The Whiteboard: Answering big questions for the Cavs, 76ers, Rockets and more

Our NBA writers are gathered around their own family tables today, so we spent some time in the kitchen yesterday prepping this roundtable feast and giving thanks for everything the basketball gives us. The Whiteboard will be off Friday but we'll be back on our regular schedule next week with a big offseason addition finally making his debut.

1. How much longer can the Cavs sustain an argument as the best team in the NBA?

Quinn Everts: I think this is lasting the entire regular season! I also don’t subscribe to the idea that a fun, successful regular season is rendered pointless if a Finals run doesn’t ensue, so I think the Cavs should just enjoy trying to win 70 games, quite frankly. 

Ian Levy: No disrespect to the Celtics or Thunder but I think there’s a decent chance that the Cavs end up pacing the league for the entire regular season. They’re a very good team but they’re also playing with a chip on their shoulder and clapping back at all the folks who assumed last season’s playoff washout would lead to a full rebuild. They have the motivation to push in ways the Thunder and Celtics might not. Right now, Basketball-Reference gives them a 71 percent chance of finishing as the No. 1 seed in the East and their projection model has them finishing two games ahead of OKC as well.

Wes Goldberg: If we’re talking about best team, that ship has already sailed. The Boston Celtics are the team to beat in that conference until they lose the belt in the postseason. The Cavaliers could – and likely will – end up with the best regular-season record, but you’re judged by what you do in the playoffs.

Lior Lampert: If Kristaps Porzingis’ 2024-25 season debut against the Clippers taught us anything, the East still runs through the Celtics. The Cavs have undoubtedly been a fun story and established themselves as a legitimate threat this season, but Boston remains the team to beat. Then, when factoring in the West, the Thunder and Warriors won’t go quietly into the night either.

Christopher Kline: Yeah, so Boston is the “best” team in the sense that Boston will represent the East in the NBA Finals and probably take home another trophy. As for regular season record, however, I’d bet Cleveland finishes in the No. 1 seed. This team is every bit as real as the record suggests, helmed by two dynamic creators in Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, and anchored by two all-NBA defenders in Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. The supporting cast has been the real revelation, however, with Isaac Okoro scorching nets from 3-point range and Ty Jerome joining the MIP discussion. The Cavs were always good. Now they’re just healthy. 

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2. If a genie gave the 76ers a chance to go back in time and redo the offseason, knowing how the first month of the season would unfold, what should they do differently?

Quinn Everts: I’d force the genie to take us back to June 22, 2017 where I’d be screaming at Bryan Colangelo like Matthew McConaughey in Interstellar to not draft Markelle Fultz. This summer, though? I still think Philadelphia — theoretically — made good roster-building moves. Maybe replace Eric Gordon with, say, Naji Marshall, but other than that Morey did what he could.

Ian Levy: Even with the benefit of hindsight and a time machine, running it back is, unfortunately, the high-probability play and Daryl Morey loves him some probability. But if it was me, I’d roll the dice — skip signing Paul George, skip the Embiid extension and send him to Atlanta for Clint Capela, Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Onyeka Okongwu and a pick. Then roll the dice on an Onkonwu-Johnson-Daniels-McCain-Maxey core. Almost certainly a lower ceiling, almost certainly better vibes.

Wes Goldberg: What would they redo? Signing Paul George? Finding different role players than Caleb Martin, Eric Gordon and Andre Drummond? I’m not sure there was a better move on the board. Maybe they could have swung a trade for Embiid’s GOAT, Jimmy Butler, rather than trade for George, but it’s not as if Butler’s numbers have been stellar either. Can that genie take us further back to when the Sixers started the process in the first place?

Lior Lampert: Stay the course. Ironically, as bad as it’s been, the “process” was right for the 76ers this summer. They landed the top free agent on the market and re-signed their two franchise cornerstones. Moreover, Philly filled the roster around them well while not hurting their long-term payroll situation, manipulating the new CBA and dreaded aprons. It was a fundamentally sound approach, though the results have yet to reflect that. Eventually, something has to give.

Christopher Kline: The folks above are correct. The Sixers didn’t really make the “wrong” choices this summer. You had to take the plunge on Paul George. You can quibble with Caleb Martin, maybe, but he’s going to come around eventually. The money allotted to Kelly Oubre and KJ Martin couldn’t go anywhere else and those are two prime trade chips, at the very least. Want to complain about the Joel Embiid extension? That’s easy in hindsight, but he’s still a top-five player in the NBA when healthy and the beating heart of Philadelphia’s title hopes, so … you have to ride or die with him. It’s a mess — an unfortunate, avoidable, deeply frustrating mess — but hey, at least Jared McCain is the NBA’s greatest source of joy. 

3. How low could the Nuggets finish in the standings and still have Nikola Jokic win MVP again?

Quinn Everts: If Nikola Jokic continues to play at this level, I don’t think Denver will finish lower than eighth — and I think that’s as low as the team can go if Jokic wants to earn MVP No. 4. 

