Exploring one small thing each NBA Championship contender may need to happen in order to win it all this season.
As the start of the 2024-25 NBA playoffs quickly approaches, every championship contender is trying to put themselves in the best position to make a deep run in the postseason. Looking across the landscape of the Association, we go contender by contender and explore one small thing each team needs to happen (or make happen) in order to win it all this season. We begin with the red-hot Golden State Warriors.
Golden State Warriors
Avoid the Denver Nuggets/Los Angeles Lakers in the first round
If the Golden State Warriors are going to make a championship run, there are probably a few things that are going to have to go right for them. First things first, I do believe that it would be in the best interest of the team to finish with the right seed. For now, I believe the sixth seed should be where they should want to finish. More specifically, the sixth seed while also finding a way to avoid both the Denver Nuggets and/or Los Angeles Lakers in a first-round playoff series.
As well as the Warriors are playing right now, I just can't envision them getting through a playoff gauntlet of the Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, and then the Oklahoma City Thunder. If that's the path to just making it to the NBA Finals, I wouldn't like the Warriors' chances of pulling off such a feat. Many times, championship runs need a little luck here and there. For the Warriors, they would need a slight break to begin their postseason run.
The good news for the Warriors is that it's pretty possible for the Warriors to finish as the sixth seed and the Nuggets to finish as the second seed. If they could avoid the Lakers in that first-round series, that would be an added lifeline. I do believe the Warriors would much rather play the Lakers than the Nuggets, but that's a conversation for another time.
Memphis Grizzlies
Ja Morant needs to play like a superstar again
Over the last month of the season, there have been more signs of Ja Morant turning the corner on the inconsistencies this season. However, if the Memphis Grizzlies are going to make a deep run in the postseason, they're going to need Morant to truly stand out. In fact, I'd say they are going to need Morant to be the best player on the floor on most nights if Memphis is going to shake up the Western Conference when the playoffs begin.
I don't think there would be much pushback with the idea that the Grizzlies are at their best when Morant is playing like a top-5 player in the league. In all honesty, I'm not sure when the last time was that Morant was playing at that level. If the stars are going to start to align for the Grizzlies, though, it almost certainly has to start with Morant taking his game to another level when the postseason begins.