Eastern Conference Power Rankings: Early May Edition

1. Sixers (44-21) — prev. rank #2

Philly reclaims our top spot in the East, because the Sixers currently have their health while the Nets do not. The Sixers actually had a recent four-game slide, but all of those games were without Ben Simmons and the opponents were pretty good: Warriors, Suns and Bucks twice. Simmons returned to the lineup and Philly has promptly won five in a row. The Sixers finished the month of April with the #1 defense in the league and are just a shade behind the Lakers for the top D on the season. The offense has been middle of the pack pretty much all year, but you must remember that when your defense is that good, a pretty good to average offense is going to get the job done. We have said it before and we’ll say it again: Defense is what translates most to the postseason. Home court advantage is imperative for Philly and they get to chase holding on to the #1 seed with the league’s easiest remaining schedule, including the Rockets, Pistons and Magic twice.

2. Nets (43-22) — prev. rank #1

Harden used to be the reliable one. Now it’s Kyrie who has played the most games of the Nets Big 3. Kyrie has played 47 games to Harden’s 34 and KD’s 27. Big shoutout to Joe Harris who hasn’t missed a game all season! Shooting 48.3% from three on 6.5 attempts per game, Joseph H. Buckets has been worth every penny. The Nets Big 3 has played seven games together and a total of 186 minutes. Harden’s hammy is the biggest variable of the East playoff picture. Either way, we know the Nets offensive firepower is going to be there, but the playoffs are just a different animal. The game slows down. Each possession is magnified. You are less likely to just fire away without knowing the exact multitude of the lasting repercussions. The Nets defense is trending in the right direction, a 115.1 rating from January through February and a 112.6 rating from March through April. The thought of them stopping Giannis and Embiid… color us still skeptical.

3. Bucks (40-24) — prev. rank #3

It sure seems like everybody is talking about how nobody is talking about the Bucks. That’s what happens when you don’t steamroll the regular season to smithereens, and you keep the long game in mind, cause you’ve been there, and you know exactly what it’s all about and what truly lies ahead. This team still feels much more suited for the playoffs than the last two years when they were the #1 seed and East favorites. Milwaukee has had to play a lot more close games, and they say you learn more from your losses. The comeback win against the Nets in the Sunday matinee with a 49-point explosion from Giannis, going toe-to-toe with KD, was exactly the type of win this team needs. It will be very intriguing to see the crunch-time playoff lineups that Coach Bud rolls out. We are most looking forward to Giannis at the 5 and P.J. Tucker at the 4. Tucker brings a formidable veteran defensive presence to the table and allows Giannis the kick-out corner pocket 3. Bobby Portis is quietly having an excellent season off the bench, shooting career-best numbers and offering a no-fear mentality that the postseason requires.

4. Knicks (37-28) — prev. rank #8

The team with the highest Net Rating in the NBA in the month of April was… the New York Knicks! The Knicks rattled off 9 straight wins and turned the offense all the way up, 3rd in the league in April with an offensive rating of 116.8 after having an offensive rating of 108.4 over the first three months of the season. The Knicks are the hottest team in the NBA, 12-1 over the last 13 games. Over the last two weeks, Julius Randle has somehow been even more phenomenal than he already was, averaging 28 points per game, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and shooting 55% from three on 7.3 attempts per game. We mentioned last month in this space that R.J. Barrett seemed to be making more and more timely buckets and boy does that ever continue to be the case. And you know somebody who has been fantastic in contributing to the team’s success while not putting up big individual numbers? Taj Gibson! Gibson has an offensive rating of 136 and defensive rating of 106! Nerlens Noel isn’t far behind at 120 and 101. Those are bananas advanced numbers. And D-Rose has been a savvy catalyst for the Knicks off the bench, that trade was an immaculate success. Hats off to Leon Rose and to Thibs who has already wrapped up Coach of the Year in our book.

