NBA Finals contenders' top weakness: Who can exploit them? - ESPN

The gauntlet of the NBA playoffs, which requires the champion to win four series which could last up to seven games each, has a knack for revealing teams' weaknesses en route to the Finals.

Every team, even the three considered the NBA's top contenders — the No. 1 seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers and the defending champion Boston Celtics — has shortcomings.

For each of these eight teams — the top three in the East and top five in the West — we're taking a look under the statistical microscope to identify weaknesses and which potential opponents could expose them in the postseason.

East contenders:
BOS | CLE | NYK

West contenders:
DEN | GS | HOU | LAL | OKC

Weakness: Insufficient pace

It's not easy to find a weakness in the Celtics, who join the Thunder with a top-five offense and defense. But one potential playoff problem for Boston is an overly methodical offense — and I don't mean the team's reliance on 3-pointers.

Rather, it ranks near the bottom of the league in a host of statistics related to offensive speed: 27th in pace, 30th in fast break points, 30th in transition frequency, per Cleaning the Glass; 27th in average time to shoot after a defensive rebound, per Inpredictable; and 30th in average time to shoot after a turnover.

The Celtics' deliberate play hasn't harmed their overall offensive efforts over the past two seasons — but for small stretches, especially when their 3s aren't falling, Boston can get stuck in the mud. And it might not have the fast-break gear to free themselves and generate easy buckets.

Who might exploit it: Thunder, Orlando Magic, Cavaliers

The Thunder have by far the best half-court defense in the league, per Cleaning the Glass, a full four