Ian Levy: Assuming everyone, including Jokic, finishes with similar individual numbers to what they have now — he’s the MVP as long as the Nuggets don’t miss the playoffs entirely.

Wes Goldberg: It might depend more on who finishes first in the West. If the Thunder finish with the best record, there will be a strong push to award Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the MVP. But if the Nuggets somehow finish with a top-two seed, it will be hard to deny the Joker his fourth.

Lior Lampert: Frankly, Jokic is playing so well that seeding may not influence his status as this year’s MVP (for me). For crying out loud, he’s averaging a near-30-point triple-double! When you’re head and shoulders above the rest of the competition like him, it’s easy to ignore where the Nuggets sit in the standings. As incredible as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is, he has the benefit of working alongside a remarkable team filled with impactful players. Denver’s franchise icon is doing everything for them.

Christopher Kline: The West is a bloodbath and voters probably understand that. Nikola Jokic is lapping the competition right now, so unless Denver falls out of the postseason race entirely, this seems like the foregone conclusion. It’s too early for that talk, of course, but we are talking about Jokic. He’s the greatest player of the post-prime LeBron, post-prime Steph generation, or whatever we want to call this current era. He’s one of the best we’ve ever seen. Lock it in. 

4. Alperen Şengün is the most important player on the Rockets. Who are the next three most important players, in order?

Quinn Everts: Amen Thompson can wreck a game with his defense better than about 98 percent of the league, so I’m putting him right after Şengün. Then, give me Jabari Smith Jr and Jalen Green. Say what you will, but Green is Houston’s leading scorer — without him, this roster is thin on guys who can get their own shot consistently.

Ian Levy: As useful as they are right now, Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks aren’t going to be key pieces on a championship contender. I also don’t believe in Jalen Green, which means the next most important pieces are the hypothetically blossoming core of Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr. and Reed Sheppard.

Wes Goldberg: The Rockets have a bunch of interesting players around Şengün, but the spine of their framework is made up of their long defenders, Jabari Smith Jr., Amen Thompson and Tari Eason. Without them, Houston’s elite defense falls apart.

Lior Lampert: Amen Thompson has entrenched himself as a foundational piece for the Rockets. His freakish combination of length, jump-out-the-gym athleticism and playmaking have made him an indispensable asset. Then, I’ll go with two less-trendy picks in Fred VanVleet and Jalen Green. Despite their inefficiencies and defensive shortcomings, they each bring something to the table that other members of the club lack: Facilitating and shot creation.

Christopher Kline: We can’t really negate Fred VanVleet in this discussion. He’s still the starting point guard, with a hand in everything the Rockets do, even if it’s been rough sailing these first few weeks. Amen Thompson is absolutely on track to claim the No. 2 mantle in Houston, though. Maybe the No. 1 mantle before too long. Jabari Smith has the edge in terms of minutes played, but Tari Eason is lapping him in terms of impact right now. Jalen Green factors in there somewhere, but his lack of progress on a new contract is … concerning. 

5. More depressing change in vibes this season — Timberwolves or Pacers?

Quinn Everts: Minnesota for me. I think a bad year for the Pacers would be okay; they’re young, overachieved last year, and their star is still pretty clearly hurt. A step back this season wouldn’t feel detrimental. But Minnesota’s vibes feel similar to the first season after the Gobert trade, which is to say, they’re probably not all eating dinner together after games.

Ian Levy: The Pacers make me sad. The Timberwolves make me angry. Why can’t Rudy Gobert just let his teams have nice things?

Wes Goldberg: Before Tyrese Haliburton’s potential breakout, it had been the Pacers. The vibes were bad. Just watch how dejected he was after a recent loss. Hopefully, Haliburton is truly snapping out of this rut, because the Pacers are a joy when he’s right.

Lior Lampert: Indiana, and it’s not particularly close. Considering the Timberwolves made a major offseason move to shake up their core, their sluggish start/vibe shift isn’t out of the blue. The same can’t be said for the Pacers, who are virtually running it back with the same group that reached the Conference Finals last year. Tyrese Haliburton’s regression from elite, All-NBA level floor general to what he’s been this season must be studied.

Christopher Kline: I am a longstanding defender of Rudy Gobert, but he has been a major source of bad vibes in Minnesota this season — and he’s why I’m picking the Wolves here. Gobert is just kind of lame. The haters are right. Maybe not about his impact, but about his attitude and off-court persona, definitely. Swapping KAT for Julius Randle was always going to age poorly. We tried to convince ourselves and Randle isn’t all bad, but Randle was easily the most frustrating aspect of last season’s Knicks team, despite his All-Star berth and major numbers. He’s a tough sell when the shots aren’t falling. All the buzz around Donte DiVincenzo’s potential unhappiness in a bench role isn’t helping.