Every year, the NBA gives 16 teams a chance to win the championship but only one can come out victorious. Here are my predictions for why these three teams have a good shot at winning the title (hoping everyone stays healthy throughout the playoffs).
The San Antonio Spurs have always been the dark horse team to win the championship. They haven’t missed the playoffs since Tim Duncan was drafted into the league in 1997 and won a quarter of those titles during that span.
Although they don’t have Duncan anymore, they do have a current two-time defensive player of the year and a contestant to win this years MVP in Kawhi Leonard. They also have one of the greatest coaches of all time, so you should never rule out the Spurs to not contend for the title. Having the number two seed in the West behind the Warriors can be a problem especially over a squad that has Curry, Durant and Thompson healthy, but if the regular season numbers stand for anything, the Spurs should have their number come playoff time.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been on a roller coaster ride since the all-star break, posting a 12-15 record. However, any time you have LeBron James on your team, you never want to doubt the ability to win.
LeBron has been to the NBA Finals six consecutive times, so his team not coming out of the Eastern Conference would be an unusual site to see. Many are counting on the team after losing home court advantage in the East, but his best moments were when he was the underdog.
To give some examples, game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics in an elimination games when he was a member of the Miami Heat and just last year when they were down 3-1 to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. In both situations when he was counted out, with his legacy on the line, he prevailed on the opponent’s home court. So don’t worry Cavalier fans, your team should make its third consecutive Finals appearance but that’s when it gets tough and we shall see if they can repeat as NBA Champions.
The Golden State Warriors have two of the top 5 players in the NBA, so ruling them out of winning this year would be foolish. Having Klay Thompson and Draymond Green in your lineup doesn’t hurt either; in fact, it would make you the favorite to win it all.
After posting a 12-4 record for the month of March and coming off a Finals collapse, the team has the momentum to make some noise in the playoffs. How bittersweet would it be for KD and Curry and the rest of the Warriors to have their revenge on LeBron James (if he makes it there) and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Expect the Warriors’ playoff run to be full of raining threes and beautiful basketball cuts.
Each team makes a definitive case for winning the title. For starters, the San Antonio Spurs have history that proves they can win it all, The Cleveland Cavaliers have LeBron James so that’s self explanatory, and the Golden State Warriors are looking for revenge. It should be interesting to see how the playoffs play out.
