The NBA this past season has been hectic. We’ve seen many surprises, including the ascent of some young teams, the decline of established dynasties, paving the way for the future of the league. The older, star-studded generation of athletes are approaching the end of their careers. The aging of these legends will leave opportunities for new, young players and teams to dominate a wide open league. LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant are the gold standard of what it means to be an NBA player, but their days at the top are numbered. Who’s got next, then?
This topic will be split into installments where I’ll look at what trades and acquisitions teams can make to solidify their position as the best of the best. Based on this season, who can we expect to contend for a title next year? Can LeBron, Steph, and KD continue to add to their storied legacies while competing with younger talent? Or is it time for a new contender to step up and dominate? In this article, I’ll list 5 NBA teams in each conference that have championship expectations. In future articles, I’ll look at what trades and acquisitions can solidify their positions as the best of the best.
Western Conference:
1. Denver Nuggets
How can a team with a back-to-back (and likely three-peat) MVP not have the most pressure to win a chip? Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets have no excuse to not win the championship next year. Jokić, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter Jr. are hitting their primes next season. All of these guys will still be under the age of 30, so time is on their side. When Jokić surrounded by cutters, shooters, and defenders, the Nuggets are the deadliest team in the NBA: a Joker-led offense is highly-efficient and difficult to stop, Jamal Murray is a great shot creator and defender, and Michael Porter Jr. has the potential to be the best shooter in the NBA. Plus, if the Nuggets’ front office can provide elite role players for Jokić to work with, they’re unstoppable. They only have one big weakness: rim protection. For the past three seasons, the Nuggets have lacked capable frontcourt defense. Jokić is not a rim-protector, nor is Aaron Gordon, the most reliable defender. Trades and signings must be made to round out this roster to prepare for a deep postseason run. Here is the NBA’s series preview for Suns vs Nuggets: https://www.nba.com/news/series-preview-denver-nuggets-1-phoenix-suns-4
2. Los Angeles Clippers
Ever since joining forces in the 2019-20 season, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and the LA Clippers have failed to make an NBA Finals appearance. If there was a lot of pressure in 2020 to win a championship, there’s a hell of a lot more in the next year. PG and Kawhi are getting older, and we can’t be sure as to how long the duo will remain healthy and elite. The Clippers have something working with Russell Westbrook and have an impressively deep roster, and they can win it all next season. When healthy, Kawhi Leonard is the best two-way player in the league. Paul George is one of the best second options in the league. This Clippers team is scary, and they will dominate on both ends of the floor. Barring injuries, the Clippers have no weakness.
3. Phoenix Suns
For the past three seasons, the Phoenix Suns have looked like one of the best teams in the Western Conference. They’ve only gotten better since they’ve added Kevin Durant to their roster. In the 13 games Kevin Durant has played with the Suns, the Suns have gone 12-1, which has only solidified beliefs that they can win it all next year. The Suns’ biggest weakness is depth. While their starting five, featuring Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, and De’Andre Ayton, is elite, their bench isn’t. In their first round series against the much deeper Clippers, the Suns’ bench got smacked. The Clippers’ reserves outscored the Suns 187-72. Even though the Suns closed the series in five games, it required Devin Booker to turn into a basketball god and average 37/5/6 on 60/47/86 splits in 43 minutes a game. This won’t work in the long run, and the Suns need to round out their roster before they solidify their status as a superteam. Here is my recap of the 2023 NBA trade deadline: https://theridgeguy.com/nba-trade-deadline-summary/
4. Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers finally got rid of Russell Westbrook and exchanged his massive contract with veteran depth and spacing, something they lacked last season. The 2020 NBA champs are back, and they’re arguably deeper than when they won in the bubble. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are one of the best duos in the league when healthy. The Lakers have the playmakers, shooters, and defenders they need to give any team hell. But, they do have one weakness: perimeter defense. Currently, the Lakers’ best perimeter defender is Jarred Vanderbilt, but he can’t do it all alone. Letting go of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso was a mistake, but there is hope: D’Angelo Russell is an unrestricted free agent this summer, and if the Lakers don’t extend him, they have cap space to sign some key free agents in the offseason. The 2023 free agents are elite, and I’ll detail possible signings in a future article.
5. Golden State Warriors
As of 2023, the Golden State Warriors are the reigning NBA champions, and they still have traces of their championship DNA. The 2022-23 season was disappointing, and they finished with a 44-38 record. The squad barely resembled the team that dominated the early half of last season and won the championship. It’s been ugly, but Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green are still capable of playing winning basketball. We’ve seen flashes, but frankly, the team is very inconsistent, and their bench is mediocre. The Warriors’ front office has a lot of decisions to make, including resigning Draymond and Klay, along with creating space for better players. Jordan Poole has been terrible for the Warriors, and he’s been the reason for the bench’s inconsistency. He’s overpaid, and because of his oversized contract, the Warriors have no financial flexibility. The Warriors’ concerns go beyond basketball, and they need a lot to go right for them if they hope to extend their dynasty. They’re fifth on this list because this group has a history of bouncing back, and there isn’t another team that can replace the Warriors.
