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Atlanta Hawks: Eastern Conference Power Rankings, Jan. 7

By John Buhler

Jan 5, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Kent Bazemore (24) reacts in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter during their loss to the New York Knicks at Philips Arena. The Knicks won 107-101. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 5, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Kent Bazemore (24) reacts in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter during their loss to the New York Knicks at Philips Arena. The Knicks won 107-101. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /
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. Previous: . Philadelphia 76ers. 15. team. 93.

The Philadelphia 76ers have won three of the last 10 games, a sign of encouragement for an otherwise lousy basketball team. Philadelphia may have the worst offensive in the NBA in both points per game (92.9) and team offensive rating (95.3), but the Sixers are no longer a guarantee to win less than 10 games in 2015-16.

They are still comfortably the worst team in the NBA, though there are currently 12 teams in the NBA that have 15 or fewer wins on the season. Bringing in Jerry Colangelo and Mike D’Antoni have seemed to help the Sixers in some capacity, but they should have the best odds of winning the 2016 NBA Draft Lottery.

. . Previous: . Brooklyn Nets. 14. team. 147

The Brooklyn Nets boast the second-worst record against the East this season at 7-15. Naturally, that would have the Nets with the second-worst overall record in the Eastern Conference at 10-25, a full nine games back of the eighth-place Boston Celtics.

The Nets are 28th in both offensive points per game (96.4) and offensive efficiency (100.3), while being both 21st in both defensive points per game (102.8) and defensive efficiency (107.0). It is no surprise that being bottom third on both ends of the court makes the Nets one of the worst teams in basketball. They have the third worst record in the NBA ahead of only the Los Angeles Lakers and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Previous: . Milwaukee Bucks. 13. team. 89. .

The Milwaukee Bucks continue to struggle both on the road (5-16) and on the defensive end of the floor, as the Bucks are dead last in defensive efficiency as a team (109.9). These two areas of weakness are why this young Bucks team are currently nine games under .500 at 14-23.

From a team that surprisingly made the playoffs with an above .500 record and a top five defense in the Association, it is still difficult to see how far this team has fallen in the last calendar year. Sitting six games back of the final playoff spot in the East this early likely means that the Bucks have a better chance at winning the NBA Draft Lottery than making the Eastern Conference Playoffs this season.

Next: Tier IV: Not Making the Playoffs

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