There is about a month left of the 2020-21 NBA regular season and while that does not seem like a lot of time, there is still a ton of high-level, competitive basketball yet to be played! As we enter the stretch-run of the season, teams will begin separating themselves and we will start to see the teams with a real shot to win a title emerge. 

While this is happening though, some teams with title aspirations will start to trend downwards in the wrong direction. These teams will be this year’s playoff “pretenders,” ultimately coming up short of their goals of winning a championship. 

Whether it is because of injuries or a lack of overall talent, these “pretending teams” still have work to do in order to be considered a real championship-contending team, which is why there are only a handful of teams with a real chance to win a title this year.

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Injuries have played a huge factor in this year’s regular season and will continue to play a role as we shift gears towards the playoffs, especially for some of the teams we are about to talk about a little more in depth. 

With that said, let’s rank the top four playoff “pretenders” this season and point out why exactly each team finds themselves with this distinct title.