NBA'S Hottest Teams: Can the Warriors and Lakers make a Run?

The true hottest team in the NBA right now is the Cleveland Cavaliers. They have been so great the whole season that they deserve their own article. The Warriors and Lakers are always the most popular teams, but since both of their blockbuster trades, they have moved up in the Western Conference significantly, and people are now wondering if they can win the NBA finals instead of a playoff-round win.

Since Jimmy Butler started playing, the Warriors have had the second-best defensive rating, and since Luka started playing, the Lakers have had the 4th best. Both teams are playing great defensively which was worrying at first because we knew that the offense would show up no matter what. The Warriors have had the most free throw attempts since Jimmy Butler which was missing in their offense, and the Lakers got a primary ball handler that takes away so much pressure from the entire team. Both teams already have a great offense, but adding so much depth to their offense has made these teams scary, and that is why they have been winning games so effectively recently.

The playmaking Luka provides, and the elite ability to get to the free throw line that Butler provides made these teams become contenders for this year's playoffs. Seeing Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler in the playoffs is always scary, and when you put them together with one of the best-supporting casts in the NBA and a great coaching staff I think the Warriors can make a run. For the Lakers, a lot of the games will have to come down to Luka and Lebron and they are probably the two best players to rely on in the playoffs out of the whole league and with the role players they have and the coaching staff they also can make it to the finals. Although they might have to get through each other and the Nuggets and Thunder which isn't easy, both teams have made a significant rise that is seen in the standings and the team should be scared to face them because of the success Steph and Lebron have had in the playoffs with a good team.