5. Heat (35-30) — prev. rank #4

The Heat’s offense has yet to really find its way this season, but this team is looking better as of late. Jimmy Butler says get him to the playoffs, and he will take care of the rest. It’s hard not to believe him after his legendary Finals performance in the bubble, yet it feels harder and harder to see this team leveling up again in such a substantial way. We’ll see how they look when Oladipo returns from this knee injury. Whenever that is… Right now Heat games feature a lot more Trevor Ariza than you would think. Ariza and Iguodala are combining for 7.7 three-point attempts per game on 34% shooting — opponents will live with that. Aside from no Jae Crowder, Dragic’s level of play is probably the biggest difference from the bubble, but he didn’t really shift gears until the playoffs commenced, and he appears to be trending upward. It feels like the keys to the Heat offense reaching its full potential lie in the hands of Dragic and Kendrick Nunn. Jimmy and Bam can only do so much, and they’ve been doing a lot.

6. Celtics (34-31) — prev. rank #6

Tatum’s 60 points was the deserved talk of the town in the C’s 32-point comeback win on against the Spurs on Friday night. It’s a good thing, too, because the Celtics were down 32 points to the Spurs and had recently lost to the Bulls and Thunder. But the worst possible sight as a Celtics fan was the Sunday night collision between Tatum and Brown. The Celtics defense has regained its footing after a slippery stretch. Marcus Smart has played a lot better. Here’s an eye-opening Marcus Smart stat for you: In games that Smart has 8 or more assists, the Celtics are 9-1. Kemba’s health persists to be a permanent question mark. For what it’s worth, the Celtics record this season is almost the same with him as it is without him, but there is no question that they will need him in the playoffs. It’s a breath of fresh air to see the rookie Aaron Nesmith getting some more minutes lately and playing well with them, he’s turned a serious corner. Fournier is still trying to find his Boston way, perhaps his 21-point, 5-of-7 from three game on Sunday night will get him going.

7. Hawks (36-30) — prev. rank #5

Ice Trae returned to the lineup with back-to-back 30+ point outings after missing four games with his ankle injury that thankfully wasn’t as serious as it originally looked. Bogdanovic missed a couple of games as well, leaving the Hawks very thin. De’Andre Hunter hasn’t played since March 24th and Cam Reddish hasn’t played since February 21st. Clint Capela has been the Hawks rock all season long, a double-double machine and the league leader in rebounds. The Red Velvet also deserves a shoutout for being dependable, Kevin Huerter has played 64 out of 66 games this season. And shoutout to Solomon Hill who has played in 65! The Hawks are 21-9 under Nate McMillan and have secured a spot at least in the East play-in. Bogey and Gallo are again getting hot at the right time, capable of lighting up seven 3’s in a half as they both did on Monday night.

8. Hornets (31-33) — prev. rank #7

LaMelo’s grand return has brought us pristine full-court passes and an uptempo-ness to the Hornets offense that was noticeably missing without him. The Hornets still lead the NBA in assist percentage, forever playing sound team ball. Miles Bridges should be mentioned in every Most Improved Player conversation. Bridges is so much more than the best power dunker in the league, nearly a 40-50-90 guy with splits of 40% from 3, 60% from the field (!!) and 86% on free throws. Not to mention he is Charlotte’s resident Iron Man, suiting up in every game this season. WELP, that is until now with today’s announcement that Bridges has entered the protocols and is expected to miss the next 10-14 days. Ugh. We are sure going to miss seeing him in person on Sunday night in Charlotte against the Pellies! The latest on Gordon Hayward is that he’s out of his walking boot, but he might not make it back to the court in the regular season.. so hopefully he can make it back in time for the play-in! P.J. Washington has been picking up some slack with some stellar ball of late, averaging 21 points over the last 8 games that he played real minutes.

9. Wizards (30-35) — prev. rank #13

The Wiz have gotten hot at just the right time and are all the way back in the East play-in. An eight game winning streak in April and W’s in 11 of the last 13 games have the Wizards currently in 10th in the East with a 2.5-game cushion on the Raptors and only a half game back of the Pacers who they just hung 154 points on. It’s surprisingly been the Wizards defense that has improved drastically, all the way up to 3rd in the NBA in the month of April. Westbrook’s line for the season is now up to an absurd 22/11/11, and he’s going to lead the league in assists. (Westbrook is the McDonald’s of NBA stars which will be a blog post for another day.) His new pal in the pick-and-roll is Daniel Gafford who has been stupendous since arriving to D.C. The Wizards are 13-3 when Gafford plays. Hachimura is another one looking snazzier than ever. Oh, and Brad Beal is still averaging 30+ points. Out of the teams in the East play-in right now, the Wizards are the scariest.

