1 weakness every contender needs to fix before the NBA Playoffs

After the All-Star break, it's time to truly evaluate how prepared teams are for the playoffs. While there are, of course, plenty of great teams around the league, every team has its concerns as the playoffs near. Yes, that's right, even the Oklahoma City Thunder have weaknesses that could come back to bite them in the playoffs.

The final stanza of the season is a great time to see if teams can overcome their concerns ahead of the playoffs, or if these will end up being true fatal flaws. With that in mind, let's look at one weakness each contender must address before the playoffs start. 

Detroit Pistons: 3-point shooting

Despite surprisingly being the top seed in the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons' 3-point shooting remains a glaring red flag. Notably, they rank in the bottom five for both 3-pointers made and attempted. Their elite defense and Cade Cunningham's all-around greatness negate this shooting issue. Nonetheless, in the playoffs, it could cost the Pistons in a big way. Having three of your seven rotational players (Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson, and Ron Holland) being complete non-threats from beyond the arc is a clear flaw.

The hope is that trade deadline acquisition Kevin Huerter can solve this problem. Yet, Huerter is shooting just 30.6 percent from deep range on the season. Furthermore, it's fair to wonder how he and Duncan Robinson will hold up defensively come playoff time. Undoubtedly, the Pistons have a lot going for them, but if there's something that could derail their title hopes, it will be their 3-point shooting. 

New York Knicks: Involve Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby more

The New York Knicks are a weird team, that's not to say they're bad by any means. Regardless, they have clear flaws, and much of it has to do with their two best players being subpar defenders. That's an undeniable problem, but I'm going to go off the grid with this one and say that Mikal Bridges' and OG Anunoby's lack of offensive involvement is equally concerning. 

Under new head coach, Mike Brown, it was widely anticipated that the Knicks would have a more egalitarian offense. While Brown has utilized the bench more, it's worth noting that Brunson's field goal attempts are up, while OG's and Mikal's are down. The lack of involvement of the two wings is especially problematic given Karl-Anthony Towns' down season.

This also makes the Knicks offense rather predictable, which is a problem come playoff time. Just as importantly, the Knicks aren't taking advantage of the talents of Bridges and Anunoby. 

Complementary shot creation is a significant factor in a team's ability to make a deep playoff run, and the Knicks aren't maximizing their roster in this regard. Luckily for the Knicks, this problem is fairly easy to address by simply empowering Bridges and Anunoby.

Boston Celtics: Generate more rim pressure

The Boston Celtics are in the midst of a surprisingly successful season, and it's actually really difficult to pinpoint a specific problem they need to address. Frankly, picking rim pressure almost feels like a copout because we've seen that this style of play can lead to success at the highest level. Additionally, the Celtics actually shoot the second-highest percentage at the rim. 

Nevertheless, they rank dead last in rim frequency and 27th in drives per game. I don't have a problem with this style of play -- but it could end up costing them more than in past years since they now rank outside of the top 10 in made 3-pointers. Plus, given their efficiency around the rim, it wouldn't hurt to generate a little bit more rim pressure. Jayson Tatum's possible return could help alleviate this problem. 

Cleveland Cavaliers: Clutch time offense 

The Cleveland Cavaliers are having a peculiar season, but things look to be (finally) trending in the right direction. However, their clutch time offense remains a real concern. Notably, they rank 18th in clutch time offense and have a losing record in their 27 clutch games. 

Donovan Mitchell has been overly relied upon all season long, and the lack of consistent creation next to him has been problematic. Mitchell's shooting percentage of 37.5 percent from the field in clutch time situations is more of a reflection of the defensive pressure he receives than a knock on him.

The addition of James Harden should help address this problem in a massive way. However, the presence of two non-spacing bigs (one is often benched) is still a clear hurdle. 

Oklahoma City Thunder: 3-point defense

Wait, the all-mighty Oklahoma City Thunder have a weakness, and it's on defense? I know it's hard to believe, but the numbers don't lie. Opposing teams are shooting 37.3 percent from beyond the arc against OKC -- which makes them the fourth-worst 3-point defense.

The Thunder are still the best defense in the league, by a good margin. They don't play any bad defenders, and force turnovers at an elite rate. Nevertheless, if there's a path to beating the Thunder, it involves winning the 3-point shooting battle, especially since they're a middle-of-the-pack 3-point shooting team on the other end of the floor. 

