The NBA season is just a week away from getting started and we are really close to seeing a drastic shift within the league.
For the past several years, we have seen a lot of the same stories play out over and over again, but 2019 free agency has shifted the power balance in basketball like nothing else in recent history.
The Toronto Raptors (+3300) are reigning NBA champions after their win over the depleted Warriors in the Finals. This Raptors team is now without Kawhi Leonard, the NBA Finals MVP and the player that carried the Raptors to the championship in the first place.
The fact that the best player on the best team is now gone instantly creates a lot of questions within the league.
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NBA Finals Contenders
The NBA is now wide open with 6 teams at +2000 or better and no team being higher than +400 at the moment. This is far different than the past 4 years, where the Golden State Warriors have been significant favourites each year.
* Odds have been provided by Betonline and are accurate of 16 Oct 2019
Los Angeles Clippers
Odds To Win: +400
The Clippers were a solid team last year, making the playoffs only to get bounced in the first round by Golden State. This year, they are a completely different team with the additions of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Trading for Paul George did force the Clips to give up their impressive rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but that should not really be a short-term issue for this team given the team that they have put together.
This team is likely the most complete in basketball and I think that is why they are currently the favourites. A starting lineup with Kawhi, PG, and Patrick Beverley is always going to be tough defensively and they can also run Lou Will out there with two perennial MVP candidates to score with any team in the league.
Los Angeles Lakers
Odds To Win: +450
The Lakers went out on the trade market and executed a trade for one of the best players in the NBA, Anthony Davis. This trade force the Lakers to give up Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and multiple first-round picks, but the Lakers now have two of the best players in the NBA.
The front office went and filled in the roster with a strange group of veterans, but they should all fill a role and they do still have Kyle Kuzma to act as a spark off the bench or in the starting lineup. This team will be reliant on staying healthy, as it is a rather old team, but they should be great if they can run this group out there come playoff time.
Milwaukee Bucks
Odds To Win: +600
The Bucks are back with virtually the same team as last season and this team should only be improved with Giannis growing as a player.
Early in the preseason, Giannis has looked unstoppable and I think that this team’s success will come and go with Giannis’s ability to score the basketball at all 3 levels.
Outsider: Denver Nuggets
Odds To Win: +1600
The Denver Nuggets have one of the best young cores in basketball but they have been so successful that no one even considers them young anymore. Led by Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, this team should be rapidly improving and the draft additions of Michael Porter Jr. and Bol Bol might be the keys to this franchise’s success.
Both players were expected to be top 5 picks before injuries and if these two live up to their potential, I expect them to contribute early and often on this Nuggets team that was already the second seed in the West last year.
NBA Finals Predictions:
The Denver Nuggets are going to shock the world by beating the Rockets and the Clippers on the way to the NBA Finals to face off with Giannis and the Milwaukee Bucks after they beat Embiid and the Sixers.
This matchup will be incredibly fun to watch and I think that the Nuggets come out on top in a series that could lead people to believe that the next NBA dynasty is brewing in Denver.