After waiting almost a year for the 2019/2020 NBA season to be concluded, it feels like the 2020/2021 season has come a little bit too quickly. But we surely are not complaining, because who would say no to some more basketball? Last season was the longest NBA season in history, having started in December and ending in October, which has made this off-season the shortest in history, even shorter for the teams who made it to the finals.
Last season, especially the playoffs, was played in unprecedented circumstances because of the pandemic, with teams having to play behind closed doors in a bubble. Although going into this season, teams would have the luxury of playing in their respective arenas, but it still is uncertain whether fans would be allowed in to watch the games. But fans or no fans, the games must go on and we are happy to watch our respective teams on TV (or whatever device).
Having acquired the services of Anthony Davis last year, the Los Angeles Lakers somewhat cruised to the championship, finishing 1st in the western conference and losing only five games en rout to lifting the Larry O’Brien. This season again they would be looking to repeat the feat as they are seen as the favourites by most to win it all. They added some nice pieces like the reigning sixth man of the year Montrezl Harrell, and the runner-up for the same award, Dennis Schroder. The two of them remarkably solves the one biggest problem the Lakers had last season, which is bench scoring.
Their next-door neighbours the Clippers really didn’t make a big leap in terms of squad building after they lost Harrell to the Lakers, but they solved one major problem with the signing of Serge Ibaka, which is rim protection. The Clippers also fired their head coach Doc Rivers after allowing the Denver Nuggets to come back from 3-1 down to win the western conference semis. And the whole NBA fandom was taken aback when the Clippers announced the extension of Paul George, who was largely abysmal to say the least in the playoffs. They’ll be hoping that this year things would be better.
As things stand, we still have no idea where James Harden will be plying his trade this year. It looks like it is only going to be a matter of time before we see him out of Houston. Where would he go? Miami? Hawks? Nets? Philadelphia? Your guess is as good as mine. Wherever he ends up though, time is running out for him to win a championship considering the kind of talent that he is. It would be a shame if he retires without one. Same goes for Giannis and the Bucks. Although the reigning MVP is a couple of years younger than Harden, he needs to be aware that time flies quickly in this league. He put pen to paper to a five-year deal this off-season and is adamant that he could win at the Bucks. With the acquisition of point guard Jrue Holiday, he thinks he could have a shot at the championship this hear. Only time would tell.
At Brooklyn the duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving is expected to deliver a first championship to the City. It’s still left to be seen what kind of impact the achilles injury to Kevin Durant would be, but it is expected that he’d be just fine having had over a year to recuperate. We just have to wait and see what his partnership with Kyrie would look like. Most pundits are predicting a disaster, but I think when you put together two amazing talents such as this, their positives should outweigh their shortfalls.
For a second season running, we’re not going to see Klay Thompson unfortunately. He ruptured his achilles just a few weeks to the start of the season. We won’t be seeing the Splash Brother grace the court, Steph Curry would have to lead his troops single-handedly to the promise land. But that is not to say that the Warriors would be short of talent going into the season. They still have former defensive player of the year Draymond Green and 2014 number 1 draft pick Andrew Wiggins. Add that to this year’s number 2 draft pick James Wiseman, and Kelly Oubre, and you have a team that is expected to make the playoffs.
One thing is certain, this season will prove to be one of the toughest yet, with the myriad of talent in the league. It wouldn’t be shocking to find that a seemingly strong team fails to make it to the playoffs. In the west for instance, there are at least eleven teams who can genuinely make the playoffs. We have a similar situation in the east. Teams like the Atlanta Hawks are definitely not going to be the pushovers we have known them to be over the last few years. It’s going to be exciting.
I’ll leave you with my predictions for the upcoming season.
Western Conference
1. Clippers
2. Lakers
3. Nuggets
4. Mavericks
5. Warriors
6. Rockets
7. Trailblazers
8. Suns
9. Jazz
10. Pelicans
11. Spurs
12. Grizzlies
13. Kings
14. Timberwolves
15. Thunder
Eastern Conference
1. Bucks
2. Nets
3. Celtics
4. Sixers
5. Heat
6. Hawks
7. Pacers
8. Wizzards
9. Raptors
10. Magic
11. Pistons
12. Hornets
13. Bulls
14. Cavaliers
15. Knicks
MVP – Anthony Davis
Scoring Champion – James Harden
Defensive Player of the Year – Anthony Davis
Most Improved Player – Talen Horton-Tucker
Rookie of the Year – James Wiseman
6th Man of the Year – Kyle Kuzma
Finals MVP – LeBron James
Champions – Lakers
Candid Basketball 