The Top 10 Contenders in the NBA in Order

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1. Oklahoma City Thunder (37-8)

   The OKC Thunder have been an unstoppable force this season. With the MVP favorite in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the great supporting cast, the Thunder have somehow improved from last year even though they finished as the 1st seed last year. They’re also doing this without their center Chet Holmgreen who was playing great basketball before a leg injury. As a team they are complete now with Alex Caruso and Lu Dort supporting the perimeter defense, along with Jalen Williams and Isaiah Hartenstein giving Shai the scoring and defensive support as well. 

2. Boston Celtics (32-15)

   The defending Champions of last year, the Boston Celtics have looked good this year. They’ve been injury riddled with Porzingis but I assume that once healthy and are able to get into a rhythm, they will figure things out. The only issue for them this year has been their interior defense which will most likely be figured out once Kristaps Porzingis gets into a set rhythm. One of the issues with Boston is that they live and die by the 3-pointer. I think Boston is the 2nd most favorable team because of their experience now with winning a championship. They now understand how to manage themselves going into a playoff setting, so I expect them to handle the East pretty well in the Postseason.

3. Cleveland Cavaliers (37-9)

   The Cleveland Cavaliers have been red hot this year leading the league in offensive rating, their offense under Kenny Atkinson has been explosive to say the least. With Evan Mobley taking that 4th year jump, the Cavs have been great on the defensive end as well. The one problem that they withhold is their interior physicality when it comes playoff time. We saw this in the series with the New York Knicks a couple years ago as they looked almost worried to go inside the paint. Last year, they unfortunately just ran into the eventual champs. This year I am expecting a lot from Cleveland as I think anything under an Eastern Conference Finals appearance would be a failure for them.

4. Houston Rockets (31-14)

   The leap the Houston Rockets have taken this year is nothing short of phenomenal. The 2nd year leap of Amen Thompson and the togetherness of the Rockets have really shown out this year. They’ve been that boogeyman team this whole year that nobody wants to face due to how physical they are with players like Tari Eason, Dillon Brooks, and Amen Thompson. They lead the league in rebounding and have players who are critically underrated like Alperen Sengun who should be an all star this year. The Rockets only downfall of course is their playoff experience, however their playstyle actually fits playoff style basketball. We will figure out this year how they will perform when they make the playoffs this year.

5. New York Knicks (31-16)

   The Knicks have played true New York basketball this year after landing the big man Karl Anthony-Towns this offseason. With the addition of Towns and Mikal Bridges the New York Knicks now have 4 players in the starting lineup averaging 15 or more points per night. Where the Knicks struggle however is their interior defense as they are 28th in blocks and have no true defensive minded center due to Mitchell Robinson being injured. The Knicks also have a very weak bench as no player from their bench is top 50 in scoring of players who come off the bench. This is also due to their starter-heavy mentality that head coach Tom Thibodeau installed.

6. Denver Nuggets (28-18)

   The Denver Nuggets had some questions going into this season with the subtraction of their best perimeter defender in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. However this question was answered with Christian Braun stepping up averaging 14.3 ppg. Russell Westbrook has also been a surprise to many after being upgraded to the starting lineup he has been playing exceptional basketball. The Denver Nuggets looked like they’ve found a stride with their starting lineup, leading the league in assists per game and FG %. Nikola Jokic is looking like he is playing the best basketball of his star studded career averaging 30 ppg 13.1 reb, and 10.2 assists per game, oh and he’s also 3rd in the league in 3pt% at 47.4%. However the Nuggets have one big struggle, that is with Jokic they withhold a net rating of 5.4 and without Jokic they withhold a -3.3 net rating. That could be a huge issue come playoff time as teams will take advantage of this glaring stat.

7. Memphis Grizzlies (31-16)

   If the Memphis Grizzlies can continue to be on their hot streak they’re on right now they will become a very dangerous team. Jaren Jackson Jr. is playing the best basketball of his career this year and has shown improvement everywhere from his scoring and to his already stellar defense. The addition of Zach Edey, Jaylen Wells, and Scotty Pippen Jr. have also helped the Grizzlies immensely with the combination of shooting and rebounding they provide. The only question that stands out for the grizzlies is if Ja Morant can stay healthy. If Ja Morant can stay healthy they can make a deep playoff run this year.

8. Los Angeles Lakers (26-18)

   After a rocky start this year the Los Angeles Lakers have looked like a brand new team after the addition of Dorian Finney Smith. With Anthony Davis having a career year and Lebron James seemingly unable to age this is why the Lakers are such a dangerous team. With Austin Reaves now taking that 3rd option spot, the Lakers can finally definitively say they have a big 3. However the Lakers struggle deeply with their inability to be a consistent rebounding and 3pt shooting team. With the trade deadline coming up you can be sure to hear that the Los Angeles Lakers will be looking for a Center to play alongside Anthony Davis.

9. Milwaukee Bucks (26-18)

    The Milwaukee Bucks are a team that everybody fears because of the duo of Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo. But besides that they’ve shown a lot of weaknesses in perimeter defense and rebounding. The Bucks struggle deeply with their perimeter defense as they have no true defensive minded guards. However what makes them scary is the fact they have modern day Shaq. The Greek Freak is a problem and come playoff time he always manages to put us fans in awe of how he can level up. We also have yet to see his partner Damian Lillard suit up alongside him in a playoff setting, so until then it will be very hard to judge what they can do.

10. Los Angeles Clippers (26-20)

    The Los Angeles Clippers arguably have the best coaching staff in the entire NBA right now. With the leaps of Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac and the additions of Derrick Jones Jr and Kris Dunn, this makes the Clippers a dark horse in the west. With Kawhi Leonard back we need to see how he plays at his full strength to really get a full judgement of them. If and a huge If, a healthy Kawhi with the Clippers makes them a true contender.