Kevin Durant during an NBA game (Utah Jazz v Houston Rockets) | Alex Slitz/GettyImages
With most teams having about 10 games left to go before the post-season begins, it is about time to be making predictions on who will emerge as the season champions come June. While some are banking on the Thunder and the Spurs to emerge as young dynasties to be reckoned within the years to come, others are considering the young East Detroit Pistons to recover from Cade Cunningham’s major injury in time for a deep playoff run. Some even consider the red-hot Atlanta Hawks or Los Angeles Lakers as perfectly capable of making a run at the big thing, and absolutely no one can count out Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. That doesn’t even touch the surface of teams capable of winning it all. Here’s who I think will.
Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks
Both of these East teams have a lot of potential, especially if Cade Cunningham is fully healthy for the playoffs. Furthermore, the New York Knicks have been sneaky good as of late and could make a push similar to what they did last year when the playoffs came around. However, I think the Pistons rely too much on Cade returning back to form from a collapsed lung, and if he isn’t back to 100%, I don’t see them beating out the other teams in this stacked playoff lineup.
Furthermore, this is the best Eastern Conference we’ve seen in years. It is the first time that the play-in likely won’t feature a team with a losing record in a while. It is also the first time in a while that the Western Conference has more losing record teams than the East. The Western conference is still better, but this East is no joke. I just don’t see the Knicks beating 3 really good teams in the East. They aren’t good enough. So that’s why neither of these teams are my pick to win it all.
Cleveland Cavaliers and Houston Rockets
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been red-hot since acquiring James Harden, and I think they are a very talented team. However, though I’m not usually one to make a decision based on narratives, I genuinely believe that James Harden regresses in the playoffs (more specifically, in Game 7). I have seen it happen multiple times (2023 against Boston, 2025 against Denver, etc). This is not a made-up narrative, this is fact. Cleveland will not win it all if they rely on James Harden.
The Rockets may have a better chance. However, Kevin Durant will get hounded on the ball because no other player on the Rockets can shoot or dribble at his level (except Reed Sheppard). Teams will defend him like he’s Michael Jordan in the playoffs, and the Rockets don’t have the personnel to support him enough. Factor in the Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams injuries, and sadly, the Rockets just aren’t winning it all this year.
Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets
The Lakers and the Nuggets are also two teams that have a solid chance of winning it all. I would favor the Nuggets because the Lakers are only now showing to be the team everyone expected of them, while the Nuggets have been that team for the whole season, only suffering from a Jokic injury somewhere in between. I still don’t think Ayton can hang with the other bigs in the Western Conference (Jokic, Wemby, Chet, Sengun, to name a few), and I’m not sure this little winning streak of theirs is sustainable, at least in the playoffs. The fact is that the game plan changes when the playoffs arrive, and Luka will be guarded somehow even more harshly than now.
For the Nuggets, I can’t count Jokic out, but the injuries have been hurting their team this season, and the odds that they can get all healthy for a whole playoff run are low. I still won’t rule either of these teams out, but they are not my title pick.
Who Is Left After That
Let’s get it out of the way that the Hawks, Hornets, Clippers, Raptors, 76ers, Magic, Heat (even though Bam scored 83), or Trailblazers are winning the championship. They just aren’t good enough, despite having solid years all around. The Suns and the Timberwolves have shown that they can compete with anyone, but they just don’t seem good enough to compete with the cream of the crop. So, who’s left? Well, my elimination has left the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, and my pick to win it all, the Boston Celtics.
Why I Pick the Celtics
The reason I am picking the Celtics is that everything I thought that I was right about them (that would potentially make them a worse team this year) has been wrong. Jaylen Brown has risen to become an MVP candidate, the loss of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis has not mattered whatsoever (Neemias Queta has a lot to do with that), and they have not lost the ability to shoot the three whatsoever. The Celtics may not have an elite offense (they currently rank 20th in PPG), but I find that to be irrelevant. The top 12 teams in the NBA in PPG include the Heat, Hornets, Hawks, Bulls, and Jazz. An offense isn’t everything.
However, the Celtics are 4th in win percentage and number one in defensive PPG. The Celtics were good without Jayson Tatum, and they’re going to be good when he’s back to full strength (which is not far away, as he is already playing fine right now). The Celtics have a guy they can go to in the clutch, and they have a team that can carry the load around their two stars. This is my pick to win the NBA finals. Lock it in.
Final Thoughts
Of course, I won’t rule out anyone, and I could certainly see the Pistons, Thunder, or Spurs just absolutely dominating their way to a finals win without any difficulty, but I wanted to make an interesting pick, and I see something in this Celtics team that catches my eye. They’re motivated after the disappointing (and heartbreaking) end of last year. They are able to compete against anyone in this league, and they will show their talent on the big stage this June. Once again, lock it in.
