By JAMESON SCOTT LEE
With a crazy free agency period behind us, the NBA season, and having the season started some teams are looking stacked.
Since basketball is a hectic game where anything could happen, instead of looking at one team that I guarantee will win, let’s look at a few that look very nice heading into this season.
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Looking at this year’s NBA teams I think the Celtics, 76ers, Bucks, Nuggets, and the Suns, have the best chance of winning this year.
After watching the Milwaukee Bucks embarrass Joel Embid, I think the Bucks are looking great with the addition of Damian Lillard. Lilliard allows players like Giannis who usually have to play 100% on both ends to succeed on the defensive side of the ball as we saw on Thursday. Watching Damian Lillard score 39 was a special thing to witness. It’s rare for a player to shoot at the efficiency he shot on Thursday, especially from the free throw shooting 17/17. The Bucks’s fan duel odds is currently +410 (or 4.1/1 odds) and its low for a good reason.
Even after losing the 76ers showed on Thursday they have a strong core around Joel Embiid after missing Harden for the night. Players like Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre had great games and showed that if Harden had played that night the game could have been different. The 76ers look good as long as Embiid can start hot after the embarrassment against the Bucks. We have to account that it’s the first game of a long season and Embid is an established MVP and superstar. With fan duel odds at +2700 (27/1 odds) the 76ers could be a great bet.
Moving on to the Celtics. I had my doubts about Kristaps Porginzas and his ability to merge into the Celtics offense but after seeing what they did to the Knicks I think the Celtics won the offseason this year. Gaining defense in Jrue and offense in Tingus Pingus is exactly what they needed and with players like Malcolm Brogdon and Derrick White on the team as starters or backups, the Celtics could take home the ring this year. I know it’s early but after last night’s performance, I could 100% see Jayson Tatum being a top 4 player minimum in the NBA this year, and any team with a player that good and core that is strong around him has to be taken seriously. With the lowest return from fan duel at odds of +370 (3.7/1 odds) the Celtics could win a ring this year and solidify them over the Lakers.
The Suns are very similar to the 76ers in my opinion where even though they lost their first game I wouldn’t put them out of playoff contention. KD looked like he couldn’t miss on Thursday and Devin Booker was out of the game. I think if the Suns stay healthy they have a good chance of winning the chip this year on Kevin Durant’s back. I think the addition of Bradley Beal allows the Suns to distribute their offense a lot more and rely on fewer 3-point opportunities from Devin Booker. Adding Beal to the core will force defenders to seriously guard the whole 3-point line leaving the paint wide open. Nurkic is a much better center than people take him for. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a breakout season. With fan duel odds at +550 (5.5/1 odds) the suns are far from a bad bet this year.
Moving on to the Nuggets, having a player like Nikola Jokic on your team automatically makes you a contender. I think Jokic could have won the MVP last year and proved that he deserved it by taking the finals MVP with the help of soon-to-be All-Star this year Jamal Murray. Coming off a ring the Nuggets look great to try to repeat this year.
With odds lower then the celtics at +550 I think the nuggets could be a great bet this year.
Finally, I want to address a dark horse in the running for a potential ring if all the cards play out.
I would be willing to bet all the money I have on the fact that AD and Lebron would never stay healthy a full season, but if it did. The Lakers would 100% win another ring. It would take D’Angelo Russell to have a good season, Rui Hachimura to continue showing flashes of greatness, and the impossibility of Ad’s ankles not collapsing but if it happened (and it could) lebron could make a goat case.
I think the odds of +1300 is a great thing to maybe put 20 dollars on the Lakers definitely could win the ring I just wouldn’t put it all on the line with this team.
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