With the San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder having their fair share of issues to start the season, it’s become evident that the race for this year’s NBA title is wide open. There are a number of reasonable candidates in the mix. Even so, every team has a weakness. Let’s have a look at the Achilles heel for the Top 10 contenders:
Chicago Bulls
The health of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah is the biggest lingering weakness for the Bulls. We know what Rose means to the team, but it might be worth mentioning how critical Noah is too. The Bulls are 11th in points allowed after ranking in the top three in the NBA in each of the last five years, including first in two of the last three. While being seventh in points scored is nice, the Bulls need to buckle down on defense. If Noah’s not healthy going into the stretch run, that’s going to be a problem.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavs are still a work in progress after landing Kevin Love to go with the return of LeBron James, but this team needs to improve on the boards, where they’re 26th in rebounds per game. With Anderson Varejao out for the season, they’ll be in the market for a trade. Without better rebounding (and chemistry), they could be doomed. It doesn’t help that Love has really failed to improve his game on the defensive end.
Dallas Mavericks
Implementing Rajon Rondo into their pass-heavy system will be the Mavs’ key for a title run. Dallas picked up Rondo from Boston recently and he’s an upgrade among their point guard-by-committee. However, will he ultimately be able to fit alongside score-first guard Monta Ellis? Also, the Mavs gave up much of their bench productivity to land Rondo, so depth now becomes a concern going forward.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors can’t trust Andrew Bogut to stay healthy. While Marreese Speights is playing well, they need another big man. The Warriors could look to dangle David Lee out there to see if they get a bite. The game slows down in the playoffs and the Warriors need someone to take the pressure off their amazing outside game.
Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers have looked lethargic at times this season. It’s flat out shocking that a team that has Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan is 27th in the NBA in rebounds. Another big man coming off the bench to give them a jolt would be a welcome addition.
Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies have a lot of very good players and they’re going to grind teams into the ground, but they don’t have that one player who is going to take over. In a star-driven league like the NBA, their biggest shortcoming is not being able to put the load on any one player’s shoulders night after night.
Oklahoma City Thunder
A healthy Kevin Durant is all the Thunder really need, but help at center would be good. Clearly, this team with a healthy Durant is about as good as it gets but the problem is that he hasn’t been healthy for very long this season. This team hasn’t been able to avoid the injury bug in recent seasons and, much like the Bulls, that’s their biggest concern right now.
Portland Trailblazers
The Trailblazers need one more big piece to add to the LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard duo, and it doesn’t really matter what position they play. Nicholas Batum is their third-best player, and if one of the top two is shut down in a playoff series, can you really trust him step up? Portland needs to make a move.
San Antonio Spurs
Lack of hunger might be their biggest weakness right now. It’s hard to put a finger on what’s been wrong with the Spurs but just in general, their execution has been poor throughout the season. Last year, they played like a team possessed. They were focused and they were hungry. That hasn’t been the case this year, but as is always the case with the Spurs, that can always change come playoff time.
Toronto Raptors
The Raptors are quietly building a case for a top-two seed in the East if Chicago slips and Cleveland doesn’t get right. But they’re 23rd on the boards, so a power forward is their biggest need because Amir Johnson is merely a bench player stuffed into the starting lineup.
