EASTERN CONFERENCE TEAM PLAYOFF RANKINGS
The regular season is finally in the rearview, hurray! These rankings have absolutely nothing to do with that. These strictly are ranking these teams how they are playing right now, today, and how we project them to perform in the playoffs. Updated 4.19.2024
#1: Boston Celtics
Current Odds (via Fanduel)
+120 to win Championship
-240 to win Eastern Conference
What you need to know:
64-18 Record
#1 Seed
+11.34 Point Differential (1st in League)
5th best Point Differential in NBA History
Boston is a historically great team this year. Boasting the 5th best point differential in league history, with all 4 teams above them having won the championship in those seasons, this is truly a championship or bust season. There are no real challengers in the Eastern Conference, I will be surprised if any team takes more than 1 game off of this Celtics team. Trading for Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis in the offseason has really left this team with no glaring weakness. The only thing holding Boston back is their incredible ability to lose the most heartbreaking games. Why they will win: They have the most talent of any roster and I don't know if it is particularly close. They are starting 5 players that have either been All-Stars or All-Defensive team members and all are still in their prime or in Jrue's case, the perfect role player. They have an unstoppable offense and a starting lineup who's WORST defensive player is probably Jaylen Brown, who could be the best wing defender on several teams. Why they could lose: Late game offensive execution. In the rare games where they do not blow teams out, their offense can get stagnant and I still don't fully trust Joe Maz to call timeouts and get his team re-focused. Jayson Tatum is not going to be the best player in a series against Jokic, Luka, or Giannis and sometimes that is the difference in who wins a series. Also, Nikola Jokic is in the league and I don't know if anyone can beat that guy right now. What is their most likely outcome: They run through the East losing at most 2 games and square off with Denver in the finals losing in 6 games because Jokic and Murray out execute them at the end of games.
#2: New York Knicks
Current Odds (via Fanduel)
+2700 to win Championship
+1200 to win Eastern Conference
What you need to know:
#2 Seed
50 - 32 Regular Season Record
Second 50 win season since 2000
Went 14-2 in January after acquiring OG Anunoby
The Knicks are back! We said this when Melo came home, we said this during the iconic Linsanity run. This time actually feels real. Leon Rose has done a great job of positioning this roster to compete not just in the short term but for years to come. Jalen Brunson has been a revelation, the best free agent signing since what, Kevin Durant to Golden State? Julius Randle going down hurt makes it hard to imagine this Knicks team having enough offense to make it past Boston, but it will not be for a lack of effort. Getting the Villanova boys back together (Brunson, Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo) has worked out perfectly and you have to wonder if more teams will try to unite ex-teammates. Isaiah Hartenstein has been a revelation since being forced to play more minutes with Mitchell Robinson injured. Coming into the playoffs as healthy as they have been in a while, and with Jalen Brunson playing like a 1st Team All-NBA guard, everyone has Knicks fever! Why they could win: Jalen Brunson, some tenacious defense, and a great draw in the bracket. Tom Thibodeau is going to play his starters 40 some minutes a game and the Knicks 5 man lineup of Brunson, DiVincenzo, Hart, OG Anunoby, Hartenstein/Robinson is good enough to give any team a run for their money. Couple that with getting an injured Philly team in the first round, Giannis being hurt is devastating for the Bucks ability to win one series, let alone two. Get to the conference finals and see what happens. Why they could lose: Health and a lack of offense. OG Anunoby is always going to be an injury risk, especially playing big minutes. The load that Brunson has to carry on a nightly basis might catch up to him over a 7 game series as the physicality ramps up in the playoffs. DiVincenzo and Hart have been great in the regular season and are just really good players in general, when the pressure turns up and they have to make shots, we will have to see what happens. What is their most likely outcome: They beat Philly in a grind it out 6 or 7 game first round series, they beat Indiana or Milwaukee in the second round, then they fall in a competitive 5 game series to Boston.
