In the past third of the season, only 5 teams really have the championship appearance, and the chaos in the west is difficult to change

Since the start of the 2023-24 season, nearly a third of the season has passed, and in the editor's opinion, there are only 5 teams that really have the championship appearance.

Lakers

Although the Lakers' current lineup still has some shortcomings, such as poor three-point ability, lack of interior depth, etc., they have the foundation of a championship, and defense is the key to their victory. No matter what the outside world says, the strength of the mid-season championship champion should not be underestimated, and you must know that the gold content of this championship is still quite high. Because there is no team that doesn't want to be the champion of the first mid-season tournament in NBA history, which is destined to be remembered by history, plus the big prize money, you will find that the teams in the mid-season tournament are playing very hard, so the gold content is naturally high.

Clippers

While the Clippers' record isn't very good at the moment, they have just completed a seven-game winning streak, and as long as Harden, George, and Leonard find a way to get compatible, this team is destined to be terrifying. After Harden came to the Clippers, he sacrificed his shooting power greatly and focused on organizing the offense, which is also what he is good at. After the arrival of Harden, he no longer has to share the team's offensive work, and can concentrate on scoring and defense, so his efficiency has been extremely high recently. Of course, the scariest thing about the Clippers is the depth of his roster, which is the key to their championship progress.

Nuggets

As last season's champions, we have to give the Nuggets some respect, but it's going to be tough for them to defend their title, as you can see from their regular season record. It's clear that the whole league is looking at the Nuggets, and everyone seems to know the way to beat them, which is to cut off Jokic from the rest of the team as much as possible, and it doesn't matter how many points he scores alone. The Nuggets' advantage is that they have one of the best starting lineups in the league and play both offense and defense, but the quality of their bench players is really not enough.

Bucks

The Bucks have been the favourites to win the championship over the past few seasons, and this season they brought in Lillard, which made up for the lack of strength in key moments. The reason why the Bucks are intimidating is also because of their strong roster depth, such as Lopez, Middleton, Portis, Crowder, Beasley, Payne, and Connaughton, all of whom are quite good.

Celtics

After two or three seasons of precipitation, the duo has matured more and more, especially Tatum, who has now become one of the league's top small forwards. This offseason, the Celtics not only brought in Porzingis, but also acquired Holiday Holiday, and their current roster has almost no shortcomings, and all the main players are in their playing years.

This season, there have been frequent chaos in the West, and the Timberwolves have become the division leaders, followed by the Thunder and the Mavericks, these three teams can be said to have no championship appearance at all. The Thunder are too young, the Timberwolves lack a superstar, the Mavericks have obvious shortcomings on the lineup, and Doncic is not mentally mature, so it will be difficult for these three teams to make a difference in the playoffs.