Cleveland Cavaliers: Updating the Eastern Conference power rankings

Cleveland Cavaliers big Kevin Love (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)
Cleveland Cavaliers big Kevin Love (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland handles the ball. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Through 15 games the Cleveland Cavaliers are well on their way to competing for the top pick in the 2020 NBA Draft with a 4-11 record. Where do they stack up against the rest of the Eastern Conference through November 23rd?

The Cleveland Cavaliers are trending painfully in the wrong direction. They started the season off pretty solidly and were even as high as seventh in the Eastern Conference standings. The last two weeks have dealt the Cavaliers a dose of reality as they have lost six consecutive games.

In the preseason Eastern Conference power rankings, the Cavaliers sat in the 13th spot in the conference. After a pretty solid sample size of 15 games, where do they stand as of now?

#15 – Atlanta Hawks

Record – 4-12

Current streak – lost 6

The Atlanta Hawks are perhaps the most disappointing team in the Eastern Conference. They have, however, had a bit of bad luck as Trae Young missed a few games early in the season with an ankle injury, John Collins is currently in the midst of serving a 25 game suspension for PED use, and Kevin Huerter is recovering from a shoulder injury he suffered in Denver.

The Hawks currently hold the worst +/- differential in the Eastern Conference at -9.9 points-per-game according to ESPN and are 1-9 over their previous 10 games.

Expect the Hawks to shoot back up the conference power rankings as Young continues his stellar play, and Huerter and Collins return from their absences.

#14 – New York Knicks

Record – 4-12

Current streak – lost 2

The New York Knicks had higher hopes, coming into the season than what they are showing thus far. There has been drama and turmoil in New York over the current status of Knicks’ head coach David Fizdale.

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It’s hard to blame Fizdale entirely for the current Knicks record as the team that is constructed seems to be a bunch of point guards and power forwards with little depth at the other spots.

Julius Randle and, at times, R.J. Barrett have been bright spots for the Knicks but they haven’t gotten the production that they had expected from other guys, coming into the season. They currently have a -6.9 points-per-game scoring differential per ESPN and are just 3-7 over their previous 10 games.

#13 – Cleveland Cavaliers

Record – 5-11

Current streak – won 1

What a brutal stretch the Cleveland Cavaliers are currently on. Tristan Thompson has started to come back down to Earth after his unbelievable start, Kevin Love is battling an achy lower back, which has happened a few times in the past, and Collin Sexton has struggled with ball distribution.

The Cavs, at one point, were playing excellent defense. That isn’t the case any longer as they have been getting shredded on the defensive end. They sport a next to last +/- point differential of -7.3 points-per-game according to ESPN and are just 3-7 over their previous 10 games.