The NBA season is already a quarter of the way through, which means enough time has passed for conferences to start taking shape and for educated opinions to be formed about which teams are and what they should be able to accomplish.
A lot has changed since the preseason edition of this power ranking, so without further ado, here is the first in-season power ranking of the NBA's Eastern Conference:
The Wizards may have the most depressing roster in the NBA. Khris Middleton and CJ McCollum are taking up minutes and shots from the young guys on the roster who should be getting more run. Alex Sarr is good but he’s not yet a star. Bilal Coulibali and Bub Carrington are admittedly still young, but have largely disappointed to this point in the season. Rookie Tre Johnson, who is currently sidelined with a hip injury, should excite their fans for years to come, but he cannot be counted on to be the savior of a downtrodden franchise.
The Nets are and have been on a fast track to nowhere since the Milwaukee Bucks beat them in the 2021 NBA Playoffs by the skin of their teeth and the nail of Kevin Durant's toe. The only reason they rank higher than the Wizards is that they made five first-round picks in the draft this year and have tradeable contracts that could fetch them value as they try to rebuild.
Michael Porter Jr., Cam Thomas, and Nic Claxton could and should all be moved for more draft capital, and at least give their fans something to be excited about.
The Hornets have been the same exact team for what feels like forever. The difference with this Hornets team is rookie sensation, Kon Knueppel, and the impending trade of LaMelo Ball.
If the Hornets can nail the Ball trade whenever that happens, maybe they can finally start building out a roster with Knueppel as a key building block. Former second-overall pick Brandon Miller has not taken the leap many expected, mainly due to injuries, though injuries have already plagued his young career. Trading Ball could be what helps propel him to the next level.
The Pacers were on the doorstep of immortality, and the injury gods not only ruined that opportunity but they subsequently ruined this entire season for them as well. The Pacers were never going to be a real threat without Tyrese Haliburton for the year, but with one of the better coaches in the NBA and a group of guys who made a brand out of never giving up, no one could have expected them to be this putrid.
There have been more injuries than just Haliburton, but this is as bad as it gets for a team that was in Game 7 of the NBA Finals a little over five months ago. They are the only team in the NBA without a road win yet this season.
The Bulls started off the year on fire and have since fallen back down to the level many expected them to be. Chicago, for years, have been content with being just good enough, but never being so bad as to warrant a high draft pick and never too good to where they can actually make noise.
The Bulls are the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NBA, and while head coach Billy Donovan may not be a champion like Mike Tomlin, you have to wonder just how much longer the same exact product can be put on display before changes have to be made.
This may be the worst supporting cast Giannis Antetokounmpo has had around him since he became a superstar. The only saving grace for the Bucks is that Giannis is so good and physically dominant that he single-handedly keeps them in most games. Giannis is still the best player in the conference for whatever that is worth.
The roster leaves a lot to be desired. The head coach, Doc Rivers, leaves even more to be desired. Giannis can never be counted out, but the Bucks will only go as far as he takes them.
Even without Jayson Tatum, the Celtics keep on doing what they do: shoot a bunch of threes and be hounds on the defensive end. They are performing better than expected without their best player thus far, and if he returns at any point this season, they suddenly become the most dangerous team in the conference that nobody will want to see in a playoff series.
Jaylen Brown has been phenomenal leading this team without his co-star. Derrick White got off to a slow start offensively, but he is one of the better guard defenders in the league. Anfernee Simons came to Boston from Portland with the exact type of skillset Joe Mazzulla wants for his offense. Payton Pritchard has been one of the best bench players in the NBA for years now.
Getting Tatum back opens up many possibilities for what this team can accomplish, but right now they are relying on their championship pedigree and tried-and-true system, and it is working just about as well as it could be.
The Sixers have rebounded nicely from last year's season from Hell, but they still have a long way to go to get back to the top of the conference. Tyrese Maxey is playing way too many minutes in an effort to win ball games without his two handsomely paid co-stars for the most part, and after a 4-0 start, they are just 7-9 in their last 16 games. Rookie VJ Edgecombe has come back down to earth after a red-hot start, but still remains an integral piece to this team and a beacon of hope for the future.
Paul George recently returned from injury and looks pretty good out on the floor. Joel Embiid also returned after missing nine games, but his status is perpetually up in the air. If Maxey can keep up his All-NBA level play as the team- hopefully- gets healthier, the Sixers have the horses to rise up the ranks; if not, they will probably toil around .500 or worse.
