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Accidents affected either side of the 2021 playoff bracket, however they have been notably brutal within the Western Convention.
Jamal Murray tore his ACL earlier than the postseason started, Anthony Davis didn’t make it out of the primary spherical, Mike Conley missed the primary 5 video games of the convention semis, and Kawhi Leonard was misplaced later in that very same collection. Chris Paul fought via one damage to push the Phoenix Suns to The Finals, however wanted wrist surgical procedure after the season was over.
Sadly, two of these accidents will spill over into the 2021-22 season, with Murray and Leonard anticipated to overlook all or a lot of the season. (Klay Thompson, in the meantime, won’t make his lengthy awaited return till December.) That seemingly takes two groups out of title rivalry, however there are lots of points within the West to handle.
The Los Angeles Lakers have LeBron James and Anthony Davis, however there’s no telling if the acquisition of Russell Westbrook was a plus or a minus. The Suns simply reached The Finals, however Paul is a yr older. The Utah Jazz had the league’s greatest file, however flamed out within the playoffs.
Perhaps the Dallas Mavericks can climb into that prime tier. And possibly Thompson’s eventual return has the Warriors recapturing their magic.
For this (sure-to-be-proven-wrong) projection, it’s the Suns, Lakers and Jazz on the prime, with L.A.’s risky offseason making them rather less of a positive factor than the defending convention champs.
For these offseason rankings, we’re every convention individually, with the Eastern Conference having been revealed final week. All stats discuss with the 2020-21 common season except in any other case famous.
Beforehand…
Pace: Possessions per 48 minutes (League Rank)
OffRtg: Factors scored per 100 possessions (League Rank)
DefRtg: Factors allowed per 100 possessions (League Rank)
NetRtg: Level differential per 100 possessions (League Rank)
The league averaged 99.7 possessions (per group) per 48 minutes and 111.7 factors scored per 100 possessions final season.
NBA.com’s Energy Rankings, launched each Monday throughout the season, are only one man’s opinion. When you have a difficulty with the rankings, or have a query or remark for John Schuhmann, send him an e-mail or contact him via Twitter.
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