Eastern Conference Power Rankings: Early-January Edition
1. Milwaukee Bucks (25-13) — prev. rank #1
The defending Champs are riding a 6-game winning streak into the New Year, highlighted by the 19-point comeback on Christmas vs. the Celtics.
Milwaukee had both a top-10 offense and top-10 defense in the month of December, one of only three teams to pull that off. (The other two teams being in the West: Jazz and Grizz.)
Giannis is still out here doing what he does best: pulverizing the regular season to smithereens, putting up eerily similar stats across the last four seasons.
Donte DiVincenzo back! A nice Christmas present for Milwaukee, the Big Ragu’s presence alone offers an additional ball-mover and capable 3-point shooter.
Speaking of capable shooters: Wes Matthews is back in Milwaukee as well. The Bucks are 9-1 with Matthews in the lineup.
The schedule to start 2022 is lite before it heats up: two more games at home vs. the Pistons and Raptors, then it’s off to Brooklyn, two games in Charlotte, and a showdown back at the Fiserv Forum vs. the Warriors on Thursday, January 13th on TNT.
2. Chicago Bulls (24-10) — prev. rank #3
The Bulls were the first team to get ravaged by the protocols, but they have more than put it behind them, winning 7 straight games and 11 out of the last 13. DeRozan’s back-to-back buzzer-beating 3s were magnificent, setting the tone and letting it be known: these Bulls are for real for real.
The 1-2 LaVine-DeRozan punch is only growing in stature, especially with Vooch playing some of his best ball since returning from Covid.
The Bulls defense slipped in December amidst the protocols issues, all the way to 22nd, but the offense remained potent, 2nd-best in the NBA for the final month of 2021.
We have mentioned him here before and we’ll sing his praises some more: Ayo Dosunmu is so good! And for a second round pick!? In games that Dosunmu has a positive plus-minus, the Bulls are 11-0. And with key guys still out of the lineup recently, Ayo has even been handling crunch-time duties.
The Bulls head back to Chicago to face the Magic and Wiz again who will be out for revenge. Then a one-off in Dallas is followed by two big ones: the Nets and Warriors both at home.
3. Brooklyn Nets (23-11) — prev. rank #2
Last Thursday night was KD’s first game back after a two-week protocol absence, but the fact remains: Brooklyn doesn’t have anybody to handle a vast interior presence like Embiid (or Giannis). And then the Nets started off the New Year by getting beat by Eric Bledsoe and the replacement Clippers at home.
Since his own return from the protocols, Harden has looked like The Beard of old, averaging 35.5 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds over the last four games. And the free throws? Ya know, just 55 attempts over that span. Fifty-five.
Oh YEAH. You might have heard: the Nets are getting a Kyrie-sized bump! For road games that is. (Soo, do you prefer to be the 2-seed if you’re Brooklyn?) Either way, it will be nice to have Uncle Drew’s handles back in our lives.
We did say that the Nets don’t have an interior presence to stop an Embiid or Giannis, and we stand by that, but Nic Claxton has been playing quite well. An ideal pick-and-roll partner for Harden to catch those lobs.
Some big matchups for the Nets over the next two weeks: vs. the Grizz on Monday night, vs. the Bucks on Friday night and then at Chicago on Wednesday the 12th. You might recall Brooklyn’s first game in Chicago back in November when the Bulls outscored the Nets 42-17 in the 4th quarter.
4. Miami Heat (23-13) — prev. rank #6
Without Bam and with Jimmy Butler missing 11 games in December, the Heat still managed to pull off 10 wins in the final month of 2021, one of only four teams to reach double-digit December wins, joining the Jazz, Grizz and Bucks. The Heat have won 5 in a row and 7 out of the last 8. Miami’s defense has regained its footing, 5th-best over the last two weeks.
We knew that Kyle Lowry’s caboose was a perfect fit for South Beach. Lowry is averaging 8.1 assists a night which would be the second-highest assist per game mark of his 16-year career, trailing only his 8.7 dimes in 2018-19 which he could still catch.