Thankfully for the Thunder, they have a historically great defense overall, and ranked second in 3-point defense last year. As such, this issue feels more solvable than many of the other teams' flaws. 

San Antonio Spurs: Defense in the non-Victor Wembanyama minutes

The San Antonio Spurs are way ahead of schedule. And it's shockingly hard to pinpoint a fatal flaw. However, the non-Victor Wembanyama minutes on defense certainly qualify as one. According to Cleaning the Glass, the Spurs' defense is 10.9 points per 100 possessions better with Wemby on the court. Another way to look at this is that the Spurs have what's equivalent to the best defense with Wemby on the court and the 18th best defense when he's off the court. 

At face value, this issue isn't the end of the world. Luke Kornet isn't able to match Wemby's versatility, but he's a rock-solid rim protector, and the Spurs have a great perimeter defense.  

Denver Nuggets: Rim protection

There's no denying Nikola Jokić's greatness. When it's all said and done, he might be remembered as the best offensive player in league history. However, throughout the Jokić-era, defense has been the Denver Nuggets' fatal flaw. Even when they won the championship in 2023, they did so with a below-average defense (which is a rarity). 

It's no different this year, as they rank 23rd in defensive rating, and their rim protection is the weak point of their defense. Notably, they rank 27th in rim defense, with opposing teams shooting 70.4 percent at the rim against Denver. 

Aaron Gordon's health could end up being the swing factor in the Nuggets' title hopes as he adds some much-needed extra rim protection and versatility. Unfortunately, his frequent hamstring injuries remain a massive concern. 

Houston Rockets: Clutch time play

The Houston Rockets' poor clutch time play has been one of the most interesting niche storylines of the season to me. Currently, Houston ranks in the bottom 10 for clutch time offense, defense, and net rating. 

The Rockets were a middle-of-the-pack clutch time team last year, and conventional wisdom suggests they should have improved this year by getting a true late-game closer in Kevin Durant. Nevertheless, they are clearly missing Fred VanVleet's steady playmaking presence. 

Furthermore, the Durant-Alperen Şengün duo hasn't meshed as well as anticipated, especially in the clutch. To me, it's baffling that Durant has fewer clutch time field goal attempts than Alperen Şengün, and that's something the Rockets must fix. If this problem isn't solved by playoff time, the Rockets will almost certainly be sent packing early. 

Los Angeles Lakers: Defense

Okay, this one is a bit general, but the Los Angeles Lakers' defense is a disaster, and looking at their roster, it's easy to see why. Outside of Marcus Smart, the Lakers have no competent perimeter or wing defender, and Deandre Ayton is a below-average rim protector.  

The Lakers' 22nd-ranked defense per Cleaning the Glass doesn't even tell the full story. However, the fact that they rank 29th in rim defense and 23rd in 3-point defense does highlight their immense issues a bit more. Frankly, it's really hard to have a good defense when you have only two positive defenders in your rotation (Smart and Jarred Vanderbilt).

Unfortunately for the Lakers, barring some genius coaching from JJ Redick, I don't see this issue being solved. The Lakers are the least dangerous of this group of contenders due to their awful defense. 

Minnesota Timberwolves: The Rudy Gobert dilemma

Much of the discourse around the Minnesota Timberwolves has (understandably) been around their poor bench production. However, I actually feel pretty confident that this issue is solvable with the addition of Ayo Dosunmu. What I'm not sure is solvable is winning the defensive minutes when Rudy Gobert is off the court and winning the offensive minutes when he's on the court.

According to Cleaning the Glass, the Wolves' defense is 12.5 points per 100 possessions better with Gobert on the court, yet their offense is 7.7 points per 100 possessions worse with Gobert on the court. On one hand, Gobert's rim protection is essential to the Wolves' identity and success. Conversely, his limited offensive skill set allows teams to trap Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle, putting the Wolves at a clear disadvantage.

This dilemma of sacrificing offense when Gobert is on the court and defense when he is off the court is a tricky balance for the Timberwolves, and it could haunt them in the playoffs.

Dosunmu's arrival could give them a chance to fix their defensive issues when Gobert sits. With the idea of Jaden McDaniels taking on a rim protection role and Ayo playing at the point of attack. Which in turn could give their offense more firepower. It remains to be seen if this is a viable solution, though, and despite his offensive limitations, there's no denying Gobert's importance to the Wolves' defense. 

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