Written by Fritz Baldauf• October 21, 2022• 10:31 am• Sports

Draymond’s Punches, the Celtics’ Coaches, and Injury Returns

It feels like just yesterday that the Golden State Warriors were lifting the Larry O’Brien Trophy on the parquet floor of TD Garden in Boston to cap off their fourth title in the past eight seasons, but just like that, NBA basketball is upon us once again. The upcoming season brings plenty of intriguing storylines: drama for the Nets and Lakers, the race to the bottom for generational draft prospect Victor Wembanyama, and, of course, the question of who will raise the Larry O’Brien trophy next June. Here we will be focusing on the top three contenders from each conference who could realistically make the NBA Finals.

Eastern Conference:

Milwaukee Bucks:

The 2021 NBA Champions come into the season as the consensus favorite to represent the Eastern Conference in this season’s Finals. Many feel that if Khris Middleton, their second-best player, hadn’t been injured in last year’s playoffs they would have made it to the Finals and potentially beaten Golden State. Milwaukee has an elite core, centered around the consensus best player in the world, Giannis Antetokounmpo, the aforementioned Middleton, and star defensive guard Jrue Holiday. If healthy, they should be viewed as the favorites to come out of the East, but if any of those three miss time in the playoffs there is a real question of whether or not there is enough depth in Milwaukee’s supporting cast to pick up the slack.

Boston Celtics:

Last season’s Eastern Conference champions are returning all of their key players from last season’s run to the Finals, and they added important depth and ball-handling with the addition of veteran point guard Malcolm Brogdon via a trade with the Indiana Pacers. The Celtics have a lot of continuity heading into this season; stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will lead the way. Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart and key shot blocker Robert Williams will buoy an elite defense. However there is a cloud hanging over the Celtics heading into the season. Head coach Ime Udoka has been suspended for the entire season due to what the team describes as a “consensual yet inappropriate” relationship with a female member of the Celtics’ staff. Udoka was widely credited with turning around the Celtics last season, and it remains a big question whether or not the team will be able to reach the same heights with inexperienced interim head coach Joe Mazulla at the helm.

Philadelphia 76ers:

Philadelphia was largely a disappointment in last season’s playoffs after a lackluster flameout against the Miami Heat in the second round. After acquiring veteran star shooting guard James Harden from the Brooklyn Nets to pair with MVP candidate center Joel Embiid midway through last season, expectations were at least a berth in the Eastern Conference Finals. Embiid struggled to stay healthy in the playoffs, and the aging Harden looked like a shell of his former self, appearing out of shape for much of the season. Coming into this year, Harden appears to have himself in better shape, and though he may not be the MVP candidate he used to be, he can still be a top twenty player in the league and an effective running mate for the dominant Embiid (provided, of course, that they can both stay healthy). Philadelphia also will rely heavily on a blossoming star in the form of third year guard Tyrese Maxey, and two key defensive aces: Matisse Thybulle and the recently acquired PJ Tucker.

Western Conference:

Golden State Warriors:

Last season’s champions are playing with house money. The legacy of their dynasty’s stars, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green is secure after last season’s title. The Warriors can now get greedy. Along with the aforementioned three stars, they are returning most of last season’s key pieces, such as key forward Andrew Wiggins, veteran center Kevon Looney, and emerging star combo guard Jordan Poole. They accounted for the losses of Gary Payton II and Otto Porter Jr. to free agency by signing Donte DiVincenzo and JaMychal Green. The Warriors will also count on more contributions from emerging young role players Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga, and James Wiseman. Potential concerns are the age of the core, of course; Curry will be 35 by the time the playoffs roll around, and Thompson and Green aren’t far behind him. There is also the potential concern of team comradery after a recent training camp incident where Green got into a physical altercation with Poole, ultimately punching the young guard. While the tussle certainly wasn’t what the Warriors wanted coming into a title defense, if any team has the infrastructure to effectively handle it, it is the Warriors. The Warriors will likely coast through the regular season and not worry too much about seeding, prioritizing the health of their stars heading into the playoffs. Despite any concerns, Curry’s stardom and the Warriors’ championship pedigree and experience should make them the early favorite to come out of the West.

Los Angeles Clippers:

The Clippers missed the playoffs last year after an injury riddled year in which superstar forward Kawhi Leonard didn’t play all season while co-star Paul George was used sparingly. Now, both are healthy, and the Clips have a deep roster to complement them. They have no shortage of lengthy athletic wings: George, Leonard, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, Terrance Mann and Norman Powell can cause teams fits on defense, and they have two solid veteran ball handlers in the form of Reggie Jackson and John Wall. Although many analysts have rushed to crown the Clippers as the favorites in the West, it’s important not to overlook the injury concerns with Leonard and George; both of them have rarely put together fully healthy seasons in the past five years, and George has long had a reputation for disappearing in the playoffs. Additionally, all of their key rotation players (with the exception of Mann) are on the wrong side of thirty years old. The ceiling on this team is incredibly high, but the floor is also a lot lower than most will acknowledge.

Denver Nuggets:

Denver is buoyed by back-to-back MVP center Nikola Jokic, who is undisputedly one of the top three players in the world, along with Antetokounmpo and Curry. What makes them a title contender this year compared to last season is the returns of young star guard Jamaal Murray from an ACL tear he suffered in the 2021 season and of young swingman Michael Porter Jr. They will have an incredibly high regular season ceiling due to Jokic’s absolute dominance. The big concern with Denver will be their playoff defense, where Jokic has often been exposed in the past. Murray and Porter Jr. aren’t good defenders either. The Nuggets are hoping that the additions of defensive-oriented role players such as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown will help improve that defense to a championship caliber to match that of their elite offense.

Projected Regular Season Standings: