This article is part of a
two-part series preview for the upcoming 2023-2024 NBA
Playoffs.
With the 2023-2024 NBA Playoffs
starting, all eyes will be on all teams competing for the
championship as fans and players look on for a taste of postseason
action. As eight playoff teams in each conference gear up for what
promises to be an intense battle for the title, each team faces its
own set of unique challenges. In this article, we take a closer
look at the biggest question facing each Western Conference team
heading into the playoffs, from injuries and roster changes to key
matchups and strategic decisions.
Oklahoma City Thunder – How far can their youth and
inexperience take them in the playoffs?
The Thunder got away through the
regular season with historic from MVP frontrunner Shai Gilgeous
Alexander, an impressive rookie season by Chet Holmgren, a star
sophomore leap by Jalen Williams, and a coaching masterclass in a
genius coach Mark Daigneault.
However, the playoffs as we know
it is a different beast – will Mark Daigneault be able to sustain
the good coaching he has done with his team throughout this regular
season?
How much of this youth and
inexperience be a factor for them to advance deeper in the
playoffs; will they be able to use it to their advantage? Or will
it be a hindrance against other experienced teams when they face
each other in these tight situations? Most of the time, these
situations require patience and discipline – teams with playoff
experience have shown over time and have done it time and time
again on their way to a deep playoff run.
Denver Nuggets – Can they go back to
back?
There’s really no other question
for a team like the Nuggets at the peak of their powers: Can they
win back-to-back titles? There has not been a back-to-back champion
in the NBA for the past 5 years, with the last one coming in 2017
and 2018 when the Warriors won it all.
Like Boston, it is a title or
bust status with Denver as of now. They have been fairly healthy
throughout the regular season, have a mostly intact roster that won
it all last year, and have the best player in the world in Nikola
Jokic in his absolute prime. Denver this year has again all the
necessary pieces to win – the right amount of shooters, defensive
guys, scoring in the paint – which are all the makings of a
championship team.
A couple of questionable factors
though would be how much of an impact the loss of Bruce Brown would
have in these playoffs. Brown was arguably the 5th, or 4th best
player in their championship run last year – maybe even the 3rd in
some games. He was essential on offense and defense, guarding the
opponent’s best perimeter threats while providing off-ball scoring
and cuts that fit perfectly with Jokic.
Second, they’ll be facing
championship-caliber teams with hunger and drive to defeat them,
and all have been competitive with the Nuggets this season. The
Lakers, although the Nuggets swept them last year in the Western
Conference Finals, still have LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and
they won’t take that lightly – likely coming back with a
vengeance.
The Suns have won the season
series with the Nuggets 2-1 and they pose a threat to the Nuggets
with their formula of having three elite shotmakers that can
explode anytime – which the Nuggets may not cover all at the same
time. The Wolves, who perhaps have the best lineup suited to
defeat them, are lurking in the same bracket waiting to pounce on
them at sight.
These are all challenges a
defending champion must go through to achieve a rare feat because
the playoffs are supposed to be hard.
Minnesota Timberwolves – Will they finally break
through after years of heartbreak?
This has already been a win of a
season for the Timberwolves, achieving their second most wins in
franchise history (56) since 2004 when they won 58 wins and reached
the conference finals.
However, this has not stopped
them from wanting more, and the wolfpack is not satisfied nor
contented with just this achievement – they want more.
Minnesota wanting to go win that
first playoff series like a hungry pack of wolves has been evident
since trading for 3-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.
Although they fell short last season due to untimely injuries to
key players, the Wolves ran it back and have proven their little
experiment with two bigs in star Karl Anthony Towns and Gobert
would work.
Led by their resurgent young
superstar Anthony Edwards equipped with the best defense in the
league, Minnesota certainly hopes this team would be the one – the
one to end the longest playoff series win droughts in the league
for quite some time now.
Los Angeles Clippers – Will they be able to meet the
expectations this time around?
The Clippers trading for James
Harden signaled one thing for the franchise: They are going all in
with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George and surrounding them with all
the help they can get. They are far from a perfect team, but the
Clippers want to have the best possible results this season before
transferring to their new arena next year.
The Clippers have only appeared
in the conference finals once in the Leonard-George era after being
plagued by several injuries during their different playoff runs.
Due to that, people haven’t been able to see what the team is
capable of when their two stars are fully healthy in a playoff
run.
However, this year might just be
their year. Their core of Harden, George, and Leonard have been
mostly healthy all season long. The front office has also
surrounded them with complementary pieces to help them win. LA now
has usable bigs in Zubac, Plumlee, and Theis; they have Terrance
Mann as their designated stopper; Norman Powell being the sixth man
off the bench microwave scorer; a 3-and-D wing in Amir Coffe; and
Russell Westbrook as the spark plug that gives them the boost and
the energy off the bench.
After being just the ‘second
team in LA’ and ‘that other team in LA’ for years, the Clippers aim
to prove the doubters wrong and change the perception that
surrounds the team as they pivot into a new era of Clippers
basketball.