Eastern Conference:
1. Philadelphia 76ers
Joel Embiid and the Sixers have never made it past the second round, and each loss has been heartbreaking in its own way. But if the Sixers don’t win a chip in the next two years, the team can forget about Embiid and Harden staying for one more run. The 76ers are a solid team, but they have 2 major weaknesses: one, a lack of elite depth and a solid back up big for Embiid; two, the Sixers don’t have a convincing perimeter defense. Trading away Thybulle didn’t affect the team much from an offensive standpoint, but defensively? Philly doesn’t have any elite perimeter defenders. Embiid is an elite defender and has done plenty to anchor a great Sixers defense, but the playoffs are a different matter altogether. A weak perimeter defense in an isolation-heavy scenario is not helpful, so that needs some work. But, when a team is led by James Harden and Joel Embiid, it has a good chance and a lot of pressure to win big.
2. Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks just suffered the greatest upset in NBA History. The Bucks won 58 games in 2022-23, but got eliminated by the 44 win, eight seeded Miami Heat. Even if Giannis Antetokounmpo was injured, the Bucks should’ve been able to win more than just one game without him. The Bucks had an MVP candidate in Giannis, a DPOY candidate in Brook Lopez, and a 6MOTY candidate in Bobby Portis Jr. Jrue Holiday was slated to be an All-NBA Defensive First Team member. This team choked, and their problems run deep. Mike Budenholzer’s coaching style isn’t made more the playoffs. He doesn’t make very many adjustments, and when he does, they’re plain stupid. Outside of Bobby Portis and Jae Crowder, the Bucks’ veteran depth looks really shaky. Giannis is not a dynamic offensive player by any means. His lack of a diverse scoring ability limits the Bucks’ offense. Khris Middleton’s inconsistencies plague everyone else’s, because there is no other elite perimeter shot creator on the team! There’s a lot that needs reworking for the Bucks.
3. Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics have a lot of things going well for them. Their two stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are elite All-NBA wings, who are yet to hit their primes. The team has the perfect glue guy in Marcus Smart, not to mention a key veteran presence in Al Horford. Robert Williams III is arguably the best shot blocker/rim protector in the league. The Celtics’ depth is also elite. They have 6MOTY Malcolm Brogdon along with veteran two-way guard Derrick White. Not to mention that they have Danilo Gallinari and Grant Williams to round out the rotation. They only need one more thing, and that’s a capable backup center to maintain their defensive back line. It’s safe to say that the Celtics can win in 2023, 2024, and hopefully many more years down the line.
4. Cleveland Cavaliers
Even if the New York Knicks eliminated the Cavs in five games in the first round, things are looking up. Adding Donovan Mitchell to the team was a great idea, and the team had their first 50 win season without LeBron James. However, their youth and inconsistency did them in, as Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley were oftentimes offensive liabilities. The Cavs need a better point-of-attack defender and three-point shooter than Isaac Okoro, as he’s also been terrible offensively. The Cavs depth is questionable at best, and they need to make trades and signings to truly emerge as a top team in the East. Under Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland’s offense is truly elite, but they are not yet reliable offensive engines. This team just needs time to grow, and they have that time. Their core four pieces are at least a year out from their primes, and this team has a crazy high ceiling.
5. New York Knicks
It was tough for me to decide which team should occupy the number 5 spot, since Miami and Atlanta also have legitimate claims to be here. But the Knicks have been mighty impressive ever since they’ve added Jalen Brunson to their roster. This team currently finds themselves in the second round of the playoffs looking toward a battle with the Miami Heat. The Knicks are deep, and their star player has been their offensive back bone. The Knicks do have glaring weaknesses, though. Evan Fournier’s contract is a burden they must rid themselves of, if they want to get solid pieces to contend for a chip. Furthermore, the Knicks’ management has to decide if they want to keep Julius Randle or R.J. Barrett, since the fit between them is interesting. I don’t believe the Knicks can truly win with both of those players on the court at the same time. Both are inefficient and inconsistent volume scorers, who often end up guarding themselves and slowing down the offense. The Knicks have plenty of time to work this out, but they should look to take initiative to improve the roster.
And that’s all folks. These are the 5 best teams in each conference. All of these teams should expect to be top 5 seeds and should all expect to make the second round of the playoffs. There are some teams I didn’t mention, but that’s a sign of how good the entire league is. I don’t know about you, but I love how much parity there is in the league right now. Who knows, maybe a team I didn’t mention will win the chip, and I would absolutely love for that to happen. The 2023-24 season is gonna be LIT!
