As the halfway mark of the 2024-25 NBA season arrives, the tiers of title contention are increasingly coming into focus. Three months into the year and a trio of teams have distinguished themselves from their 27 peers as favorites to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers are tied for the league’s best record at 34-6, while the reigning champion Boston Celtics are 28-12 and have flashed their title-contending heights, despite a prolonged slide of late.
With the Feb. 6 trade deadline fewer than three weeks away, the SportsCasting NBA crew of Ben Pfeifer, Mat Issa and Es Baraheni teamed up to highlight one flaw for each of these leading title contenders. Let’s get to it.
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder don’t need to acquire any new pieces to win a title this year. A wing sniper like Cam Johnson would help, but Oklahoma City has proven itself an elite basketball team. If anything holds the Thunder back from reaching the zenith, it will be their frontcourt depth. Chet Holmgren hasn’t played since early November and Isaiah Hartenstein is already missing his second stint of games this season.
Last week, we saw the Cleveland Cavaliers batter the Thunder on the interior with Holmgren sidelined and taller, stronger teams in the West could do the same. To remedy this, general manager Sam Presti could look in a few directions. Oklahoma City could dip into the Brooklyn Nets’ reserve of veterans, snatching a disgruntled Nic Claxton from a freefalling Nets team.
Claxton would be a more expensive option, but the Thunder have avenues to add the talented big man. It’s possible a disengaged Claxton’s value has depressed enough for Brooklyn to ship him to the Thunder. Claxton pushed for a Defensive Player of the Year trophy just two years ago and his mobility and versatility would fit seamlessly in Oklahoma City. He’s shown the capacity to operate dribble handoffs and pass from the five spot, and could theoretically play the Hartenstein role on offense at a capable level.
If the Thunder want a cheaper center option (and a more capable rebounder), they could pivot to Jonas Valanciunas. He’s less expensive than Claxton and crashes the glass at the level they need. If there’s any team that can cover for Valanciunas’ limitations guarding in space, it’s the vaunted Thunder defense.
A fully healthy Thunder team could probably overcome any opponent in a playoff series, but that reality is far from a guarantee. Adding interior insurance at the deadline would help bolster their largest potential weak spot. –Ben Pfeifer
Boston Celtics
After starting the season 21-5, the defending champion Boston Celtics have gone 7-7 in their last 14 games. While I could try to explain what has caused this recent rut, The Athletic‘s Jay King does a much better job dissecting the issue in a recent article.
“As of Dec. 8… the Celtics were averaging 19 made 3-pointers (best in the league) on 51.4 attempts per game (most in the league). Their opponents were averaging 12.6 made 3-pointers (sixth-fewest in the league) on 35.3 attempts per game (fourth-fewest). Each game, the Celtics were picking up an average of 19.2 points on their opponents from behind the 3-point line.
“While going 7-6 over their last 13 games… The Celtics’ 3-point dominance has almost entirely vanished throughout this stretch, during which they have picked up just 3.6 points per game on their opponents from behind the arc.”
Now, part of this slump comes with the territory of how the Celtics play. When you rely so heavily on something as volatile as 3-point shooting, you are bound to have highs and lows throughout the season.
Still, this excerpt illustrates how much having players who can shoot threes and switch to limit other teams from shooting threes matters for the Celtics; when you switch actions you tend to give up fewer advantages to opponents and, as a result, fewer kickout 3-pointers. With Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford and Sam Hauser, the Celtics already have plenty of these players. But you can never have enough shooting and matchup versatility.
So, if the team was to make a move at the deadline, it would be for a rotation-level player who can check both of those boxes. Some affordable names to consider here are Ochai Agbaji, Torrey Craig and Simone Fontecchio. –Mat Issa
Cleveland Cavaliers
Most glaring need? A big shooting wing to stagger alongside Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen
You might be confused by the area I think the Cavaliers need to address. After all, they’re the best 3-point shooting team in the league. Their quartet of Mobley, Allen, Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell is usually buoyed by various wing players who have done a valiant job spacing the floor, staying connected on defense and working within Cleveland’s free-flowing offensive system.
Each of Dean Wade, Max Strus, Caris LeVert, Isaac Okoro, Georges Niang, Sam Merrill and Ty Jerome deserve credit for being the supporting cast of a Cavaliers team trending toward 70ish wins.
But I want more. And Cavs fans should too.
All of those wings are fairly one-dimensional in their approaches. Merrill, Jerome, Niang and LeVert are all somewhat defensive liabilities who, in a postseason setting, will get picked on endlessly — especially against a team like the Celtics, which thrives on doing so.
While Okoro has improved as an outside shooter, knocking down 40 percent of his looks, he’s still hesitant offensively and doesn’t shoot them frequently, taking less than three per game. So, his defensive acumen ends up being wasted because opposing teams can ice him out on offense pretty quickly. Wade and Strus are the two best options of their wing bunch, and they’ll likely be relied on heavily in the postseason to fill that fifth spot.
Consolidating a few wings and attaching some draft compensation to legitimately upgrade their rotation would bolster their chances of winning the East and make them the surefire favorites. Maybe this is too ambitious, but I’d love for them to enter the Cameron Johnson sweepstakes.
Johnson is having a career year as a scorer and shooter, and is a legitimate 6-foot-8, making his size useful in lineups including just one of Mobley or Allen. I recognize he may cost too much for a team that only has control of two first-round picks between now and 2031, but that’s the cost of building a legitimate championship contender. A good consolation prize would be Larry Nance Jr., who could also provide some lineup fluidity to their frontcourt.
Championship windows can shut pretty quickly. And though some might argue because the Cavs’ four-headed monster is in its prime, they can afford to stay patient and not make a substantial move, I lean in the opposite direction. Strike while the iron is hot. Capitalize on the moment when there is a real opportunity to win a championship — because you just don’t know when the next chance will come. –Es Baraheni
