What teams in the Eastern Conference have a shot to win the 2024 NBA Finals and dethrone the Denver Nuggets?
The 2023-24 NBA season has been a bloodbath and that makes for fantastic entertainment for us. The fight to be NBA Eastern Conference champions will be one for the ages. We will examine the teams in the running and if they have a legit chance to knock off the defending champs, the Denver Nuggets.
There are 7 teams right now with a chance to do this. The Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, and Orlando Magic. Unfortunately, the Philadelphia 76ers had to be cut out of the discussion with the recent, horrible Joel Embiid injury news. They had a great shot with him 100%.
The Denver Nuggets are a powerhouse offensively with one of the best playmaking centers of all time, Nikola Jokic. They also have two fantastic scorers, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. The pick-and-roll game of Murray and Jokic is truly an unstoppable force. Denver has good depth as well with Aaron Gordon, Reggie Jackson, and KCP.
The Denver Nuggets is a championship-winning team and is definitely in the running for it again. However, they are beatable. You have to have some superstars to throw at them and great depth as well. Those 7 teams have that in their peak form and maybe a fully healthy run can get them to the 2023-24 NBA Finals.
1st in the NBA Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics.
The Boston Celtics are having another fantastic NBA season and are leading the way in the Eastern Conference this year. They are in the pole position to be NBA Eastern Conference champions. Boston pretty much brought back the same team as last year, except for two stellar additions.
Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday have both brought star potential on both sides of the ball to the Celtics. This team is a legit NBA title contender and one the Nuggets should be a little scared of.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are still leading the way for the Boston Celtics as their stars. That star talent is followed up by 3 great two-way players, Derrick White, Kristaps Porzingis, and Jrue Holiday. Those players make for one helluva 5-man lineup to stack up against. They also have Peyton Pritchard and Al Horford to give some valuable minutes off the bench.
The Boston Celtics have the numbers to show they can hang with the Denver Nuggets. They are unstoppable at home, with a 22-3 record. They produce 120 points per game and only allow their opponents 111. Those are better than Denver’s numbers and they’ve had another great season as well.
The NBA playoff always comes down to how your top talent does against the opposition’s top talent. Boston’s top talent measures up with Denver’s. The Holiday, White, Brown, Tatum, and Porzingis lineup is a dangerous lineup. It measures up to the Murray, KCP, Gordon, MPJ, and Jokic one the Nuggets can throw out.
This Boston Celtics team has a great chance to contend having that #1 seed with the league’s best record so far this season. It could lead to them having one of the easiest paths to go and win the 2023-24 NBA championship.
2nd in the NBA Eastern Conference, the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Milwaukee Bucks made a huge splash in the trade market to help their chances of being NBA Eastern Conference champions. They were able to lure Damian Lillard away from Portland finally. It hasn’t been without its problems though, more specifically, defensive problems. Other than injury, probably the only weakness on this team.
They do have one man who can help block any floodgates at any time. That’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, NBA’s version of Mr. Fantastic. He’s a wrecking ball on both sides and can decide to win any game at any moment for this team. It’s crazy too, because Dame can do the same thing with his elite shot-making.
That’s why the Milwaukee Bucks do stand a solid chance against the Denver Nuggets. The Bucks have had a stellar 2023-24 campaign at home with an outstanding record, 21-5. It always makes it easier to win it all with homecourt. They are blowing the league away with a whopping 124 points per game.
The bad news. They do allow 120 points per game. Still a positive differential and that offensive firepower can end anyone’s night early. Just the combined nearly 56 points per game by Giannis and Dametime is enough to keep them in any game on the way to the NBA Finals.
Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis, and knockdown shooter, Malik Beasley are also in Milwaukee there to help support a potential title run for Giannis and Dame. Milwaukee will have to show they can step it up on the defensive side if they eventually face the Denver Nuggets, but they can throw 2 sure-fire buckets at them every time down the court.
The Milwaukee Bucks are no strangers to contending and winning the NBA Eastern Conference.
3rd in the NBA Eastern Conference, the New York Knicks.
The New York Knickerbockers are using the Madison Square Garden to their advantage to race off to 3rd place in the NBA Eastern Conference. They also have the conference’s top defense only allowing 109 a game. Their offense ain’t a slouch either, with 115 points per game.
Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle lead the way on offense for this Knicks team. They put up a respectable 51 points per game combined. Not sure we can trust Randle once we get to the playoffs anymore, but Brunson is a dude for sure. They also added some much-needed secondary scoring and tough defense in O.G. Anunoby. Donte DiVincenzo helps in those respects as well.
The Knicks also have Josh Hart and Isaiah Hartenstein, who are fantastic role players who do a little bit of everything. This team’s path to the 2023-24 NBA finals, drastically improves if they get Mitchell Robinson’s presence in the middle. He would come in real handy against Jokic and those Nuggets if they are the final boss of the season.
With the team right now, can’t help but feel like this Knicks team will need another incredible run by Jalen Brunson or a dominant, defensive effort in the NBA playoffs for them to take a serious crack at a championship. It would be awesome for the NBA for the New York franchise to represent the Eastern Conference in the Finals.
