Despite losing Joel Embiid to a back injury, the Philadelphia 76ers just keep winning. Their 30-13 record leads the Eastern Conference, with the Brooklyn Nets a half-game back. The Nets are having issues getting their Big Three on the floor at the same time, as Kevin Durant’s hamstring woes continue, and now Kyrie Irving will miss three games while dealing with a family matter. The Milwaukee Bucks have caught fire, at last, winners of seven in a row, while Boston continues to sputter. Between them are three young, intriguing teams (Atlanta, Charlotte and New York) with high ceilings.
As you start to consider futures wagers as part of your NBA betting, check out our latest top five Eastern Conference teams.
NBA News: Top 5 Teams in the Eastern Conference
Philadelphia 76ers (30-13)
Even with Joel Embiid on the shelf, Philadelphia won three times last week to keep that top spot in the conference standings. They have play the Lakers and the Clippers in the Staples Center this week, and even with LeBron James and Anthony Davis out for the Lakers, the 76ers should get a sense of whether they will need to make any moves before the trade deadline to help them make a deep playoff run.
Brooklyn Nets (29-14)
Blake Griffin made his Nets debut on Sunday against Washington, and he did something in the game that he had not done since 2019: dunk a basketball. Remember, Griffin and DeAndre Jordan had started Lob City out in Los Angeles, so a Griffin who could not dunk was a very different Griffin indeed. In his debut, he was on the floor for 15 minutes, took two shots (including the dunk), put up two points and pulled down a pair of rebounds. As Griffin gets to know the team, his minutes will expand, and the hope is that he can add some rim defense until KD comes back, but he is very much a role player in Gotham.
Milwaukee Bucks (28-14)
Milwaukee has a seven-game winning streak going, as well as 12 wins in their last 13 games, and it looks like they have their sights set on the top spot in the East once again. One question that NBA observers (and Bucks fans) continue to ask about Milwaukee is whether or not their winning style can translate to the postseason. In prior years, they have wilted as the physicality of the game has grown in the playoffs, and they have been bounced much earlier than their record indicated that they should have. There is only one way to answer those questions, though — and that’s to get different playoff results.
Miami Heat (22-21)
The Heat were on a tear as recently as two weeks ago, winning 11 of 12, but then they lost three in a row, getting swept by the Pacers in a two-game home set. It’s important to remember that, even with Jimmy Butler providing guidance, this remains a very young Miami team. Yes, they rolled all the way to the NBA Finals a year ago, but they’re still young, even a year later, and there is a lot of inconsistency to iron out of their collective game. As far as ceiling goes, they are still one of the most exciting teams in the East.
Atlanta Hawks (22-21)
The Hawks finally lost a game under Nate McMillan; the team had won eight straight after McMillan was named interim head coach, including a five-point win over the Lakers on Saturday. On Monday, though, the Clippers beat the Hawks, 119-110, as the Clippers look to start making some waves in the West. Trae Young had 28 points for Atlanta, and Clint Capela pulled down 14 rebounds. However, the Atlanta defense could not get enough stops when they were needed. The West Coast swing continues in Sacramento on Wednesday, and it will be interesting to see how the young Hawks bounce back from their first loss under their new coach.
