Power Rankings: Eastern Conference Playoffs Edition

#1 Toronto Raptors

The Raptors have the second-best record in the league

There are a number of precipitating factors that might lead to the Raptors not making it to the NBA Finals this year, but if we are being honest to ourselves, the Toronto franchise has been a cut above its Eastern Conference competition for most of the year. They are the only Eastern Conference team to rank among the top 5 teams in both offensive rating and defensive rating as per NBA.com, and they are 3rd league-wide in net rating.

The Toronto offense has undergone a sea change through the offseason of 2017, and it took a lot of adjustments in the playing style of their 2 All-Stars Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan to make it work. Instead of relying on isolation plays from their 2 stars, the Raptors now run a motion offense that allows for more touches for their role players, who have come up big during this regular season campaign.

Jonas Valanciunas and Jakob Poetl have formed a pretty good center rotation, while Serge Ibaka and Pascal Siakam have been crucial components of the Raptors success at the power forward slot. Rookie OG Anunoby has already become a defender par excellence, while the likes of Norman Powell, CJ Miles, and Fred VanVleet have provided the required play from the bench.

The Raptors don't have a specific weakness in their gameplay and can dominate ball games in a variety of different ways. Dwane Casey has gotten the best out of his players this season, and based on the evidence from this regular season campaign, the Raptors shade it as the favorites to emerge from the Eastern Conference playoffs for a prospective first Finals series in franchise history.