For the longest time, the NBA was revolved around the Golden State Warriors, a team that would decimate anything that came across their path until last season where they lost in the NBA finals against the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors victory was unexpected, considering that the Milwaukee Bucks were the number one seed in the entire league while the Warriors were coming back from a fresh championship run in 2018. Yet, the Toronto Raptors risky addition of Kawhi Leonard shook the Eastern conference and ended up working in their favour as they managed to attain the Larry O’Brien trophy. The Warriors and Raptors was a fun series but, at times, lopsided as the Warriors lacked most of their roster. Whether it was losing Kevin Durant in game five or Klay Thompson in Game Six, the Warriors were not entirely healthy, and some might say that they would have won if it wasn’t for their injuries. Regardless of what happened, the Raptors would be crowned champions and would go to an intense off-season in hopes of bringing back their coveted star in Kawhi Leonard. Alongside Kawhi, other players such as Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Kemba Walker, D’Angelo Russell, and many more all-stars were also free-agents. 40% of the NBA were free-agents, which meant that every single NBA team would be affected in negative or positive ways. This off-season was a stressful time for some organizations, while others were celebrating in their new acquisitions. Here is a full list of every off-season move that occurred.
For most NBA fans, everyone thought that the most logical thing for Kawhi Leonard to do was to join the team that he won a championship with. Typically when a player wins a championship and then enters free-agency, most of the time, they would re-join that team in hopes of winning another title. However, Kawhi had other plans and wanted to be closer with his family and, as a result, joined the Los Angeles Clippers instead of the Lakers. Even though Kawhi was very tempted to join the Lakers, his decision to join the Clippers made the NBA competitive again and brought balance to the league. As a result, the Clippers would also make an abysmal trade for Paul George to have another superstar duo in the NBA.
This season was filled with superstar duos rather than superteams, which allowed the NBA to be open for anyone to win the NBA championship. Unlike previous years, this season was supposed to have been the first season in the last 5-10 years, where no one could determine the clear winner. Most analysts and sports fans would bounce from team and team as it was a very close race. So the age all question is, who would have been the NBA champions of the 2019-20 NBA season?
Eastern Conference
The first thing that needs to be addressed is, what teams in each conference are either contending or a dark horse team to compete for the title. In the Eastern Conference, the Bucks were making history, and we’re winning close to every single game this season. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton are a deadly duo and complement each other’s games very well. At the same time, the rest of the roster developed a new mentality and worked on revamping their skillset to help win games. Other players such as Donte DiVincenzo and George Hill have dramatically improved in their own ways and have become underrated critical additions to this team. Although Giannis is the face of the franchise and the Eastern Conference this season, his teammates played a crucial part in their success as they played terrific defence while shooting the ball efficiently for the most part.
The Boston Celtics this season surprised me in a lot of ways. From the dramatic improvement of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to Daniel Theis’s outstanding defence in the paint, the Celtics are definitely on the right path to being a contender in the Eastern Conference. Before COVID-19, Jayson Tatum was playing as a bonified superstar while also winning most of their games. Tatum was a force to be reckoned with as the NBA wasn’t ready for what was next for Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics. Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown were also key contributors to the team’s success. With Kemba’s ball-handling and shooting to Jaylen Brown’s elite perimeter defence and ability to get open for a shot, this team showed dramatic improvement and would have continued only to get better. However, Marcus Smart, in my opinion, showed flashes of all-star potential and is a very underrated player in the NBA. With his defence and surprising three-point ability, Smart is one of the best bench players in the entire league! The Boston Celtics have all the key pieces to contend for a title this season; however, they lack the height to go up against players such as Giannis, Joel Embiid, or Anthony Davis. The Celtics are a dark horse team with great chemistry but not enough height or size to be legit contenders.
Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat unexpected success shocked most, if not all, NBA fans. Everyone understood how great Jimmy Butler is, yet he isn’t even the star of the show. This Heat team resembles the true essence of teamwork and great chemistry as no one player is the star and instead win games as a unit. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo were the best players on this team; however, Tyler Herro, Kendrick Nunn, Duncan Robinson, and Goran Dragic are the reason why this team is as great as it is. The reality is, basketball games are won as a team and not from one player. An example of this is Bradley Beal, who is averaging Hall of Fame numbers but isn’t even in the playoff race as he has no other reliable teammate to turn too. The Heat, however, has reliable shooters in Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro and a terrific point guard rotation in Goran Dragic and Kendrick Nunn. Jimmy Butler could very well average 25-30 points a game if he wanted to, but why would he if he has reliable teammates. As great as this team is, Bam Adebayo was the X-factor as he was not only named an all-star this season but is also panning out to be one of the best centers in the NBA. This double-double machine has all the elite skills for a star big man and only needs a three-point shot to become a superstar in the NBA! The Heat was excellent this season, and I view them as a contender considering that they are the only team in the NBA to beat the Milwaukee Bucks twice this season! Offensively and defensively, the Miami Heat are elite and could very well reach the finals.
Lastly, the Toronto Raptors. Last season the Raptors made history by winning their first-ever NBA championship! This season, they continued there elite production and found their new superstar franchise player in Pascal Siakam. Siakam has played incredible and could go back to back in winning the most-improved player award as he managed to increase his production and stat-line in every significant category drastically. Siakam is the face of the Raptors as he was named as a starter for the all-star game and the key piece to the Raptor’s future. However, Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, Serge Ibaka, Norman Powell, and OG Anunoby have all been crucial returning additions to this team. Terrence Davis and Chris Boucher have also been key contributors to the Raptor’s success. Everything about this Raptors team is incredible as they have offensive threats, fantastic defensive players and rising stars. The Raptors are currently the second seed in the East with the help of Nick Nurse’s incredible coaching. In my opinion, Nick Nurse is the coach of the year. Nurse had to deal with a rotation filled with numerous injuries yet managed to win games still while also revealing every player’s strength and weakness. Last season, Chris Boucher was at the end of the bench playing barely any minutes, yet Nick Nurse saw a lot of potential and skill in him and is now one of the best bench pieces this team has. The Raptors are the most completed team in the Eastern Conference, and they are most definitely a contender in my eyes.
The Bucks, Celtics, Heat, and Raptors have valid cases to make the finals this season. However, after analyzing every team’s strengths and weaknesses, it is very tough to say who will make it out of the East. The Celtics would most likely be eliminated first as they lack any size to go up against, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Pascal Siakam and even Bam Adebayo. Even though they have arguably the best wing rotation in the East, they are a liability in the paint and lack little to no coverage for a player like Giannis who would stomp his way through the defence and average 40 points per game. Although the Miami Heat have been surprising this season on both ends of the floor, their only weakness is the lack of experience. Even though Miami traded for Andre Iguodala and Jae Crowder while also having Jimmy Butler, Kelly Olynyk, and Goran Dragic, the core of the Heat still has little to no experience in the playoffs and would use this year as practice going forward. The Heat will be in the playoff race for many years, but for now, their ceiling is the conference finals. And finally, the Milwaukee Bucks. Last season, the Bucks swept the Pistons in the first round and then exposed Boston in the second round, which would be Kyrie Irving and Al Horford’s last straw with the organization. The Bucks were the favourites to go to the finals last season but later got exposed by Kawhi Leonard and his elite defence and all-around game. This season, the Bucks played with a different mentality and seemed to be more confident with each other. Therefore, I have the Milwaukee Bucks winning in seven games against the Toronto Raptors, who live up to the rank of the second seed. This was a tough decision to make; however, it went down to who is the best player in the series, which is Giannis Antetokounmpo. Unlike last year, the Raptors have no one that can go toe to toe with Giannis and would only slow him down. Kawhi Leonard last season stopped Giannis to a point where the Bucks had to lean on an unexperienced Eric Bledsoe who ended up missing the most shots in his entire career. This season, however, the Bucks are more confident and complete, and I believe that this season would have been their chance to win the Larry O’Brien trophy.
Western Conference
Unlike the Eastern Conference, the West, in my opinion, has two distinct teams that are contending being the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers. The battle of LA was by far the biggest story-line this season as both teams, for the most part, are equal. As far as the dark horse teams go, I have no answer as I believe that no other team has even the slightest chance against the two LA titans. With that being said, here are my thoughts on these two incredibly well-built teams.
