NBA tip-off is just two days away (as of writing), and although there’s still a bitter taste in my mouth regarding the league’s
display of hypocrisy and cowardice over the Daryl Morey-China issue, I’m
excited for the 2019-20 season (I think you are allowed to enjoy NBA basketball but be
disgusted of NBA’s politics; the two matters aren’t mutually inclusive. Besides, I’ve been long aware how pretentious
these NBA people are). Going into the
new season, there are six teams that I feel are going to be my favorites to
watch, and whom I will be perfectly happy of seeing win the championship. Here they are, arranged in my ascending order of preference:
Houston Rockets
This pairing of ball-dominant, stat-generating
ex-MVPs is an utter curiosity.
But being
so somewhat compels me to wish they will prove their skeptics – including me – wrong.
Thus, I’ll be honestly thrilled if they win the title.
That being said, I will
equally relish it if they end up imploding.
Los Angeles Clippers
The shocking blockbuster move
that the Clippers pulled off in the preseason still makes them the title
favorites in my book, but that doesn’t make them the team I would be rooting for the
most. Nevertheless, the Clippers winning the title would be interesting,
especially with regards to enriching Kawhi’s story arc and legitimating the Clippers’ rivalry
with the LA Lakers.
Moreover, I can’t help but salivate at the thought
of that Kawhi-PG-Patrick Beverley perimeter defense.
New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans winning the title is
extremely unlikely.
But wouldn’t it be
epic if they actually do it?
I’m
glad that the Lakers finally got Anthony Davis, but I’m still a bit sad that it
came at the cost of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Josh Hart – especially the first
two, whom
I thought were going to be the cornerstones of the Lakers’ future.
Part of me morbidly wishes that they would
end up as busts so that the Lakers can be justified for trading them.
But a bigger part of me genuinely wants them
to have their breakout seasons and have successful superstar careers ahead of
them, making the Lakers regret trading them.
Put the battle tank of a rookie named Zion
Williamson on top of those potential breakthroughs, and it makes the Pelicans a
team I would want to closely follow this season.
Los Angeles Lakers
As a life-long Laker fan, I would
be of course happy if the Lakers win the championship. And there’s a good chance that’s going to
happen since this roster is the most formidable the Lakers have ever had in a
long time. But despite that fact, there
are actually two teams that I would honestly be happier of seeing hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy.
Golden State Warriors
My loyalty to the Lakers is
trumped by my desire to see the Warriors –
a team I got to become fond of in the last few years – actually pull off winning another championship.
After losing to the Raptors in the
2019 Finals and
losing Kevin Durant to the Nets in the offseason, people are pretty quick
to dismiss them.
They sure have a weaker
roster now, but if they actually manage to recover their 2014-2016 form – in
which an unleashed Stephen Curry returns to his unanimous MVP self and newcomer
D-Lo further builds on his All-Star cred and clicks with the Splash Brothers –
then a best case scenario is something electrifying to think about.
Dallas Mavericks
Luka Doncic is shaping up to be
my favorite current NBA player, and I would love to see him and Kristaps
Porzingis dominate the NBA starting this season. I have this wild fantasy of Luka winning MVP
and the Mavs winning the championship. Those
are far-fetched events at this point, but if either of those two – let alone
both – ever occurs, I would be beyond elated and probably deem the season as the best the NBA has ever had.
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