The Central Division has been one of the toughest divisions in the NBA this season — it's possible that all five teams make the Play-In or better.
The only other division in the league with an outside chance to achieve that is the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. The division's top is secured and may also feature the only team in the Eastern Conference with a chance to defeat the defending champion Boston Celtics.
The following three teams are tied for the fourth seed in the East. Despite being tied in the conference, we'll have to make the tough choices about who is on top, but first ...
The team with the best record in the NBA.
1. Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers' offseason was filled with uncertainty. Rumors swirled about whether franchise player Donovan Mitchell wanted to stay with the organization, whether he would continue to play with Darius Garland, and whether J.B. Bickerstaff would remain the head coach.
Well, Mitchell signed a three-year extension, showing his loyalty to the city of Cleveland and his willingness to continue playing with Garland. The Cavs fired Bickerstaff and instead hired an offensive-minded coach, Kenny Atkinson. With one month to go until the playoffs, each move seems like a home run.
Mitchell is likely to make the All-NBA first team. Garland and Evan Mobley have both improved and gelled together with Mitchell. Atkinson is the favorite to win Coach Of The Year. Did I mention the Cavs have the best record in the NBA at 55-10?
Cleveland's season has gone as perfectly as you could imagine. All of their main stars have remained primarily healthy all season. The addition of Atkinson has Cleveland ranked 16th in offensive rating last season, the best offense in the entire NBA, with a 121.8 rating — more than two points better than the next-ranked teams.
They've remained a top-10 defense with their new head coach, with fourth-year big man Mobley potentially winning his first Defensive Player of the Year. The team is currently on their second 15-game win streak of the season and have secured the top seed in the East.
There is no discussion about who is atop this division. This team's sights are set on the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
2. Indiana Pacers
This position could change as soon as tomorrow; that is how close all these teams are. Indiana gets the current edge due to their wild victory over the Milwaukee Bucks this past week, after a miraculous Tyrese Haliburton.
The Pacers started slow this season, but like another team on this list, they have turned things around recently. Since Jan. 1, they have had the eighth-best net rating in the league and are tied for the eighth-most wins.
The Pacers have defeated Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks this week and have also beaten the Detroit Pistons in their last two matchups, so it seems right that they should win the tie-breaker now.
After having a bit of a slow start to the season, Haliburton has looked much more like the player who led Indiana to the conference finals this past season. Since January 1st, Haliburton has been averaging 19.5 points, 9.3 assists to just 1.5 turnovers and 1.8 steals while shooting 52 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from deep on 7.2 attempts. Haliburton has been one of the most efficient players in the league since the change of the New Year, holding a 66.2 true shooting percentage.
Pascal Siakam has also had his most efficient season since 2018, shooting a career-high 40.1 percent from deep on 4.3 attempts. However, he has averaged the fewest points per game since 2018, at 20.8. The veteran has delivered in isolation opportunities and has mainly come through when facing the elite wings of the East.
As mentioned earlier, this team is in a three-way tie with Milwaukee and Detroit. Whether they hold onto this spot in a week, who knows? This battle for the fourth seed will be one of the most intriguing storylines to watch the rest of the season. Indiana holds the best chance to secure homecourt advantage in the playoffs and replicate last season's playoff magic.
3. Detroit Pistons
There is a strong argument for Detroit to be ranked second here. Still, the respect for individual matchups and Indiana has a firm hold.
However, since the change of the New Year, not many NBA teams are playing better than the Detroit Pistons. Since Jan. 1, Detroit has had the fifth-best net rating in the NBA, at plus-6.6. The Pistons' 23 wins are tied with the Boston Celtics for the fourth-most wins over the same stretch. There is another argument to be made that Detroit is the hottest team in this group, not named Cleveland.
Over the last 15 games, Detroit is 12-3 — tied for the second-best record. They have wins over the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, and the Los Angeles Clippers. The Pistons also have the best defense in the league since Jan. 1. This team may be the hottest team outside Cleveland and Boston in the conference.
