This season has shown a lot of competitiveness in the regular season and is continuing to show competitiveness in the postseason. This season, the Oklahoma City Thunder (OKC) went 68-14 in the regular season, the Cleveland Cavaliers (Cavs) went 64-18, and the Boston Celtics went 61-21. This season is one of only three times in the past 30 years where three teams won over 60 games in the regular season. This shows the amount of great super teams that dominated the regular season, making this one of the most competitive seasons of all time.
With this competitiveness comes a question, who is the best team and who has the best chances of winning the championship? While some might immediately say OKC or the Boston Celtics since they’re returning champions, the other teams have shown the ability to pull off upsets. Round two of the playoffs are very competitive. The Nuggets taking OKC to game seven, the Knicks being up 3-2 to the Celtics with Jayson Tatum injured, and the Pacers beating the Cavs, and the Timberwolves knocking out the warriors.. Even though OKC, the Cavs, and the Celtics were the best in the regular season, that doesn’t mean that they have the best chances of winning the championship. Teams like the Nuggets, Pacers, and Knicks have shown their competitiveness in the playoffs, giving the best teams a run for their money.
Currently in the playoffs, there are six teams left. These teams are the Celtics, Knicks, Timberwolves, Pacers, Nuggets, and Thunder. Since the Celtics lost their star player Jayson Tatum, I don’t believe that they will make it past the Knicks. This leaves five teams.
First, let’s start with the Denver Nuggets. I believe that this team has the lowest chance of winning the championship. The Nuggets are in a difficult position right now, they are in a game seven with the number one seed OKC. Their best players right now are Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon. While they have a very good core, they have no depth in the bench. Whenever the starters are subbed out, their offense and defense becomes very bad. Jamal Murray is also pretty inconsistent, he’s had very good high scoring games, but he has also had some games where he struggled with shot selection and turnovers. Overall, they just don’t stack up to the other teams in the playoffs.
Next, we have the Indiana Pacers. This team is coming off of a 4-1 playoff win against the Cavs, the one seed in the east. This team has an elite offense led by Tyrese Haliburton, ranking 3rd in the NBA in scoring with 123.3 points per game in the regular season. While they have a great offense, their defense is just average. With teams like the Celtics or Knicks, they won’t be able to hold them off from scoring. Even with all of this, they are still a contender to do serious damage in the playoffs.
The next team is the New York Knicks. They have an amazing point guard in Jalen Brunson, and a very good center in Karl Anthony-Towns. They are very well balanced with elite defense, versatile scoring options, and strong coaching. Some of their weaknesses though are that they rely a lot on Brunson’s isolation scoring late into games. They also have little playoff experience and struggle against high scoring and fast paced teams.
Then we have the Minnesota Timberwolves. This is a very good team, led by Anthony Edwards. They have a great defense anchored by Rudy Gobert, and a very versatile and balanced offense with multiple scoring options in Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle, Naz Reid, and Jaden McDaniels. They also have good playoff experience, going deep into the playoffs in previous seasons. Their only weaknesses are their reliance on Anthony Edwards for scoring sometimes, and their somewhat inconsistent bench depth.
Finally, we have the Oklahoma City Thunder. This is one of the most dominant teams of all time, boasting a 68-14 record in the regular season. This team is very well rounded, too. They have elite defense with Alex Caruso, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Lu Dort. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, an MVP level player, has lead the team with his elite scoring. They also have elite roster depth with Isaiah Joe, Cason Wallace, and Jaden Hardy that come off the bench when the starters need to rest. Their only weakness is their lack of playoff experience and struggling under pressure due to their young core. I believe this team has the best chances of winning the championship this year.
