Four “Make or Break Playoff” Runs

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As of Friday night, all eight NBA playoff matchups are set. This postseason, it feels several teams from each conference could win the 2023 NBA championship. While there are some teams that will take the next step forward if they do not win, there are others that have a lot on the line. Some of these playoff teams are in a “make or break” stage, with the future not being clear for those teams. All of these teams have been in the current era for a handful of years, seeing some success, but the true success of winning a championship. With it getting harder for some teams to compete with their rosters, losing in the 2023 playoffs could push these teams to look at their futures.

Los Angeles Clippers

The superstar duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were supposed to be a very special duo. It can be argued that they have and have not been at the same time. The Clippers blew a series lead in the 2020 playoffs, lost in the 2021 Western Conference Finals after losing Kawhi Leonard in the second round, and lost in the play-in tournament last season. This season, the Clippers go into the playoffs as the fifth seed but will face a Phoenix Suns team led by Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. While the Clippers will have Kawhi, they will not have PG, who is still out due to a knee injury. The most recent reports have noted that George will not be back until the Western Conference Semi-Finals. Will the Clippers even make it out of the first round? When the Clippers lost in the Western Conference Finals in 2021, they lost to a healthy Suns team that Didn’t have Kevin Durant. The odds are not in LA’s favor, and another early exit will bring into question what the pairing of Leonard and George can accomplish. With the new CBA affecting teams going into the luxury tax like the Clippers, it may only be a matter of time before one of the Clippers’ two stars are on the move.

Philadelphia 76ers

The crazy thing about the 2022-23 Philadelphia 76ers team is that this may be Philly’s best chance of winning a championship. They have the likely 2022-2023 MVP in Joel Embiid and a solid roster surrounding him. While everything looks good for the Sixers right now, that could all change in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. While they’ll likely have an easier series in the first round against the Brooklyn Nets, they’ll likely be facing the reigning Eastern Conference Champion Boston Celtics. Boston will be a tough challenge for Philly, dominating on both ends of the court. If Boston eliminates Philadelphia, there are a lot of questions immediately surrounding the team. Will Doc Rivers be fired as head coach after several early playoff exits? Will James Harden take another pay cut and re-sign with the Sixers or look for one more big-money contract? How much longer will Embiid be in his prime? Will Embiid’s frustration grow to the point he demands change or requests a trade? While Philly’s best chance of winning the championship may be this postseason, it may be one of the last chances as well.

Miami Heat

Just squeezing into the playoffs as the eighth seed, Miami has a tough and potentially short playoff run ahead of them against the Milwaukee Bucks. In Miami’s last couple of games, they have struggled at times. The only consistent scoring over the last couple of games has been Jimmy Butler. The Heat had great performances by Tyler Herro and Kyle Lowry against the Hawks and a big-time game from Max Strus against the Bulls. Their second star, Bam Adebayo, has been very inconsistent in the last few games, scoring 12 points against the Hawks and 8 against the Bulls. Bam HAS to show up in the series against the Bucks, especially when he could be matched up against Giannis Antetokounmpo. If the Heat exit the playoffs early or even worse, get swept, Heat President Pat Riley could look at shaking up the roster. Some may question that given the fact Butler and Adebayo led the team to the 2020 Finals and were basically a made three away from the Finals last season. With the winning mentality of Riley and the Heat, they could make a big off-season move, trading for one of the disgruntled stars in the league.

Boston Celtics

I know what you’re thinking. “The Boston Celtics? They went to the Finals last year and are likely to go the Eastern Conference Finals at the least.” While both of those are facts, it is not exactly a “make or break” playoff run for the Celtics, but rather a playoff run that could further grow the cracks within the Celtics’ core. In their first five seasons as a duo, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have led the Celtics to a Finals appearance, and two additional playoffs to the Conference Finals. In the 2022 offseason, the rumors of Jaylen Brown being traded for Kevin Durant began to grow as Durant requested a trade from the Nets. Those rumors came up once again right before Durant was traded to the Suns. Brown has stated before that he is unsure of his future with Boston, especially as he will be an unrestricted free agent in the 2024 offseason. Brown’s name has been linked to several teams who could try to pursue him in the offseason. While it’s unlikely anything would happen on Boston’s end, another deep playoff exit or Finals loss could push Jaylen Brown to think about a career outside of Boston.