Several Teams Chasing NBA Title Hopes
The NBA season starts in less than a week and several teams are poised to make a run for the NBA Championship. We take a look at some of them.
The NBA season starts on Tuesday and the offseason saw several trades in an attempt by teams to jockey into position for a run at the championship. The Utah Jazz were the busiest during the summer months, offloading stars Rudy Goebert, Patrick Beverly, and Donovan Mitchell to various organizations.
The biggest news, however, involved not a player, but a coach. Boston Celtics Coach Ime Udoka was suspended for the season for an alleged improper relationship with a female staffer.
Odds to win 2023 NBA Championship
- Boston Celtics +600
- Milwaukee Bucks +600
- Golden State Warriors +600
- Los Angeles Clippers +700
- Brooklyn Nets +800
- Phoenix Suns +900
- Miami Heat +1400
- Philadelphia 76ers +1400
- Denver Nuggets +1800
- Dallas Mavericks +2000
- Memphis Grizzlies +2200
- Los Angeles Lakers +2200
- Minnesota Timberwolves +3300
- Cleveland Cavaliers +3300
Odds Courtesy of BetRivers.com
It hasn’t seemed to affect the team’s odds to win a championship. The Celtics are co-favorites at BetRivers.com to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy at +600, along with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Golden State Warriors, the defending champions, are third at +650 and are dealing with their own controversy after Draymond Green punched teammate Jordan Poole in practice and took a leave of absence afterwards.
How do the teams stack up this year? BetQl’s NBA expert Nick Ashooh takes a look at some of squads and predicts how their season should go.
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Despite Parity, Warriors Still a Great Bet
It’s been a long road back for the Golden State Warriors, hasn’t it?
From Klay Thompson missing over two years with two major injuries to Steph Curry, Green, and what seemed like pretty much the rest of the roster catching the injury bug, the Warriors essentially decided to just sacrifice those two lean years in hopes they’d pick up where they left off.
That’s exactly what happened, and they’re set for a chance at a repeat big this season.
The Warriors’ depth and patience are why they’re in this spot again. They added extra layers to an already potent championship core, with Poole, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and James Wiseman expected to take on bigger roles this coming season, after all but Wiseman played a part in last year’s title run.
Even as that original core ages, this much youth infused with the experience gained with a title run puts the Warriors not just in line for another championship now, but possibly a couple of years down the road too.
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Nets Are Hard To Predict
On paper, the Brooklyn Nets are as talented as any team in the NBA. The problem with this though, as we’ve seen time and time again, talent isn’t enough to get you a title in the NBA.
If the Nets want to finally reach the expectations created years ago when Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving came to town, chemistry will be as important, if not more, than that talent alone.
The offseason for this organization has been all over the place. Believe it or not, right around that August 24 timeframe, when the trade request from Durant was made public, they fell as far as +4000 at some books to win it all. At that point, the whole roster was in flux, with rumors of not only Durant, but Irving, Ben Simmons, and anyone else on that roster floating around NBA Twitter as a possible trade chip.
Brooklyn has the talent to win a title, sure, but as we’ve seen over the years in the NBA, you need everyone to have some sort of rhythm on the court to go along with that talent. We haven’t seen that consistently from Durant and Irving as it is, let alone what it will mean when they throw Simmons into the mix.
Healthy Clippers Have Title Expectations
With NBA Training Camp nearing the end, the noise continues to surround teams like the Lakers and the Nets, while more realistic title contenders have been quietly rolling along with nothing but basketball on their minds.
That narrative certainly rings true for the Los Angeles Clippers, who at +700 sit tied for the fourth-best odds to win the NBA title. Those odds aren’t unreasonable either. This team is loaded.
I get it, we’ve been down this road for years with this organization. Finally breaking through to the Western Conference Finals two years ago was a major step, but dating back to the Chris Paul era, this team has constantly underachieved, so it’s fair to have your doubts.
Keep in mind though, this team won 42 games last year with Kawhi Leonard missing the entire season and Paul George only playing in 31 games. Add both of those All-Stars to a roster that might be the deepest in the league, while also adding John Wall to the mix, and title expectations absolutely should be sky-high for this organization.
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