NBA: Ranking teams by tiers for 2019-20 season

Tier 3: Dark Horse NBA Finalists

Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors

It is exceedingly likely that the title winner will come from the top tier and, if not, almost certainly from the second. This third tier represents the only other two teams in the league with a path to a title, if everything comes together at the right time.

The Golden State Warriors are an obvious pick for this tier. They have won the Western Conference each of the past five seasons, with three titles to their name. Losing Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston makes this a very different roster and Klay Thompson will miss at least 55 games of the season.

Hard-capped from the D’Angelo Russell sign-and-trade, the Warriors have extremely limited options for improving mid-season.

Yet, this team still has the best player in the league in Stephen Curry, its best playoff defender in Draymond Green and one of the league’s best coaches. Russell is oversold by his “All-Star” status, but undervalued by those who think he’s not a starting-level point guard. If Thompson is healthy come the postseason, no team in the league will want to face the Warriors.

The Boston Celtics have significantly less recent pedigree, but what they do have is upside at the league’s most valuable positions. Kemba Walker will bring 95 percent of Kyrie Irving‘s play on the court without the drama or chemistry issues.

A Celtics team that figures out its closing five, gets a healthy Gordon Hayward, sees Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown pop and adds a center on the buyout market could make a push to the NBA Finals.

Neither of these teams deserves to be in the title conversation at this point in the season, yet the path to that point is at lease conceivable. From this point on teams are playing for something other than a title, even if they still aim high.