Tyler Herro is leading the league in bench scoring, averaging 20 a game, and he’s also leading all 6th Man of the Year conversations that we’ve heard so far.
The Heat’s depth has been put to the test and Max Strus and Gabe Vincent have been there to answer the call. Strus has eight games of 4+ made three-pointers and Vincent has five such games of his own.
The Heat have five games left on their current road trip: @Sacramento, @Golden State, @Portland, @Phoenix and @Atlanta. Then it’s four straight games back home at FTX.
5. Cleveland Cavaliers (20-16) — prev. rank #7
The Ricky Rubio torn ACL news SUCKS. So bad. The trade for Rondo is kind of peculiar, but then again, with Garland in the protocols, the Cavs starting point guard has been Kevin Pangos. (No offense to Kevin Pangos!) But it’s fair to wonder what effect Rondo will have on the Cavs vaunted defense, 3rd in the NBA this season after being 25th a season ago.
Garland and Jarrett Allen (finally back from protocols) are both no-doubt All-Stars in our book. And Evan Mobley is on the fringe!
More Garland: it has honestly gotten to the point where we expect his shots to go in. It’s the way that most of them rip through the net.
Kevin Love has stepped up amidst all of the protocol issues, scoring 22 points per game over the last eight with really good efficiency. Did you know K-Love is shooting 43 percent from 3 on 6.1 attempts per game?
The Cavs get two in Cleveland to begin the New Year (vs. the Pacers and Grizz) before a 6-game West roadie: @Portland, @Golden State, @Sacramento, @Utah, @San Antonio and @OKC.
6. Philadelphia 76ers (19-16) — prev. rank #9
Embiid playing at the top of his game and talking mad shit to KD was a perfect ending to 2021 for Philly, currently on a 3-game winning streak and with the entire weekend off.
JoJo tied Allen Iverson as the quickest Sixer ever to 7,000 points in 282 games. If Embiid keeps playing like first half of the 2020-21 season wrecking-ball Embiid and Philly gets something, anything, from the Ben Simmons situation, the Sixers will keep climbing.
Philly leads the league in free throw percentage at a pristine 81.8%. (A benefit of not having Ben Simmons around.)
Over his first three seasons in the league, when Matisse Thybulle makes two or more 3’s, the Sixers are 18-6. Thybulle is actually shooting a career-worst 28.4 percent this season, but it feels like he’s making more important ones in crucial situations.
Contrary to their old ways, the 76ers are 6-8 at home but 13-8 on the road. Four out of the next five games are at Wells Fargo: Rockets, Spurs, Hornets and Celtics with a quick trip to Orlando mixed in.
7. Charlotte Hornets (19-17) — prev. rank #10
The Hornets are on a 3-game winning streak, and Charlotte still rocks the #2 offense in the league this season despite being 24th in offensive efficiency over the last two weeks while dealing with protocol problems. The defense? Still 27th for the season, but trending upward at 6th (!!) over the last two weeks.
Without Miles Bridges 20 points a night (yup, protocols), LaMelo and Rozier have been dialed in, upping their scoring and drilling 3s early and often.
Kelly Oubre is 2nd in bench points in the NBA behind only Tyler Herro. Oubre is also the second-fastest Hornet to 100 3s, trailing only Baron Davis.
Did you know that both of Gordon Hayward’s parents are under 6 feet tall, but he’s 6-8? When Hayward has a positive plus-minus this season, the Hornets are 13-3.
The Hornets are 9-4 at home and 10-3 on the road, so 4 of the next 5 at Spectrum Center is a good sign, but the Suns and Bucks (twice) will be quite the challenge.
8. Boston Celtics (17-19) — prev. rank #8
The Celtics were sliding like a sled down a mountain, losing 8 out of the last 11 before the big New Year’s Eve matinee win against the Suns, possibly their most impressive win of the season. Boston’s offense has been bottom-10, but the defense has remained in the top-10. The somewhat good news is that the careless turnovers in transition is a fixable problem.