Entering this season, the LA Clippers were my pick to win it all due to several reasons. The first reason is, Kawhi Leonard enters this season fresh off a championship and finals MVP and starts to be regarded as the best player in the NBA. Paul George, who was an MVP candidate last season, now joins Kawhi Leonard as a deadly duo that would only cause havoc for other teams in the NBA. The depth that the Clippers have is baffling as almost every player in their rotation could very well start for any team in the league! From first glance, the Clippers were the most completed team in the NBA and should have dominated every competition. However, this was not the case for the Clippers this season. From chemistry issues to Kawhi Leonards load management, the Clippers in my eyes were supposed to have been much better. The duo of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard was underwhelming if anything as these two superstars has barely played with each other. The roster on paper is complete and full of elite potential; however, I haven’t seen that potential just yet. The Clippers are built for the playoffs, and even though they have dropped in stock for my rankings, they have one advantage to their team, which is their depth.
The Los Angeles Lakers this season reminded NBA fans why Lebron James is in the GOAT conversation. From his incredible playmaking ability to his athletism and drive, Lebron is 35 years old and is far from retiring from the game of basketball. This icon has brought the Lakers back into contention while also having a significant chance of winning it all. However, the Lakers have many holes that were not filled this season. The most significant factor about this team is, they lack elite depth, which will unravel their weaknesses. Although Dwight Howard has had a resurrection in his career, he is not enough to go up against the Clippers or Bucks’s bench unit. Despite their lack of depth, the Lakers organization isn’t too stressed about it as they also have Anthony Davis, who could very well win defensive player of the year and is in conversation in winning the MVP award. Unlike the Los Angeles Clippers, the Lakers duo in Lebron James and Anthony Davis have been imposing and have easily been the best duo in the NBA. Even though the Lakers bench is their biggest weakness, the pair of Lebron James and Anthony Davis makes up for it.
The battle of LA is one of the most anticipated rivals in recent sports history. With both organizations being in LA, this allows the Clippers to behead their older brother. Both teams have their strengths and weaknesses, however, when formulating an answer, it really came down to everything else surrounding the stars. Lebron James, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis and Paul George are all incredible basketball phenoms yet the x-factor for these two teams is, the bench unit. It’s safe to say that all four of those superstars need no explanation as to why they are labelled as such, yet the rest of rotation is what determines this series. The best surrounding players for the Lakers are, Javale Mcgee, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, Danny Green, Avery Bradley and Alex Caruso. Kyle Kuzma has been nothing but disappointing this season and is merely subpar to an average basketball player. Even though this season, he had shown glimpses of his old self, he is a liability and a player that can’t be relied on when needed the most. The Clippers, however, have a much more balanced rotation. With players such as Patrick Beverly, Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell, Marcus Morris, Reggie Jackson, Ivica Zubac, and Landrey Shamet, this team is a much more complete. Almost every single position has players that can start on a team while also having a lot of experience. Even though the Clippers have disappointed most NBA fans, I believe that the Clippers will reach the NBA finals and face Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. Lebron James and Anthony Davis will bring a fight; however, the depth of these teams will determine this series, and the Clippers to no surprise have better depth. This series would go to seven games as well, where the Clippers would overthrow Lebron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
NBA Finals
Now that I have determined what teams will make the NBA finals, the question is, who would have won it all this season? The Milwaukee Bucks record-wise is the best team in the NBA. With the dominance of Giannis Antetokounmpo to the spectacular offensively gifted cast, the Bucks have a great all-around team. Giannis will look to also get his revenge on Kawhi Leonard as he exposed him in the 2019 conference finals. However, it is safe to say that Kawhi Leonard performs the best when dealing with pressure. Kawhi, in this series, would once again stop Giannis and slow down the offence. Without Giannis in command, the Bucks are exposed and would look towards Khris Middleton, who would be guarded by the 2019 defensive player of the year nominee in Paul George. With Giannis and Middleton being heavily guarded, for the most part, the next reliable option is the depth of the Bucks. As mentioned earlier, the Clippers have the best depth in the NBA offensively and defensively. Even though the Bucks have a great rotation as well, Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell are enough to match anything that the Bucks may throw at the Clippers. With that being said, The Clippers would most likely win this series in six games as the Clippers have a better and more complete team. In terms of coaching, Doc Rivers has made the finals numerous times and even won a championship in 2008 with the Boston Celtics. Although Mike Budenholzer is a coach of the year winner, the experience ratio between these two coaches doesn’t come close. The Clippers are built for the playoffs, and even though they have been underwhelming this season, I believe that this team will come together and win it all.
