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Atlanta Hawks: Eastern Conference Power Rankings, Jan. 21

By John Buhler

Jan 20, 2016; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum (3) has his shot blocked by Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford (15) during the fourth quarter of the game at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. The Hawks won the game 104-98. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 20, 2016; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum (3) has his shot blocked by Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford (15) during the fourth quarter of the game at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. The Hawks won the game 104-98. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports /
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64. . . Previous: . Detroit Pistons. 6. team

I think we need to seriously start to believe that the 2015-16 Detroit Pistons are a team bound for the 2016 Eastern Conference Playoffs. Detroit is now challenging the Indiana Pacers for the third-best record in the Central Division and may end up eclipsing them in the coming weeks.

Detroit is starting to look eerily similar to a Stan Van Gundy Orlando Magic team. Andre Drummond is Dwight Howard and Reggie Jackson is a better Jameer Nelson. Those teams were championship caliber. The Pistons can certainly win a playoff series in 2016, but who knows how high this team’s ceiling really is?

Previous: . Indiana Pacers. 5. team. 100. .

Indiana has two things going for them: Frank Vogel is a fantastic head coach and Paul George is a top 10 player in the NBA when he is healthy. Otherwise, I’m not so sure that the small ball era in Indianapolis is working out so well.

The Pacers could get back to the Eastern Conference Finals for the third time in four seasons, but that is as good as this team can do in 2016. When a post-prime Monta Ellis and players like Ian Mahinmi who may not ever reach their full potential are playing huge minutes for a team, the Pacers can only be so good with their current NBA roster.

team. 24. . . Previous: . Chicago Bulls. 4

The Chicago Bulls were the most recent team to deal with the buzz saw that is the Golden State Warriors, as Chicago suffered its worst home loss since 2009 on Wednesday night, 125-94 on national television nonetheless.

Chicago is a strong team in the East without question, but when paired against other elite teams in the NBA, they always seem to come up short. That makes it hard for me to believe that they can win three straight best-of-seven playoff series to get to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1998.

Next: Tier I: NBA Finals Contenders

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