Jaylen Brown got roasted for pulling an Antoine Walker, the most shot attempts (36) without an assist since the legend Toine back in ‘98. But props to JB for putting that behind him and it should be noted there were a TON of missed open shots in the Clippers game.
Unsurprisingly, the Celtics are 24th in the NBA in three-point percentage at 33.2 percent.
Some interesting 5-man Celtics lineups stats:
Smart-Tatum-Horford-TimeLord-Schroder is -18.4 in 97 minutes.
Smart-Tatum-Horford-TimeLord-Brown is +20.6 in 87 minutes.
Smart-Tatum-Horford-Schroder-GrantWilliams is +17.7 in 87 minutes.
The Celtics get the next two at the TD Garden vs. the Magic and Spurs before two home-and-home series against the Knick and Pacers. That’s followed by a helluva Friday-Saturday back-to-back at Philly and home vs. the Bulls.
9. Atlanta Hawks (16-19) — prev. rank #4
The Hawks had flipped the script, winning 7 games in a row after losing 8 out of 9, but then they flipped it again, losing 9 out of 12 games before the New Year’s Eve win against the Cavs to help stop the bleeding.
The Hawks have been obliterated by the protocols:
Wes Iwundu started on NYE and played 43 minutes!
Lance Stephenson is back in the NBA!!
Other WHO HE!? replacement players include Cameron Oliver, Malcolm Hill, Cat Barber and Lakers’ legend Chaundee Brown Jr.
Trae Young is still holding it down, averaging 30.7 points over the last 15 games, up to 27.5 points per game for the season and 9.4 assists, top-5 in scoring and 3rd in assists. He’s quietly shooting the best 3-ball of his career, 37.1 percent on high-volume 7.3 attempts per game.
Atlanta has the 3rd offense and 26th ranked defense in the NBA, some serious Hornets vibes.
Four games remain on the Hawks’ current 6-game roadie: @Portland, @Sacramento, @Lakers and @Clippers before returning back to ATL for a home-and-home vs. the Heat.
10. Washington Wizards (18-18) — prev. rank #5
December was not magical for the Wizards, a 5-9 record with a stretch of losing 7 out of 8 games. The days of the Wiz having a top-10 defense are long gone, 26th in December and now bottom-10 for the season.
When Bradley Beal has a positive plus-minus, the Wizards are 11-1 (the one loss being to the Bulls on the New Year’s Day DeRozan buzzer-beater) and when Beal posts a negative plus-minus, the Wiz are 1-14.
A bright spot amongst the losing has been Corey Kispert, heating up from downtown with four 3s in two of the last five games. (Although in the other three games, he’s a combined 0-for-11, kinda streaky.)
You know you are having protocol problems when Brad Wanamaker plays his first game for you, is in the starting lineup and plays 27 minutes. Wanamaker was actually pretty good on Thursday night: 7 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals!
The Wizards did have a difficult December schedule with a lot of road games. January is an entirely different story with 11 games at home and just 3 on the road, including an insane 7-game two-week homestand from January 11th to January 25th.
11. Toronto Raptors (15-17) — prev. rank #12
The Raptors quietly went 6-4 in December (3 games were postponed), but we have to note that several of their wins came against undermanned opponents missing key players. Yet wins are wins and you can only play the competition in front of you.
Toronto’s defense has been struggling amidst their own protocol issues, 28th with an eye-popping rating of 125.2 over the last two weeks.
The good news is that OG Anunoby is back after missing 15 of 16 games, dealing with a hip injury before being out in the protocols. Anunoby automatically shores up Toronto’s D.
Fred VanVleet and Scottie Barnes have cleared the protocols as well. Barnes didn’t play on NYE (knee), but Anunoby and VanVleet combined for 57 in their return to action.
The Raptors play the Knicks this afternoon in a matinee at Scotiabank. Then it’s the Spurs, a quick trip to Milwaukee, and then back to The 6 for three Western Conference foes: Jazz, Pelicans and Suns.
