The NBA playoff showdown is still in full swing, the first round of the series is about to end, at present, which team is the most dominant, the most champion? Some people may think that it is the Denver Nuggets, after all, the Nuggets are the defending champions, the strong team has a strong background, the star Jokic is omnipotent on the offensive end, and the team's second oldest Murray is also a strong player who is strong and has excellent hard fighting ability, and the Nuggets role players are all ruthless, tall and big, and can shoot suddenly, that is, the combat power is full. In the series with the Lakers, the Nuggets showed their scoring explosiveness, often being able to take away opponents through waves, in addition, when it comes to key moments of the game, the Nuggets also have a high win rate, they are highly disciplined, and they also have a big heart player like Murray.
In addition to the Nuggets, the Celtics in the East are also very likely to win the championship this season. In the first round of the playoffs, the Celtics faced the Heat, who had entered the Eastern Conference finals three times in the past four years, and swept the opponent 4-1, winning all the games by a large score, which was completely crushed by absolute strength. In fact, during the regular season this season, the Celtics showed absolute dominance, ranking first in the league in terms of winning percentage and far ahead, with a terrifying home record of 37-4, and various basic statistics are also among the best, with average points, rebounds, blocks, three-point production and three-point shooting percentage, all ranking in the top three in the league, which is indeed exaggerated.
Of course, the Nuggets and Celtics are not invulnerable, and they both have their shortcomings. The Nuggets tend to start games slowly, are prone to being led by opponents, and want to score quickly, eating the outside touch of a few role players. The Celtics, the star of the house are a little insufficient, the double probe Tatum and Brown, who have never proven themselves in the playoffs in the past few years, are difficult to break through their own ceilings, and now the core of the team is injured again, at least until the Eastern Conference Finals can return, and it is difficult to say whether the Green Army can play the deterrent power of the first round in the second round. In this way, there are some teams that have a greater chance of hitting the championship, not only the Nuggets and Celtics, but also the Thunder, the dark horse in the West.
In the first round of the playoffs, the Thunder swept the Pelicans, another dark horse in the West, 4-0 and easily advanced to the semifinals. In fact, before the playoffs, many people are actually more optimistic about the Pelicans, because although the Pelicans are also dark horses, they have a richer playoff resume, and the core players Ingram and McCollum are also in their prime. On the Thunder's side, most of the players are breaking into the playoffs for the first time and lack playoff experience, and many people feel that the Thunder players can't adapt to such a high-intensity game, including their main center Chet Holmgren, this is his rookie season, everyone thinks that Chet's body is too thin, and he is too bad in the playoffs, and he can't match it at all. In fact, Chet's confrontation ability is not bad, facing the Pelicans' big interior Valanciunas is not inferior at all, and the Thunder are not as unbearable as imagined.
During the regular season, the Thunder rushed to the first place in the West as a super dark horse, and they blasted out a wave of 5 consecutive wins at the end of the season, during which they also defeated the Bucks and Mavericks, which are also strong and have superstar teams, plus a wave of sweeps in the playoffs and 4 consecutive wins, unconsciously, the Thunder has won a wave of 9 consecutive wins. In the regular season, the Thunder, like the Celtics, led in many statistics, ranking third in the league in scoring 120.1 per game, ranking first in the league with 8.5 steals and 6.6 blocks per game, all of which ranked first in the league, with three shooting percentages in the top three in the league, and offensive and defensive efficiency in the top five in the league.
Unexpected 9 consecutive wins, quietly becoming the favorite to win the championship! The NBA's most underrated team, the 9-for-1 trade is too worthwhile. In fact, the most critical factor in the Thunder's super rise is the rapid growth of their star Alexander. Back in the summer of '19, the Thunder made an important decision to trade Paul George for Alexander, Gallinari, 4 unprotected first-round picks, 1 protected first-round pick and 2 draft pick swaps from the Clippers, which amounted to a 9-for-1 deal. It's a lot of money for the Thunder, and Alexander has now become one of the league's top stars, playing in the top three MVP levels this season, and can also lead the team to become a super dark horse. Now Alexander, who already has a mature leadership temperament, does not have to question his ability to lead the team. Not only that, but the Thunder are both competitive and future-winning, and they have as many as 16 first-round picks in the next few years, which is the biggest winner in the league.