The Top 5 Teams Heading into 2020 Season

In ranking the importance of NBA timeframes, the offseason is probably the second-most crucial, next to the playoffs. You can argue that it has eclipsed the regular season in both excitement and importance.

With another crazy offseason behind us and the regular season approaching, let us look at how the deck was shuffled and present our top 5 NBA teams heading into the 2019-20 season.

5. Golden State Warriors

The five-time defending Western Conference champions are not favored to reach the NBA Finals for sixth-straight season. However, don’t count out the champs. They may have lost Kevin Durant and are without Klay Thompson until at least the All-Star Break as he recovers from an ACL tear, but there are still several potent pieces to this team – Steph Curry, Draymond Green, D’Angelo Russell, Kevon Looney, and head coach Steve Kerr. The Warriors probably won’t be a top seed like they are accustomed to, but if Thompson is at 100 percent by time the playoffs start, expect Golden State to continue to make noise in their new San Francisco arena.

4. Houston Rockets

The last time Russell Westbrook and James Harden played together, their Oklahoma City Thunder reached the NBA Finals in 2012. The pair was reunited this offseason when the Rockets shipped Chris Paul and some draft picks for the former league MVP. Either Westbrook or Harden has led the league in scoring in the last three seasons, so it will be interesting to see how both can contribute. Don’t forget center Chris Capela, who quietly averaged a double-double last season.

3. Los Angeles Lakers

It was somewhat stunning to see LeBron James sitting out the NBA playoffs after he played in the previous eight Finals. Between an injury and lack of supporting cast, the superstar lost head coach Luke Walton and team president Magic Johnson, but he gained the co-star that has always helped his teams when the Lakers traded for Anthony Davis. It’s up to new head coach Frank Vogel, coming off a disappointing run in Orlando, to make the team gel. Expect the Lakers to start slow – as James-led teams sometimes do – but they should be a force come the spring.

2. Milwaukee Bucks

You can make a case for Philadelphia, but Milwaukee is the clear class of the Eastern Conference. The combination of a dominant force (Giannis Antetokounmpo) and a bunch of shooters is usually a solid one, and the Bucks are no different. We all know what we’re getting in the Greek Freak. The key will be whether the shooters can perform when it counts (see Eric Bledsoe’s cold streak in the Eastern Conference Finals last season).

1. Los Angeles Clippers

With the way Kawhi Leonard led the Toronto Raptors to an NBA title by dismantling Golden State (the Warriors contended with injuries, but it’s not fair to use that as an excuse – especially when Toronto was able to win three games at Oracle Arena to help shut the building down. Leonard and Paul George, led by head coach Doc Rivers, will be enough to be favored in nearly any playoff series, and if a weakness emerges during the regular season, expect fiery owner Steve Ballmer to do whatever it takes to acquire the missing piece of the puzzle.