With the NBA already having one of the most historic offseasons of all-time in 2019, the 2019-2020 season is set to be a battle that NBA fans are craving.
Right now, there are many teams that can contend for a championship. Out of the top 10 teams that have the best odds to win it all next year, four teams come from the East (Bucks +450, 76ers +800, Celtics +2000, Nets +2000) and six teams come from the west (Lakers +350, Clippers +400, Rockets +700, Warriors +1300, Jazz +1400, Nuggets +2000).
Out of these 10 teams, I think it is safe to eliminate teams like Boston, Brooklyn, and Denver from the running for a championship. Every other team on this list has a shot, but it’s pretty clear which teams should end up on top.
When first looking at the odds, it was clear to me that the Warriors are severely underrated in terms of their odds to win. Yes, they lost Durant, Thompson won’t play for the majority of next season, and key bench pieces like Quinn Cook and Andre Iguadola have departed.
That all being said though, Steph Curry, D’Angelo Russell, and Klay Thompson can most definitely get something going come playoff time. Their staff still has championship experience like none other, and they have an expectation from their fans following their dynasty that ruled the NBA for the past five years. They won’t go down without a fight and their +1300 odds to win completely disregards that notion. There’s no doubt that it’ll be very hard for Golden State this season though, as the Western Conference is better than it has ever been.
Sticking to the Western Conference, the Lakers and the Clippers have taken the biggest leap in terms of adding talent this offseason. The Lakers now have LeBron James, DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, and have managed to put together a solid team through veteran minimum contracts and solid role players like Danny Green. At the same time though, this Laker team has a lot of work to do in terms of staying healthy and playing well as a team. Just because they are all great players individually does not mean they will work out as a team. I see them getting about 50 wins if they all remain healthy. They should be in line for a championship run, but if one player goes down, it’s over.
The Clippers are also right there with the Lakers in terms of talent. Kawhi Leonard is potentially the best player in the NBA right now, and Paul George is coming off a season in which he finished third in MVP voting. Along with that, guys like Patrick Beverly, Montrezl Harrell, and Lou Williams round off a team that has depth like no other. At the same time, this team is stacked with defensive phenoms. They should be the number one defense all of next year as long as they stay healthy.
Moreover, they are likely to be one of the better offensive teams in the league too, so you can expect the Clippers to make their way to the Western Conference Finals next year. They’ll likely play the Lakers, and the winner of that matchup will be the team with superior chemistry. Right now, it’s a toss-up.
The only reason the Rockets aren’t included in this conversation is simply that they don’t have the pieces to take on the Clippers or Lakers and maybe not even the Warriors. Westbrook and Harden are both ball-dependent players whose usage rate correlates with their success.
They are both going to need to find out how to share the ball and that’s something that I don’t think will happen quick enough for them to win a championship this year. I would say even the Jazz have a better shot than the Rockets, as they could be a sleeper team to go far in the Western Conference. The addition of Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic has created a well-rounded lineup that Utah can work with for the next few years.
The Eastern Conference is pretty simple, it’s either the Sixers or the Bucks. The Sixers made some great moves by getting rid of Jimmy Butler, re-signing Tobias Harris, and signing Al Horford. Although, they did lose J.J. Reddick, who was a huge piece to their offense and brought veteran leadership to the team. If I had to choose a team to come out of the East, I would pick the Sixers.
They were so close to beating Toronto last year, and they made better moves than the Bucks. As a matter of fact, the Bucks made a mistake getting rid of Malcolm Brogdon while the Sixers made no mistakes this offseason.
The only thing that the Sixers will have to reconstruct is their chemistry with Horford in the lineup, and I believe the adjustment will play out just fine. Butler leaving the team will make the team even better, as there were reports of Butler not embracing his role on the team last season.
I’m not saying the Bucks can’t make it to the Finals, but I think the Sixers have a slight edge. Joel Embiid has a chance to be one of the best players in the league next year, and the players he is surrounded by are better than the players that surround Giannis Antetokounmpo.
If I had to pick right now, I would predict that the 2019-2020 Finals will be a matchup between the Sixers and the Clippers with the Clippers coming out on top. There’s a lot that can go wrong during the season, but these two teams are definitely primed for a trip to the NBA finals.
