NBA Power Rankings: Sleeping giant awakes in West; Cavs ready to dethrone Celtics?
20. Milwaukee Bucks
I don't even know where to begin with the Milwaukee Bucks. This is a team that has been completely disappointing through the first two weeks of the regular season and one that you can't really bank on changing the narrative anytime soon. Something is clearly off in Milwaukee and at this point, I do believe that it's safe to say that the dynamic duo of Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo does leave a lot to be desired. It's probably not a move or decision that is going to pay off for the Bucks and because of that, there are probably some front-office changes that are going to be made at some point soon.
The start of the season that the Bucks have had has been so bad that there are already whispers arising around the idea that Giannis could end up demanding a trade at some point soon. I'm not sure if that is the endgame after this season (assuming the Bucks do fall short of expectations) but at this point, it's hard to blame that level of speculation. It's still early and Milwaukee could theoretically salvage their season, but the early returns aren't great for a team that lacks a clear identity.
19. Miami Heat
If you look at the Eastern Conference standings, the Miami Heat is not in bad shape. At 2-2, they're right where most expected them to be. But that's part of the problem. Most expected them to be right in the middle of the conference standings and a team that prides itself on being a championship contender year in and year out decided that running it back another season with the same exact core is exactly what this team needed. That's simply not true and the Heat looks like a team playing without an identity.
The Heat are not a fun team to watch, they're misusing Bam Adebayo, and it's become pretty clear that Jimmy Butler is well past his prime. Unless something clicks at some point over the next few weeks of the regular season, this is a team that is going to sleepwalk through the regular season and, if they're lucky, they'll sneak into the playoffs and then lose in the first round against a much more talented top-seeded team in the Eastern Conference.