The Miami Heat are a top-4 team in the Eastern Conference, but the Philadelphia 76ers lottery team have two nominees in the top-ten list. Miami defeated the Milwaukee Bucks with Giannis Antetokounmpo twice within a week, yet gets less respect than a 23-21 team.
The Boston Celtics have one starter, the Toronto Raptors another, the Cleveland Cavaliers two senior-citizen members. The other six starter pool aren’t even among the top-four Eastern Conference teams.
I view the results as validating Erik Spoelstra’s approach of a win-first mentality.