The top 4’s
Now let’s take a look at the 2-4 (projected) seeds in both the Eastern and Western conferences and compare.
In the West, it will likely breakdown as follows:
2. Houston Rockets
3. Oklahoma City Thunder
4. Los Angeles Lakers
I’m assuming health here and that LeBron James will make the Los Angels Lakers’ young core even better, which he generally does when he lands on a new team. As for the East, it’s a bit more clearer:
2. Toronto Raptors
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. Milwaukee Bucks
Assuming health, once again, the Raptors with Kawhi Leonard will be better this upcoming season. I’m not sure if they have the depth to challenge the Celtics, but they are clearly the second-best team in the conference.
The Sixers will be better, but are still too young to take on a Celtics team that bested them in five games with an undermanned roster. Assuming that Mike Budenholzer can push the right buttons, the Bucks will be better. Plus, Giannis Antetokounmpo is still getting better.
The Rockets are likely better than the Raptors, but not by much. Kawhi, when healthy, is the best player on their team. The Thunder and the Sixers are likely a toss up and the Lakers are somewhat of a mystery.
If I had to rank these teams, they’d be as follows:
- Rockets
- Raptors
- Sixers
- Thunder
- Lakers
- Bucks
To say that the West is significantly better than the East when it comes to the top of the conference is a bit overstated because of the Warriors. But if you remove them, the East’s top 4 can hold its own against the West’s 2-4.