One Glaring Weakness for Each Eastern Conference NBA Title Contender

The 2015-16 Warriors won a record 73 regular-season games, as close to a perfect team as we’ve seen in NBA history—they didn’t even win a title. Even the best teams have a weak point and that’s no different this year as we head into the final stretch of the regular season.

This season’s playoff race is especially interesting in the Eastern Conference, with a cluster of teams who have a legitimate shot to make it out of the conference. Detroit has led the conference all year and looked like a true powerhouse recently, winning two games against playoff teams without All-Star center Jalen Duren who served a two-game suspension after the scuffle with Charlotte. But even the first-place Pistons aren’t perfect when you dig behind the curtain, and have yet to win a playoff series with their young roster.

The Celtics are right in the mix as well, staying toward the top of the East without Jayson Tatum. Jaylen Brown is having a career year and Boston’s supporting cast has impressed throughout the year. But still, the Celtics have some flaws that could pop up down the stretch and into the postseason, just like their Eastern Conference foes.

Then, there’s the Knicks and Cavaliers. New York hopes to get over the hump and make a Finals run after a loss in the Eastern Conference finals last year, while Cleveland is getting used to the sudden addition of James Harden in the wake of an early postseason exit as the No. 1 seed last year.

In a fairly open conference, each team has at least one schematic weakness it likely needs to improve or cover up down the stretch. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the top teams in the East and where each is lacking as we enter the push for the postseason.

1. Detroit Pistons (42–13)

Cade Cunningham — The Pistons are far out in front of the rest of the Eastern Conference | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Glaring weakness: Three-point shooting

As a unit, the Pistons are making 11.2 three-pointers per game, which puts Detroit ahead of only the lowly Pelicans, Mavericks and Kings. The Pistons connect on their three-point attempts at a 35.2% clip, which is in the bottom half of the league. All other Eastern Conference contenders are better three-point shooting teams than Detroit. J.B. Bickerstaff’s squad doesn’t need to shoot the lights out from deep to advance far in the postseason as a defensive-minded team that has a strong offense with Cade Cunningham running the show, but more shooting could go a long way.

Duncan Robinson has been a great offseason acquisition, currently shooting 40.5% from deep on 7.3 three-point attempts per game. The deadline trade to bring in Kevin Huerter from the Bulls provides some additional shooting off the bench, but he’s had an up-and-down past two seasons shooting the ball. Hopefully for Detroit, the change of scenery does wonders for Huerter. Cunningham is shooting 33.8% from three this year, down from his marks in each of the past two seasons. He doesn’t need to do more for the Pistons, but as one of the NBA’s best clutch players, he could catch fire at the right time. A 42-point game where he went 5-for-11 from deep against the Knicks in Detroit’s first game after the All-Star break was a great start. He followed that up with a 3-for-6 night from three in a win against the Bulls Saturday.

Cunningham can’t do it all himself over a seven-game playoff series, but he’s the best player on the court more often than not which is an enormous advantage for a Detroit team exceeding expectations.

2. Boston Celtics (37–19)

Jaylen Brown is in the midst of a career season | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Glaring weakness: Getting to the foul line

The Celtics are getting to the free-throw line an NBA-worst 18.3 times per game this season. For context, the East-leading Pistons attempt 26.5 foul shots per game, over eight additional free points left on the table each night. The good news is that Boston takes advantage of its limited opportunities at the stripe, shooting 79.2% as a unit on free throws this year.

On the bright side, this isn’t anything new for the Celtics. They were at the bottom of the NBA in free-throw attempts last year and were in front of just four teams during the recent title season in 2024. The low number of foul shots hasn’t hindered the offense this year as Boston currently has the second-best offensive rating in the NBA behind only the Nuggets. Jaylen Brown leads the team with seven free-throw attempts per game, but behind him, no other Celtic takes more than three free throws a night.

Another area where Boston lacks is pace, which is the number of possessions per 48 minutes. The Celtics are currently last in the NBA in pace, but that should only help as play slows down in the playoffs.

3. New York Knicks (37–21)

The Knicks hope to get over the hump and reach the NBA Finals this season behind Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Glaring weakness: Defensive playmaking

The Knicks are in the bottom half of the NBA in both steals and blocks per game. That’s not necessarily a surprise as a roster centered around Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns won’t blow you away with clutch plays on the defensive side of the ball. Mitchell Robinson is a solid rim protector off the bench, but who knows what his minutes load will look like come the postseason with his inconsistent health and teams employing the “Hack-A-Mitch” strategy to put the 41.6% free-throw shooter at the line.

Jose Alvarado’s homecoming brings defensive pressure off the bench that will drive any opponent nuts in a postseason series—he already has 11 steals in five games as a Knick. But the Towns-Brunson pairing will always put a great deal of responsibility on the shoulders of Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart. New York’s defensive rating of 112.7 is fine, but it's behind the Pistons and Celtics as well as the Thunder and Spurs who sit atop the Western Conference. The Knicks’ high-powered offense makes up for that, but the question is whether that will remain the case in the heightened intensity of the playoffs.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers (36–22)

James Harden's arrival in Cleveland has went to plan so far | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Glaring weakness: A midseason shakeup

Harden’s arrival in Cleveland has been so far, so good. The Cavs lost for the first time with Harden Sunday against the Thunder, snapping a seven-game winning streak. Harden had four wins in his first four games with Cleveland. But such a massive roster shift in the middle always comes with complications, especially when we’re talking about a player like Harden whose last few stops haven’t gone exactly to plan.

Maybe this Harden era will continue to go well, though. Although both Harden and Donovan Mitchell require a steady amount of volume, the fact that the former remains one of the best passers in the NBA leaves room for optimism. Mitchell’s not too bad of a playmaker himself, either.

Evan Mobley returned Thursday against the Nets, which gave us the first look at Cleveland’s new core of Mitchell, Harden, Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Mobley’s return shouldn’t rock the boat too much and it didn’t against a lowly Brooklyn squad, but such a significant roster change with less than 30 games to go is worth monitoring the rest of the way.

The NBA hasn’t seen a significant midseason trade fuel a trip to the Finals in recent years. The Raptors had Kawhi Leonard for the full year when they won the title in 2019, although Toronto’s deadline trade for Marc Gasol certainly helped the championship run. Anthony Davis won a title in his first year with the Lakers, but that trade happened before the season started.

Rasheed Wallace’s arrival in Detroit during the Pistons’ championship year in ‘04 is the best example of an in-season trade that led to a title. Wallace fit like a glove on the “Goin’ to Work” Pistons, but Harden fundamentally changes Cleveland’s ecosystem, making the comparison loose at best. Harden’s arrival could pay immediate dividends but if recent history tells us anything, a championship this season is a steep hill for the Cavs to climb.

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