they really going to throw a guy with a history of having trouble under pressure into THE HIGHEST pressure games of the playoffs as his first games in almost a year!?
The Nets final four games as they currently sit in 10th place in the East: home vs. the Rockets, @MSG and home vs. the Cavs and Pacers. Those are some pretty, pretty winnable games, but they are still at the mercy as to what the Hawks and Hornets do.
9. Charlotte Hornets (40-38) — prev. rank #10
The Hornets had won 8 out of 10 games until Saturday’s loss at Philly. After a dreadful February that saw the Hornets go 2-10, March was much kinder — a 10-4 record and the #1 offense in the NBA for the month. Not to mention some monster wins over the Nets in Brooklyn (spoiling Kyrie’s home debut) and against the Jazz, a team the Hornets hadn’t beaten since January of 2018.
Isaiah Thomas has provided a spark for this team, and he has even been featured in some crunch-time minutes (!!). The Hornets are 9-4 in games that IT has played.
Another Eric Collins classic: “Trying to stop Montrezl Harrell when he’s close to the basket is like trying to put socks on a rooster!”
Gordon Hayward is back?? It’s true. Hayward played 17 minutes in Saturday’s matinee vs. the Sixers. It was his first game since February 7th due a left ankle sprain.
The Hornets are currently in 9th place owning the tiebreaker over Brooklyn, and they have clinched a spot in the play-in, but they could also still get to 8th. Charlotte’s remaining four games: @Miami, home vs. the Magic, @Chicago and home vs. the Wizards.
10. Cleveland Cavaliers (43-36) — prev. rank #7
The injuries that the Cavs have endured this season is flat out ridiculous. Sexton and Rubio for the season. And now Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, both twin towers. Even Dean Wade had a season-ending surgery! Since the All-Star Break, the Cavs are 8-13. But despite all of the injuries, the Cavs have a winning season on their hands for the first time without LeBron since 1998.
Darius Garland is still doing everything he can on a nightly basis, and props to him for keeping the Cavs in games.
Lamar Stevens has been logging some heavy minutes. Sometimes Stevens will try to do too much, but he always puts in a strong effort and hustles.
Moses Brown might have gotten power dunked on DFS and punked by Luka all in the same game (his former teammates), but Brown is averaging 13 and 12 over the last four games. Not bad for a guy on a two-way contract.
The Cavs final three games: @Orlando, @Brooklyn and home against the Bucks. The play-in is guaranteed and thankfully it sounds like Mobley will be back for it but sadly Jarrett Allen will not.
11. New York Knicks (35-44) — prev. rank #12
If only the Knicks had turned this corner sooner. Since mid-March, the only team in the NBA to win more games than the Knicks is the Celtics. The Knicks have won 7 out of their last 11!
The light switch flipped for RJ Barrett. He’s been more so much more aggressive with an attacking mindset and with his defensive chops to boot. The Knicks have a really good young two-way player on the wing which is more than some can say.
Immanuel Quickley recorded a 20-10-10 triple-double on Sunday, the first triple-double by a Knick off the bench since Mark Jackson in 1991, per Statmuse.
Genuinely hate to see Julius Randle’s severe New York fall from grace — storming off the court after a win… that ain’t it, bruh.
Unfortunately, all of the recent winning has hindered the Knicks lottery odds. The last three games are against the Nets at home, @DC for the Wiz and then back at MSG for the Raptors in the finale.
12. Detroit Pistons (23-56) — prev. rank #14
The Pistons are currently on their second 3-game winning streak of the last month! Since March 3, the Pistons have the #7 defense in the NBA, and it’s even been 4th-best over the last two weeks.
Cade Cunningham has been playing phenomenally, even more in control than before. Cade says him not being the Rookie of the Year is a misinterpretation which makes us love him even more.
Shady Cade didn’t play on Sunday, but it was no problem for the Pistons as Saddiq Bey scored 31 points against the Pacers, his sixth game of 30+ this season.
Hello, Carsen Edwards! In his first NBA game of the season on Sunday, Edwards scored 13 points in 31 minutes (!!) off the bench. Oh, and shoutout Killian Hayes who scored a career-high 26 points against the Thunder on Friday night.
The Pistons have three games left: the Mavs and Bucks at home and then @Philly in the season finale. Detroit currently holds just a half-game lead over the Thunder for the third-worst record to get maximum lottery odds for the #1 pick.
13. Washington Wizards (34-44) — prev. rank #11
Before Sunday afternoon’s 42-point loss at Boston (yes, 42), the Wizards had actually won 4 out of 5 games, including a 32-point shellacking of the Dallas Mavericks in a Kristaps Porzingis Revenge Game.
In a Wizards uniform, Porzingis is averaging 22 points and 8 rebounds. That’s about on par with his Knicks days.
Shoutout to the Israeli Iron Man, Deni Avdija, who is one of only five players to play in every single game so far this season. Just four games away from being a true NBA Iron Man!
And shoutout KCP who lit up the Mavs for six 3s and 35 points. If you are also wondering if it was a career-high, it was not. KCP’s career-high 38 points was back in his Pistons days, February of 2017 against the Pelicans.
The Wizards final four games: @Minnesota, @Atlanta, home for the Knicks and @Charlotte.
14. Indiana Pacers (25-54) — prev. rank #13
The Indiana Pacers know how to tank, currently on a 7-game losing streak and sitting some of their usual starters.
The last time the Pacers lost this many games? The 1988-89 season. It’s been 33 years lol.
But Tyrese Haliburton has still been sensational — a true League Pass marvel and passing wizard. 17 assists and 0 turnovers on Sunday!? It was his second game of 15+ assists and 0 turnovers, something no player has done before turning 23 years old in NBA history.
Myles Turner and T.J. Warren were both shut down for the season a while back. Turner has played 89 games in the last two seasons combined. Warren missed the entire season and hasn’t played since December of 2020.
The Pacers tanking efforts have guaranteed them a top-10 pick in the draft. Job well done! The last three games are a home-and-home against the Sixers and then @Brooklyn in the finale which will surely be an important game for the Nets.
15. Orlando Magic (20-59) — prev. rank #15
The Magic also know how to tank, currently on a 6-game losing streak. Orlando is tied with the Houston Rockets for the worst record in the league.
Franz Wagner missed his first game of the season on Sunday due to an ankle injury that occurred Friday night against the Raptors. He was so close to being a rookie Iron Man!
Believe it or not, since the All-Star Break, the Magic have a top-5 defensive rating! An amazing feat after having the 28th defense over the first two months of the season.
Mo Bamba is actually still shooting 37 percent from 3 this season on 3.9 attempts per game. He’s put up career-high numbers across the board.
The Magic have three games left: home for the Cavs, @Charlotte and then back home for the Heat. With the 4th-worst record in the league Thunder 3.5 games behind the Magic, Orlando has a bottom-3 record locked up.
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The final week of the regular season means these are the last power ranks.
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