Ranking the East Playoff Contenders at FULL STRENGTH — Based on Advanced Stats

The REAL Eastern Conference standings, and what to expect for playoff matchups

Donovan Mitchell, Jalen Brunson, and Jaylen Brown will have a lot to say about the Eastern Conference title chase. (Jason Miller/Elsa/Getty Images)

The Cavaliers made moves to cement their status, while New York is feeling good about its massive offseason acquisitions.

Will any of that be enough to topple the reigning champion Boston Celtics?

Let’s look ahead to the rest of the season and the postseason, and answer these questions:

1. Who holds the power now in the East?

2. What’s the postseason outlook for each team in terms of seeding, matchups, and opportunities to advance?

For the projections, I’m using xRAPM and shorter rotations of the type we usually see in the postseason.

I simulated the rest of the season 10,000 times, taking into account each team’s estimated “full strength” (if healthy), its strength of schedule and its number of home and away games.

The rankings below are for the full-strength versions of the top 11 teams.