Welcome to a time of NBA parity. The 2024 NBA playoffs ended as many will have expected based on the regular season. The Boston Celtics won a league-high 64 games and had the highest net rating , and they stood head and shoulders above the competition as they lifted an 18th championship.
A closer look at the standings points to how competitive the postseason race was, though. In the Eastern Conference, four games separated the second-seeded New York Knicks from the eighth-seeded Miami Heat. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets tied for the top record in the Western Conference, where five games were the difference between the fourth and 10th-place finishers.
Fans have long pointed to what they consider to be the lack of importance to the regular season. The pendulum seems to be shifting thanks to the play-in tournament and the flattening of the gap between title contenders. An 82-game campaign spanning seven months is bound to feel like a slog.
These games should be a source of excitement along the way, though. The domino effect of Paul George signing with the Philadelphia 76ers has been so heavily analyzed that we don't really need to rehash it much here. To summarize, his departure in all likelihood shuts the Los Angeles Clippers' championship window — if it wasn't closed already thanks to Kawhi Leonard's persistent injury trouble.
The Sixers, on the other hand, are banking on George to be the final piece that brings a title to Philly. It will be interesting to see.