nba season preview: june edition

Josh Coover

June 17, 2020

On March 12th, 2020 the National Basketball Association suspended any regular season league play until further notice due to COVID-19.

Since that time, the NBA has not allowed teams to practice in their facilities or meet in person to prevent the spread of the virus.

As players, coaches, team personnel and fans began to lose hope that the regular season would return, the NBA Board of Governors voted and approved of a 22-team regular season and postseason on June 4th, 2020.

The season will officially resume at the Wide World of Sports Complex, located in the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida. This will be the single site for all games, practices and housing for the rest of the season. The target date set for the restart is July 31 with the NBA Finals ending no later than October 12.

Now that we have an idea of when and where the NBA season will be held and played, we can also picture what the NBA postseason would look like if we looked at statistics and the previous postseason appearances by past teams.

Traditionally, the NBA Playoffs are made up of 16 teams. Eight teams represent the Eastern Conference and eight teams represent the Western Conference. This year, the playoff chase will look a little different. Since 22 teams will play for a spot in the 16-team playoff bracket, any team can mathematically secure a spot.

When you factor in playing without crowd noise as well as playing on a neutral court, the chances of a team like the Phoenix Suns, who were the last team to be added to the 22-team season, have a better chance at securing the 8th seed in the Western Conference than in previous years. If teams like the Dallas Mavericks or Memphis Grizzlies, who have young superstars like Ja Morant and Luka Doncic, decline, it would open up the eighth playoff spot to the Suns.

Some teams have more than a postseason berth in mind, though. Others hope to be the last team standing on or before October 12th, holding the Larry O’Brien trophy at center court with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and NBA legend Bill Russell.

Las Vegas predicts the Los Angeles Lakers, led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis, will be crowned NBA champions. Vegas has the Lakers at +250 on all betting odds regarding the NBA Finals champion this year. With that being said, it is too early to quite think that.

With teams like the Lakers sister team, the Los Angeles Clippers, lurking around and waiting for the right opportunity to make their postseason move, it’s too early to pencil them in as champions.

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George teamed up this past offseason strictly to win a championship with the Clippers. As we all witnessed last year during the 2019 playoffs, Leonard came up big several times for the Toronto Raptors, helping them knock off the Golden State Warriors in six games for the NBA Championship.

What about the Houston Rockets with explosive point guard Russell Westbrook and three-point specialist James Harden? Is it fair to say that their team does not have a shot either at winning the NBA Finals this year? Absolutely not. Westbrook and Harden have made the postseason a combined 19 times during their careers.With both of these players having postseason experience, you can’t rule out the Rockets.

Transitioning towards the Eastern Conference, two teams that stood out before the season was suspended were the Milwalkuee Bucks and the Toronto Raptors.

Surprisingly, even with the loss of star Kawhi Leonard last offseason, they have made noise in the East. Pascal Siakam, who averaged 23.6 ppg before the season suspended, has helped the franchise to 46 wins, the second-most in the Eastern Conference. With the help of Kyle Lowry, Toronto has proved they are still a factor in the Eastern Conference Playoff picture.

The Bucks, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has averaged 29.6 ppg this season, have been the dominant team in the East all year. Like the Raptors, they could make a deep run in the postseason thanks to having postseason experience under their belts. Will they have enough though to take down a Western Conference foe like the Lakers, Clippers or Rockets? Only time will tell.

Here are my postseason predictions for the conclusion of the 2019-2020 NBA Season:

The Bucks and Lakers have secured the number one seeds in the East and West, but the other seven seeds in each conference are still up for grabs.

Eastern Conference Final Seeding Projection:

1. Milwaukee Bucks ---

2. Toronto Raptors ---

3. Philadelphia 76ers +3

4. Miami Heat ---

5. Boston Celtics -2

6. Brooklyn Nets +1

7. Indiana Pacers -2

8. Washington Wizards ---

Eastern Conference Predictions:

It doesn’t look like anyone is going to catch the Bucks and the Raptors at the top of the conference. Let's take a look at the rest of the standings, though.

