10. Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic have gotten a ton of praise so far this season because they've relatively operated in the shadows of the likes of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, and New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference. However, this is a team that has been quite impressive considering the circumstances that they've had to battle against during the first half of the year. Playing the majority of the first half of the season without your two best players is not ideal. Nevertheless, the Magic managed to do so while playing a competitive brand of basketball.
But as the team begins to get healthier, they're certainly a group to watch during the second half of the season. They need to be careful because they're in that collection of six teams fighting for the 4th and 5th spots in the East standings. Now that they are healthier, the Magic need to prove they're not an afterthought in the conference and they can reemerge as a dangerous dark horse threat heading into the playoffs. It will be interesting to see if they can pull off such a feat.
9. Indiana Pacers
Over the last 16 games of the season, the Indiana Pacers have done a great job in recovering after a truly inconsistent start to the year. Aside from the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder, the argument could be made that the Pacers have been the best team in the league over the last month. During that span, the team has a top-5 offense and net rating. Perhaps the biggest positive sign for the team is the fact that Tyrese Haliburton is beginning to look like his former superstar self.
After a truly terrible start to the year, Haliburton has played much better of late. It's gotten to the point where he's helping the Pacers look like an absolute problem in the Eastern Conference once again. And with how talented this roster is, it would be foolish to overlook the Pacers heading into the second half of the season. The team is within shouting distance of a top 4 seed in the East and they're still trending upward. Indiana is finally beginning to live up to expectations this season and it's refreshing to see.