It says something about how woeful the Eastern Conference is just two and a half weeks into the season that the 2-7 Toronto Raptors remain right in the thick of things.
The teams occupying the 6-10 spots in the conference standings before Friday’s games each had just one more win than the Raptors.
It’s very early, of course, and things will change, but for those in the fanbase fixated on tanking for a high pick in next year’s vaunted class of prospects, it’s worth keeping in mind that the East is pretty terrible. Meaning, tanking isn’t the easiest of tasks.
Nine of the 12 worst defensive teams so far reside in the East (with Toronto ranked behind only New Orleans for defensive futility).
The Boston Celtics remain the class of the East (and maybe the NBA), even if the Cleveland Cavaliers rocketed off to a 9-0 start before hosting Golden State on Friday. A .500 record has been enough though the opening weeks to land Indiana and Brooklyn just behind those two teams.
Brooklyn has surprised and likely falls off substantially, but last-place Philadelphia (1-6) and Milwaukee (2-6) surely will rally.
The Bucks already looked a fair bit better after inserting young guard Andre Jackson in the starting lineup for struggling former Raptor Gary Trent Jr. on Thursday and the Sixers just got Paul George back and Joel Embiid is poised to make his season debut after serving his suspension.
Orlando has been another disappointment so far (3-6), but should end the year closer to the top of the conference than the bottom, same with New York, while the jury is out on Miami, Atlanta and Charlotte.
Detroit, Washington, Brooklyn and Toronto seem the most likely squads to be fighting for lottery position late in the season. That would probably be good news for any of those franchises, who all could desperately use another potential star talent in Cooper Flagg, or any of the other leading prospects (though Pistons fans are quite fed up with years of futility).
The Nets made some moves to regain control of their pick this year and badly need some luck in the lottery. Toronto and Washington seem to be in solid spots — both teams already have some interesting young players (Wizards sophomore Bilal Coulibaly looks really good and No. 2 pick Alex Sarr has shown flashes at both ends of the floor).
On the other hand, it’s worth considering how bad it would be for the Sixers and Bucks if they remain close to the bottom of the standings all season.
Philadelphia will lose its first-round pick to Oklahoma City if it doesn’t land in the Top 6 of the lottery. Even though George is playing and Embiid will soon, all-star guard Tyrese Maxey will miss at least two weeks with an injury and the team doesn’t have a lot of depth. Things could get dicey fast.
The Bucks could be in even worse shape. They got Giannis Antetokounmpo to stick around by making the Damian Lillard deal last year, but so far it has looked like a disaster. The team lost Jrue Holiday in the move and now can’t defend at all (poor Brook Lopez looks like he’s on his own island, having to cover up all of the mistakes on a nightly basis).
If the losses mount, how long will Giannis stay healthy? And Milwaukee is one of only three teams that is owed zero first- or second-round picks from other teams (Denver and the Los Angeles Clippers are the others). At least the Sixers are owed many future picks.
The Bucks are owed none and will surrender this year’s first no matter where it lands (in an unusual twist, Brooklyn gets it if Milwaukee drafts 1-4, otherwise it goes to New Orleans).
The Bucks also don’t control one of their own first-round picks until 2030. Yes, 2030!
They got a championship out of the original Holiday deal with New Orleans, but it cost them three first-round picks and potentially two more pick swaps.
Then, to get Lillard, they lost Holiday and another first, plus two more potential pick swaps. Plus, Doc Rivers is coaching this team and has a long history of playoff failure (aside from his championship in Boston). Yikes. No franchise might currently be in worse shape than the Bucks.
If you’re wondering, Toronto is in a good spot. The team will get Portland’s second-round pick this year (and the Blazers should be well under .500), Indiana’s first in 2026 (Top 4 protected) and owns all of its own future picks aside from this year’s second, which is held by Detroit.
@WolstatSun