NBA 2018-19: Eastern Conference Power Rankings Week 8

#5) Indiana Pacers

The Pacers have been playing without their star shooting guard Victor Oladipo for ten games now, but they have been steady in his absence with Tyreke Evans starting at shooting guard. After a slow start with their new temporary starting lineup, the Pacers have won three in a row and six of their ten games without their superstar. Evans hasn't shot the ball well in Oladipo's starting place - he is shooting just 32% from the field and 31.7% from three - but he is averaging 3.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.8 steals. If he can start hitting his shots, the Pacers will be much better in the short and the long term.

Myles Turner is finding his feet again offensively after struggling early in the season, but his defensive impact has been immense all season. He averages 2.7 blocks for the season and that number soars to a league-best 3.1 in Oladipo's absence. His shooting has improved as the season has worn on, and he has shot better than 50% over the last two weeks.

Turner, Domantas Sabonis and Thaddeus Young have formed a formidable trio of forward/centers as they have skill sets which complement each other perfectly. Turner controls the rim protection, Sabonis has become a multi-faceted offensive weapon with an above average passing game, and Young is a solid all-rounder who can defend nearly every position.

Indiana host Washington and Milwaukee this week before travelling to Philadelphia and then returning home to end their week by hosting the Knicks. The first three games of the week will give a great indication of exactly where the Pacers are at, and whether or not they can match it with the best teams in the East. Is this a contender to make it to the finals, or are they just a mid-tier team?

#4) Philadelphia 76ers

New Orleans Pelicans v Philadelphia 76ers

They haven't hit a wall, but Philly have run into some problems lately as Joel Embiid has been the first to admit he hasn't been playing well. Embiid has his best chance to turn his form around this week when the 76ers host Detroit and his greatest rival, Andre Drummond. Despite his slight dip in form this week, the team has remained strong as they have won nine of their last eleven games. Losses came against Toronto and the lowly Cleveland, while their best wins in this stretch have been against Washington, Utah and New Orleans.

Jimmy Butler has been vocal on his desire to keep Embiid happy, and team chemistry looks to be good at Philadelphia. Their schedule this week contains home games against Detroit, Brooklyn, Indiana before finishing the week in Cleveland.

Philly remain one of the top teams in the East, but they have struggled against the best teams in the conference; they have lost to each of Toronto, Boston, and Milwaukee at least once.

It may seem unfair to place Philly as low as fourth going into week nine, especially after they have won nine of their last eleven games, but the fact is their schedule has been weak, they have struggled against the best teams in the conference when they have had to play them, and Embiid is facing some struggles. This team can't be competitive without Embiid at his best, and they need him back there for their face-off with Detroit to open the week.

#3) Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee Bucks v Golden State Warriors

Although Giannis Antetokounmpo is making an almost indisputable MVP case, the Bucks have taken half a step back after their league-best form was on display to start the season.

Milwaukee sit at 17-8 to be second in the Eastern Conference, but they have been slowly sliding down the standings since they were at 7-0 in the early days of the season.

On the plus side, Giannis has been incredible, and the Bucks have done well to surround him with three-point shooters and become the best three-point shooting team in the league at 14.3 made threes per game. Malcolm Brogdon and Khris Middleton at 48% and 40.7% from long range respectively are leading the way for the Bucks, while Brook Lopez, Eric Bledsoe, and Tony Snell are all shooting above 35%.

Milwaukee's lineup consistency is playing a big part in their steady play, they have had the same starting lineup in 23 out of their 25 games and three of their starters haven't missed a game; Giannis and Middleton have each missed one game.

This team will go exactly as far as Giannis takes them, but at the moment that doesn't look like a trip to the finals. Their gutsy win in Toronto on Sunday was impressive, but can it be the momentum shifter which will make rival teams fear the deer?

#2) Boston Celtics

Boston Celtics v Chicago Bulls

The Celtics are back in business, and you can look no further than their 56-point defeat of the Chicago Bulls as evidence of that. While we now know the Bulls have some bad internal issues to work out which culminated in the thrashing, the Celtics' elite play can't be discredited. After losing four out of twelve games between the 3rd-23th of November, the Celtics have won their last five and started to look like the team that we expected them to be.

The smallest margin of victory during the Celtics' streak has been nine points, and the other four games have been blowouts with final sinning margins of 17, 28, 33 and 56. Brad Stevens has found his best lineups after tinkering with his starters and bench rotation earlier in the season and the team finally looks to be playing near their best. Kyrie Irving, Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum, Marcus Morris, and Al Horford have started together for three of the five games on this streak; Daniel Theis and Aron Baynes each started a game as Horford missed two during the streak. The five now-regular starters thrive all together, and Gordon Hayward and Jaylen Brown are starting to look best-suited to this team as spark plugs off the bench for the time being. As long as they keep winning, the lineup won't be changing any time soon.

The Celtics are playing New Orleans, Atlanta, Washington, and Detroit this week and have a chance to keep extending their win streak.

#1) Toronto Raptors

Toronto Raptors v Boston Celtics

Despite losing three of their last four games, Toronto still hold top spot of the East and top spot among the power rankings. The Raptors have played Philadelphia, Denver, Golden State and Milwaukee in its last six games and split the games to take two wins and two losses; the losses are justified by strong opponents, and not every team in the East has been able to defeat many of their rivals.

Leonard continues to make the Raptors' front office look smart by trading for him, and his squad are currently the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. He is enjoying the best statistical season of his career with career highs in points (26.1) and rebounds (8.1), to go with three assists and 1.9 steals. The former Spur already has a finals MVP trophy on his mantle, and the way this season is unfolding he could soon have a regular season MVP trophy to display next to it.

The Raptors have a troubling road trip this week; they will be hosted by The Clippers, Golden State, Portland, and Denver all within a six-day stretch this week. They will need to bounce back strong from their narrow home loss to Milwaukee in order to hold the top spot in the conference, this is a huge danger week for the Raptors and it will show us a lot about their credentials to win the Eastern Conference.