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Who has the best chance of stopping the Warriors?
The NBA regular season is over, which means 16 teams are still in pursuit of the one true goal: an NBA championship.
But not every team has a serious shot at winning it all. Actually, only a handful of teams even have a puncher’s chance at challenging the Warriors, who are runaway favorites to threepeat this season.
Here’s every playoff team, ranked by championship chances.
16. Los Angeles Clippers
First round: vs. Golden State
The Clippers didn’t have championship aspirations this season. Their goal has been to rebuild without tanking. Somehow, they’ve done just that.
But they drew Golden State, which is inevitable death in four games. Los Angeles has had an amazing ride, but this one’s coming to an end early.
15. Detroit Pistons
First round: vs. Milwaukee
The Pistons don’t stand much of a chance against the Bucks. Detroit is outmatched at virtually every position, and Blake Griffin isn’t even 100 percent.
14. Orlando Magic
First-round: vs. Toronto
The Magic have been a very good defensive team, but there’s no one on their team as good on both ends of the floor as either Kawhi Leonard or Pascal Siakam. Nikola Vucevic is an all-star, but he’s drawn Marc Gasol in this matchup. This is a no-win situation for Orlando, but I do expect them to make it a five-game series.
13. Brooklyn Nets
First round: vs. Philadelphia
D’Angelo Russell has been special, and the Nets play basketball harder than most teams. But the Nets have had trouble defending dominant big men. Joel Embiid is the most dominant of them all.
The Nets may secure a win at home, but the Sixers are too stacked. Brooklyn has exceeded all expectations, but it would be a shocker if they advance out of the first round.
12. Indiana Pacers
First round: vs. Boston
Indiana’s title hopes went out the window with Victor Oladipo’s devastating injury. Are they better than the world anticipated? Absolutely. Could they get out of the first round? Why not?
But are they championship contenders? Definitely not. Even if Oladipo was healthy, the Pacers still need a second star.
11. Utah Jazz
First round: vs. Houston
The Rockets are just not a good matchup for the Jazz, man. The last time they played, Houston won by 27.
Donovan Mitchell is becoming a star, and Rudy Gobert locks down the paint and the glass every night. But it won’t be enough. Utah needs more star power and firepower to deal with Houston.
10. San Antonio Spurs
First round: vs. Denver
You can’t ever really count out a Gregg Popovich-coached team, can you? There’s just something about the Nuggets that doesn’t spell definite doom.
The biggest question facing the Spurs: Which DeMar DeRozan will show up? If it’s the DeRozan with a chip on his shoulder, San Antonio might pull off an upset.
The West is dark and full of terrors, and the Spurs haven’t been one of the more terrifying teams of recent years. Of course, we say that now, until Popovich pulls a new trick out of his sleeve. You can never count the Spurs out, until they’re actually out.
9. Portland Trail Blazers
First round: vs. Oklahoma City
Jusuf Nurkic’s injury was a devastating blow, but Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum are the coldest back court you’ll find in the league. Is it enough? Against Oklahoma City?
It just might be. Neither team has playoff track record that instills belief. This one could go seven, or, like last season, it could go four.
8. Boston Celtics
First round: vs. Indiana
Are the Celtics good enough? They were a game away from the NBA Finals last season, but somehow look like a shell of that team. There was no Kyrie Irving, no Gordon Hayward, and, more importantly, no expectations of a young Boston team without their all-star leader.
Now, Irving is back, Hayward is shooting his way back from injury, and the Celtics seem all out of whack. There is no reason a Boston team this loaded with talent at every position shouldn’t have one of the three best records in the East. But they’ve bickered amongst each other, straining their relationship along the way. Winning cures everything, and to some teams, the regular season doesn’t matter; only the playoffs.
The Celtics are still young, but they’ve done more with less. If Boston gets it together, in time, they should be able to get back on track.
7. Philadelphia 76ers
First round: vs. Brooklyn
The 76ers have the second-best starting lineup in the NBA, only behind the Warriors and, yes, better than Milwaukee and Houston. With two all-stars and two fringe all-stars, Philly should coast through the first round.
Chemistry is still an issue, as is Ben Simmons’ inability to shoot a three, which shrinks the court for everyone else. Another red flag: the Sixers have lost three of four this season to both the Celtics and Raptors, and they lost two of three to the Bucks. Several of those games, however, were prior to the trade for Tobias Harris.