4th in the NBA Eastern Conference, The Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are once again in the thick of it in the NBA Eastern Conference. Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and company are a tough team to beat at home. Only 8 losses there this season.
The two skilled giants in the center, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen help Cleveland keep opponents to a solid 110 points per game. This team feels highly dangerous potentially with the quality of guards they have and the two big men they can run pick and roll with.
The weakness of this team could be the role players in Caris LeVert and Max Strus, but they could manage a hot game or two for them. The final result of the Cavalier’s season depends on the star talent of Mitchell, Garland, and Mobley.
That trio can lead this team to the Eastern Conference Finals. Their best can beat the Denver Nuggets or anybody else in this league.
Are they ready to make that jump?
6th in the NBA Eastern Conference, Indiana Pacers.
The 2023/24 Indiana Pacers is a surprisingly deep team and packs quite the offensive punch. Could those two lead to NBA Eastern Conference glory? That punch begins with the playmaker Tyrese Haliburton with his astonishing court vision. He helps lead this Pacers offense to a mind-blowing 124 points per game.
Indiana will forever be a basketball town and they show that by supporting their hometown Pacers to a 16-9 home record. The Pacers rewarded them by getting Pascal Siakam to come to Indiana to help Haliburton start a real push at winning a lot of ball games. Those are two solid stars to build a team around to contend for the NBA title.
However, this team’s real strength is in an endless supply of talented reinforcements. They have the defensive big man in Myles Turner. He’s surrounded by tons of guard talent in Benedict Mathurin, Aaron Nesmith, Buddy Hield, Andrew Nembhard, and TJ McConnell. That right there would be a dangerous team.
The Indiana Pacers also have two skilled, high-motor wings Obi Toppin and Jalen Smith they can throw out on the court for some stat-stuffing minutes. This is a truly dynamite offense on their night team. A team loaded with talent and good basketball IQs. The future is indeed bright for this Pacers team. However, can they contend with the Denver Nuggets of the NBA world now though?
If they can move up to a higher eastern conference seed in the second half of the 2023-24 NBA season, the sky’s the limit for this fearless, high-flying team.
7th in the NBA Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat.
This may be an out-of-respect inclusion adding the Miami Heat to this discussion, but they have proven all of us wrong before. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo could find a way to get this team to contend for the NBA Eastern Conference championship. Butler backs down to nobody.
There are no real team stats that will sell you on the Miami Heat, but the player stats tell a sneaky tale of potential. Jimmy Buckets, Tyler Herro, and Bam Adebayo all average 21 points per game. That is a tumultuous trio to have to deal with if they were to get hot. Jimmy and Bam can bring lockdown defense as well.
This Miami Heat team has underachieved this year, but if those 3 are healthy together, they have a shot against the big dogs like the Denver Nuggets. Their bench does have some skilled heat culturists on it as well. Jazquez Jr looks like a draft hit. Duncan Robinson can still get smoking hot from 3 from time to time.
They helped that 3-point shooting more by recently bolstering their lineup with “Scary” Terry Rozier via trade. That could help give this offense the boost it needs to be a true NBA Finals contender. Kevin Love is still kicking it in Miami too, he could show up and play some big-time minutes for them if they make a deep playoff run.
Can Jimmy Buckets, Bam Bam, and Heat Culture prove us all wrong again? With their talent, they are always a candidate to make the NBA Eastern Conference finals when it comes to playoff time. A red-hot second half after the All-Star break would go a long way in making that happen.
8th in the NBA Eastern Conference, the Orlando Magic.
The Orlando Magic may surprise a lot of you guys that they survived the cut. However, they are being included in this conversation. They have the star potential and the depth to show us they are here to stay as NBA Eastern Conference contenders and potentially NBA champions.
The Magic have an above-average home record in 15-7. Check. They have a better point differential than the Miami Heat and their case was made, so there’s that too. Paulo Banchero has also made a jump and looks to be well on his way to being an NBA superstar.
Franz Wagner is on the same path, just more as a shooter. Paulo is more of an absolute bruiser on the offensive end. Cole Anthony is the fearless, backup point guard every team needs. Suggs, MoWags, Fultz, and Isaac are all DAWGS who do all the dirty work for this young, scrappy team. Want your mind blown real quick?
Jonathan Issac is still only 26 years old. Crazy, right? This team truly is so young and inexperienced. Especially compared to the defending champs, the Denver Nuggets.
However, the Orlando Magic are known for some crazy upsets over the years in the NBA playoffs. They also have Paulo and Franz, who may be talented enough to help the Magic pull off a surprising NBA finals run like Brown and Tatum years back.
I may be looney, but I believe this team can do some damage if they can stay in the NBA Eastern Conference playoff picture.
The battle to be the top NBA team in the Eastern Conference is going to be an outlandishly entertaining one. Be sure to stay tuned in. Ain’t nothing like the NBA Playoffs. Which team do you think will be the NBA Eastern Conference champions? Let us know below.
TL//DR: Eastern Conference Teams That Can Compete to be NBA Champions
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