Who has the most to lose during the 2024 NBA playoffs?

The NBA playoffs shines a spotlight on players, coaches and teams with everything at stake. There is truly only one happy team after the league’s two-month postseason, so questions are bound to arise about individuals who fall short this spring. We’ll take a look at folks around the NBA who have the most to lose during the postseason. All statistics are sourced from Basketball Reference.

Since winning two championships with the Golden State Warriors, the narrative surrounding Durant is that he needs to get a title with his “own team.” Durant himself admitted this to the New York Post before the season, saying Phoenix “will get pounced on” if they don’t win the title. They’re going to have a difficult road to achieve that goal in the Western Conference.

Leonard missed the final eight games of the regular season with a knee injury, which once again brings up questions about his health during the postseason. There’s not much doubt about the talent he brings to the floor, but another playoff stretch hampered by durability questions might knock Leonard off of the superstar tier.

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The Washington Post wrote in February that Rivers is trying to rescue the Milwaukee Bucks and restore his own reputation. The franchise made a bold move in the middle of the season by firing head coach Adrian Griffin to bring Rivers in. While the injury status of Giannis Antetokounmpo clouds things, Milwaukee will likely need to at least make the conference finals to ward off critics.

Randle, of course, will not be suiting up for the New York Knicks this postseason due to a shoulder injury suffered in January. The team hasn’t missed much of a beat without him in the regular season. If the Knicks make a run in the playoffs, it could force the front office to wonder just how integral he is to their success moving forward. Heavy believes the Knicks will be pressured to trade him.

One of the reasons why the Knicks have been so good without Randle has been the play of Anunoby, who has fit in seamlessly from a schematic standpoint. However, he’s had some injury issues of his own. Anunoby is an impending free agent, so he’ll need to be available for as long as the Knicks are in the playoffs to command the lucrative deal he is seeking.

Lillard forced a trade away from the Portland Trail Blazers in order to give himself a better chance to win a championship. The time is now for the star point guard, who may need to take on added scoring responsibility if Antetokounmpo is at less than 100 percent. The Washington Post believes he has a lot at stake this spring.

Mitchell’s offensive talent is hard to dispute, but he hasn’t been able to drag a team to playoff success throughout his career. One could argue that Mitchell was thoroughly outplayed in the playoffs last season against the Knicks, so he’ll need to fare much better this year. Sportsnaut believes Cleveland may have no choice but to part ways with Mitchell this offseason.

Mitchell’s Cavaliers teammate will also be under the microscope in the 2024 NBA playoffs. In his first career playoff appearance a year ago, Mobley didn’t have the impact on both ends of the floor that many hoped. He’ll now go up against fellow former high draft pick Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic, and Cavs fans hope last year’s experience will help Mobley play better this postseason.

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Axios wrote about the pressure being on for the Boston Celtics, with good reason. They finished with the best record in the NBA this season, and it wasn’t particularly close. Tatum has enough big game experience in his career to understand the moment, and deliver when called upon. Anything short of a title for Tatum and Boston would be viewed as a disappointment.

While Tatum will carry most of the burden if Boston doesn’t win the championship, Brown’s stock will also be heavily examined. CBS Sports called his five-year, $304 million extension the first test case of the “max or bust” philosophy. Brown’s paycheck alone puts him in the crosshairs for criticism should something go wrong.

Embiid has done well to make it back from injury to compete in the NBA play-in tournament and the postseason. However, most won’t remember those details looking back years from now, and results are all that Embiid will be judged on. As one of the premier players in the NBA, he’ll need to bring his team to the conference finals to shed his shaky postseason reputation.

There will undoubtedly be a moment (or perhaps several) during the NBA playoffs where a crucial call will be replayed and examined to no end. The NBA will have to hope that there isn’t an instance that costs a team a game during the most important time of the season.

Like Anunoby, Siakam is also up for a massive payday after the season is over. The Indiana Pacers made the blockbuster trade for the versatile forward, and are hoping that his championship experience with the 2019 Toronto Raptors can make a difference this postseason. Siakam can further cement his role as the clearcut second option behind Tyrese Haliburton.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were unceremoniously ousted during last year’s postseason, and will need a good showing during the 2024 NBA playoffs. That includes Bickerstaff, who will need to press the right buttons in order to get his team to the second round. FanSided wondered if Bickerstaff should’ve felt the heat last year, and he might be on the hot seat this year as well.

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When the Suns traded for Bradley Beal last summer, many believed that Phoenix was on the short list of championship contenders. The experiment hasn’t quite worked out as planned, as the Suns find themselves as underdogs in the West. Beal has only played in the postseason once in the last five seasons, so he will need to come out with a strong performance to re-establish his reputation.