The Raptors have been one of the most pleasant surprises of the NBA season so far, but they have feasted on a very light schedule. When they start having to punch above their weight, we will see if success continues to follow them.
Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram are playing off of each other beautifully. Immanuel Quickley is setting the table for the whole team. Sandro Mamukelashvili has entered 6th Man of the Year conversations. The Raptors roster runs deep, and their head coach, Darko Rajakovic, has a great pulse on how to build and maintain a positive basketball culture.
The Magic have rebounded from a tough start to reassume their position as one of the better teams in the East. They play bruising team defense, and the addition of Desmond Bane is finally starting to pay off on the offensive end with the spacing he provides.
The Magic's offense has looked more fluid since Paolo Banchero got hurt. The floor is more spaced out without him clogging up the post and guys like Anthony Black have been reaping the benefits of a larger interim role. If Banchero comes back and fits into what this team is doing, they can bang with anyone.
The Hawks are as versatile and exciting as any team in the East. Their blend of skill and athleticism across the roster makes for some really compelling basketball. Jalen Johnson has asserted himself as their best player and everyone else is doing their part.
The Trae Young of it all is the biggest question mark for the team moving forward. Will they look to trade him to maximize what they have going on right now or will they keep him and hope his ball-dominant style meshes as the season goes on?
The Cavaliers were the popular pick to come out of the East this year, but they did not get off to the start they intended to. They have had multiple key players miss time due to injury so far, and have not gotten the expected internal growth from Evan Mobley.
When healthy, the Cavs still have one of the best starting units in the entire league. Donovan Mitchell is a superstar and a notorious playoff riser dating back to his days in Utah. If Mobley and Darius Garland can help him out, they still have a very good chance of making their first Eastern Conference Finals since LeBron James was on the team.
Another year, another reason to believe there is no better basketball coach on the planet than Erik Spoelstra. Coach Spo's Heat are reinventing the wheel on what offense is supposed to look like in the year 2025. They have basically kicked all pick-and-rolls to the curb and focus on unrelenting pace, isolation, and off-ball movement. The addition of Normal Powell, who is playing like an All-Star, is the perfect scheme fit for how this offense is being run.
The Heat have so many players who can attack off the dribble, and they are using these one-on-one opportunities to generate open driving lanes. Once they get an extra defender to collapse on them, they are swinging the ball to the corners one pass away and are being rewarded with wide-open shots. They currently only trail the Denver Nuggets in points per game across the entire league.
The Heat do not have a traditional superstar talent. What they do have is a roster full of above-average players who know their role and the best tactical head coach of the last 15 years. No reason to believe this train is slowing down any time soon.
The Knicks are playing unrecognizable basketball from the product they put out under former coach Tom Thibodeau. They are passing the ball a lot more, shooting a lot more threes than they have in years past, and are not playing an exorbitant amount of minutes under the military rule of Thibs. All these things will pay dividends as the season goes on and they get more comfortable operating in the new head coach, Mike Brown's offense.
The Knicks' defense has also improved to the point where it should not be a surprise if they are truly contending for the title. The Knicks have a lot of length on the perimeter to mask Brunson's defensive deficiencies, and a healthy Mitchell Robinson makes a world of difference protecting the rim compared to KAT.
Barring serious injury, they should find themselves right in the thick of things to win the East. They have already proven they can win a playoff series over the one team left on this list.
The Pistons have built on last year's success in a big way and have positioned themselves as one of the best teams in the entire league. Coming into the season, their roster on paper looked a bit clunky and had a noticeable lack of shooters. If they were going to establish themselves as elite, they needed internal growth from their homegrown stars, and they have gotten that in spades.
Cade Cunningham has taken the superstar leap and is in the conversation for best player in the East outside of Giannis Antetokounmpo. Jalen Duren is a brute force on both sides of the ball and should be in line to make his first All-Star team. Ausar Thompson is one of the best athletes and perimeter defenders in the league. Jaden Ivey is gradually increasing his role after coming back from injury.
The parts fit better than originally expected, they have an identity on defense, and one of the more well-rounded offensive engines in the game today. If they make a trade for a secondary scorer to put next to Cunningham, this team can challenge for a championship.
