Rank the Conferences 2026-2027

[SparzWizard]

Think we did one last year, and given that it's almost time for the regular season to start. Let's have some fun making some predictions and see how they fare!

EAST
1. New York
2. Indiana
3. Philadelphia
4. Boston
5. Detroit
6. Cleveland
7. Miami
8. Toronto
9. Atlanta
10. Orlando
11. Washington
12. Charlotte
13. Brooklyn
14. Chicago
15. Milwaukee

WEST
1. OKC
2. San Antonio
3. Minnesota
4. Los Angeles Lakers
5. Houston
6. Denver
7. Portland
8. Dallas
9. Utah
10. Phoenix
11. Golden State
12. Memphis
13. New Orleans
14. Los Angeles Clippers
15. Sacramento

[Vermont Green]

This is hard.  I think SparzWizard has it about right.  The teams that I wonder about are IND and TOR. They seem to be the wildcards in my mind.  TOR could be really good if Kawhi stays healthy, which he doesn't usually.  And I have no idea what to expect from IND.  In the finals June 2025, that is a long time ago.  I guess if Haliburton bounces back like Tatum, they should be good, but I have some doubt about them.

Below are the EC betting odds.  They have TOR a little higher and IND quite a bit lower.

NYK       +350
PHI        +360
BOS       +550
DET       +850
CLE       +900
MIA       +950
TOR     +1000
IND     +1400
ATL      +2200
ORL     +2500
CHA     +4500
WAS    +7500
CHI    +30000
MIL    +30000
BKN   +50000

[Who]

Eastern Conference

1 Boston
2 Detroit
3 Indiana
4 New York
5 Toronto
6 Cleveland

7 Philadelphia
8 Atlanta

9 Miami
10 Washington
11 Charlotte
12 Orlando

13 Chicago

14 Brooklyn
15 Milwaukee


Those teams between 9th and 12th are difficult to rank. I could have put them in any order. No real separation there.

I am nervous about Miami and Washington. Both have injury prone stars. If they healthy, they should make the play-in. But they could bottom out if they do not stay healthy.

I am surprised at how vulnerable Orlando look. Charlotte have a solid team as well. These are quality squads that historically you have bet on as a low seed playoff teams but the depth in the East is such now that they might finish outside the top 10. Someone will. Someone with talent. There are 12 playoff quality teams. Only 8 playoff spots. Only 10 including play-in spots.

I put Chicago in between the top 12 and bottom 2 because they could be a fun below average team. They have lot of athleticism and can cause matchup issues. Hopefully that will allow them to punch above MIL & BKN.

[Who]

Western Conference

1 OKC
2 San Antonio

3 Houston
4 Denver

5 LA Lakers
6 Minnesota

7 Golden State
8 Dallas
9 Utah
10 Phoenix

11 Memphis
12 Portland

13 LA Clippers
14 New Orleans
15 Sacramento


The West appears to have less depth than the East. I don't feel great about the teams 7-10 nevermind 11 & 12. Utah looked like they would be a strong team until they lost Kessler. Now it is more so-so. GSW have serious problems with Porzingis. Dallas still have question marks. Will Cooper Flagg take a leap forward? How healthy will Kyrie be? Is Lively ever going to come back?

Portland are a mess. Far too many guards. Imbalanced. Their defense is going to suffer. I expect them to underachieve. Memphis got some depth, size and young talent. They could overachieve.