By Adam Kerr
The NBA All-Star Break is over, and the home stretch of the 2024 regular season is near.
Every team has their roster for the rest of the season, the buyers have bought, and the sellers have sold. Now, it’s time to talk about the postseason. The ultimate goal in the NBA is winning the Larry O’Brien trophy in June. Since the Break is over, it is the perfect time to get a good understanding of who could achieve that ultimate goal, and which frontrunners will fall short (and one sleeper contender).
Boston Celtics: Contenders
The Boston Celtics are the clear-cut title favorites right now. Their stacked lineup led by Jayson Tatum & Jaylen Brown has the best record in the league after the All-Star Break, and they haven’t shown much of a weakness. There are concerns about a possible lack of a vocal leader of the team, but their star power and talent have outweighed that so far and it is hard to argue against the Celtics hoisting their 18th banner in 2024.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Contenders
The Timberwolves raise eyebrows when it comes to their title hopes this season. Everything is clicking, they’re winning games and it is hard to take them down. However, most are not taking the Wolves’ status seriously. In such a close Western Conference, it is impossible to predict who will make it out alive. However, one thing that may prove crucial to their run: is their frontcourt. The main critique and flaw of Minnesota’s roster construction last season was how Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert would gel. The team was struggling until the trade deadline when they acquired veteran PG Mike Conley via trade. Since then, they improved a lot and everything seemed to click.
What most don’t remember is that they did a better job against the champion Denver Nuggets than anyone else in their Finals run. Now that they have added chemistry, they may be able to take down a team like the Nuggets. Should they make it deep in the postseason, their size could expose the small OKC Thunder. Of course, the run may not happen if their mediocre offense doesn’t take an extra step when the rest of the league’s defense becomes better in the playoffs.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Pretenders
After many long years, the Thunder are back near the top of the Western Conference. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is an MVP candidate, Jalen Williams made a great second-year jump, and Chet Holmgren is everything they could’ve wanted out of the rookie big man. Because of their dominance, it’s hard to pick against them if they go against one of the bottom-seeded teams in the first round. There is one very big hole, however, in the shape of a veteran presence.
Yes, they added Gordon Hayward at the deadline, but one vet with minimal playoff experience on one of the youngest teams in the league will not move the needle. It was apparent with the 2023 Grizzlies and it’s been shown time and time again, that a young team without any playoff experience cannot make real noise in the playoffs. For that reason, losing to an experienced team like Golden State, Los Angeles, or Phoenix down the stretch may not be too farfetched.
New York Knicks: Contenders
It seemed like the world would never see the day that the New York Knicks were contenders ever again, but the orange and blue skies have opened up once again. Jalen Brunson is playing at an All-NBA level, Julius Randle is an All-Star, and the front office made great moves to put together a solid supporting cast around them. The addition of OG Anunoby immediately gave them the boost they needed to be a top-3 team in the East, and they used (a small portion of) their remaining assets to get Bojan Bogdanovic at the trade deadline. The new core has yet to be 100% healthy, but they were performing so well before Bogdanovic that adding him will surely be a huge addition.
One factor that has not been talked about enough is one common factor that has been apparent in recent championships. Every recent champion has had someone willing to do the dirty work. Aaron Gordon for the Nuggets, Draymond Green for the Warriors Dynasty, PJ Tucker for the Bucks, and so on. The current New York Knicks have two of those players in OG Anunoby and Josh Hart. By the time the more defensive-centered postseason rolls around, those players are extremely valuable. The only true obstacle for the Knicks is the Boston Celtics. If they can get past Boston, Knicks fans should be clearing their schedule for June already.
Denver Nuggets: Contenders
The Nuggets’ case for being title contenders is pretty simple. They won the championship last year, they haven’t missed a beat, and they have the best basketball player in the world on their team. Adding in a well-constructed team with continuity and there aren’t many organizations right now that don’t wish they were in Denver’s shoes. The only problem for Denver is that while they haven’t missed a beat, the rest of the West has loaded up and gotten more dangerous.
As many members of the team said, they were finally going to be taken more seriously and be the hunted rather than the hunters. Because of that, they are 36-19, fourth in the West. While it is sure that they will make the postseason, it will be tough to come out on top over teams like the Timberwolves, Thunder, and Clippers. However, as a wise two-time MVP once said, “Don’t count out the fat man,” and the Nuggets should indeed not be counted out heading into this final stretch.
Los Angeles Clippers: Contenders
There was a time when it looked like the Clippers’ hopes of bringing home their first championship seemed bleak. Those times are long gone, however, and the Clippers are the third seed in the Western Conference. The struggles of implementing James Harden into the system were solved, and the Clippers immediately went on a massive winning streak. Now, the team is faced with what might be their best chance to win the Larry O’Brien trophy yet. If this season is a failure, they could very well move on from Paul George – who is a free agent in the offseason – and who knows who they could get to fill that void.
With that being said, they are taking the season one day at a time and it sure looks hard to beat this team. They have the best Big 3 in the league, with Russell Westbrook setting a great tone off of the bench, and great depth surrounding the big names. On top of all of that, their stars have stayed healthy for the first time since the core was put together. Westbrook and Kawhi alone almost beat the Suns last year, and now with the added firepower, it will be tough to stop the team when the playoffs start.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Dark Horse
Of all of the top-tier teams in the league, the Cavaliers are the most interesting. Starting the season in a rough spot, there were questions about trading Donovan Mitchell in the offseason, blowing up the core, and who knows what else. Then Darius Garland and Evan Mobley were announced to be out for an extended period, and it looked like Cleveland’s season could be over. However, they rallied despite their shorthanded roster, got their guys back, and are now second in the East. All of this, and yet most people aren’t mentioning the Cavs as contenders in the postseason.
One reason the Cavaliers aren’t considered contenders is how up-and-down their season has been. If they started rolling in October, they might not only be considered dark horses in February. Another reason is how poor and small Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen played in the First-Round series vs. the Knicks in 2023. Now with more playoff experience (and one of the best playoff performers of all time in Donovan Mitchell), they have the perfect recipe for success. If they aren’t widely considered contenders by the time the playoffs start, they are the perfect dark horses of the NBA.
