Atlanta Hawks: Eastern Conference Power Rankings, Feb. 4

Even if Philadelphia is playing marginally better in recent weeks, the 76ers still aren’t winning enough games to challenge either the Brooklyn Nets or the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference cellar. Now that the Lakers have won another game, the 76ers are the only team in the NBA to still have single digits in wins this season.

It’ll be very shocking to not see the Philadelphia 76ers win the 2016 NBA Draft Lottery. Anything besides a top two pick doesn’t justify the Sixers’ hyper-tanking philosophies in the Sam Hinkie era of Philadelphia basketball.

Nobody is playing worse basketball in the Eastern Conference at the moment than the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets are 1-9 in their last 10 games and have lost five straight as the most dysfunctional NBA franchise in 2015-16.

The Nets are one of only four teams in the NBA (Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Minnesota Timberwolves) to have fewer than 10 wins on their home court. Brooklyn has just 12 wins this year. If Philadelphia can eke closer to the Nets, Brooklyn could stand as the worst team in the East by the end of the season.

Jason Kidd has returned to the Milwaukee sidelines and the Bucks have lost four straight games. Just when we thought that Milwaukee would get out of the Eastern Conference cellar, the Bucks continue to prove that 2015-16 is not anything close to their year.

One troubling component of the Bucks is that it seems like their prized free agent acquisition of Greg Monroe doesn’t fit into the already tight spacing of the Bucks’ offense. While Monroe is a near All-Star caliber player in his own right, we saw this coming, as the Bucks are an underwhelming offensive team full of broken jumpers and no perimeter game at all. They may need to trade one of their starting frontcourt players.

Next: Tier IV: Not Making the NBA Playoffs