Eastern Conference standings update: Bucks are crawling up toward "elite" tier

We are just over the halfway point of the NBA season, and with ten postseason spots up for grabs in each conference, there is still much to be decided when it comes to who will be playing bonus basketball at the end of the season.

We are starting to see some separation at the extreme ends of the standings in the Eastern Conference while rumors continue to swirl ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline. With historic shooting from Cleveland, some surprising upstarts that just won’t quit and a certain Pennsylvania-based team having a season from hell, things haven’t started off exactly as most expected.

But with the conference leader on a historic pace, the defending champions lurking and some Central Division powers finding their groove, things are shaping up to be quite exciting as we head into the All-Star break and the home stretch of the season.

Here’s how things are shaping up as we near the end of January.

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NBA Eastern Conference standings

The Play-In race is starting to take shape. With the Nets, Hornets, Raptors and Wizards racing as fast as they can to the bottom and the teams above having clear separation, the Sixers find themselves at a precarious decision point for the rest of their season. Will they push for the No. 10 seed to take their chances in the Play-In or pull the plug with eyes on keeping their first-round draft pick this year? With the Bulls having similar reasons not to bank too many wins, the fight for that last Play-In spot will be fascinating to see.

Conspicuously absent from the bottom of the list are last season’s NBA laughingstock: the Detroit Pistons. This team has made the playoffs just three times in the last 16 seasons and none of those appearances yielded a single win. If the season ended today, however, they would be firmly in the top six of the playoffs, showing a remarkable turnaround from last season’s embarrassing performance.

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers continue to dominate, possessing a six-game lead over a defending champion who has won almost 70 percent of their games themselves in the Boston Celtics. They’ve shown no signs of slowing down and are on pace to win 68 games. This would be the most of any team since the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, who finished with the best record in NBA history at 73-9. The Cavs and Celtics are No. 2 and No. 3 in the league in net rating and figure to be on a collision course to decide the Eastern Conference championship.

But there’s a recent NBA champion who still wants to make sure they have something to say about that.

The Milwaukee Bucks continue to climb the standings

Things didn’t start off so well this season for the Milwaukee Bucks. After beginning the season winning just two of their first ten games, there were many a finger ready to push the panic button.

On Thursday night, despite being cooped up in a hotel for the preceding three days, the Bucks dispatched the Miami Heat in impressive fashion to move to 25-17, holding the No. 4 seed in the East. Since that 2-8 start, the Bucks have gone 23-9 with a plus-5.9 net rating. They’ve impressively sported the No. 9 offense and No. 5 defense in the league in that span.

This two-way play has been especially encouraging since finishing 19th in the league in defensive rating last season. Having improved to eighth at that end of the floor this season overall is a significant turnaround. The duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard paired with a floor-spacing big man in Brook Lopez was always going to figure out how to put points on the board, but their slippage on defense last year proved to be untenable.

Behind elite size, rim protection and rebounding in the frontcourt, the Bucks are excelling defensively in a bounce back season. They rank sixth in the league in defending shots at the rim and from short mid-range, using their length to stifle opponents who venture into the paint. They’re also No. 1 in the league in defensive rebounding rate, minimizing second-chance points and allowing the third fewest in the NBA. Their size and physical dominance were on full display in their NBA Cup championship win over the Thunder as they announced to the world they are a force to be reckoned with.

Not to be overlooked, they’ve also gotten noteworthy contributions on the perimeter from young defensive specialists in Andre Jackson Jr. and Ryan Rollins throughout the year. Both have provided frenetic activity to keep ball handlers uncomfortable and are in the 92nd percentile in defensive estimated plus-minus this year.

On the offensive end, Antetokounmpo remains a terror in the paint and in transition, while Lillard continues to light it up from the outside. They score so proficiently themselves, both being in the top 14 in the league in scoring, but also draw oodles of attention, helping the Bucks to No. 2 in the league in 3-point percentage. Lillard’s lethal pull-up game heavily contributes to this, but they have other rotation players in Taurean Prince, AJ Green and Gary Trent Jr. all shooting over 40 percent from deep to keep defenses honest. They've been particularly adept from the corners, where they lead the league at 45.2 percent.

They also still have a wild card in three-time All-Star Khris Middleton, who is still having up-and-down performances after returning from an injury that caused him to miss the first 21 games of the season. Both to limit his workload and add more defensive chops to the starting lineup, Middleton has been coming off the bench for the last few weeks, where he’s been a steady playmaker for the second unit, logging a career-high assist rate (28.8 percent).

Middleton is likely to be one of the biggest X-factors for the postseason hopes of the Bucks. His health has been a huge question for the last few years so counting on his availability is tenuous. In a completely separate way, he may also alter the team’s trajectory as an outgoing trade chip, being the subject of heavy speculation around deals involving Jimmy Butler, Bradley Beal and more.

Milwaukee’s climb up the standings is a testament to their resilience and adaptability on both ends of the floor. After rediscovering their defensive form and continuing to benefit from the offensive dominance of their star duo, they’ve reasserted themselves as an Eastern Conference threat that is not to be taken lightly. In many cases, a playoff series can be decided by which team has the best player on the court. With Antetokounmpo playing at an MVP level this is something that will be in the cards in almost any series so they'll certainly be part of the conversation when the winner of the East is decided.