Philly’s biggest strength is simple: they have found a way to win at times when they should have lost, and they have the most dominant big man in the NBA. That should be enough, especially with their star-studded starting lineup. If it isn’t, well, Philly has some decisions to make this summer.
6. Denver Nuggets
First round: vs. San Antonio
I was inclined to move Denver to eighth on this list for one simple reason: I don’t believe they’re as good as advertised. I believe in Nikola Jokic, I believe in Jamal Murray, and I believe in Mike Malone’s offense that’s allowed his Nuggets to absolutely obliterate teams. But I also believe star power wins championships.
So do good matchups.
The Nuggets will see San Antonio in the first round and the winner of Portland vs. OKC in the second. Anything short of a Western Conference Finals appearance is incredibly disappointing. Denver should theoretically be able to coast to their doom vs. Golden State or Houston.
5. Toronto Raptors
First round: vs. Orlando
Pascal Siakam has been amazing. He's been Toronto’s Draymond Green, a versatile two-way threat — only he can actually score, too. Kawhi Leonard is always his best self in the playoffs. Remember, he was the difference between the Spurs beating the Warriors, and the Spurs getting swept out of the playoffs. And the rest of the Raptors’ roster allows the team to switch defensively, run in transition, shoot threes and make plays.
Orlando has been good, by Orlando standards. But they don’t have the star power to compete. Toronto’s playoffs begin in the second round, more than likely a tough series against Philly.
4. Oklahoma City Thunder
First round: vs. Portland
Somehow, the Thunder regressed from playing championship-caliber basketball and find themselves in the bottom half of the West playoffs. They’ll have an uphill battle without home-court advantage and a first-round matchup against Portland. But if they make it out of that first-round, the door is wide open.
OKC has two superstars and a supporting cast of players who know their role.Paul George was absolutely fantastic for most of the year. RussellWestbrook has no choice but to come alive when the game matters most. And the Thunder had been a really good defensive team that George carried on offense.
Oklahoma City was a dark horse for a deep playoff run for many people. The odds are stacked against them, but if they play their best brand of basketball, there’s no reason why the Thunder can’t cruise by Portland and challenge Denver.
3. Houston Rockets
First round: vs. Utah
The Rockets were going to have to beat the Warriors one way or another. Now, they’ll just have to do it sooner, in the second round instead of the conference finals.
Houston shouldn’t have too much of a problem with Utah in the first round. They’ll spread them out, shoot threes, and let James Harden cook all night.
The Rockets were one win away from the NBA Finals last season, and that blown opportunity is still fresh on their minds this season. Houston isn’t the same team it was last year, but Harden has taken his offense to astronomical levels. He’s averaging 36 points per game this season. In the month of January, he averaged 43.6 points and put up 61-, 58- and 57-point games.
The Rockets are healthy, finally, after injuries to Chris Paul and Clint Capela. Houston might not be the same team, but they’re just as hungry, and they’ve got something to prove. They’ll have to prove it in the second round with their date
2. Milwaukee Bucks
First round: vs. Detroit
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Bucks secured the best record in basketball. Milwaukee hasn’t made it out of the first round of the playoffs since the turn of the century. That should change, and it should change very soon.
The Bucks aren’t a one-man show. Khris Middleton is an all-star, Eric Bledsoe could have been one, too. Brook Lopez is spraying threes like none other. And of course, Mike Budenholzer could be the Coach of the Year with what he’s done, taking Milwaukee from the eighth seed last season to the best team in the NBA.
Is it enough to overthrow the Warriors? Probably not. Is it enough to win the Eastern Conference crown? Toronto has something to say about that. So do Philly and Boston. But the Bucks are the East’s best hope. They’re the only team that could potentially have the best player on the floor, every game.
1. Golden State Warriors
First round: vs. Los Angeles
Can anyone actually stop the Warriors? If it’s not the Warriors themselves, the answer is a resounding, “hell no!” Golden State has five legitimate all-stars. Even though they’ve coasted through the regular season, they still enter the playoffs with the best record in the Western Conference.
There are little-to-no answers for Kevin Durant on an island, Stephen Curry in transition, Klay Thompson with more than a half-foot of space, or Boogie Cousins when he’s motivated. The Warriors are going to threepeat as NBA champions this season. No one, not the Rockets, Bucks, Raptors, Nuggets, Thunder, or any other team in the NBA, has the means to stop them in a seven-game series.