Eastern Conference Power Rankings
Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2021 5:54 pm
1. Cleveland Cavaliers - I don't think anyone questions (except maybe the GM of the Nets) who will be at the top in the East. With Hakeem "The Dream" leading this team I think it is fair to say that they are going to be the best. They're defense is stifling and they're offense looks like it will be very good this season.
2. Miami Heat - The Heat did an extremely good job of building their team up during the off season. Adding reigning DPOTY Joe Barry Carroll, Larry "Legend" as well as picking up exciting rookie point guard Terry Porter, who showed off his passing ability well during the preseason, ranking third in assists per game. The Heat are going to be a hard team to beat.
3. New Jersey Nets - Resigning Vladimir Tkachenko for the insane contract that he asked for after being a top 5 player in the league last season opened up a lot of areas for the Nets. They're defense looks just as good as last year, and I'm sure they are looking to be a top seed in the East yet again.
4. Philadelphia 76ers - Let's be honest, any team with Moses Malone on their team is going to be a contender. Malone is coming off of his 5th amazing MVP seasons where he absolutely demolished teams with his scoring ability. Nobody in the league doubts his contributions to the 76ers organization. Having a player of that kind of caliber is a once in a lifetime opportunity for teams.
5. New York Knicks - The Knicks have a great core of young players led by second year Danny Young who is lights out from deep, shooting a scorching 52 percent from three in the preseason games. They also added a solid small forward in Larry Nance. The Knicks may surprise a few people this year.
6. Boston Celtics - The Celtics look like they are going to be building an outside centric team, something that will be new to the league. With the backcourt that Boston has now, it seems as if they will be attempting to rain long bombs.
7. Orlando Magic - With Mike Gminski leading the charge, the Magic hope to make it out of the first round of playoffs. They added small forward Kelly Tripucka, but unfortunately they weren't able to do much in the off season to make them a true contender.
8. Detroit Pistons - Magic Johnson has been at the top of the assist leaders for a couple of years now, and adding rookie Karl Malone should definitely help in the front court. Can Malone help Magic enough to get to a higher spot this season?
9. Charlotte Hornets - Having a power front court like Sikma and Greenwood put the Hornets at the number 4 spot, can they get back there this season without much of a back court?
10. Atlanta Hawks - With two young and hopeful centers in Bowie and Bol, the Hawks look like they will be playing some bully ball down in the paint. Not having any real direction at the one and two hinders them, but Bowie looks especially promising for this upcoming season.
11. Indiana Pacers - Adding Ricky Pierce made a huge difference in scoring after losing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to retirement. Ricky averaged almost 22 points a game during the preseason. Can Ricky will the team into the playoffs?
12. Chicago Bulls - Isiah Thomas and Greg Ballard are the ones leading this team to victory. Both averaging over 20 points a game in the preseason made the difference in a couple of the Bulls' wins. If they can get one or two more key pieces they could be a real contender.
13. Toronto Raptors - The Raptors don't have any major players, and it's unclear at this time what direction the Raptors plan on going. They are locked into quite a few long term contracts that could hurt them during the FA. We will see where they land at the end of this season for the upcoming draft.
14. Washington Bullets - The Bullets are in clear rebuild mode, they picked up exciting rookie point guard Spud Webb. Webb did not show the best outings during the preseason. What will the Bullets do, build around their young point guard or go a different direction and rebuild around a different piece?
15. Milwaukee Bucks - The Bucks have an interesting mixture of young players and veterans, however they are also in a clear rebuilding mode without a clear direction in which to head. Will they continue to train rookie point guard Sam Vincent or attempt to use some of their more mature players to build around?
2. Miami Heat - The Heat did an extremely good job of building their team up during the off season. Adding reigning DPOTY Joe Barry Carroll, Larry "Legend" as well as picking up exciting rookie point guard Terry Porter, who showed off his passing ability well during the preseason, ranking third in assists per game. The Heat are going to be a hard team to beat.
3. New Jersey Nets - Resigning Vladimir Tkachenko for the insane contract that he asked for after being a top 5 player in the league last season opened up a lot of areas for the Nets. They're defense looks just as good as last year, and I'm sure they are looking to be a top seed in the East yet again.
4. Philadelphia 76ers - Let's be honest, any team with Moses Malone on their team is going to be a contender. Malone is coming off of his 5th amazing MVP seasons where he absolutely demolished teams with his scoring ability. Nobody in the league doubts his contributions to the 76ers organization. Having a player of that kind of caliber is a once in a lifetime opportunity for teams.
5. New York Knicks - The Knicks have a great core of young players led by second year Danny Young who is lights out from deep, shooting a scorching 52 percent from three in the preseason games. They also added a solid small forward in Larry Nance. The Knicks may surprise a few people this year.
6. Boston Celtics - The Celtics look like they are going to be building an outside centric team, something that will be new to the league. With the backcourt that Boston has now, it seems as if they will be attempting to rain long bombs.
7. Orlando Magic - With Mike Gminski leading the charge, the Magic hope to make it out of the first round of playoffs. They added small forward Kelly Tripucka, but unfortunately they weren't able to do much in the off season to make them a true contender.
8. Detroit Pistons - Magic Johnson has been at the top of the assist leaders for a couple of years now, and adding rookie Karl Malone should definitely help in the front court. Can Malone help Magic enough to get to a higher spot this season?
9. Charlotte Hornets - Having a power front court like Sikma and Greenwood put the Hornets at the number 4 spot, can they get back there this season without much of a back court?
10. Atlanta Hawks - With two young and hopeful centers in Bowie and Bol, the Hawks look like they will be playing some bully ball down in the paint. Not having any real direction at the one and two hinders them, but Bowie looks especially promising for this upcoming season.
11. Indiana Pacers - Adding Ricky Pierce made a huge difference in scoring after losing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to retirement. Ricky averaged almost 22 points a game during the preseason. Can Ricky will the team into the playoffs?
12. Chicago Bulls - Isiah Thomas and Greg Ballard are the ones leading this team to victory. Both averaging over 20 points a game in the preseason made the difference in a couple of the Bulls' wins. If they can get one or two more key pieces they could be a real contender.
13. Toronto Raptors - The Raptors don't have any major players, and it's unclear at this time what direction the Raptors plan on going. They are locked into quite a few long term contracts that could hurt them during the FA. We will see where they land at the end of this season for the upcoming draft.
14. Washington Bullets - The Bullets are in clear rebuild mode, they picked up exciting rookie point guard Spud Webb. Webb did not show the best outings during the preseason. What will the Bullets do, build around their young point guard or go a different direction and rebuild around a different piece?
15. Milwaukee Bucks - The Bucks have an interesting mixture of young players and veterans, however they are also in a clear rebuilding mode without a clear direction in which to head. Will they continue to train rookie point guard Sam Vincent or attempt to use some of their more mature players to build around?
