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The NBA season is long and gruelling, the teams have to remain healthy and motivated to have a championship run. This season does have multiple teams who are worthy of a championship. It would all come down to playoff matchup, healthy lineup and who shows up at the big stage.Every season there are clear cut favourites to win the championship but the exciting part is to see a new team emerge to be champions. Like the Warriors Championship run last season, it maybe a different team this season who will catch fire post season to become the NBA champions.Here, we look at teams who are the top contenders to win the title this season.
#5 Los Angeles Clippers
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“Together we will “ and together Clippers have the potential to bring a champioinship to Los Angeles.
This just maybe the season of the Clippers, and finally Chris Paul can have his first title. The Clippers just escaped a disastrous summer when they convinced DeAndre Jordan to come back. Also, they made an important move by signing Paul Pierce to reunite him with Doc Rivers.
Blake has improved his offensive game immensely and had developed a more consistent jump shot. The team is playing with great momentum and finds new ways to win every game. CP3 has been solid as ever and JJ Reddick is playing with an edge shooting the lights out every game. This combined with the coaching experience of Doc, it will be a strong contender come play off time.
Clippers should beleive in themselves and should not beat themselves like their previous stints. The Clippers got the nod over Bulls who were very close to be a top 5 contender for NBA championship this season. Bulls could very well be there in finals if they contniure to improve and keep winning their important matchups.
#4 Oklahoma City Thunder
The two superstar in Durant and Westbrook will start for the Western conference team in the All star game. The first year coach Billy Donovan has done a good job in managing the superstars and instilling a system in place. The Thunder are builiding their confidence as the season progresses. It is clear that both Durant and Westbrook wants to win now and have started playing team basketball.
This is evident from KD rebouding more and concentrating on defensive end; while Westbrook is getting his assists numbers up. He is learning how to make plays for other players in his team by using his athletic ability to get easy shots for his team mates. Once the thunder settle on their rotation and their bench starts producing more, this team is slated for success.
OKC is now third in Western conference but they have a better record than Cleveland. So they should keep believing that this is their season. With prior experience in taking the team to finals and along with healthy Durant and Westbrook they can win it all.
#3 Cleveland Cavaliers
Cavaliers have a coaching change in the midst of a winning season. This is the first time a coach has been fired when the team is leading its conference. Clearly, the team is dependent on its Big 3. This team will go as far as their superstars can haul them. It is not an impossible task but it is easier to win as a team than rely on superstar talents alone. There are clear examples in history of NBA, where teams playing together have been superior over teams which relies on their superstars.
LeBron has always produced a dominant performance after a finals loss. Expect Cleveland to be in the finals, but they can win a championship only if they are able to win in the road. If the current trend continues, the teams in the West will have the home court advantage during the finals. So Cleveland should be able to hold their home court and sneak a game or more in the road.
According to the odds book, Cleveland holds a 14/5 odd after starting the season with 5/2.
#2 San Antonio Spurs
It is truly amazing how the Spurs gel together and play basketball the right way. The system is battle tested and victorious, it can accommodate a new player/ players and grow accordingly. The biggest off season acquistion L. Aldridge has become a vital part of the team and reported admits the Spurs are K.Leonard’s team. Such is the team first menality the Spurs orgnaization instills in its players.
The emergence of Kawhi Leonard as the MVP candidate will let San Antonio emerge as a Western confernce contender. And there is Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili along with a superstar acquition this offseason in Aldridge. Those three, along with Gregg Popovich, are hungry for yet another championship.
The Vegas book currently holds 7/2 odds for Spurs to win the championship this season. This is second only to the Warriors, the Spurs are quielty having an epic season in their own. They are 24-0 at home and are off to their best start in the franchise history.
#1 Golden State Warriors
With Steve Kerr back, the scary thing is Warriors are yet to play their best basketball. They have lost only 4 games this season. Above all, they walked into Cleveland and delivered a beating by winning the game easily. The Warriors are having fun playing with each other, the ball is moving freely all around the court. This is the secret of winning basketball, when you enjoy playing together and the ball finds the open man in an offense.
Do they have it in them to win back to back titles. It is something we have to wait and watch as the playoff unfolds this season.
This Warriors team is playing with a chip on their shoulders to prove that their title run was not a fluke. So far this year, they have bulldozed through every team they have faced. Steph Curry has never looked better and it seems like nobody can stop him. Golden State wants to repeat to prove all the naysayers wrong, and it looks like they can make that happen.
