There is very little time left before the start of the new season in the NBA. The teams are already holding pre-season meetings and are preparing with might and main for the next race for championship rings. This means that already now you can start talking about who will claim the title in the 2022/2023 championship. Here are the top 5 teams that look the strongest so far.
"Golden State Warriors"
The current champion is by itself one of the main contenders for victory in the 2022/2023 season. After all over the past eight years the Warriors have taken part in as many as six NBA finals in four of which they took championship rings. The "big trio" of Steph Curry who returned to action after a two-year absence from Clay Thompson and Draymond Green automatically place Golden State in contender status.
Despite the fact that the backbone of the team remained the same, last summer the Warriors lost several players from the championship roster. First of all it's Gary Payton and Otto Porter. Nemanja Bielica, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damion Lee left with them. Andre Iguodala and Jordan Pool remained who before the start of the season arranges unnecessary showdowns within the team and even got hit in the face by Green.
Payton and Porter will be replaced by Donte DiVincenzo and Jamichael Green saving the team as much as $60 million on contracts. A forced sacrifice, since the club will have to roll out as much as $ 114 million only on the salaries of Curry, Green and Thompson. In addition Warriors already have their own talented youth who will certainly receive more playing minutes in the upcoming season - Jonathan Cuminga, James Wiseman and Moses Moody. Let's see how Steve Kerr uses these resources.
Bookmakers quote the victory of GSW with odds of 6 (+500)
"Boston Celtics"
The Celtics have had a phenomenal season this past season. Back in early January, the team took 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings, but according to the results of the regular season, it finished in the top three. An equally outstanding playoff followed. The Nets' 4-0 run followed him with two intense seven-game streaks against Milwaukee and Miami and a final against the Warriors. The final series to win in which there was simply not enough strength.
In the summer the Celtics reinforced Malcolm Brogdon who on paper will fit perfectly into the team and add depth to the rotation (unless of course he gets injured). Danilo Gallinari was taken to the front line but he tore the “crosses”, underwent surgery and is more likely to miss the entire season. Then the coaching staff of the team suffered a serious loss. Mentor Ime Udoka was suspended from managing the team for a year due to the fact that he was in an intimate relationship with an employee of the club. In the next season his post will be held by assistant Joe Mazzulla.
However, the composition of Boston remains the same as before Udoka's disqualification - Jason Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Al Horford and others. It is these guys who make the team one of the main contenders for the title in the new season.
Quotes for Boston are equal to Golden State which is very logical in principle.
"Brooklyn Nets"
Now that Kevin Durant has finally calmed down and the rumors about his possible trade are no longer in the air the Nets can focus on preparing for the upcoming season. Yes, according to rumors everything is still not so smooth in the team however in Brooklyn they can be sure that they will start the regular season with an interesting “Big Trio” - KD, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons.
The latter seems to have improved his health and will even start the regular season without restrictions on playing time. In theory, he fits well into the current Nets roster (even without a shot) and can even play as a center in the small five.
In addition to Simmons, other promising newcomers appeared in Brooklyn - the team had a good transfer campaign by signing Royce O'Neal, TJ Warren and Markieff Morris. The second half of the season also sees the return of Joe Harris who is recovering from ankle surgery.
In general in Brooklyn there will be someone to look at. If everything goes as it should then Steve Nash's wards will be able to surprise in the season. Only on the condition that all this turmoil with exchanges remains off the court and does not destroy the team from the inside.
Here bookmakers give odds of 7 (+600)
"Milwaukee Bucks"
Last season's playoffs for Milwaukee were overshadowed by an injury to Chris Middleton. However none other than the presence of Giannis Antetokounmpo helped push Boston into the Conference Semifinals. The two-time MVP continues to drag the team and as long as the Bucks have Giannis it's too early to write them off.
Middleton of course has not yet recovered and will miss the start of the season. In July the striker underwent surgery on his left wrist but hopes to start training soon and return to the floor in the early stages of the regular season. But at first, Giannis will be helped by Holiday as well as Bobby Portis, Wesley Matthews and Serge Ibaka who were extended this offseason.
In general only injuries can stop the current Milwaukee from successfully entering the playoffs. If the Big Three of the team manage to stay healthy throughout the regular season and then the playoffs then the Bucks will have every chance to compete for the championship.
Bucks odds slightly higher - 7.5 (+650)
"Los Angeles Clippers"
In the upcoming season we will see the long-awaited return to the court of Kawhi Leonard. The forward suffered a torn knee ligament last summer and took more than a year to recover. He has already played his first game in 476 days and should enter the season in optimal condition which already makes the Clippers one of the most dangerous teams in the Western Conference.
In addition to Kawhi, Clippers already have proven performers - Reggie Jackson, Paul George and Norman Powell as well as John Wall who joined the team this summer to fill a troubled position on the back line. The latter according to the mentor and teammates is in good shape and looks great in training.
I can't wait to see what Tyrone Liu comes up with with this line-up. The depth of the squad and the presence of such star players will allow him to roam to the fullest. This year Liu's team is predicted to reach at least the conference finals if all the main players remain healthy.
Quotes are similar to the victory of the Bucks - 7.5 (+650)
Where are the Lakers?
The Los Angeles Lakers will be in contention for the title as long as LeBron James remains with them. But does he make his team a real contender for the championship? Not! The Lakers really want to win a trophy but just wanting it will not be enough. This has already shown the previous season.
Russell Westbrook's trade turned out to be a real disaster. Before the start of the championship, the move with his signing seemed either insanely absurd or incomprehensibly brilliant. But as it turned out, the leadership of the Lakers had no cunning plan. Naturally when the team failed miserably Russ received a catastrophic wave of criticism. Among other things he had a difficult relationship with teammates. In general a complete disorder from the locker room to the fans.
To get rid of Westbrook this offseason the team did not succeed. This like the fact that Los Angeles did not particularly strengthen in the offseason actually eliminates the team from the championship race. So what to expect from the new team coach Darwin Ham is still unclear. It is still hard to believe in success and bookmakers estimate the probability of the Lakers winning the championship with a coefficient of 19.00. That is the probability of such an outcome is only five percent. Doesn't sound very encouraging, does it?
Well, if you believe in LAL then you can get rich because the coefficient is 19 (+2000)
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