Spoiler alert: the 2016 NBA Champions are the San Antonio Spurs!
Okay, so that may be a bit premature, but you cannot doubt the recruiting and the improvement of the already impressive Spurs.
After last year’s disastrous play-off series, where they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, the Spurs return in 2016 with their usual and impressive starters including the likes of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
However in the off-season, they’ve added LaMarcus Aldridge from the Trail Blazers, and Dave West from the Pacers.
West, who was the starting power forward for the Pacers in 2015, has expressed his desire to win a championship, and signed a veteran’s contract with the Spurs to achieve his goal. He’s a sturdy and reliable backup to Tim Duncan.
Aldridge, who played centre for the Trail Blazers, has the ability and size to play power forward, creating an extreme amount of depth in the Spurs’ line-up.
Spurs coach (and arguably the best coach in the NBA) Gregg Popovich has both a headache and a blessing on his hands with the amount of selections and combinations he can put out on court. No other team in the NBA has this, and it will prove to be the determining fact in the Spurs’ championship campaign.
But just because the Spurs are going to win, doesn’t mean the other teams won’t give it a decent crack.
In the east, it’s a battle of only three. The Atlanta Hawks will be looking to improve on their playoff performance from 2015, the Chicago Bulls will hope to get through the season unscathed, but the biggest competitor is the Cleveland Cavaliers.
You can never rule out the Cavs when they have LeBron James on their side, but honestly, they have one spectacular player, and four others who can’t really get it together. Kevin Love never really came to fruition, Kyrie Irving is plagued by injury, and Matthew Dellavedova has a touch of the ‘Jeremy Lins’ about him. It doesn’t leave you with much to work with.
In the west, aka the Conference of Death, there are so many potential play-off contenders – the 2015 champion Golden State Warriors, the 2016 champion Spurs, the Thunder, the Clippers and the Rockets – and that’s just to name a few.
The western conference is hard to predict in terms of rankings and play-off spots; it will be an almighty tussle, and the highlight of the upcoming season.
Every competition needs a dark horse, and for me this season it is the Miami Heat. Last season the Heat were forced to adjust to life post LeBron. Coupled with the returning Chris Bosh and Josh McRoberts – who were both out last season with injuries – and the inclusion of Amare Stoudemire and Goran Dragic, and 2016 will hopefully bring back the Heat of old.
Finally, while the Pacers have no chance (and I mean no chance) it’s good to see Paul George return from that horror broken leg last year. The Pacers will show some potential with George back in the mix, but as the Cavs would know, a one-man team doesn’t win you an NBA Championship.
Build your own ultimate team! Pick your key players and take a shot at big cash prizes every day with Draftstars. For great odds on NBA games every day head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
Nikola Jokic has scored 32 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead defending NBA champions Denver past LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers…
There will undoubtedly be upset results here and there in the NBA playoffs but there’s an overwhelming sense of fait accompli that Boston will…
LeBron James is going back to the Olympics for the first time in 12 years. Steph Curry is headed to the games for the…
The only realistic threat to Boston’s chances of strolling through the Eastern Conference is a team that could still end up in the play-in…
Australian guards Dante Exum and Josh Giddey have both come up big for their NBA clubs in crucial wins in the lead-in to the…
Minnesota Timberwolves fans have endured plenty of pain in their 35 years of being a laughing stock in the NBA. In all that time,…
