Eastern Conference Power Rankings: Early November Edition
1. Miami Heat (6-1) — prev. rank #4
The Heat defense has been as ferocious as advertised. Miami has the #1 defensive rating in the NBA (and the #4 offense!) and also leads in point-differential by a country-mile with a staggering +16.7.
Three players are currently averaging 20+ points for the Heat: Jimmy Butler at 25.0, Tyler Herro at 22.4 and Bam Adebayo at 20.8.
Jimmy Beans is in all of the passing lanes, currently averaging 2.9 steals per game which would be the highest mark of his career.
Herro has been sensational off the bench, scoring the most points as a reserve through the first seven games of a season in NBA history.
Bam’s free throw attempts have increased to 6.8 per game, and he’s shooting the best he ever has from the line at 85 percent.
Kyle Lowry’s scoring numbers are down pretty significantly, but the pace and tenacity that he brings every night is unquantifiable. And he can still fill it up like he did last night in Dallas.
The Heat play the reeling Celtics on Thursday night at home, followed by the Jazz on Saturday before embarking on a five-game West road trip that includes the Nuggets, Lakers, Clippers and Jazz again.
2. Milwaukee Bucks (4-4) — prev. rank #2
We are giving the Champs the benefit of the doubt since the Bucks have been missing some important pieces: Jrue Holiday sprained his ankle in the second game and hasn’t played since, Khris Middleton is now out with Covid, and Brook Lopez (back) has only played one game. Oh, and Donte DiVincenzo is still without a timetable for return.
Milwaukee has been without its entire starting lineup save for Giannis.
Even so, Giannis has continued to Giannis: 27.4 points per game, 10.8 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 2.0 blocks and 0.9 steals is absurd as always with the Greek Freak.
Add Bobby Portis to the list of Bucks who have missed time, but he’s back now and his energy and aggression is welcomed with open arms.
Due to all of the injuries, tune into Bucks games and you’ll see quite a bit of previous WHO HE?! characters: Justin Robinson and Sandro Mamukelashvili (Mamu!) — even some Georgios Kalaitzakis in garbage-time. Not to mention that Thanasis is averaging nearly 20 minutes and has started four games.
The Bucks will undoubtedly look a lot different when they get all of their guys back. And weathering this storm should only make them stronger.
3. New York Knicks (5-2) — prev. rank #8
Some people think that BING BONG is getting played out and don’t truly believe in these Knicks. We are not those people.
The Knicks have the #2 offense in the NBA while the defense is a very surprising 20th. When the defense starts catching up (and it will), the Knicks will only improve.
R.J. Barrett continues to blossom into the quintessential 3-and-D star on the wing. Barrett’s up to 42.9 percent from 3 on 6.0 attempts per game, proving that his 40 percent from 3 last season might just be who he is at this point.
Julius Randle’s scoring numbers are down, but that’s actually what the Knicks want. Bringing in Kemba and Fournier was to ease Randle’s offensive burden. Thus far, mission accomplished.
Nerlens Noel has yet to play (knee), but Mitchell Robinson has jumped right back into his starting role without missing a beat. Immanuel Quickley has struggled so far, but Obi Toppin has looked quite good.
The Knicks two losses to the Magic and Raptors are two games they should have won, blowing double-digit leads in both. For New York City’s sake, it’s probably a good thing the Knicks aren’t 7-0.
4. Chicago Bulls (6-1) — prev. rank #7
Speaking of 7-0, the Bulls are a DeRozan jumper away from being undefeated themselves.
The Patrick Williams out for 4-6 months news was a massive bummer, but the Bulls have kept on charging in a monumental way, handing the Jazz their only loss of the season and pulling off a huge comeback win in Boston that left the Celtics in shambles.
The DeRozan-LaVine fit has been seamless. If anything, it’s helped maximize their offensive talents. Both are averaging an identical 25.6 points per game.
Every team could use a Lonzo or a Caruso, the do-a-little-bit-of-everything with stellar defense types that fit with any and all lineups. The Bulls have both.
Pat Willy’s injury opens the door for Derrick Jones Jr. and Tony Bradley, both serviceable bench players in our book. And more people will know our boy Ayo Dosunmu soon enough!
The Bulls offense is in the top-10 (7th) as expected, but the defense also in the top-10 at 6th has been quite the revelation. It seems farfetched to think that would be sustainable, especially given their easy first four games, but they’ve definitely been active with intensity on that end — and holding the Jazz under 100 points raises some eyebrows.
5. Brooklyn Nets (4-3) — prev. rank #1
An ominous start to the season for the Nets has since subsided slightly thanks to wins against the Pacers and Pistons, avoiding the Defcon 1 alarm that might have broken NBATwitter.
Everybody is wondering what’s up with KD after he threw that ball into the stands and got ejected for shoving Kelly Olynyk. Our counter would be: Let Angry KD be. Let the Slim Reaper loose!
People were sure also freaking out about Harden’s slow start and the new free throw rule affecting him. But 19 free throws against the Pacers later… This is Kevin Durant and James Harden we’re talking about here. Two absolute all-timers that don’t need all that October fuel on the fire. Poke the bear if you want, but don’t say we didn’t warn you. (As we proceed to rank them 5th.)
