The Rockets were ready for their leap….confirmed
2.
The Clippers actually weren’t dead post Paul George….confirmed
3.
Franz Wagner was a legit 1B….confirmed
4.
Jalen Williams was a small ball 5 extraordinaire….confirmed
5.
Jared McCain was the ROY….confirmed (but now injured and out for the year)
6.
For this blog, I’d like to focus on the most important area.
Who are thetruetitle contenders?
For me, this is always broken down into tiers
1.
Title or bust
2.
Good enough to win
3.
Making a Finals is good enough
Title contention is not the same for everyone.
Between their roster and their overall play, they are a tier below.
They are someone who fits the second tier.
This is a group that also includes teams like MIL, NYK, DAL etc.
Teams where not being the last team standing would be a historic fumble.
To be in this group means your play has elevated you to this set of expectations.
The Boston Celtics
2.
The Oklahoma City Thunder
3.
The Cleveland Cavaliers
Boston Celtics
This one doesn’t need any explanation.
As the defending champs, anything other than a repeat is a complete choke job.
That title doesn’t remove their expectations, it heightens them now that we know they can do it.
Their play this season has warranted it.
That’s the key in of drama everyone should be in favor of.
It doesn’t get much better than that if you ask me.
This is not a 2 week sample, we’re at the midway point.
They’re for real as any team could possibly be at this stage of the NBA season.
Are they maybe ahead of schedule?
SGA is 26, not 23.
Any other team in NBA history that has all of that, has title or bust expectations.
The fact that we have 3 is rather insane.
Whoever is the team that ultimately falls short, had a historic choke job.
That’s how things work.
See: Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics in 2022 Finals.
The Thunder aren’t a surprise 5 seed who would have made a run like the Mavs last year.
They aren’t an underdog 8 seed like the Heat were.
Once you get to that level, the expectation is to win the whole thing.
All we can hope for is all of these teams remain as healthy as possible come the playoffs.