#3: Philadelphia 76ers
Current Odds (via Fanduel)
+1700 to win Championship
+750 to win Eastern Conference
What you need to know:
#7 Seed
31 - 8 Record When Joel Embiid Played
Won last 8 games of regular season
Nick Nurse and Tyrese Maxey had Joel Embiid playing the best basketball of his career prior to his injury
What a weird season this has been for Philly. My goodness, what a range of emotion that 76ers fans must been feeling. They start the year dealing with the drama that seems to come with having James Harden on your team for more than 1 season, they trade him for what many did not think was a great return but hey, the Clippers were probably the only team in the league that wanted him. Then they look like legitamite title contenders for a couple of weeks as Joel Embiid started to look like the only thing that was going to keep him from back to back MVP's being the new minimum game requirement. Then Embiid goes down hurt, it looks like a lost season. The team predictably spirals into the play-in picture. Then Embiid comes back! 76ers win 8 straight games to close out the season and win a nail biter against Miami to make the playoffs. Now they find themselves playing a Knicks team, that while really tough, they probably have more talent then. They also find themselves on the other side of the bracket, away from Boston. This has been a really unique season for 76ers fans and the drama is just starting to build! Why they could win: They have the second best player in the conference when he is healthy. Joel Embiid was playing the best basketball of his career this season before getting injured. He was averaging over a point a minute! Nobody has done that for a season since Wilt Chamberlain, that is the level of dominance that Embiid was reaching. If Embiid can get healthy quickly here and Philly can squeak by the Knicks, they can absolutely beat the Bucks or Pacers. Beating Boston seems impossible for this team but if you can make it to the conference finals, it is a crap shoot, maybe Porzingis gets hurt and all of the sudden you find yourself in a competitive series. Why they could lose: Joel Embiid is not healthy, he just isn't. In fact, I don't know if he is even 80% healthy. Philly is better off with a hobbled Embiid than no Embiid but without him at full strength it is tough to envision an extended playoff run for the 76ers. What is their most likely outcome: Philly may be the toughest one to predict of all. I think the most likely scenario is that they lose a really competitive 6 or 7 game first round series with the Knicks.
#4: Cleveland Cavaliers
Current Odds (via Fanduel)
+3600 to win Championship
+1700 to win Eastern Conference
What you need to know:
#4 Seed
48 - 34 Regular Season Record
Tanked final regular season game to play the Magic in the first round
Donovan Mitchell is probably going to be traded if they lose in the first round
Another team that has had a weird season, maybe it was just a weird regular season. The Cavs looked shockingly early to start the year with a noticable lack of improvement from Evan Mobley and a regression from Darius Garland. Then, those two get injured and the media starts talking about them missing the playoffs and having to trade Donovan Mitchell. Then, they go on a 17-1 run in January and February and start to get healthy again. As soon as they are healthy, Mitchell gets hurt and the Cavs really have ended the season looking pretty lifeless. Last year in the playoffs their lack of shooting and role players around Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, Donovan Mitchell, and Darius Garland was noticable so they gave Max Strus the bag and Isaac Okoro has made some positive strides. The ups and downs of the season makes Cleveland hard to assess, but it must be said that outside of that 17-1 stretch against a really weak schedule, this is a .500 team. Why they could win: Donovan Mitchell is a really good player that has proven that he can do it in the playoffs. If the Cavs have a chance of winning one series and giving Boston any trouble in the second round, it will rest squarely on his shoulders. They are a better team than they were last year, I think, Max Strus is a dog in the playoffs, Evan Mobley seems to be coming around a little bit on offense, Jarrett Allen will get some votes for the All-Defense team, Darius Garland has had a dissapointing season but that can all change with one good playoff series. The talent on the roster to this point seems to be less than the whole, who knows, maybe it clicks for them in the playoffs. Why they could lose: For most of the season this has been a really average team, that is just the reality. They have talented players, those players just don't seem to play very well together. They could lost the same way that they did last year in the first round, they get pushed around, Evan Mobley can't make jump shots and Donovan Mitchell tries to go hero ball and the shots don't fall. What their most likely outcome is: I think the Cavs get past the Magic in a physical, low scoring series that will probably primarily be broadcasted on NBA TV. There is no conceivable way that I see them beating Boston, I would be surprised if they win one game.
#5: Indiana Pacers
Current Odds (via Fanduel)
+5000 to win Championship
+2000 to win Eastern Conference
What you need to know:
#6 Seed
47 - 35 Regular Season Record
Traded for Pascal Siakam mid season
Tyrese Haliburton was on pace to be 1st team All-NBA prior to getting injured, has looked very average since
Tyrese Haliburton was so fun at the start of the season, injuries suck...Indiana is a team that routinely proved that they could score 130+ points any given night. Mid-season they took a swing and brought Pascal Siakam into the fold from Toronto and he has fit in seemlessly. The teams ceiling really rests on Haliburton's shoulders and unfortunately he has just been really average for a couple of months now. They had a really fun run to the play-in tournament championship game, they have beaten some really good teams, and they have a fun young core developing. The future is bright in Indiana but this is not the year that they break through in a real way. Why they could win: They have one of the best offenses in NBA history. They have a point guard that at the beginning of the season looked like one of the 10 best players in the league. They have a coach in Rick Carlisle that is a proven X's and O's master in the playoffs. Those factors alone will force a team to have to beat them, they will not fold. Why they could lose: Tyrese Haliburton before getting injured was playing like a 1st Team All-NBA guard and his passing was transcendent. Since returning from that injury, he has been a shell of that player. This team can only go as far as their best player and that player has to be Tyrese Haliburton. What is their most likely outcome: The Pacers beat the Giannis-less (or at least injured) Bucks and lose to the Knicks/76ers in a 5 game series.
