Finals contenders
In two week's time, the new NBA season will open and after an unexpectedly surprising off season, it is still pointing towards a fourth consecutive meeting between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Warriors will stay golden for a few more years and they had gotten better with Nick Young and sweet shooting stretch four Omri Casspi. It looks like they will be taking their time on top of the NBA’s hierarchy. Cleveland’s retooled unit have two potent starting lineups that not even Golden State can match. Much had been discussed about the two teams already so let’s talk about the possible West and East party crashers.
Boston is still the biggest threat to Cleveland’s date with destiny and there’s no other team in the weak ass East that has the manpower to beat the Men in Green in the post season. The Celtics only have four holdovers from last season’s roster but the new additions still make them the next best thing after LeBron and his band of Cavaliers.
I see the Washington Wizards as dark horses but unless they add one or two productive bigs to complement Bradley Beal and John Wall, they’ll have to settle for the third best team in the EC. Otto Porter and Kelly Oubre, Jr. are talented small forwards but the Wiz need to upgrade on their 4 on 5 positions to spell for Markieff Morris and Marcin Gortat. 7-foot Jason Smith could be their surprise package.
Over at the WC, the Warriors have better competition with Oklahoma City, Houston and San Antonio. OKC might have the star power but unless there is harmony and egos don’t get in the way, they might not have enough to get past the two teams from Texas. The biggest threat to Golden State is still the Spurs with a too-young, too-old player combo which would disappear into oblivion if not for coach Greg Popovich holding the reins. They will be parading an almost intact line-up from the crew who won 61 games last season. Rudy Gay and Joffrey Lauvergne are the only significant additions.
With Tony Parker not expected to play until late November, coach Pop would probably start second year player Dejounte Murray over Patty Mills. The athletic Lauvergne will be alternating with Pau Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge. Considering that the San Antonio doesn’t have a true center, Lauvergne at any given time could start at the 5 spot.
Leonard has a right quadriceps injury and his timetable is day to day. Gay will be having an important role on the team as Leonard’s reliever because the Spurs won’t be the Spurs without their best player for extended periods. They never recovered after they lost Kawhi to an ankle injury during the WC Finals with the Warriors last season.
Houston is another Warrior obstacle and their center position got better with transferee Tarik Black who will be sharing duties with Nene and Clint Capella. Coach Mike D’Antoni should have by now found a solution for two ball dominant players to coexist – James Harden and Chris Paul. Big man Ryan Anderson who struggled with his offense last season could regain his confidence with CP3 around.
The Rockets lost tested role players in Lou Williams, Patrick Beverly and Sam Dekker. New acquisitions Luc Mbah a Moute, PJ Tucker and Black must step up. SF Trevor Ariza is still around.
Milwaukee and maybe Toronto could be the EC’s top five. The new look Minnesota probably will the West’s fifth best team. The Warriors and the Cavs are still the heavy favorites but I would like to see the rest of the league battle to change the Finals scenery. It has been very predictable the last three seasons.
As to the team that Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka built, unless one of Kim Jung Un’s missiles wipes out the competition, my favorite team will again miss the playoffs. But the LA Lakers will have at least 30 wins, improving on 26-56 win-loss record from last season.