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With roughly 15 video games remaining, the NBA title race is coming into focus, and the true contenders are beginning to reveal themselves.
Some groups are getting ready for his or her first playoff run collectively. Others are chasing a championship. And some have already shifted their focus to the draft.
However no matter the place a staff sits within the standings, that is the time of yr when one query begins to dominate: which groups can truly win the title?
Historical past provides us a blueprint for what a championship staff seems to be like. By making use of these tendencies to this season, we are able to slim the sector to the groups that actually have a path to the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Which NBA staff matches the 40-20 rule?
We will get rid of a lot of the league instantly. Traditionally, true contenders observe the “40-20 rule,” reaching 40 wins earlier than struggling their twentieth loss.
Solely three groups meet that benchmark this season: the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder, Detroit Pistons, and San Antonio Spurs.
Nevertheless, the rule doesn’t inform the complete story this season. A few groups deserve consideration regardless of lacking that benchmark.
There are a number of different fringe contenders
Look no additional than the Boston Celtics. Boston had 38 wins after they suffered their twentieth loss, simply lacking the minimize for the 40-20 rule. That report doesn’t account for Boston’s finest participant, Jayson Tatum, lacking the primary 62 video games of the season.
He has seemed strong since returning and may very well be a significant increase for a staff that was already acting at a borderline contender stage. The Denver Nuggets are one other staff that requires extra context.
Denver had solely 34 wins after they collected their twentieth loss, however accidents have plagued their roster all through the season. Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Peyton Watson, Christian Braun, and Cam Johnson have missed a mixed 137 video games this yr. That’s an astronomical variety of missed video games.
The Denver Nuggets are sleeper championship contenders
The excellent news for Denver followers is that almost all of these gamers are anticipated to be wholesome by the playoffs. In reality, everybody on that record has already returned to the lineup besides Watson, who is predicted again quickly.
Given Denver’s championship pedigree and the presence of the most effective participant on the planet in Jokic, they deserve a spot on this dialogue as nicely.
Cleveland, New York, the Lakers, Houston, and Minnesota are all robust groups, however every has proven sufficient inconsistency or structural flaws to counsel they’re a tier under true competition.
The groups that must be thought-about the strongest contenders are the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, and Denver Nuggets. In 3 future items we’ll additional break down every staff’s possibilities.
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