We are almost to the quarter-way mark of the NBA season and teams seem to be settling into who they are now and what they need to do by the trade deadline. So let’s go over the NBA contenders list for this week.
Reminder: Fringe teams are teams that could be title contenders, but are not consistently playing at that level. It takes consistency for a team to move into the Fringe level or up from the Fringe level to Contenders. A couple of good games don’t change an always change an identity.
*as of November 24th, 2024
NBA Contenders Through Week Five
Eastern Conference
Cleveland Cavaliers
Despite finally losing a game against the Boston Celtics, the Cleveland Cavaliers still look like contenders. They are the first-ranked offense and ninth-rated defense. Their defense has started to dip a little and, when it comes to their ninth-rated pace, they are a very heavy half-court offense team. So the question will continue to be can they consistently knock down shots and get big-time performances from Darius Garland and Evan Mobley? Garland, by the way, did struggle against the Celtics.
Boston Celtics
After their head-to-head duel, it seems like the Celtics are still the best team in the NBA. They have the third-rated offense, eighth-rated defense, and ninth-rated pace. Their weakness has been proven to be efficient shooting and rebounding, but that is hard to do for four games in a playoff series. Their defense does have a tendency to give up big leads and everybody assumes they can beat you multiple ways, but they haven’t had a reason to show if they can beat a team when held to a half-court offense that works in the paint. To do that, however, you have to have great perimeter defense and an off night from the shooters.
Fringe
Orlando Magic
The Magic are still hanging on to that three-seed in the Eastern Conference and have improved from 1-7 on the road to 3-7. They still are one of the worst offensive teams in the league. The 25th-rated offense and 25th-rated pace show they struggle to score everywhere on the floor. Paolo Banchero will help when he returns, but will it be enough?
New York Knicks
The New York Knicks are one of the best half-court offenses in the league behind Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, but their defense is still ranked 21st in the league. On top of that, their pace is 27th in the league. So if their half-court offense is struggling then they won’t be able to outscore their opponents, which they need to do, to win.
Western Conference
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder continue to show how good they are despite a two-game losing streak to the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs. They have the top-rated defense in the league that only got better with Isaiah Hartenstein returning. Their offense is still 12th in the league, but their pace is second. They are a good run-and-gun team but need another playmaker to step up besides Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to create shots for other players.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors are currently looking like the best team in the Western Conference right now. They have the sixth-rated offense, fourth-rated defense, and fifth-rated pace. They look like a complete team, but the depth of the Warriors is starting to be tested. De’Anthony Melton is out for the year and the biggest question for this young Warriors team is how will they respond when more is asked of them and that bench gets shorter and minutes get longer.
Fringe
Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets seem to be getting back to their well-oiled machine ways despite the absence of Aaron Gordon. The biggest issue for them to overcome is that their entire offense is Nikola Jokic. While the three-time MVP will always have a lot on his plate, Jamal Murray needs to step up as a playmaker. When Jokic is on the floor, the Nuggets have the highest-rated offense of all time. When he is off the court, they have the worst-rated offense of all time.
Houston Rockets
This young team is fun to watch and a great defensive team. However, they are young and that was on display with the loss against the Portland Trail Blazers on the second night of a back-to-back against Portland. Their offense is 17th in the league, but pace is 7th. They are great running-and-gunning and using their athleticism, but at some point, you have to be able to run an efficient half-court offense.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers have been playing and winning games that it seems like they shouldn’t have, but their defense is catching up with them and is getting worse. They currently have the 26th-rated defense and, unless that changes, their time as a fringe team will be short.
What do you think? Comment below!!
Main Image: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
