10 teams that can unseat the Warriors in 2018

After the Nuggets added Nikola Jokic into the starting lineup in mid-December, Denver had the NBA’s best offense — but also featured its worst defense. Paul Millsap should help with that some, but he can only do so much to clean up the mistakes of Emmanuel Mudiay, Will Barton and the rest of the perimeter.

Everyone is talking about the Jimmy Butler and Jeff Teague additions in Minnesota, but Taj Gibson is going to be every bit as important for this team off the bench. Ricky Rubio and Zach LaVine are gone, but Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins are poised to make another big leap together this year. With veterans Butler, Teague and Gibson added to the mix, head coach Tom Thibodeau could finally have this defense humming.

Milwaukee went on a 14-3 run down the stretch after inserting Thon Maker into the starting lineup. While still a bit raw, Maker made them a better team. Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to grow, and Malcolm Brogdon can transform into whatever the team needs, whenever it needs him to. Milwaukee is young and talented and can beat anyone on any given night.

John Wall has become the best two-way point guard in the NBA, and the Wizards could be a sleeper pick to come out of the East with the Cavs in shambles. The Wizards were awful off the bench last year (23rd in NetRtg) and return almost the same group. They’ll have to improve when the starters sit if they’re going to make the leap to contender.

 DeMar DeRozan is in a weird position where when he becomes more underrated by the general public, the better he becomes. He and Kyle Lowry have proved to be a phenomenal one-two punch on the perimeter, but Serge Ibaka and Jonas Valanciunas will determine how far this team will go in 2018.

Russell Westbrook is the reigning MVP and is going to have a lot more help with the addition of Paul George. The Thunder is going to be a scary defensive team with both PG and Andre Roberson on the wings while Steven Adams and Enes Kanter protect the rim. Russ won’t have to do everything this year, which is only going to make him more dangerous.

The Celtics finished last season with the best record in the Eastern Conference and only got better with the additions of Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving. They lost a bit of their defensive identity with Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder gone, but Brad Stevens’s Celtics are going to be awfully fun to watch and awfully tough to beat.

In their first season without Tim Duncan, the Spurs looked great. They also looked fantastic in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, that is until Kawhi Leonard went down with an ankle injury in the third quarter. With Leonard sitting, the Warriors went on an 18-0 run and never looked back. San Antonio spent the summer wondering "what if?"

Look at what Mike D’Antoni did for James Harden last season. This year, the Rockets added Chris Paul, which either means D’Antoni’s head is going to explode with possibilities or they’re going to have serious concerns with roles and responsibilities. Right now, it’s hard to imagine the latter.

 Kyrie Irving is gone, but LeBron James is still the best basketball player on the planet. Knowing LBJ is a free agent next summer, look for Cleveland to be incredibly aggressive before the trade deadline to improve the team around a star the organization doesn’t want to lose… again.