The NBA playoffs are one round away from being over. As one team will look to secure that finals victory, the other teams that had their chance are left reflecting on what went right, what went wrong, and what’s next.
For some teams, this postseason was an epic disappointment, while for others it was a step in the right direction. Here is where every eliminated team stands as we approach the season’s end.
Detroit Pistons
The Pistons came into the postseason as the first seed in the East. The questions regarding their offense without Cade seemed to be answered after the Pistons continued winning during his absence.
That momentum didn’t seem to carry into the playoffs, though, as Detroit barely scraped by the Magic and eventually lost to the Cavs in 7 games. Jalen Duren practically disappeared throughout the entirety of the playoffs, and Detroit’s front office has to decide if they want to give him the max contract that he’s now eligible for.
Tobias Harris is also heading into free agency, and after his playoff heroics, Detroit will likely have to offer him a big sum of money if they want him to stay. Ultimately, these playoffs were not as dominant as we thought they could be for this team coming in, but it’s hard to consider this a complete disappointment when you remember where they were just two years ago.
Boston Celtics
Again, it’s hard to be too upset considering the preseason expectations, but Boston fumbled a golden opportunity. With a healthy Tatum and All-NBA Jaylen Brown, the Celtics were primed for another deep playoff run.
Instead, a 3-1 first-round lead evaporated once the Sixers, primarily Joel Embiid, took it to the next level. They would have matched up with the red-hot Knicks, and with their experience and talent, the C’s would have been New York’s biggest threat in the East.
Yes, the end to their season was disappointing, but with a productive offseason, a full year of a healthy Jayson Tatum, and Joe Mazzula’s mastermind coaching, the Celtics are right where they want to be going into the summer.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Making the conference finals is a successful season by any measure, but Clevland’s postseason revealed the ugly truth. James Harden was clearly not the answer, and if Donovan Mitchell doesn’t get some serious help soon, this iteration of the Cavs is likely nearing its expiration date.
Analytically or not, this year’s performance was especially bad when taking into account that Cleveland was twelve games worse this year despite only losing Ty Jerome and De’Andre Hunter from their rotation. Trading away Darius Garland at the trade deadline now looks like a big mistake.
Their playoff exit was possibly the ugliest of any this postseason, but it may be the wake-up call that Cleveland needed.
Toronto Raptors
Toronto’s offseason played out two very different storylines. On one hand Toronto was impressive, they pushed their first round to seven games and their young players like Scottie Barnes, Collin Murray-Boyles, and Jakobe Walter shined. But on the other hand, their flaws were impossible to ignore.
Their lack of a point guard was evident, and it looks like they’re going to have to move on from Jakob Poeltl if they want to take the next step. Brandon Ingram’s role as a ball dominant isolation scorer now seems unnecessary, which is a hard pill to swallow when he’s their second highest paid player.
As far as the playoff performance itself goes, finding themselves in this spot this soon after blowing up a playoff roster is a major positive for Toronto.
Atlanta Hawks
Ignoring the 50-point game 6 loss, Atlanta gave the finals-bound Knicks their toughest series of the playoffs. Even still, there are many question marks that have to be answered this offseason, but after how their season started, the Hawks were just happy to compete as the sixth seed.
Their late-season surge indicated that Atlanta has a direction even after moving on from Trae Young. Atlanta clearly needs a big man with more size than Onyeka Okongwu, and they need to decide on what to do in terms of a point guard with all three of the lead guards on the roster set to hit free agency.
Overall, these playoffs were a success with how the Hawks not only survived the departure of a perennial all-star but also improved.
Philidelphia 76ers
The Sixers are stuck. They impressed as the underdog, coming back from a 3-1 hole, but their second-round loss highlighted the same issues that have haunted them for years.
Joel Embiid cannot stay healthy, and as good as he is, his lack of availability is a detriment. Their commitment to Paul George is also becoming a negative, restricting them monetarily while providing sub-par production. The young backcourt tandem of Maxey and Edgecombe is a beacon of light, but injuries and age leave Philly trapped in this cycle of early exits.
Unless something drastically changes, the Sixers will just have to wait for contracts to end. These playoffs capped off just another year of stagnation for a franchise stuck in neutral.
Orlando Magic
Blowing their 3-1 lead was the best thing that could have happened to the Magic. Their offense was dreadful yet again, and Jamahl Mosley never clicked as the head coach.
