The Eastern Conference has been the better conference this season. They hold a 180-166 advantage in games against the West, own four of the NBA’s five best records, and have four different teams on winning streaks of three games or more; the longest streak in the West right now is two, and the San Antonio Spurs have lost 13 straight.
That’s why it is so important to sort out the Eastern Conference when thinking about both this year’s playoffs and those in the future. How are teams playing right now? And how did the NBA Trade Deadline shake things up?
The Eastern Conference is having a great season – whose has been the best?
It’s undeniable that the deadline had an effect on teams. 28 of the teams in the league made a trade during deadline season, and 60 players in all were moved. That included Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving moving from the East to the West, although the Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls decided not to sell their stars off. The teams at the top all added weapons, except for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who stood pat.
Let’s roll out an edition of the Eastern Conference Power Rankings, Post-Trade Deadline Edition. How did the trades and the announced buyout market signings affect the conference? How do the favorites shake out, and what does the bottom look like now? We’ll start with the teams angling for their shot at Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson in June.
East Power Rankings: No. 15-12
The prospects in the lottery range for this year’s draft seem a bit more uncertain than normal, but the two players at the top are true gems. The four teams at the bottom of the East are in two pairs: the Pistons and Hornets gunning for Victor Wembanyama or Scoot Henderson, and probable lottery teams in Orlando and Indiana.
The Detroit Pistons hung on to their vets at the Trade Deadline, signaling their desire to make a push next season. First, however, they have one more top lottery pick heading their way. The Pistons did move Saddiq Bey in exchange for James Wiseman, hoping to rehabilitate the former No. 2 overall pick. That would make more sense if they hadn’t done the same thing with Marvin Bagley II at last year’s deadline.
The Charlotte Hornets were another reluctant seller at the deadline despite their spot at the bottom of the standings. They sent out Jalen McDaniels and Mason Plumlee for a single second-round draft pick each, signaling their plan to re-sign P.J. Washington and Miles Bridges this summer. Even with LaMelo Ball healthy, the Hornets are comfortably on track to have a top lottery pick.
While the Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets are the teams gunning for a leap next season, the Orlando Magic are the team that actually looks poised for that sort of a jump. Paolo Banchero is the runaway favorite for Rookie of the Year and players like Franz Wagner and Wendell Carter Jr. look like core pieces of a good team. Adding a top-flight guard, in the draft or free agency, is the leap-forward move this team will need to be truly dangerous in a few seasons. Flipping Mo Bamba to the Lakers are the deadline won’t affect their rotation so it was a good value play.
The Indiana Pacers have been spiraling lately, winning just two of their last 18 games. Tyrese Haliburton missed most of those due to injury, but their early-season success has disappeared and they are now in a tough position to make the Play-In Tournament. That’s probably the right move long-term, as another lottery pick at a forward position would really help them out. They held onto Myles Turner at the deadline, instead using their cap space to take on salary and add some draft capital.
East Power Rankings: No. 11-8
All of these teams entered the season expecting to make the playoffs, but one of the three will miss out on the Play-In Tournament entirely. Despite that fact, they all refused to sell at the deadline, instead holding onto their players in hopes of making a late-season run. Someone likely will, but will that be worth holding onto their cores?
The Washington Wizards traded Rui Hachimura before deadline week, freeing up some salary space to re-sign Kyle Kuzma to a big deal this summer. Kristaps Porzingis has been their best player this season and will also be a free agent this summer; their reported interest in Jakob Poeltl suggests they are less confident in keeping him around. They are currently in 10th in the East, tied with Toronto and a half-game up on Chicago.
The Atlanta Hawks should be better than this, but the solution to the problems Trae Young presents is not another on-ball guard. Add in injuries in the forward ranks and you have a team that hasn’t been able to gain momentum this season. They did spend a host of seconds at the deadline to upgrade the roster, and Saddiq Bey and Garrison Mathews are good additions who should help with wing depth and shooting.
The Chicago Bulls have a break-even point differential, same as the Atlanta Hawks, which suggests they should have a .500 record. After outperforming their point differential last year they are under this year, but the true team quality is still nothing impressive. The Bulls were one of two teams not to make a move at the deadline, a fairly shocking development for a team that desperately needs a shakeup. DeMar DeRozan is a player no one wants to see in the Play-In Tournament, but this team will be cannon fodder if they reach the full playoff bracket.