The 76ers had key players Joel Embiid and Al Horford added to the injury list months before the season was suspended. With the extra time to heal, both of these key players for the 76ers had time to rest, which will provide Philadelphia with a new spark. If the team can return as a complete unit with all of their players healthy, I would not count them out of any series.

The Miami Heat did not change their spot in the standings due to the veteran leadership of Jimmy Butler. He is the glue that holds that team together and will continue to do so throughout the duration of the season.

The Boston Celtics fell two spots in these predictions because young players like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have yet to prove themselves in crunch time situations. Tatum hasn’t been able to lead his team to victory in crunch time, despite putting up solid numbers himself, while Kemba Walker has very little postseason experience after just two playoff appearances with Charlotte. These factors will play a role in the Celtics’ success not being sustainable.

The Nets will move up one spot in the standings just because of one person: Kyrie Iriving. His leadership on the court is unique and can help his team in the long run. Irving only played in 20 of Brooklyn’s 64 games, yet had a huge impact - he averaged 27 points and six assists. He also knows what it takes in the playoffs thanks to his experience in Cleveland.

The Pacers dropped two spots because they might have the least amount of talent compared to every other playoff team in the Eastern Conference. Sure, they have players like Victor Oladipo and Malcolm Brogdon, but Oladipo has not stayed healthy throughout most of his career and Brogdon isn’t a superstar. They don’t have enough impactful players to make a run.

Finally, the most surprising team in the East: the Washington Wizards. Similar to the Nets, there's one name that sticks out here: Bradley Beal. Beal was snubbed from this year’s NBA All-Star game and is having the best year of his career. He is second in scoring in the NBA, averaging 30.5 ppg. I believe he will single-handedly get the Wizards into the playoffs but their journey will end there.

Western Conference Final Seeding Projection:

1. Los Angeles Lakers ---

2. Los Angeles Clippers ---

3. Houston Rockets +3

4. Denver Nuggets -1

5. Utah Jazz -1

6. Oklahoma City Thunder -1

7. Dallas Mavericks ---

8. Memphis Grizzlies ---

Western Conference Predictions:

Just like the Bucks and Raptors in the East, the Lakers and Clippers won’t move much in the standings. The two are solid and have the weapons to hold their own against other teams who may try and de-throne them from their respected number one and two seeds.

The Houston Rockets jump up to the three seed because the team is better than what people give them credit for. When Russell Westbrook and James Harden are playing in sync, they are untouchable. Their chemistry runs back to their days of playing together in Oklahoma City. Once they get on a roll as a team, as I think they will, good luck stopping them.

The Nuggets, Jazz and Thunder all fell one seed in the standings due to the lack of veteran guys on their respected teams and not enough star power to hold onto their current spots.

For example, Chris Paul is the lone veteran on the Thunder and he needed help to have a chance at making the playoffs. Denver and Utah are in the same boat - they each have one or two superstars (Donovan Mitchell and Nikola Jokic) but that isn’t enough compared to the teams at the top.

At the bottom, the Mavericks and Grizzlies are four games ahead of Portland and have enough talent to make the playoffs.

NBA Playoff Predictions:

Eastern Conference:

Semifinals: No. 1 Milwaukee Bucks vs. No. 4 Miami Heat, No. 2 Toronto Raptors vs. No. 3 Philadelphia 76ers

Final: No. 1 Milwaukee Bucks vs. No. 3 Philadelphia 76ers

Western Conference:

Semifinals: No. 1 Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 4 Denver Nuggets, No. 2 Los Angeles Clippers vs. No. 3 Houston Rockets

Final: No. 1 Los Angeles Lakers vs. No. 2 Los Angeles Clippers

NBA Finals:

Los Angeles Lakers def. Milwaukee Bucks in seven games; LeBron James is named Finals MVP.