This is part three in our series breaking the NBA into tiers. The first tier examined lottery bound teams. Yesterday, we looked into those teams on the bubble, close to making the playoffs, but also close to falling out.
Here’s the breakdown of the tiers as I see them:
Contenders - Assuming health, these teams have a great chance of making a conference finals run
Borderline - These teams can become contenders with a trade or two and internal improvement
Playoff Locks - These teams should make the playoffs but may not have a high enough ceiling to make a realistic run at the conference finals
Playoff/Play-In Bubble - These teams could reach the 6th seed but will realistically be amongst a group of teams competing for a place in the play-in tournament
Lottery Teams - These teams have already begun scouting the 2022 draft class
Playoff Locks
Rick Carlisle may not be the most relatable person on earth but he can certainly maximize a roster.