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NBA Championship Favorites

The NBA Championship will likely be won by one of the following teams (in no particular order):
  • Eastern Conference: Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics
  • Western Conference: Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs

Why can they win the NBA championship?
  • Bulls: With a healthy lineup, the team boasts stellar rebounding and defense, the reigning MVP (Derrick Rose), and a bonafide clutch playoff perimeter shooter (Rip Hamilton), giving the team more firepower than last season to challenge the other top contenders.
  • Heat: The offense will benefit from LeBron James and Chris Bosh posting up more this season, while key acquisitions Norris Cole and Shane Battier give the team additional talent at the point guard position and a consistent wing defensive stopper; Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller remain strong bench contributors.
  • Celtics: Playoff experience and team chemistry remain strengths as an aging core seeks one more championship run while the rising star point guard (Rajon Rondo) will demand more respect this season, possibly earning Defensive Player of the Year honors in the process.
  • Thunder: This team is young, energetic, talented, and cooperative with lots of heart, room for improvement, and a future league MVP (Durant); they have a deep rotation with clearly defined roles, which stands out even more in a lockout-shortened season.
  • Mavericks: Led by a couple future hall of famers (Kidd, Nowitzki), they evolved from underdogs to NBA champions last year through high shooting efficiency on offense and clever defense, forcing opponents to take lower-percentage shots and limiting their free-throw shooting opportunities; they also did well in replacing talent lost via free agency.
  • Grizzlies: They are a young, well-balanced team with a capable point guard (Conley Jr.), multiple scoring options, and a tough team defense that led the league in forced turnovers last season; this combination of traits enabled them to upset the #1 ranked Spurs and take the Thunder to a full seven-game series in last year’s playoffs.
  • Spurs: This is arguably the best coached team in the NBA, with the team making the playoffs every year since drafting Tim Duncan in 1997; the team retains most of its core players and was well-equipped last season to take on every playoff team other than the Grizzlies.

Why will they have a tough time winning the NBA championship?
  • Bulls: They will still be heavily reliant on the offensive rebounding of Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, and Taj Gibson and the long minutes of Rose; they also had injury problems last season, preventing Noah and Boozer from gaining valuable experience playing together on the court, and may have similar concerns regarding Hamilton this season.
  • Heat: Battier and Miller play the same positions as James and Dwyane Wade, meaning they will likely sit out during various clutch time situations while James and Wade stay in regardless of the situation; furthermore, the team is leaning on Joel Anthony and Eddy Curry for quality minutes at center and may need to make upgrades or play Bosh and Haslem at center instead.
  • Celtics: Their Big Three may be out of gas, Jeff Green is out for the season, they traded away Glen Davis, and they are not committing to Rajon Rondo as the centerpiece of their future; this leaves them vulnerable to both young, well-balanced, fundamentally sound teams with multiple scoring options (like the Grizzlies) and teams with comparable star power (like the Heat).
  • Thunder: Russell Westbrook needs to improve his clutch play while Kendrick Perkins has not yet fully embraced the team’s culture; the team as a whole needs to improve its efficiency on defense, as almost all NBA champions since 1980 have ranked in the top 10 in defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions).
  • Mavericks: Tyson Chandler, J.J. Barea, and DeShawn Stevenson were key components to last year’s championship team and will be missed while key acquisition Vince Carter has not seen a contending team improve upon his acquisition since his departure from Toronto (this includes the New Jersey Nets, Orlando Magic, and Phoenix Suns); in the meantime, Jason Terry’s unresolved contract situation may become a distraction.
  • Grizzlies: They are a team of several semi-stars/stars but no superstars at the moment; it is debatable how much more room they have to grow as individuals and as a team.
  • Spurs: They have an aging core group and continue to have injury problems yet traded away key reserve/substitute starting guard George Hill; last year, Memphis proved the Spurs are vulnerable to younger fundamentally-sound teams with multiple scoring options.  

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