(6/14) Every basketball fan across this region will be eagerly anticipating the remaining games of the NBA finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics. But if your team are not represented (and if that's the Wizards, your season ended long ago!) then it might be worth thinking about next season.
Go ahead and have a bet on the NBA finals. But, after what promises to be an exciting off season, the 2022/23 campaign looks like another year of thrills and spills on the court. Will there be any surprises next season though? Read on to find out.
The Favorites
After bowing out of the playoffs this year at a very early stage, the Brooklyn Nets are one of the major favorites to go all the way next year. This last regular season started off weirdly, with the controversy surrounding Kyrie Irving's eligibility to play or not – and only got stranger as James Harden jumped ship for Philly.
The Nets were still expected to do much better than they did though. This is an expensively collated roster of players and another year of disappointment would not be tolerated.
There could also be a resurgent LA Clippers in the mix next year too, as Kawhi Leonard will be back on the court. Leonard missed the entire season after blowing his ACL in the 2020/21 playoffs and will be eager to test himself against the best once again.
Both the Warriors and the Celtics should also be in the mix again. But if the Milwaukee Bucks can add a top shooting guard to its core unit of players there may be another chance of surprising everyone and giving the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo another championship ring.
The Phoenix Suns will probably still be struggling to figure out how it blew its chance of glory this season, after collapsing in its game seven meeting with the Mavs. Chris Paul is not getting any younger and he won't want to pass up another opportunity to become a champion.
Could be Contenders
The most important piece of business this year for the 76ers was to get rid of Ben Simmons. An undoubtedly talented player, he just didn't want to be in Philly and acquiring James Harden in his place initially looked like a good move. It wasn't though – and now the search is on for another player to team up with Joel Embiid and help the Sixers compete.
Both the Mavs and the Grizzlies can count themselves as the playoff darlings this year after both teams excelled in the postseason. Memphis looks like it will be a major playoff contender for a few years now, as its young roster – led by the brilliant Ja Morant – develop further. If Luka Doncic can get his season going earlier than usual the Dallas Mavericks might have a better chance of challenging as well. The Mavs did get past the Suns but could do with a better regular season record to put themselves in a better position for the playoffs.
Still Not Good Enough
The Lakers didn't even make the playoffs this year – and LeBron James has not missed out on the postseason since his first two years in the league. But that doesn't mean that LA will be successful in 2023. The Russell Westbrook contract has hampered them as far as money goes – and that could continue next year.
Anthony Davis should be able to help the Lakers make the playoffs, at least, next year. But it is the Clippers that could go the furthest from the City of Angels.
Other teams like the Heat, Nuggets, and Cavs should all be pushing for the playoffs too in 2023. But there doesn't seem to be that extra something in any of those teams that make you believe they could win a championship. It promises to be another enthralling NBA season – but the eventual champion could well be very familiar with winning.