But overall, the Nets, and in particular the depth that we once lauded about, has not appeared how we thought it would. Blake Griffin’s Brooklyn honeymoon phase has ended, he’s looked creaky. Aldridge and Millsap are old, slow and can’t space the floor. But credit to Aldridge for still holding it down in the mid-range.
The Nets rim protection hasn’t been good. No surprise there, but the Nets rocking the 10th ranked defense and 17th offense sure is. It’s like their one of the best offenses of all-time from last year is missing somebody…
6. Philadelphia 76ers (5-2) — prev. rank #5
The #1 most efficient offense in the NBA is… the Sixers!? It’s true! Philly also leads in effective field goal percentage and true shooting percentage. It’s almost like they are emphasizing Morey-ball. (Which is exactly what they are doing.)
Philly has the #1 offense and Embiid hasn’t even been playing that well (for his standards). All of his offensive numbers are down, except for assists which are up slightly.
Tobias Harris is only shooting 32% from 3 but he’s making up for it by shooting 62% on 2s.
You wouldn’t think that Seth Curry could get any better at shooting the basketball, but here we are. Curry is flame-throwing an insane 54% from 3 and has the highest eFG% in the league at an astounding 74.6 percent.
After two very nice wins against the Hawks and Blazers, the Sixers will be tested in the coming week against the Bulls twice and Knicks who already beat them. Tobias has also just tested positive for Covid.
7. Atlanta Hawks (4-3) — prev. rank #3
Atlanta has had an up-and-down start to the season, but the losses to the Cavs and Wiz don’t look as bad knowing what we know now. And Philly definitely owed them one.
It is kinda funny that Trae Young hasn’t been talked about as much in the slumping shooting group, but he’s currently at 27 percent from 3. It’s probably because he’s still averaging 23 points per game and 9.4 assists.
The Hawks second-leading scorer? Cam Reddish! Reddish is shooting a startling 44.4 percent from 3 on 5.1 attempts per game.
The current offensive ratings for De’Andre Hunter (89) and Kevin Huerter (81) certainly jump off the page. Nowhere to go but up!
Shit is about to get really real for the Hawks: @Brooklyn tonight, followed by a home game against the Jazz before a four-game West roadie: @Phoenix, @Golden State, @Utah and @Denver.
8. Charlotte Hornets (5-3) — prev. rank #9
The Hornets offense has been one of the best in the biz, currently 3rd, and it’s so good on a nightly basis because of the pristine ball-movement. It starts with LaMelo and continues with everybody’s unselfishness and willingness to set up other’s success.
Friend of the Blog Miles Bridges has been the Hornets #1 stud! A piping-hot start to the season saw Bridges earn Eastern Conference Player of the Week, and he’s still averaging 23 points per game, 10 points higher than his previous best.
Rozier has missed 5 games and the Hornets did really well to fill that void. Ish Smith is a rock-solid backup point, and Kelly Oubre has looked like a completely different player from his Warriors’ stint.
The rookies, James Bouknight and Kai Jones, have yet to clock in for anything besides minimal garbage-time mop-up duty.
The Hornets begin a five-game Western Conference road trip tonight: @Golden State, @Sacramento, @Clippers, @Lakers and @Memphis. The next Hornets home game isn’t until November 12th.
9. Washington Wizards (5-2) — prev. rank #12
We were admittedly far too low on the fighting Wiz before, and it still feels like we are far too low on them now. The East is stacked? The East is stacked!
The Wizards have been this good with Bradley Beal shooting 22.9 percent from 3 on 8.0 attempts per game. However, Blue Panda is still averaging 24.3 points, and he’s yet to miss a free throw this season, a perfect 25-of-25. (That means he’s missing one tonight.)
Montrezl Harrell has been a godsend in D.C., holding down the center position with Thomas Bryant still out until likely Christmas and Daniel Gafford missing a couple of games. Take a look at the numbers and Trez is pretty much doing what he did two years ago for the Clippers when he won 6th Man of the Year.
Not afraid of the dirty work, Kyle Kuzma has turned into a board man! Averaging 11 rebounds per game, Kuz is in the top-10 in rebounds in the entire league. (It seems forgotten that he is 6-10 after all.)
The Wizards have a top-10 defense so far thanks in large part to giving up the fewest frequency of three-pointers in the league. It’s almost like having good perimeter defenders has helped or something.
10. Toronto Raptors (5-3) — prev. rank #11
Toronto is currently on a four-game winning streak, most recently with a fantastic comeback win (without Barnes) in MSG vs. a really good Knicks team. Don’t take the Raptors lightly!
It took him a few games to get going, but OG Anunoby is stepping up as the Raptors #1 guy on offense with Siakam still out. Through 8 games, Anunoby has four games with 20+ points. Last season, he had 13 total.
Scottie Barnes has played tremendous ball and if you didn’t know, you wouldn’t think he was a rookie. Somehow, he oftentimes looks even bigger than his 6-9, 227-lb frame.
