We are at the halfway point of the season and have a real sense of who teams are — the top three contenders seem locked in, but who can challenge them over the second half of the season?
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1. Cleveland Cavaliers (34-5, Last Week No. 2). Remember how much time we — and I am part of that “we” — spent in the past year talking about whether Donovan Mitchell wanted to re-sign with this team? When he did, we asked if that would mean a Darius Garland trade? And wasn’t it time to break up the Evan Mobley/Jarrett Allen frontcourt? Cleveland did none of that. They hired a coach in Kenny Atkinson who unleashed Garland and Mobley, and the whole thing now fits — we saw it all in the win over Oklahoma City. This team is clicking on both ends to the point they can beat the best in the West on a night like that game when Mitchell is off. Mobley’s shot creation and passing — especially big-to-big passing with Allen — has changed everything. There is still a lot to prove — another game against OKC this Thursday, although what we’re really talking about is the playoffs — but the Cavaliers are unquestionably the best team in the NBA right now and a legit title contender.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder (33-6, LW 1). Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the MVP frontrunner (at least in my book) and while he will be important in the Thunder’s rematch with the Cavaliers Thursday — the team that snapped their 15-game winning streak and leapt over them in these rankings — he is not the biggest key. That would be the Thunder defense. Cleveland’s league-best offense scored 129 points (128.2 offensive rating) and dominated the game last week. Back home, can the Thunder’s league-best defense slow the Cavaliers’ ball movement down, get a few turnovers and let their athletes get out in transition? After this game, the schedule softens up for the next couple of weeks.
3. Boston Celtics (28-11, LW 3). Boston is 6-5 in their last 11, and while it’s tempting to write this off as a mid-season malaise of a championship team that can flip the switch, it’s fair to ask if this is something more. Jaylen Brown isn’t worried, via Brian Robb at Mass Live: “Teams have adjusted to how we kind of played early in the season and we’re making adjustments back. We’ve gotta be better at protecting the basket and we gotta figure out how to win games in different ways. I think that we’ve been injured for a good majority part of the year. Now a lot of our guys are…