Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Eight playoff teams now face critical offseason decisions after first-round exits — Hawks, Celtics, Raptors, Magic, Nuggets, Rockets, Suns and Blazers.
- Each franchise has a clear priority ranging from roster construction and talent upgrades to coaching changes.
- The next moves will determine whether these teams rebound quickly or fall further behind.
With the first round of the NBA Playoffs now over, the pool of active teams has split in half from 16 to eight. While it will be fun to see which of these eight teams will ultimately be the last one standing, the eight that were sent home have a lot of questions to answer as they regroup and focus on next season.
When you get eliminated in the first round of the postseason, you usually have more than one problem to address. Still, some issues are more prevalent then others. Here is the biggest point of emphasis for each team this offseason.
Boston Celtics: Find someone who can get to the basket
The Boston Celtics have a good team, and Joe Mazzulla is a good coach. One first round upset doesn't invalidate those things. However, they do need to make some changes to their overall offensive philosphy. I think this tweet summarizes their issues best:
It’s time for the Celtics to re-think their offensive structure.
— Tyler (@tylerbritton_) May 3, 2026
Teams of their caliber aren’t supposed to have a floor this low. They’re shooting 40-50 3s a game, oftentimes with zero penetration, and hoping that they get “lucky” with the timing of their hot shooting nights.…
According to Cleaning the Glass, the Celtics finished 30th in rim frequency this season. That mark is completely unacceptable for a team with title aspirations. They need to add someone who can touch the paint consistently for when those moments where their outside shooting bogs down. They can't keep allowing teams to beat them just because they had a bad shooting week.
Toronto Raptors: Retain Sandro Mamukelashvili
Sandro Mamukelashvili was one of the best minimum free agent signings of the 2025 offseason. His blend of size and shooting (38.9 percent from 3) at the five spot makes so much sense alongside the team's franchise centerpiece, Scottie Barnes. Mamukelashvili can hide Barnes' biggest weakness (3-point shooting), while Barnes can make up for his lack of rim protection (36th percentile block rate among bigs).
Since Mamukelashvili played so well, he will be looking for a lot more than the veteran minimum. But the Raptors need to prioritize bringing him back because he gives their team some much-needed lineup balance (think about how dynamic and versatile a frontcourt of him, Barnes, and Collin Murray-Boyles can be).
Atlanta Hawks: Get bigger
The Atlanta Hawks took a lot of positive strides this season, but they clearly are still missing a few key ingredients. One of those things is giant figure in the middle to protect the paint. Onyeka Okongwu is a dynamic offensive five man (shooting 37.6 percent from downtown), but he is too small to be a true defensive anchor.
This was extremely apparent in round one against the New York Knicks. They allowed the highest frequency of shots around the rim, and Karl-Anthony Towns put together the best series of his career.
They need another creator to alleviate the burden currently on Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker's shoulders, but getting a true interior stopper will go a long way toward making their defense (which was already ninth in the association) one of the best in basketball.
Orlando Magic: Find the right coach
To me, we have enough evidence that the duo of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner does not amount to winning basketball at the highest levels. However, given that both of them recently inked monster rookie extensions and have red various red flags diminishing their value, trading one of them this offseason seems unlikely.
They also used most of their trade chips to bring Desmond Bane to town. So, the only real avenue left to try and make this pairing work is to find a coach with a creative vision for the tandem. With head coach Jamahl Mosley officially out of office, Orlando now has the chance to scour the coaching world to find a worthy successor.
Denver Nuggets: Get younger and more athletic
No team scored more points in the paint on a per game basis than the Minnesota Timberwolves (per NBA.com). And while the Timberwolves have some talented drivers, the main reason they had so much success was that there wasn't much stopping them from getting to the basket.
Nikola Jokic has never been a strong vertical threat. But the Denver Nuggets did little to make life easier on him. Without Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson for much of the series, the Nuggets looked too old and unathletic to hang with the Timberwolves, even when they were getting slammed with their own injuries.
Having Gordon and Watson makes a big difference, but both of them missed a ton of time with injuries (missing a combined total of 74 games). Along with re-signing Watson, Denver needs to find ways to field a rangier supporting cast around the best player in franchise history.
Houston Rockets: Get a table-setter
I love Steven Adams, but your offense should not completely fall apart without him. The basis of your halfcourt offense can't be predicated on a giant cleaning up your inefficient misses and turning them into layup opportunites.
We also saw how much the Houston Rockets struggled in Game 2 against the Los Angeles Lakers when the Purple and Gold doubled Kevin Durant, exploiting his shakey handle and his teammates' inability to capitalize on 4-on-3 advantages.
Houston needs to make sure that they start next season with a lead initiator who can handle pressure while also creating for himself and his teammates, allowing Durant to fall into a role more in line with the one he had with the Golden State Warriors. Maybe that answer is as simple as the return of Fred VanVleet, but he'll be 32 and fresh off a torn ACL injury when he steps on the court next season. So, it is probably smarter to look for a replacement this offseason.
Portland Trail Blazers: Upgrade their center position
This postseason, the Portland Trail Blazers were a -17.9 per 100 possessions in Donovan Clingan's 107 minutes, and a +3 per 100 in Robert Williams III's 108 minutes. The fact that they could outscore a team like the San Antonio Spurs in Williams' minutes shows how good they can be with a center who is a true threat around the rim (Clingan's rim accuracy was in the 39th percentile among bigs this year).
The issue with Williams is that he's an unrestricted free agent with a list of previous injuries that's as long as the Eiffel Tower. Do you want to count on a guy like that as your starting center heading into next season? Probably not. But it also doesn't look like continuing to lean on Clingan will help them take a meaningful leap in 2026-27. So, it seems like they need to figure out what a real upgrade at that position would look like.
Phoenix Suns: Get Devin Booker a side kick
The Phoenix Suns exceeded regular season expectations only to get bounced by the Oklahoma City Thunder in four games. Next season, it likely won't be enough to hang around at the fringes of the playoff picture. The Suns need to pick a direction and commit to it.
If that direction is squeezing the most out of the rest of Devin Booker's prime (next year will be his 12th season, believe it or not), then they need to find another efficient creator to pair with him and make life easier on him.
Notice we said an "efficient" creator. That means that Jalen Green (13th percentile in true shooting) and Dillon Brooks (25th percentile) won't cut it. They need someone who can boost their 16th-ranked offense while not hurting their 10th-ranked defense.
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