Atlanta Hawks: Eastern Conference Power Rankings, Nov. 12

How Indiana fares with their new philosophy of going small could set in motion how the NBA handles the small ball era. Playing Paul George at the four coming off that leg injury has me feeling uneasy. Though Monta Ellis has never played a winning style of basketball before, having a coach like Frank Vogel gives me enough faith to ride out Indy’s small ball experiment. They’re in the mix for a playoff spot for sure.

Boston still doesn’t have anything more than role players on their roster. However, they have an incredible coach in Brad Stevens, who will get the most out of his players no matter what. The Celtics benefit from playing in a very weak Atlantic Division, as that should catapult them into a 7 or 8-seed this spring. We’ll know more about this team when the Atlanta Hawks play them in the TD Garden.

Something is a little off with the Washington Wizards. From taking the Atlanta Hawks to six in the Eastern Conference Semifinals a year ago, I’m beginning to wonder if this team can get out of the first round in 2016. Surely, Washington is a playoff team, but they are going with more of a youth movement in 2015-16 than last year. How SG Bradley Beal and SF Otto Porter Jr. play will decide their seeding in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

Next: Eastern Conference Finals Ceiling