As teased on the pod last week, I've got some NBA rankings that will irritate @grayruby.
Eastern Conference
| Tier | Teams | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Favorite | Cavs | ||||
| Contenders | Knicks | Pistons | |||
| Challengers | Magic | Hawks | Bucks | ||
| Play-in | Celtics | Pacers | Heat | Hornets | |
| Tank | Raptors | Wizards | 76ers | Nets | Bulls |
Keeping the Raptors out of the Play-In was probably the toughest call, but I was compelled to do so. After that, I think the Pacers might still be pretty good and the Bucks backcourt is disgusting, so I was tempted to flip those two. I was also torn between the Hawks and Pistons, but I liked the Pistons depth a bit more.
Western Conference
| Tier | Teams | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Favorite | Thunder | ||||
| Contenders | Nuggets | Rockets | |||
| Challengers | T-Wolves | Warriors | Lakers | ||
| Play-in | Clippers | Mavs | Spurs | Grizzlies | |
| Tank | Pelicans | Kings | Jazz | Suns | Blazers |
T-Wolves vs Rockets was a tough call for me, but the Rockets are insanely deep with young improving players.
Overall, it's remarkable how much better the West is. In every tier, the Western teams are significantly better than their East counterparts.
Let's hear why I'm wrong.