Are the Toronto Raptors any good? They have a decent point differential, 13th in the NBA and seventh in the East. They are also four games under .500 (or two, depending on how you want to look at it) at 27-31, with major pieces of their core hitting free agency this summer. They clearly wanted to get one last look at this group, adding former center Jakob Poeltl instead of selling players at the deadline. Is it enough to push into the Top-6? Probably not given the ground they have to cover (five games back of 6th-place Miami, seven from Brooklyn in 5th) but they can try to make a run from the Play-In.
East Power Rankings: No. 7-5
While one of these three teams will have to go through the Play-In Tournament, it seems likely all three will be in the final eight-team playoff bracket. At the same time, it would be fairly surprising if any of them cracked the top 4, and none would be favored in a first-round playoff series.
Oh, what would have been. It’s easy to write off the Brooklyn Nets after they traded Kevin Durant and Jae Crowder, but this team is still stocked with really good players – they just lack any star power. Mikal Bridges, Spencer Dinwiddie, Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Nic Claxton, Ben Simmons, Royce O’Neale, Seth Curry, Joe Harris, Cam Thomas, Yuta Watanabe…
They are going to falter without a high-level on-ball creator, but Dinwiddie and Bridges can do enough and they have tons of shooting and defense. A fall into the lottery seems highly unlikely at this point.
The New York Knicks are a really good team this season. They aren’t a title contender, but they are firmly in the next tier. They have the eighth-best point differential in the entire league, with a deep roster that can withstand injuries to everyone but Jalen Brunson. They added Josh Hart at the deadline, a somewhat weird move but one that brings yet another solid player into their rotation.
The Miami Heat have been shaky this season, but since a poor start they’ve righted the ship and are now on track to finish with the fifth seed in the East. They were quiet at the deadline, just shipping out Dewayne Dedmon to clear room under the tax to fill their 15th roster spot. They’ll probably play this year out, then target bigger moves this offseason to gear up for a push next year. With Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, this team is certainly dangerous, but there are enough weak spots this season to keep them out of the next tier despite their recent playoff success.
East Power Rankings: No. 4-1
These four teams are a but above. Their play this season has been elite, they are in position to host first-round playoff series, and they all have a pair (or trio [or quarter]) of stars leading the way. The Denver Nuggets look poised to easily win the top seed in the West, but in the East these teams could probably finish in any order.
The Philadelphia 76ers have more depth than they have had in a long time. Joel Embiid and James Harden are a potent 1-2 punch, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris can pop off for 25 points on any given night, and they have a defensive core around them with P.J. Tucker, De’Anthony Melton and deadline addition Jalen McDaniels to replace Matisse Thybulle. They have had one of the league’s easiest schedules thus far, however, and their stretch run is the toughest in the conference.
The Cleveland Cavaliers were the other team in the league not to make a del at the Trade Deadline, instead standing pat with their team and adding perfect-fit Danny Green on the buyout market. By many metrics, this team has been the best in the league, and they have the league’s best defense. A lack of playoff experience will likely hold this team back from making a true run to the NBA Finals, but this team is for real.
Winners of 10-straight games, the Milwaukee Bucks finally have a healthy core and look ready to make a push down the stretch. They banked a lot of wins early but looked shaky doing so, and even with this 10-game run they are still fourth in the East in net rating. Adding Jae Crowder at the deadline only makes them more dangerous, and they should be co-favorites to win the East and return to the NBA Finals.
The Boston Celtics have been the best team in the NBA for most of the season, and nothing about their recent play should change that. They’ve won four in a row to hold off the Bucks, and their depth continues to impress as they deal with injuries. Mike Muscala was a sneaky-good acquisition at the deadline, a stretch-big who gives them another weapon in the playoffs.
After winning the East last season, the Celtics look poised to do so again, but there are other contenders for the crown that are dangerous, too. The Eastern Conference Playoffs should be amazing, and the fight down the stretch of the season for playoff positioning just as good.