Cade Cunningham has also established himself as a certified star in this league. Since January 1st, Cunningham has averaged 27.1 points, 8.9 assists, 5.6 rebounds while shooting 47.7 percent from the floor, 35.6 percent from deep on 5.8 attempts, and 89.2 percent from the charity stripe. This is the most efficient extended stretch of Cunningham's career, recording a 58 true shooting percentage over this time.
Bickerstaff is second in odds for Coach of the Year, taking a team that won a franchise low 14 games last season, and less than 12 months has them in the chase for homecourt advantage in the East.
The Pistons' new starting lineup, which they've used since Ausar Thompson got healthy, has obliterated teams. In 404 minutes, the lineup of Cunningham, Thompson, Tim Hardaway Jr., Tobias Harris, and Jalen Duren has a net rating of plus-11.9. Duren and Thompson's improved play and Cunningham's leap have the Pistons in the middle of a storybook-type season.
We'll see if they're able to out race both Indiana and Milwaukee for the fourth seed.
4. Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks were incredibly difficult to rank. After losing to Indiana, putting them over the Pacers felt impossible. However, given how hot Detroit has been and their much better brand of basketball, it felt like a no-brainer to put the Pistons over them, too.
With that said ...
The Bucks employ the best player in the conference in Antetokounmpo. You have a chance of winning any series featuring the Greek Freak. If you had to ask 100 basketball fans who you trust more in a playoff series: the Pistons, the Pacers, or Giannis Antetokounmpo? Almost all 100 would probably say the NBA Champion.
However, these are the power rankings now, and the Bucks have lost three games in a row. They've been without Bobby Portis and will be until the end of the season due to a 25-game suspension for testing positive for a banned substance.
The Bucks have a better record over the last 15 games than the Pacers, but losing this week in the head-to-head matchup doomed them to be below Indiana. There is hope that the Bucks will not only soar up these rankings but also make a run in the playoffs.
The first reason is, as previously mentioned, that they have the best player in the conference, potentially playing the best basketball of his career. Antetokounmpo is averaging his usual 30-point double-double for the season on incredible efficiency, but this year he has extended his range as a threat. According to CleaningTheGlass, Antetokounmpo is in the 59th percentile on all mid-range jumpers, by far a career-high.
This should make it even more frightening to play against the two-time MVP in the playoffs.
Damian Lillard is also back to looking like Dame Time this season after a disappointing first season in Milwaukee. The future Hall of Famer is averaging 25.3 points and 7.1 assists while shooting 45 percent from the field and 37.7 percent from deep — the numbers across the board have improved much over last season.
So, while the Bucks fall under Detroit and Indiana in these power rankings, Milwaukee has the highest ceiling out of any team besides Cleveland and has a chance to make a deep playoff run no matter what seed they end up in.
The Bucks face the Pistons twice to end the season, which could determine which team ends higher in the standings.
5. Chicago Bulls
We're all confused by what the Bulls are doing.
Chicago traded Zach LaVine, in what seemed like the waving of the white flag, and finally started an actual rebuild. However, they kept Nikola Vucevic and, despite trading for their first-round pick back, have continued to win too many games to be a top team in the lottery.
The Bulls are very clearly the worst team in this division, and that should be by design. The problem is they are still in the final spot for the Play-In tournament, with a four-game lead on a Toronto Raptors team that has correctly decided to lose on purpose to boost their pick in the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes.
So, it looks like Chicago will be playing in their annual Play-In tournament, yet again.
The positive news is that Josh Giddey has played exceptionally well since the All-Star break. The fourth-year guard is averaging 23.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, 8.4 assists and 1.0 steals while shooting an incredible 52.2 percent from the field and 52.5 percent from deep on 4.4 attempts.
The Bulls traded All-Defensive guard Alex Caruso for Giddey this past offseason instead of taking back picks for the future. Many questioned the decision at the time, but if Giddey continues to play like this, maybe the Bulls have found their point guard of the future.
The hope for all Bulls fans should be that Chicago loses their first Play-In game and gets an extraordinary amount of luck in the lottery, resembling the last time the Windy City got a franchise player in Derrick Rose after jumping over 10 spots in the lottery to select him back in 2008.
In a deep division, it looks like the Bulls will be at the bottom for the foreseeable future.