Power Rankings: Eastern Conference Playoffs Edition
LeBron James and Ben Simmons
With all the playoff berths booked in the Eastern Conference, and the standings likely almost settled with only 2-3 games remaining in the regular season, it is time to rank these teams according to their form, talent and the overall record for the regular season.
Keep in mind here that power rankings are not necessarily an indicator of the true strength of a team, and that some teams may actually be placed higher/lower in the power rankings than their record indicates, or their playoff matchup might indicate.
Here's our list of power ranked teams:
#8 Miami Heat
The Miami Heat slipped up big-time just when they needed to turn their play a notch up. After flirting with an extended spell in the 3-4 seed sometime during the middle of the season, they suffered from an extended bad spell as they ended up with a 3-7 record for the month of February, falling to the 7-8 seed zone.
Currently, they are seeded 6th (they hold the tiebreaker against the Milwaukee Bucks who have the same 43-37 record) but with matchups against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Toronto Raptors coming up (both matches in which they're the weaker side on paper, it is fair to say that the Heat have flattered to deceive after a promising first half of the season.
The Heat roster, though, is one of the most well-rounded in all of basketball. Goran Dragic, their star guard who earned his first nod to appear in the All-Star game this year, is their most skilled offensive player and their best volume scorer of note. In Wayne Ellington, they have a volume 3-point shooter with a 39% conversion rate from downtown.
They have solid defensive options within the wing rotation with veteran Dwyane Wade, Josh Richardson, James Johnson and Justice Winslow, while Hassan Whiteside and Bam Adebayo are robust interior defenders. The Heat will ramp up their already good defensive intensity during the playoffs, but the question remains whether they will be good enough to match the likes of the Raptors on offense in a 7-game series as they are likely to face the Canadian franchise in the first round.