Ranking 5 the most likely NBA champions if season resumes

5. Boston Celtics

The Rockets could very well use this hiatus to rest up before unleashing a two-month run of scalding 3-point shooting in small-ball lineups, and the Nuggets should probably be somewhere in the conversation as the 3-seed in the Western Conference, but let’s be honest: The West is a gauntlet, with two legitimate title contenders you don’t have to talk yourself into. Because of this, the Boston Celtics snag the last spot on our list here.

The Celtics aren’t your most traditional contender. In fact, they had lost four of their last six games before the NBA suspended its season. However, this extended break halts all momentum, both positive and negative. Going by win percentage, they’re technically a top-five team, and even if they play in an easier conference, it goes deeper than that: Boston also ranks fifth in offensive rating, fourth in defensive rating, fifth in net rating and fifth in point differential.

The only two other teams to rank in the top-five for both offensive and defensive rating are the two juggernauts out in L.A., so by the raw metrics, the Celtics shouldn’t be counted out. If Jayson Tatum‘s midseason leap carries over post-hiatus, this team has the star power to give anyone hell in a seven-game playoff series.