NBA 2019-20 season preview: Who will win the NBA Championship?

The National Basketball Association consists of 30 teams (29 in America, one from Canada) divided into two conferences (East and West), which is subdivided into three divisions. Each of these play out 82 regular season games. The top eight teams in each conference are then seeded in order of record to play in a best of seven tournament where the conference champions will meet in the NBA finals to compete for the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

NBA 2019-20 Championship odds

This upcoming NBA season will be one of the most open title races to date, with free agency and player movement changing the landscape of the league and causing uncertainty amongst the market and bettors.

Take a look back to last season and it was a case of Golden State Warriors vs. The Field, with the odds having the Golden State Warriors overwhelmingly as the favourites (1.500) to not only three-peat but also make it four championships in as many years.

Fast forward to the 2019-20 season, and the L.A. Clippers and L.A. Lakers are battling it out to lead the betting with the Warriors on the outside looking in.

The Warriors (12.280*) offseason not only saw the departure of Kevin Durant and the acquisition of returning All-Star guard, D’Angelo Russell but also the loss of players with championship experience in Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala to retirement and trade respectively. All of this, coupled with Klay Thompson missing the first few months of the season, means that a lot of the workload will have to be carried by Stephen Curry (6.620* to win MVP) for Golden State to stay competitive in the conference.

Golden State cannot be dismissed with the talent they have when healthy, and could challenge for the conference (7.020* Western Conference) if they get off to a good start.

The Battle for L.A.

(video via https://fivethirtyeight.com)

With Kawhi Leonard and Paul George joining the Clippers following a trade that landed Anthony Davis alongside Lebron James with the Lakers, Los Angeles has become the basketball capital of the world.

At long last, the Los Angeles Lakers (4.960*) landed the second superstar they wanted to pair with LeBron James and shifted into “championship or bust” mode with key acquisitions such as Danny Green, DeMarcus Cousins and Dwight Howard along with new head coach, Frank Vogel. If they can do this, the Lakers will be one of the favourites to make it out of the Western conference (3.170*).

"With the NBA’s fifth youngest roster, including franchise corner stone and all-NBA member Nikola Jokic who is only 24, management’s belief is that they can continue their rise to the top."

The “Other team” in Los Angeles, The Clippers (4.670*) last season finished eighth in the western conference and thrived on their offensive production (top five in points per game and top ten in offensive Rating) but faulted on their defence (25th and 21st in opponent points per game and defensive rating). They have tried to address that issue by adding two of the best defensive wings in the basketball, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George along with Patrick Beverly now have the best perimeter defensive in the league are well placed as this season’s co-favourites.

Opening night of the new season will be the first of many these two clubs will battle for Los Angeles (October 22: LAL – 2.040 * vs. LAC – 1.869*).

Who will be the 2019-20 NBA Champions? The Contenders

Likewise, the Brooklyn Nets (22.730*) have for the most part kept their nucleus intact and added three former all-NBA players in Kyrie Irving and Dandre Jordan while they wait for their fellow new teammate Kevin Durant to recover from injury, and they are more than capable of making noise this season.

Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets (21.300*) decided the roster they had did not need to be changed drastically and kept its core intact. With the NBA’s fifth youngest roster, including franchise corner stone and all-NBA member Nikola Jokic who is only 24, management’s belief is that they can continue their rise to the top. Can last season’s number two seed in the west, who was only one win away from the conference final, improve and be crowned western conference champions (12.040*) and go on to win the NBA 2019-20 title winners?

It’s only been a year since Mike Bundenholzer overhauled the offense, but what a year it has been for Milwaukee (7.330*). He has changed their philosophy to emphasise three point shooting and floor spacing and it allowed Giannis Antetokounmpo more room to operate.

The change payed off with individual and team successes as the Bucks owned the best record in the league finishing with 60 wins and the number one seed going into the postseason. However, it all ended with disappointment with an exit in the Eastern Conference finals to eventual champions, the Toronto Raptors (41.600*). The playing roster remains largely unchanged giving them another chance to run it back and thus are well placed to be one of the best teams in the east (Bucks to win Eastern Conference - 2.580* ).

NBA Championship predictions: Teams to watch

Sacramento Kings (203.930*) are one of the teams that are on the rise and could potentially hold some value for futures bettors. The Kings are coming off their best season since 2005-06 with a record of 39-43, only just missing out on the playoffs in the ultra-competitive West.

Another season together for the young and talented nucleus of De’Aron Fox, Marvin Bagley, Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic should see them improve and come close to Pinnacle’s expected win total of 37.5. Would winning the Pacific division be considered a jump too far?

Middle of the pack regulars, Miami Heat (46.670*) are another team to consider with the recent addition of Jimmy Butler and couple that with their aim to acquire another star (Bradley Beal, Chris Paul) to pair him, means they have a chance to take out the weak Southeast division (2.020*) and could challenge Pinnacle’s expected win total of 43.5.

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