The NBA playoffs tip off on Saturday, and 16 teams will be vying for the coveted Larry O’Brien trophy.
In a sport where offense is skyrocketing, fans everywhere should keep their eyes peeled on potential upsets. You never know when it just may be someone’s night to get hot.
However, four teams have separated themselves from the pack:
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The Larry O’Brien Trophy is on display during the unveiling event of Luka Doncic’s second signature Jordan brand shoe. The Luka 2 “Lake Bled,” Luka Doncic’s second signature Jordan brand shoe, was unveiled at a 3×3 basketball tournament on a basketball court floating on Lake Bled in Slovenia. (Luka Dakskobler/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Boston Celtics
The title has been the Celtics’ to lose all season long, understandably so.
As a No. 1 seed, they were surprisingly bounced in the first round by the eighth-seeded Miami Heat, who went all the way to the NBA Finals. They’re on a redemption tour, and they look unstoppable.
Their 64-18 record was, by far, the best in the NBA, as was their point differential of +930. Their 1-2 punch in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are averaging a combined 50 points per game, and the entire team knows how to crash the boards. (Their 3,799 rebounds are the most among teams in the playoffs.)
They are the best team in the NBA until someone dethrones them.
Jan 6, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) in the second half against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. (Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports)
Denver Nuggets
With Nikola Jokić, a repeat is more than possible. The west is stacked, and the Nuggets were in the race for the No. 1 seed all season long. (The Oklahoma City Thunder won the tiebreaker.)
Jokić is very likely going to win his third MVP Award in four years, thanks to his 26.4-12.4-9.0 line, but they have five others who average double-digit points on the season, including Jamal Murray’s 21.2.
If Boston is the best team in the NBA, the defending champs are a close second. However, they do have a tough task in LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Finals. (Denver swept that series, but this Lakers team does look better than last.)
Nikola Jokic, #15 of the Denver Nuggets, celebrates during the 2023 Denver Nuggets Championship Parade on June 15, 2023, in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/NBAE via Getty Images)
Philadelphia 76ers
This will be prefaced by saying the Sixers do not have an easy matchup in the first-round. They are a seven seed going against the No. 2 Knicks.
But Joel Embiid is back, and the Sixers win when he is on the floor. Embiid didn’t look like himself in the Play-In Tournament, but during the regular season, Philly was 32-8 when Embiid played. It could very well just be rust, as Embiid missed nearly two months of games.
He’s the defending MVP for a reason and probably the best player in these playoffs when fully healthy – and if they do get by New York, as long as Embiid is healthy, they should be clear favorites over whoever they face in the second round. (In fairness, the same can be said for the Knicks.) Philly, despite being the lower seed, is actually favored against New York.
Joel Embiid, #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers, looks on during the first quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Wells Fargo Center on April 2, 2024, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder scored the third-most points in the NBA this season with the highest three-point percentage this year (38.9%).
The young squad, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 30.1 points per game, earned the tiebreaker to clinch the No. 1 seed in the stacked Western Conference. But make no mistake, it will be a tough road.
However, they do get the benefit that their first-round matchup between either the Kings or Pelicans should be a breeze, unlike plenty of other teams.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder, handles the ball during the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Paycom Center on January 11, 2024, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
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Their 608 point differential was the second-best in the NBA.
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