Last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers made a huge leap forward. One year after winning just 22 games they doubled their win total to 44, finishing with the eighth-best record in the Eastern Conference and the sixth-best point differential.
Yet sudden surges are often followed by a settling period, rather than evidence of a second surge to come. A Cavs team simply “running it back” could be expected to do well, but it was no guarantee they would continue to move up the standings.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are making a surge up the Eastern Conference Power Rankings. Where do the Cavs and the rest of the East end up?
That what if is now a moot point, however, as the Cavs didn’t stand pat. They made a colossal swing, trading for All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell and announcing to the rest of the East that they are here to play ball with the big kids. The Cavs now have three 2022 All-Stars, something only the Golden State Warriors can claim.
Where exactly does that leave the Cavs for this season? Long-term the Cavs are set up as well as any team in the conference, with potential as big as Lake Erie, but they are also a relatively young team whose incumbent stars have never played a playoff minute. Let’s take the opportunity, after a summer of trades and non-trades and signings, to rank every team in the East.
Who are the favorites? Where do the Cavs land? And which teams that expect to make the playoffs will be left out in the cold?
Eastern Conference Power Rankings: The Favorites
1. Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks went into last season’s playoffs as the slight favorites to win the Eastern Conference, and took the Boston Celtics to seven games despite missing All-Star Khris Middleton for that entire series. Their core returns intact and Giannis Antetokounmpo is the best player in the world, putting them atop the conference heading into the season.
2. Boston Celtics
The defending Eastern Conference champions looked amazing across the second half of the season last year and pushed the Golden State Warriors hard in the Finals. Jayson Tatum is coming into his own as a superstar Top-10 player, and there is plenty of depth around him. The Celtics took last year’s rotation and merely added Malcolm Brogdon on top of it, putting them in a great place to run it back.
Eastern Conference Power Rankings: The Playoff Teams
3. Philadelphia 76ers
Joel Embiid finished as the MVP runner-up for the second consecutive season, and when healthy in the postseason has been dominant. The problem has always been the supporting cast, and this year that group looks the best it ever has. James Harden appears healthy, Tyrese Maxey is a developing force, Tobias Harris is an excellent fourth option and they have real role players in PJ Tucker, Danuel House and D’Anthony Melton surrounding them. Harden has to prove it first, but right now this team looks to be in great shape to push for an Eastern Conference Finals berth.
4. Miami Heat
The Miami Heat had the best record in the East last season and were a shot away from the NBA Finals. They also played a bit above their heads and lost Tucker to the 76ers this offseason without any other noticeable improvement. If Victor Oladipo can take on a larger role this year they could maintain last season’s success, but more likely they fall back into the pack a bit and aren’t at the top of the conference this time around.
5. Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers are brimming with talent, and Donovan Mitchell can step in immediately as a proven top-tier playoff scoring threat. Yet there is a general lack of playoff experience from the other three stars that can’t be offset by Kevin Love and Mitchell alone, so it will take time for this group to grow together. Solving the hole at small forward will be a top priority in moving up this list.
6. Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets might end up anywhere from first to 10th on this list, and no one can truly predict where they will ultimately land. On paper, the Nets appear to be a title contender, with shooting around three stars who all complement each other. In reality this team is a dysfunctional mess with a combination of injury-prone veterans and irrational decision makers. Right now they can’t be trusted to come together for a postseason run.
Eastern Conference Power Rankings: Play-in Favorites
7. Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are going to be good this season, as they have a deep and versatile group of players who will almost certainly be healthier this time around. They also didn’t improve much this offseason, adding the injury-prone Otto Porter Jr. and a rookie project center. The internal growth of Scottie Barnes may be enough to propel them up this list, but all of the rumored “big splashes” this team looked into fell short.
8. Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks and their fans have to be disappointed with this placement, but looking around the Eastern Conference this is realistically as high as they can go. They traded for an All-Star in Dejounte Murray, just as the Cavs did, but Murray is not considered a top-24 player in the league and his fit with Trae Young is questionable. If Young buys into off-ball movement and De’Andre Hunter takes a leap this team suddenly gets interesting, but we’ll need to see it to believe it.
Eastern Conference Power Rankings: Fighting for Scraps
9. Chicago Bulls
Last season the Chicago Bulls were in first place in the Eastern Conference for much of the season, before an injury-prompted last-season slump saw them fall to sixth. Yet even with their winning record they had a negative point differential, buoyed by DeMar DeRozan’s late-game heroics. If they play more to their point differential they’ll fall down the standings, and with Lonzo Ball out to start the season still recovering from a knee injury, the bottom could fall out on the Bulls very quickly.
10. Washington Wizards
Bradley Beal is entering the season healthy, and he’ll get to play alongside Kristaps Porzingis now. With a revamped backcourt around Beal, the Wizards will at least bring something new to the table this season. If they can get a step forward from one of their young guys, perhaps Deni Avdija after a strong showing in EuroBasket, they could make a push for a spot in the final 8.
11. New York Knicks
The New York Knicks finished 11th last season and then added Jalen Brunson in free agency. How are they not further up this list? Simply put, the only team above them that got worse was Charlotte, and the Wizards made enough addition to leap over them. This is a tight tier of team that could finish in any order, but with a lot of young players blocked by a head coach who prefers veterans this team could get pulled in a lot of different directions this year.
12. Charlotte Hornets
Last season the Charlotte Hornets finished 10th to sneak once again into the play-in, but their only offseason additions were a couple of rookie draft picks. Add in the loss of Miles Bridges, who is both still a free agent and unlikely to play this season, and the Hornets have a lot of ground to make up just to maintain a spot in the play-in tournament. LaMelo Ball making another leap could help with that, but on its own it’s probably not enough.
Eastern Conference Power Rankings: Rebuilding Squads
13. Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers finally decided not to settle for mediocre, flipping veterans for draft picks and a young stud in Tyrese Haliburton. The problem is that Haliburton is too good already for the Pacers to be truly abysmal, as the best path to the bottom of the standings is terrible point guard play. Myles Turner and Buddy Hield will help prop up their record; if one or both of them are moved Indiana could promptly tumble to the bottom of this list. It will help their rebuilding efforts if Haliburton develops a case of “general maintenance” or some such.
14. Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic have a lot of talented young players, but they are mostly very young. Rookie Paolo Banchero and second-year forward Franz Wagner look like a pairing to shake the conference in four or five years, but this year the growing pains will be significant. There is hope that the answers at guard are already on the roster, but if not this team will likely be bad enough to make a run at Scoot Henderson or Nick Smith in the 2023 NBA Draft.
15. Detroit Pistons
Cade Cunningham looks like he will be really good. Saddiq Bey is a solid rotation player and perhaps a future starter. Otherwise, this team is dealing with bench guys and a pair of young rookies in Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren who will need a lot of time to develop. They could follow through as the surprise team many think they will be, but this group looks like it is a year away from that leap.
There you have it: 15 teams, 15 spots. We know that Milwaukee and Boston will be at the top and Orlando at the bottom, but all of the teams in the middle have a wide variety of landing spots. This will be an exciting season, and the Cavs have a lot to prove and a lot to show the league.