Atlanta Hawks: Eastern Conference Power Rankings, Jan. 28

It’s not that the Charlotte Hornets have played exceptionally well in the last week to jump from 12th to ninth in these Eastern Conference Power Rankings. It has more to do with other teams in the East playing worse that them entering play Thursday.

Charlotte is 5-5 in their last 10 and are still a strong team at home in Time Warner Cable Arena (16-8). The problem with the Hornets remains that they are one of the worst teams in basketball away from the Queen City (6-16). Their roster is playoff caliber, but not being able to win away from Charlotte will prove costly in 2016.

What’s going on with the Indiana Pacers? They should have a better team that one that is only a game above .500 at 23-22 and in eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Even though the Pacers have undergone a complete philosophical change and are all in with the small ball era of the NBA, they still have superstar forward Paul George and a great head coach in Frank Vogel.

Indiana is 3-7 in their last 10 games and have lost three straight heading into their home game against the Atlanta Hawks at Bankers Life Fieldhouse Thursday night. This should be a top six team in the East, but we will have to find out what has caused the Pacers to slip in the Eastern Conference Standings the last two weeks.

For as many marquee players that are on the Miami Heat’s roster, it’s hard for me to see the Heat being able to get out of the first round with their underwhelming offense. Unless veteran two-guard Dwyane Wade can experience a rebirth in the postseason, the Heat have a second-round ceiling at best.

Miami should make the Eastern Conference Playoffs, but should they fail to miss them for the second straight season post LeBron James, then one would have to think that team president Pat Riley may have to consider if head coach Erik Spoelstra is the right man to keep leading the Miami Heat into 2016-17.

Next: Tier II: Eastern Conference Finals Ceiling