The 2016 NBA playoffs start today, and with it the “real season” begins as some would say. With a world championship on the line down the road, let's take a look at each Eastern Conference playoff team's biggest weakness, and why they probably won't win the title.
Let's start with the teams most likely to win the title and work our way down.
Cleveland Cavaliers
For the Cavs, it all comes down to their shooting percentage. They only shoot about 46% from the field, and 9 of the last 10 NBA champs have shot the ball better than that mark.
Toronto Raptors
The Canadian NBA squad will live or die on defense. They give up more 5.2 points per 100 possessions more than the league average and give up a better field-goal percentage than most NBA teams.
Boston Celtics
These C's don't shoot well enough. They shoot below the league average from literally every spot on the floor according to NBA.com/stats.
Miami Heat
The Heat aren't hot enough. Or in other words, they don't score enough. This team scores 106.2 points per 100 possessions, but none of the last 10 championship teams scored less than 106.6 per 100 possessions.
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks have multiple problems, the biggest being not enough scoring. They only score 105.1 points per 100 possessions, and as we saw above with Miami, that won't cut it. The Hawks also have the second-worst free-throw of total shot attempts percentage, and the worst offensive rebound share.
Charlotte Hornets
This team probably shouldn't have even made the playoffs after shooting only 43.7% from the field this season. Enough said.
Indiana Pacers
The Pacers aren't strong at the pick-and-roll game, which is what the league is all about today. They simply don't have the pieces to be as successful as necessary at that in the playoffs.
Detroit Pistons
Detroit had a negative regular season net rating… guess how many of the last 10 champs had a negative net rating? Yep, that would be none.
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