10. Pacers (30-34) — prev. rank #9

Injuries have riddled the Pacers at a certifiably vexing point in the season. Without Myles Turner, Pacer games have turned into track meets of the highest scoring variety. One night they are putting up 152 points on OKC and then the next, the Wizards are hanging 154 on them. Oshae Brissett has graduated from a WHO HE!? averaging 7 minutes per game last year for the Raptors to a starter for the Pacers down the stretch. Brissett has actually been pretty good! You’ll take 50% from the field and 45% on threes from a guy scooped up off waivers. This season was always going to be mired without T.J. Warren, but T.J. McConnell’s extra peskiness and league leading steals has been a delight.

11. Raptors (27-38) — prev. rank #10

What a long strange trip this season has been for the Raptors. After winning just one game in March (that’s a true stat), the Raptors pulled out eight wins in April and stunned the Lakers in Staples Center on Sunday night without FVV, Anunoby and Chris Boucher. Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam lit it up and it’s a reminder that the Raptors are still very capable of pulling these types of games out despite being left for dead in Tampa and dealing with a plethora of late-season injuries. Three games out of the 10-seed with just seven games remaining, it’s most likely not going to happen with several Western Conference opponents left on the schedule (Clippers twice, Grizzlies and Mavs), but there are pieces here to move forward with. Malachi Flynn has been a pleasant treat and hopefully Raptors fans have enjoyed getting to yell, “KHEM BIRCH!!!”

12. Bulls (26-39) — prev. rank #11

The Bulls are another team that has been hit with misfortune at a most inopportune time, losing their best player for a crucial stretch of two weeks due to the protocols. LaVine has just been cleared to return, but it’s too late. A current 4-game losing streak has the Bulls four games back. It’s hard to really evaluate them since Vooch’s arrival seeing as he’s only played 11 games total with LaVine. So the push for the play-in this season didn’t work out. Pat Williams is a bonafide keeper, though! And maybe Chicago will get to draft in the top-4 again. (If not, that pick is headed down to Orlando.)

13. Cavs (21-43) — prev. rank #12

The Cavs are in the midst of a six-game losing streak and have lost 11 out of the last 13 games. Bright spots on the season include Darius Garland’s vast improvement and acquiring Jarrett Allen. Collin Sexton’s scoring has increased each season thus far, and his assist rate is up a smidge this season as well, but you still need more passing from your lead point guard. Isaac Okoro leads all rookies in minutes. His defense is superb, yet his three-point shot needs some work (29%). It looks like the Cleveland defense — thanks in large part to the beginning of the season — will not finish dead last in efficiency (currently 21st) for the first time in three years. That’s progress!

14. Magic (21-44) — prev. rank #14

Not sure that we have ever seen a new group of young lottery-bound bros that loves each other so much. That’s what happens when you win 3 out of 4 games. Do you think it is safe to say that after two game-winners as a rookie that Cole Anthony has the clutch gene? “Yeah. Yeah!! YEAH!!!” Mo Bamba is fresh off a 25-point and 15-rebound game against the Pistons on Monday night, both career-high marks. Between their own pick and the likelihood of the Bulls first round pick (top-4 protected as mentioned above), the Magic should be sitting pretty on lottery night with a prized draft ahead.

15. Pistons (19-46) — prev. rank #15

The Pistons have managed to be dead last in each and every one of the editions of these Eastern Conference Power Rankings this season. That’s honestly pretty impressive. Also impressive lately is Isaiah Stewart a.k.a. Beef Stew who has quite the motor for a big man. He fouls a lot, but he rebounds like crazy. Out of the Pistons four main rookies (apologies to Deividas Sirvydis), it’s Killian Hayes who ranks last in PER by a country mile at a lowly 5.0. We’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, but let’s just say the Pistons should not be afraid to draft Cade Cunningham if given the opportunity.

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Our last power ranks of the season. Only 2 weeks left!

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