Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Everyone team enters the NBA Playoffs with their eyes on a championship but sometimes success is playing well, getting farther and prepping for the future.
- Teams like the Nuggets, Thunder and Cavs may need to win it all to consider this season a success.
- For the Pistons, even a deep playoff run that ends in a loss could be a success, validating a magical season and a bright future.
In sports, only one team can win the NBA Championship. However, not only one team ends their year thinking it was a success.
Expectations are what shapes the perception of an entire season. Some teams are just happy to make the Play-In Tournament, while others will experience a number of sleepless nights if they are knocked out earlier than they expected.
Which teams are under the most pressure this postseason? Here are the ones who we think are up against the most stress.
Oklahoma City Thunder
This one is the easiest ones. After winning the NBA title, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been the best team in the league from start to finish. All their top dogs are at the peak of their powers and who knows how long the tax aprons will allow this group to stay intact. You never know when your window is going to close in this league, and now is the best time for the Thunder to cement themselves as a dynasty. It's title or bust in Oklahoma.
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons don't necessarily need to win the NBA Championship this year, but Cade Cunningham and company do need a deep playoff run to prove to this front office that this is the group that can bring a title back to the Motor City.
Remember, at the deadline, Trajan Langdon said the Pistons wanted to stand pat and see what the ceiling of this current core was. If they can make a run to the conference finals, that could be enough to convince this current regime that what they have is good enough, and that they just need to keep working on the margins. However, if they can't, that could lead to a significant offseason makeover.
Denver Nuggets
It feels weird typing this but Nikola Jokic is now 31 years old, and while he still looks like (arguably) the best player on the planet, the clock is certainly ticking on his prime. How much longer do the Denver Nuggets have to win championships with Jokic and Jamal Murray? And while there has been no indication that Jokic wants to leave, is he complacent with trying to compete in Denver if this season ends without a title.
And boy, does Denver have their work cut out for them. First, they face off against the Minnesota Timberwolves -- a team who has historically given them fits in the postseason. And if they advance, the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder are probably going to be waiting for them. If they somehow escape all three of those series, they will still have to deal with the champion of the Eastern Conference. That's probably the hardest path any true title contender has to go through to this postseason.
Cleveland Cavaliers
It feels like just yesterday when the Cleveland Cavaliers made the all-in move to trade for Donovan Mitchell. However, it wasn't just yesterday. It's been four years since that day, and to this point, the Cavaliers don't even have a conference finals appearance to show for it.
This year, Cleveland doubled down even further by swapping the oft-injured Darius Garland for the more reliable James Harden. So far, this decision is paying dividends, as the Cavaliers boast a plus-25.6 net rating per 100 possessions when Harden, Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen share the floor. That is plus-12.6 points higher per 100 than when that same trio shared the floor with Garland this year.
But at this point, the Cavaliers have been there, done that with this current core. Cleveland has got to make a deep playoff run this year if they want to avoid any wide-scale changes.
More NBA news and analysis:
Add us as a preferred source on Google