Dallas Mavericks – Will Luka finally fulfill the
promise he has been showing so far in his career?
Throughout his young NBA career,
Luka Doncic has had one of the best starts since LeBron James
statistically. He has been in constant range of breaking or
matching LeBron’s records in points scored, triple-doubles,
assists, and rebounds. However, this has not always translated into
wins with Doncic just appearing in just one conference finals in
the first six years of his career. But that might change this
season.
This year, the Mavericks have
put up arguably the best roster on paper that Luka has had in his
career – arguably even better than the 2022 team that made the
conference finals.
Alongside Doncic’s MVP act is a
true partner in crime in Kyrie Irving; shot-blocking and
rim-rolling vertical threats in Daniel Gafford and Lively; rugged
forwards that can shoot in PJ Washington, Dante Exum, Josh Green,
and Derrick Jones; a microwave off-the-bench scorer in Tim Hardaway
Jr; and veteran bigs that have been in Dallas for quite some time
now and you can count on in always with Maxi Kleber and Dwight
Powell.
Can Luka finally overcome the
Clippers? This season was one for the books with an MVP caliber and
worthy year by averaging close to 34 points a game with 9 rebounds
and 9 assists per game. Doncic has taken his game to another level
in the regular season – this time, can he take his playoff game to
another level as well?
All great young players have to
go through someone as the stepping stone to reach newer heights –
and Luka has lost to this Kawhi Leonard and Paul George-led
Clippers team twice already in his career in the
playoffs.
LeBron had to go through the
Celtics, Jordan had to go through the Pistons. Could it be Luka’s
turn to get through this Clippers team that has tormented him for
two playoff series?
Phoenix Suns – Will this new formula take them over the
top?
The Suns have experienced
substantial playoff success over the past three years by having a
Finals appearance and reaching the conference semifinals twice.
However, those groups fell short, with the feeling of something
lacking or something missing that could take them over the
top.
So lo and behold, Phoenix
scrapped it and took a different approach this season – ditching
the point guard spot and getting a rugged and physical big that
could set screens and not demand the ball much on
offense.
In its place came through as the
Suns traded for Bradley Beal – going with a new formula by having
three shot creators and shotmakers on the floor at the same time –
pairing him with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. They also traded
away former no.1 overall pick DeAndre Ayton for Jusuf Nurkic, a
wide-bodied center whose job is to set screens, rebound, and get
their three creators open in the lane or for jump shots.
They added an elite shooter in
Grayson Allen to space the floor alongside those three, or
sometimes Royce O’Neale comes in for more defense against the
opposing perimeter threats.
The Suns’ new approach and
formula to the game make it incredibly hard to defend because you
have to have three elite defenders to contain those three
shot-creators, who can explode and get buckets at any point in the
game. Although their defense is still suspect at times, the main
point of this lineup is not to outscore – but to out-create teams
and have a variety of options to dissect and defeat
defenses.
If this new strategy works and
could take the Suns to the promised land in these playoffs remains
to be seen.
Los Angeles Lakers – Will they have enough this time
around?
Despite a strong run to the
Western Conference Finals as a 7th seed, the Lakers fell short last
year vs the Nuggets after being swept 4-0. Throughout the season,
the Nuggets’ dominance of the purple and gold continued, and now
they have lost eight straight games against this Denver
team.
However, there is optimism that
the Lakers will turn it around and have a different result vs the
Nuggets. Superstar LeBron James, even at 39 years old, looks to
prove that he still has something left in the tank. Although they
got outplayed and outcoached last in that series by the Nuggets,
James can make those adjustments being the cerebral and high IQ
player that he is.
James is perhaps one of the best
if not the best tactically sound players of all time, so it would
make sense – if they were to defeat Denver, he needs to be able to
outsmart Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets this time around.
Superstar tandem Anthony Davis will also be vital to the series
having to defend the ‘Joker’ and producing buckets
himself.
The Lakers will also feature
some new bench pieces this year that could be difference makers in
the series Taurean Prince, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Gabe Vincent, all
of whom could defend and hit those spot-up threes if
needed.
Then there’s a hungry D’Angelo
Russell who had a bad series vs Denver last year raring to bounce
back along with an always-solid Austin Reaves to be the
stabilizer.
Pelicans – How will they fare without Zion
Williamson?
The New Orleans Pelicans start
and end with their young star Zion Williamson. After going out with
what is to be believed a left hamstring strain, everything now
hinges on his health.
The Pelicans obviously need him
no matter what and whether or not he’s healthy for their
first-round series vs the Thunder will likely be the answer if they
win it or not.
We’ve seen what Williamson is
capable of doing, scoring 40 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in his
first taste of postseason action in their play-in game vs the
Lakers. The burly forward bullied the Lakers’ defense and he showed
his once generational type of body and scoring prowess come
together after finally being healthy for a full season in his five
years in the NBA.
New Orleans has fallen short a
lot of times in the playoffs, either failing to make it or to win a
series, and it is clear that Zion is the difference that separates
them from winning or losing a playoff series.
