Every contender's greatest weakness

A rundown of what the best of the best do worst

We are roughly 40% through the season, and the short list of contenders has started to take shape. Right now, by my estimation, seven teams have a not-implausible path to a championship. Here’s why they won’t win.

New York Knicks

Weakness: KAT in the paint

The Knicks as a whole are a below-median finishing team, converting just 65% of their shots near the basket. Unfortunately, their star big man is a big part of the problem. KAT is shooting just 60% at the rim, a terrible number for a big man and a marked drop from his average-ish 67% the year prior.

That’s somewhat overselling the problem. Towns has done a better job at actually getting to the rim in the first place — a career-high 51% of his shots happen at the charge circle, and from an efficiency standpoint, “bad” layups are better than “good” floaters in the aggregate. But given that New York has ample spacing around him, you’d like to see more of those shots going in. And all those wild charges to the rim have a lead lining, too. A few times a game, Towns completely forgets how arms work, committing some of the most egregious illegal screens, hooks, and stiff-arms ever seen in basketball:

Towns has 31 offensive fouls this season; Jaren Jackson Jr., in second, has just 24 (and third place is a tie between Jaylen Brown and Jusuf Nurkic, with just 19). As a longtime Towns supporter, I feel like his infractions have only gotten dumber over the years. Get it together, KAT!

Oklahoma City Thunder