Just like we knew he would, Fred VanVleet is handling the Lowry role just fine, averaging the most assists per game of his career so far at 7.4. Meanwhile, Dragic has received four straight DNP-CD’s. (Masai should go ahead and send him to Dallas.)
The Raptors look their best in transition, 4th in the NBA in fast break points, and that’s magnified when Precious Achiuwa grabs a board and just takes off. His handles are that good.
11. Boston Celtics (2-5) — prev. rank #6
Trouble is a brewing in Beantown, the land of high expectations and Marcus Smart-induced drama not even ten games into the season.
Tatum and Brown have been scoring a lot, but Smart is right about their lack of passing the ball and setting others up. That’s always been the rub with those two. But even worse, their once stout defense (and Smart is guilty as well) has slipped which is actually an even bigger issue.
Something we did not anticipate: Boston’s third-leading scorer behind Tatum and Brown is… Al Horford. Something’s gotta give.
After looking like he finally turned a corner at the end of last season, Aaron Nesmith, the #14 overall pick in the 2020 draft, has played a total of 28 minutes and has yet to score a single point.
The Celtics were supposed to have depth this season, but their bench has the second-worst net rating in the NBA behind only the Magic.
12. Cleveland Cavaliers (4-4) — prev. rank #13
Watch a Cavs game, and it’s impossible not to have a good time. The starting lineup with three 7-footers and the Sexland backcourt is always entertaining. (Although Markkanen is now in the protocols with Kevin Love.)
It’s not too late to jump on board the Evan Mobley hype train! We encourage you to grab a seat next to us, because it’s probably going to be a long ride, folks.
While Sexton’s assist numbers have dropped from 4.4 to 1.9, Garland has upped his to 7.5 per game. It also helps to have Rubio’s 6.8 per game added to the mix. It moves Sexton more off-ball, and the Cavs have gotten off to this nice start despite Sexton shooting quite poorly.
After last season’s terrible career-worst shooting season, Cedi Osman has turned things all the way around, shooting 48.4 percent on 4.4 attempts per game.
The Cavs spread the love around — six players are averaging over 12 points: Sexton, Garland, Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Markkanen and Rubio.
13. Indiana Pacers (2-6) — prev. rank #10
It’s been a rocky start to the season for the Pacers who opened with not one but two one-point losses, then Indiana beat Miami (the Heat’s only loss of the season) before losing four straight games. But most recently, the Pacers did hang 131 points on the Spurs in a 13-point win.
Brogdon and Sabonis are the one-two inside-outside punch leading the way for the Pacers, both over 20 points per game and averaging 11.4 assists between them. Neither has found their outside shot yet, shooting an identical 28.6 percent from 3.
13th overall pick Chris Duarte, on the other hand, has been shooting the ball really well to start his career, 42 percent on 6.5 attempts per game.
Caris LeVert back in the lineup after his preseason back injury is a welcomed sight for an offense that has been hit or miss so far.
The Pacers play the Knicks at home tonight and then head out West for a four-game jaunt: @Portland, @Sacramento, @Denver and @Utah.
14. Orlando Magic (2-6) — prev. rank #15
Even though they lost to the Pistons, we have Orlando over Detroit because the Magic have two very solid come-from-behind victories over the Knicks at MSG and over the T-Wolves in Minneapolis.
Cole Anthony is the scoring point guard leading the Magic with 19.4 points per game. He’s been seriously sniping from 3, shooting 44.6 percent on 7.0 attempts per game.
Who else has been sniping? Franz Wagner and Mo Bamba! Wagner put himself on the map with that late-game power dunk on the Wolves, but he’s also playing really well-rounded ball. Wagner is hitting 46.3 percent of his 3s at 5.1 attempts per game, and Bamba is right at 40 percent on 4 attempts. We honestly wouldn’t mind seeing Bamba shoot a few more.
The other Magic rook, Jalen Suggs, hasn’t gotten off to the start he hoped he would shooting the ball, but you can always count on him to bring high-energy and hustle. The same always goes for R.J. Hampton.
The Magic have the worst defensive rating in the NBA right now, but we know that will improve when Jonathan Issac returns. Still no timetable for Isaac or Fultz yet, though.
15. Detroit Pistons (1-6) — prev. rank #14
Shady Cade finally made his debut on Halloween Eve. It was a forgettable stat-line, but the Pistons did get their first win of the season against the Magic. Cade played in his second game last night vs. Milwaukee, and while the shots didn’t fall again, the Pistons offense did at least have a better flow to it.
Jerami Grant’s scoring is down from 22.3 points per game to 16.8, so more Cade should help things open up for an offense that has consistently looked stuck in the thickest mud.
Saddiq Bey started out with some really nice games, but he’s had some really tough nights shooting since then, going 4-of-17 and 2-of-13 from the field.
We’ve noticed that Killian Hayes is one of those players where when he does have a good play, he looks incredible. But they are just so few and far between.
The Pistons finally made it out of the bottom cellar of these power rankings in the preseason for the first time in over a year, but here they are again.
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