Orlando was projected to be at the top of the Eastern Conference before this season, and this loss was the finale to an epic underachievement. On the flip side, a playoff win could have set them back a few more years. Mosley likely keeps his job. Their poor regular season would have been blamed on injury, and they’d be running back the same system that just does not work.
This loss forced Orlando to move on, and hopefully build something that plays to Paolo’s strengths and potential a little bit better.
Oklahoma City Thunder
No matter how unbeatable the Thunder looked throughout the season, the Spurs seemed to be able to overcome that during their head-to-head matchups. While many (including myself) expected things to go differently in the playoffs, San Antonio was Superman’s kryptonite no matter what the setting was.
OKC was in a position to advance after their game five triumph, but ultimately their injury woes proved to be too much to overcome. The loss is disappointing for a team that anticipated a second consecutive finals appearance, but with their entire roster under contract for next year, they can be expected to be right back in contention next year.
Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets expected nothing less than a trip to the finals. Instead, they ended up about as far away from this outcome as they could have been.
The first round saw Nikola Jokic more uncomfortable than we've ever seen him on offense, and their lackluster defense was exploited by a hungry Timberwolves team. What made this worse is that Anthony Edwards didn’t even play at the end of this series.
Entering the offseason, Denver has a lot of players heading into free agency, and if they can’t retain them, the depth that they built this year will shrivel up. Their core remains unbelievably talented, but with teams like the Thunder and the Spurs rising to power, this was Denver’s best chance to make another finals push.
Houston Rockets
Houston Rockets: One word to describe the Rockets' playoffs would be "trainwreck." From the All-Star break and on, this team was just an absolute mess, and the playoffs were no different. No matter what lineups Ime Udoka deployed, Houston’s offense just couldn’t get into rhythm, highlighted by their putrid 3-point shooting.
Kevin Durant’s absence certainly didn’t help the situation, but the Rockets did pretty much everything in their power to lose their first-round matchup as the favorites. Their game three collapse was a masterclass on how to embarrass yourself on national TV, underlined by Bronny James outscoring Houston’s entire bench.
Now trade rumors surrounding KD have resurfaced, and the Rockets may have thrown away the promise that they showed last year.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers did get swept, but the Lakers were missing Luka Doncic. They also impressed in their first round against the aforementioned Rockets, with limited appearances from Austin Reaves.
So the Lakers getting swept has basically no implications on their immediate future. Any team built around Luka is in position to be a good one, and with five players coming off the books this offseason, LA will have plenty of flexibility to reshape both its roster and payroll.
This does hang a shadow of uncertainty over how the Lakers will look next year, but again, Luka is good enough that they don’t have too much to worry about.
Minnesota Timberwolves
It’s decision time. For the third straight year Minnesota made an unexpected playoff run, but for the third straight year, they just didn’t have enough talent to get over the hump.
Anthony Edwards, along with a few others, battled through injury, but they remain stuck in the middle of a Western Conference that is ever-improving, and time is of the essence. If history has shown us anything about Minnesota, it’s that stars don’t like to stick around very long.
Minnesota has been rumored in Giannis conversations, but if they aren’t able to land the former MVP, Anthony Edwards may join the list of All-Stars who left the Wolves to compete sooner rather than later.
Portland Trailblazers
Portland is one of the more intriguing teams on this list. Deni Avdija emerged as a breakout star, young pieces like Donovan Clingan and Shaedon Sharpe made big improvements, and even Scoot Henderson showed encouraging growth in meaningful minutes.
The intrigue comes when trying to blend this young talent with the veterans like Jrue Holiday and the return of Damian Lillard. The veteran impact will likely lead to more winning, but it also limits their prospect development.
They aren’t properly equipped to really contend, as was made evident in their five-game series loss, but their talent is also too good to bottom out. To add to the confusion, Portland still doesn’t have a head coach, so a clear direction is still many steps away.
Pheonix Suns
Much ahead of schedule, Phoenix was just happy to be in the playoffs. Coming off the heels of Kevin Durant’s departure, the Suns were expected to be at the bottom of the league. Much of their depth and future was sacrificed for Durant, who subsequently left two and a half years later.
Phoenix’s depth and feistiness prevailed, though, and they ended up squeezing into the playoffs as the eighth seed. Like the Blazers, the Suns are now stuck in no man's land, with no draft picks in sight, but also clearly not enough talent to compete with the elites of the NBA.
This season did prove that they have their coach of the future in Jordan Ott however, and the sentiment surrounding this team is pretty high, thanks to their unanticipated success.
