The NBA restart is less than a month away and 22 teams are preparing to go to Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Today, we look at the 5 biggest contenders (Bucks, Lakers, Clippers, Raptors and Celtics) and try to figure out what their biggest weakness is, and which team is best equipped to exploit that weakness.
Milwaukee Bucks: Philadelphia 76ers
If one team is good and big enough on the defensive end to form a wall and throw bodies at Giannis Antetokounmpo, the reigning league MVP, it’s the 76ers. Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Al Horford and Tobias Harris can all be thrown at Giannis at various moments.
On the other hand, Philly has a few shooters off the bench who can heat up, and the Bucks’ second unit isn’t exactly comprised of lockdown defenders. The Sixers will always have an outside shot at the title because of the pure talent and length they have.
Los Angeles Lakers: Portland Trail Blazers
The Lakers absolutely do not want to see the Blazers in the first round. Why? That’s simple. The Lakers have no guards at a high enough level to defend against not only Damian Lillard, who dropped 48 and 10 on the Lakers in January, but also C.J. McCollum, who’s averaging 23 points a game. And the Lakers can’t even use their length in the frontcourt against the Blazers: Portland gets back their starting PF and C in Nurkic and Collins, while still having Hassan Whiteside on the team.
However, the Blazers will have a very tough time stopping LeBron or AD. Trevor Ariza, their best perimeter defender, has opted out of the restart to spend time with his son. They still have 3 roster spots, so it will be interesting to see how they use those.
Los Angeles Clippers: Houston Rockets
These 2 teams split their season series, and their matchups was one of the most entertaining ones in the league. The animosity between the Rockets and the Clippers and the players on the court is well known. And it might be a battle in the postseason too. The Clippers, who lack real height, go up against a team that has totally given up on anyone above 6’8”. The Rockets stretch the floor and that might form a problem for Harrell, who can’t use his sheer physique to dominate inside, but needs speeds against other centers.
That’s speed the Rockets’ big guys (who aren’t really big) match. P.J. Tucker and Robert Covington are 2 of the best defenders in the league. The Rockets also have an MVP-tandem in the backcourt, where the Clippers don’t really shine. This might be an interesting matchup.
Toronto Raptors: Teams with superior defense
Spoiler alert: There aren’t a lot of teams that have better defense than the Raptors. If you look solely at defensive rating, only the Bucks are better. But there are a few things to say about that. Some teams, like the Clippers and the Raptors, haven’t had their full roster available for a lot of games this year. We haven’t seen what their entire units, with some better defenders and some worse defenders but streaky hot shooter returning.
But the reason why an opponent’s defense could hurt the Raptors so much is because they don’t have that absolute superstar to get them that bucket. Pascal Siakam is near, and the pieces surrounding him aren’t bad either, so it isn’t like they will be terrible, but can they really rely on one or two players to get them that bucket in crunch time? Only time will tell.
Boston Celtics: Philadelphia 76ers
It only makes sense. The Celtics have been looking for an inside defender since Horford’s departure and even though Andre Drummond and Clint Capela were available at a reasonable price, the Celtics decided not to do anything too crazy with the team that’s currently hunting the #2 seed.
Against them, Philly has a massive height advantage. The aforementioned Horford left Boston for Philadelphia, a team that also has All-Star starter Joel Embiid at center and Ben Simmons, who at 6’10’’ provides a size mismatch against anyone at the point guard position, definitely against one of the smaller point guards, Kemba Walker, in the league.
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