#6: Milwaukee Bucks
Current Odds (via Fanduel)
+2700 to win Championship
+1100 to win Eastern Conference
What you need to know:
Giannis is hurt and likely missing multiple games
49 - 33 Regular Season Record
Bucks have a losing record on the road
Bucks are 19 - 20 since Doc Rivers became coach mid season.
Another team that has had a messy season. The first year of the Dame experience has not been great in Milwaukee. Regression was expected as for the first time since his first two years in the league he was not the best player on his team and that adjustment has been difficult. That has not been the only issue for Milwaukee, Kris Middleton's health seems to be week to week at this point in his career and expecting him to be the player that he was during their finals run is just unrealistic. The Adrian Griffin coaching experiment lasted all of 43 games at which point the Bucks were 30-13 but there were clearly issues and player discontent. Enter the Doc Rivers part of the season, the defense has gotten better but the team is just 19-20 in his 39 games. The saving grace all season for Milwaukee has been the play of the 2x MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo who has been fantastic all season averaging 30 points 11.5 rebounds and 6. 5 assists on 61% shooting, video game numbers brought to life. In what has already been a disaster season following their round 1 loss to the 8 seeded Heat last year, things have gotten even worse with Giannis sustaining a late season calf strain that is going to force him to likely miss at least the first two games of the series and possibly more. Things look pretty bleak in Milwaukee right now. Why they could win: Giannis has proven his entire career that he is a super human freak that recovers from injuries in half the time it takes mere mortals. If by chance Giannis can come back in game 3 and actually be relatively healthy and if Dame and Middleton can pull one of the first two games out, maybe the Bucks can get the train back on the rails right in time. In this scenario, Giannis and Dame alone should be able to get them by the Pacers, I don't really care what the regular season record was against them, Giannis isn't losing to that Pacers team if he comes back in a 1-1 series. As a Portland fan, I have seen Dame perform ridiculous feats in the playoffs his entire career and as a big fan of him as a player and a person, I am really rooting for more performances like that. If they are able to get past the Pacers, there is no reason they couldn't beat the Knicks or 76ers. If they get that far down the road and see Boston in the east finals, they would have an inferior roster but they would have the best player in the series, and that always gives you a chance, albeit a small one. Why they could lose: Giannis is hurt. The Pacers owned them this season. They have looked old and slow. It is pretty easy to see the road where they lose, it is much harder to see the scenario where they are able to win. What is their most likely outcome: Depending on the Giannis injury, the most likely outcome for them is that they lose in the first round to the Pacers. If Giannis can come back healthy, I can see them clawing and scratching their way into the east finals and losing a 6 game series to Boston.
#7: Orlando Magic
Current Odds (via Fanduel)
+12000 to win Championship
+4600 to win Eastern Conference
What you need to know:
#5 Seed
47 - 35 Regular Season Record
Multiple All-Defensive team candidates with Jalen Suggs and Jonathan Isaac.
Magic are ahead of schedule
Orlando is ahead of schedule and this season is a success, no matter what happens in the coming weeks, that is all that really matters. Everything except Franz Wagners shooting this season was a success. Paolo Banchero is a star. Jalen Suggs is one of if not the best defensive guard in the league and his shooting is quickly becoming a plus skill for him. The Jonathan Isaac resurgence after finally getting healthy is one of the feel good stories of the year and he may be the very best defensive player in the league who's name is not Victor Wembanyama. Orlando is probably two pieces away from really challenging in the east but it is going to be fun to watch them get a little bit of experience this year. Why they could win: They are a really physical team that plays really good defense, that is usually a good combination in the playoffs. They can win slow games by overpowering teams. Why they could lose: They just don't have enough offense, that is what is probably going to be their undoing. Paolo Banchero is 21 years old, he has been able to legally drink for 6 months, asking him to be the go to scorer and best player in the playoffs is a tall order. This playoff appearance will probably be a good chance for management to see what the team needs going foward and great experience for the young guys on the team. What is their most likely outcome: I think that they probably could beat the Cavaliers, but nerf gun to my head, I am saying their most likely outcome is losing a long first round series to Cleveland.
#8: Miami Heat
Current Odds (via Fanduel)
+16000 to win Championship
+8000 to win Eastern Conference
What you need to know:
#8 Seed
46 - 36 Regular Season Record
Jimmy Butler is OUT
Jimmy Butler is out with a torn MCL. That is all that really matters at the moment. The zombie Heat with a healthy Jimmy Butler probably would've gotten swept by this Boston team. The Heat with no Jimmy are absolutely going to get swept by the Celtics. Why they could win: I guess the Celtics could forfeit. Why they could lose: They don't have Jimmy Butler. They go from an 8 seed that barely made it into the playoffs to an 8 seed that barely made the playoffs that no longer has their best player. What is their most likely outcome: They get swept in blowout fashion against the Celtics.