Who are the True NBA Title Contenders?

Here we are.

Finally, we have made it to one of the most interesting and competitive points in the NBA season. The trade deadline has passed, and some teams are making their final push for top seeds, while others are trying to maintain the dominance they’ve displayed all season. The playoff picture is starting to take a real shape, and there are plenty of high-profile games left in the regular season for us to determine who we think has the best chance of winning it all.

With that being said, there’s a big difference between making the playoffs and being a true title contender. Who has a real chance to make history?

By my count 7 teams have the talent, tenacity, and track record that prove they can win the Larry O’Brien trophy. In order of favorite to least favorite those teams are Cleveland, Oklahoma City, Boston, Los Angeles, Denver, Golden State, and New York. Here is the pitch for each of them.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Potentially the most complete-looking basketball team in the league right now. At the time of this writing, they have the best record in the NBA and there are plenty of reasons for that. Darius Garland looks like himself again this season. Donovan Mitchell has embraced the team-first attitude and does not seem to force things like he used to in Utah and even in the early Cleveland days. and potentially most importantly, the improvement of Evan Mobley has been ridiculous. Another thing going right for Cleveland right now is that they have remained relatively healthy all season. The thing that always kills teams in the playoffs is injury luck, and if avoiding injury is a skill then the Cavs have been the best in the league at that this season.

Oklahoma City Thunder

On paper, this is probably the most impressive roster in the league. Led by current MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and surrounded by an awesome cast, this team looks like every bit of the potential we saw in them years ago. The biggest concern to watch for this team is how Jalen Williams performs in these playoffs. The key to beating the Thunder has become when Shai has an off-night. This is going to happen 1-2 times per round in the playoffs with teams game planning completely around Shai. As the right-hand man and secondary shot creator, Williams will need to step up and take control of games. We see this sometimes with him, but other times he can be inconsistent. Maybe it won’t matter, as the Thunder have this crazy ability for random role players to step up and win a game for them, but in my opinion, it is going to be more difficult for that to happen in the playoffs.

Boston Celtics

This one is pretty obvious. The Celtics have the exact same team that won the whole thing last year. They are dominant and they have all done this before. They fall to 3 on my list because they have shown a lot of fatigue this year. They do not seem to care about this regular season because they know they will coast to a top 3 seed in the East. I feel like that can be dangerous for teams. Not everyone can just switch it off and on at a moment’s notice, and so I worry about these role players. The role players that made them unbeatable last year may not be able to find a rhythm come playoff time. The other critical component of this team is the injury concern. We see injuries knock teams out every year, and this Celtics squad has been struggling to get Porzingis and Holiday on the court all year. If those two do not play I do not think this team is at the same level of contender as a lot of these teams.

Los Angeles Lakers

What a fun story this is. The Lakers trade for Luka and then immediately become a contender. It almost sounds too good to be true but they have won 8 in a row at the time of this writing. JJ Reddick has been a really good coach this year, LeBron James looks rejuvenated and is actually playing defense, and Luka Doncic has come back alive and has looked like himself again. On top of that, Austin Reaves is playing the best ball of his career, looking extremely confident out there. Dorian Finney-Smith, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Rui Hachimura are perfect role players for this team. There is still potential for Dalton Knecht to positively impact the team. Overall a lot to like about this squad. The main concern is their lack of a center. Jaxon Hayes is not the starting center for a championship team… unless maybe you have two of the best basketball minds in the world on the court together.

Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets are still really good. People forget about this because they are very beatable in the playoffs compared to the teams ahead of them. However, they still have the best player in the NBA Nikola Jokic, good team chemistry, and role players who have won big games before. Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr., and Christain Braun are all really good pieces that were on the championship team a few years ago, and Russell Westbrook has looked really good as a Jokic sidekick this year. The problem with this team is who else is contributing. Their problem all year has been bench production and shooting. They are not a very deep team and their lack of sharpshooting could really hurt them in big moments.

Golden State Warriors

The story here is pretty simple and similar to the Lakers. They did not look great for a majority of the season, but post-trade deadline they are on fire. Jimmy Butler has fit in seamlessly and seems to be the perfect partner for Steph Curry for this year. The way this team is playing now, they could make a run for the title. It will probably take perfect health and some key guys stepping up for them such as Brandin Podziemski and Buddy Hield.

New York Knicks

The Knicks have been the litmus for NBA title contenders this season. If you are better than the Knicks, you are a real contender. If you are worse than the Knicks, you are not a real contender. Pretty simple. This Knicks team is really deep. They have a roster that competes with the rest of these teams. Their biggest concern is paint defense, and that has been the story with them all year. As great as Karl Anthony-Towns has been this season, he’s been worse than a traffic cone when it comes to defending the paint. Mitchell Robinson just made his season debut a few nights ago, so we will see how effective he is down the stretch and if that makes a big difference for them. Overall I am not sure if the Knicks belong in this category or the category directly below title contenders. But considering their ability to be better than every non-contender in the league all year, paired with the fact that I am a Knicks fan, I threw them in here at the end.

If I were a betting man I would not spend a dime on any team other than these 7 to win the NBA title. I believe from what we have seen this season, these are the teams that have a realistic chance and path to get the job done.