12. New York Knicks (17-19) — prev. rank #11
Things were looking up for the Knicks, a 3-game winning streak that started on Christmas and winning of 5 of 7 games (against an easy schedule, yes, but Knicks fans would take it), and then the good vibes came crashing down, scoring a measly 80 points against the tanking Thunder.
From out of the rotation completely to Eastern Conference Player of the Week, we never understood why the previous Kemba situation had to be so ALL or nothing. But it’s great to have Kemba out there playing and smiling again.
It should be noted that neither Kemba (knee) or Julius Randle (protocols) played in the New Year’s Eve OKC embarrassment.
Quentin Grimes and Deuce McBride have been two rookie slivers of sunlight shining through the dark, ominous clouds of the beginning of the 2021-22 Knicks season.
The Knicks start 2022 with a heavy dose of the Eastern Conference, @Toronto, vs. the Pacers and Celtics at MSG, and then @Boston before a little Texas two-step at home vs. the Spurs and Mavs.
13. Indiana Pacers (14-22) — prev. rank #13
The Pacers had a nice little 3-game winning streak going for a sec, but they have since lost 6 out of the last 8 games, capped off by DeRozan’s dagger on New Year’s Eve. This team continues to look lost and uninterested in doing what it takes to win ball games.
Currently in 13th place in the Eastern Conference, ahead of only the Magic and Pistons, it is funny to see that the Pacers still have a positive point-differential at +0.4 which is actually 7th in the East.
LeVert has been scoring the rock, the Pacers high-man in 5 of the last 6 games. That should continue with Brogdon, Duarte and Lamb all out in the protocols. However, there are just too many plays where LeVert has tunnel vision, not looking to set his teammates up. He is averaging 4 assists per game, but it feels like 2.
There have not been any new TJ Warren updates for quite some time. It’s been a full calendar year now since his last game.
The Pacers begin 2022 on the road @Cleveland and @MSG, then it’s back home for the Nets and Jazz before a home-and-home vs. the Celtics, followed by the Suns. A brutal upcoming schedule, really.
14. Orlando Magic (7-29) — prev. rank #14
Where were you the night that B.J. Johnson and Admiral Schofield cooked Lance Stephenson’s Hawks?
Franz Wagner also dropped 25 points in ATL in that game on Festivus Eve. Franz has been consistently impressive, the pinnacle being his career-high 38 points he dropped on the Bucks last Tuesday night. (He’s currently atop NBA.com’s rookie ladder!)
In the starting lineup, Robin Lopez was showing off his hook shot and even had a 20-10 game. Alas, the protocols got another one.
Despite all of the losing, you can always count on this group to be hyped up for each other. Love to see that.
2022 begins away from the Sunshine State for the Magic, 6 out of the next 8 games on the road: @Boston, @Chicago, home for the Sixers, @Detroit, home for the Wiz, @Charlotte and @Dallas.
15. Detroit Pistons (6-28) — prev. rank #15
New year, new Pistons!? If anybody needed a win, it was Detroit. In the previous 19 games, the Pistons had won one game. Detroit’s offense has been dead last — and we are talking DEAD LAST — all season long. However, the defense is actually 12th over the last two weeks!
Saddiq Bey, the hero on Saturday night, is averaging a shade below 24 points per game over the last 8, finding his shooting touch that landed him on the 2020-21 All-Rookie first team.
Hami Diallo has also put in some high-scoring efforts as of late. With the Pistons protocol issues, somebody has to score, but Diallo has had some highly efficient games.
Jerami Grant had thumb surgery two weeks ago with a 6-week timetable for return. That hasn’t stopped him from being in the trade rumors. Wouldn’t blame the Pistons for trying to cash in or for Grant wanting to get to a contender.
The Pistons hit the road for a 3-game trip: @Milwaukee, @Charlotte and @Memphis. Then it’s back to Little Caesar’s for four: Magic, Jazz, Suns and Raptors.
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Western Conference Power Rankings coming soon.
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