The Cleveland Cavaliers are white-hot.
They are riding another lengthy winning streak for the third time this season, contributing to a titanic 48-10 record and the best point differential in franchise history at +11.7. Their 8-straight wins is the best in the league, and they aren't merely winning: they are destroying teams. That streak includes wins by 40 points in Orlando, 37 points against the Knicks and 23 points in Toronto.
While the Cavaliers appear to be unstoppable, that is certainly not the case. This is a team with plenty still to prove; for as great as they have been this regular season, being a Tier 1 contender is a new place for them post-LeBron, and until they win in the playoffs no one will fully trust them.
Who else is playing extremely well in the NBA right now, riding winning streaks and dominating opponents? Cleveland is hardly alone having strong runs coming out of the All-Star Break. Are any of those teams ones that the Cavaliers should fear? Is a challenger rising up to take them on?
With all apologies to the Boston Celtics, they lost their last game by 20 points; they have to earn a spot back on a list of the hottest teams. Let's look at those teams playing their best basketball right now and determine if they are a threat to the Cavaliers.
No. 1: The Detroit Pistons
This may seem inexplicable, but the Detroit Pistons are white-hot right now. They have matched the Cavaliers with 8-straight wins, including a 20-point shellacking of the Boston Celtics earlier this week. They have climbed all the way up to sixth in the Eastern Conference and are only a game out of fourth.
It's a remarkable turnaround for former Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff and the Pistons, whose 33 wins this season are more than they earned in the previous two seasons combined. They have good young players supported by veteran shooters and the formula is working. Cade Cunningham has finally made his star turn.
Yet they also boast even less experience than the Cavaliers, and they have weak spots that can be exploited by the potent offense the Cavs are producing. It seems like they need to be careful not to overlook Detroit, but otherwise they are not a threat to be on Cleveland's level.
No. 2: The Los Angeles Lakers
LeBron James and Luka Doncic are a dangerous combination of savvy and passing, and the two have immediately developed chemsitry after Dallas inexplicably traded away their All-NBA 25-year-old ahead of the Trade Deadline. They did, however, and now the Lakers have another superstar to sustain their success.
That success has moved into the present, too. Despite not having a starting-level center on the roster the Lakers have had an elite defense over the last 10 games; only the Cavaliers' defensive rating is better in that span. The Lakers have gone 8-2 and won four-straight games, including a convincing win over the Denver Nuggets a week ago.
The Lakers are not this good defensively, and they have some serious flaws. They aren't truly on the Cavaliers' level. But doubt LeBron James and Luka Doncic at your own peril, and were they to go on a run to the NBA Finals there is no chance the Cavaliers organization would feel comfortable going into that series.
No. 3: The Golden State Warriors
Another team that made a significant trade at the deadline, the Golden State Warriors have been invigorated with new life after acquiring former All-NBA forward Jimmy Butler.
Stephen Curry in particular looks like a new man, the depression of being on a team with no future being replaced with genuine basketball joy. He went off for 56 points on the road against the Orlando Magic to give the Warriors' their fifth-straight win, and they are 7-1 since Jimmy Butler came to town.
This is a team that is dangerous. They have flaws, and their core is old, but their stars all know what it is like to play in the NBA Finals, and if they manage to knock off the Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder and make it to the Finals to face Cleveland they would have proven themselves worthy of the spot. This is a team the Cavaliers should have a healthy respect for if they continue playing this well.
No. 4: The Oklahoma City Thunder
Technically, the next-longest winning streak in the league belongs to the Portland Trail Blazers at three games, but they are merely taking advantage of their schedule. Instead, we pivot to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are 8-2 in their last 10 games with the league's third-best net rating over that span.
They did lose to the Minnesota Timberwolves twice over the last two weeks, but one of those games was a wild overtime loss in a game where they were up 24 points in the fourth quarter. In all of their other games they have played like the title contender they are, and they are 9-0 over the past three weeks in games against other teams and 1-2 against the Wolves.
The Thunder have everything you need to be a serious title threat, from an elite defense to an MVP frontrunner to shooting and passing and versatile lineups. They have an excellent head coach and are the biggest threat to the Cavaliers outside of Boston in the entire league.
No. 5: The Cleveland Cavaliers
Luckily for Cleveland, they cannot play themselves!