by Nikki Adams
The NBA free agency is nearing its conclusion, though several standout names are still on the board with their futures yet to be decided. On the whole, however, the landscape is taking shape across the two conferences in the league and we now have a general idea of how teams are stacking up in the race for the NBA Championships in 2022. Indeed, markets are busily updating early NBA futures in response to the moves made during this hectic week of NBA free agency wheeling and dealing.
So, in this column, we’ll look at some of the teams that strike the best pose on paper and rate their chances in accordance to their NBA odds – if only to aid those that fancy getting in on the action early with free nba picks.
1. Brooklyn Nets
By and large, the Brooklyn Nets are pegged as the team to beat in the coming season and Kevin Durant figures to play a major part in Brooklyn’s awesome favouritism at early doors. There is no player more polarising than Durant in the league right now, but his otherworldly talent and skill is undeniable. It’s impossible not to admire the effortless ease and grace that he brings to court — unparalleled it is in the game today, setting him apart from his peers and elite counterparts such as LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Giannis Antetokounmpo to name a few.
Durant makes everyone around him mesmerizingly better – an innate skill that was nowhere more so evident than this summer at the Tokyo Olympics where the Nets stalwart galvanised the men’s national basketball team and led USA to Olympic gold for the fourth successive Olympic games. Durant spearheads a superstar line-up that includes Kyle Irving and James Harden, while re-signing Blake Griffin and adding Patty Mills only enhances the astounding talent at the top, which underscores Brooklyn’s odds for the upcoming season further.
The Nets lost to the eventual champions Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semis this season, despite Durant playing at an elite level and twice putting up nearly 50 points singlehandedly in the series (game 5 and 7). Injuries to the superstar triplet plagued Brooklyn’s regular and post season efforts, so if there’s anything that could derail Brooklyn in the race to the NBA championships again, it’s going to be that.
2. Los Angeles Lakers
The LA Lakers won the NBA championships in 2020 against the extraordinary backdrop of the global coronavirus pandemic that forced the league to adopt extreme measures in order to salvage the truncated regular season and conduct the entire postseason in the now famous “Orlando bubble” in an abundance of caution. Going into the 2021 NBA season, the Lakers were amongst the faves to win back-to-back titles. However, due to the quick turnaround and a rash of injuries decimating the defending champions, the Lakers bowed out of the postseason in the first round, eliminated by the Phoenix Suns who went on to reach the NBA finals (l. to Milwaukee Bucks).
The Lakers have been busy in the offseason, adding eight players to their roster including former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza, Dwight Howard and Kendrick Nunn. Whether this medley of players complement LeBron James and Anthony Davis successfully remains to be seen, with several NBA insiders questioning LA Lakers’ trades and their merits to improve the team as required. On the flipside, bookies are high on the Lakers with what they’ve put on paper, namely because they’re hanging their hats on Lebron James and Anthony Davis.
3. Milwaukee Bucks
The defending champions Milwaukee Bucks enter the betting as the third-best bet overall in the race for the NBA Championships in 2022. At first glance, putting the reigning champs behind the top tandem of the Nets and Lakers might feel like a snub, but the talent and quality at the top is outstanding in the NBA. It’s just the way the cookie crumbles so to speak. Besides, winning back-to-back titles is no mean feat.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was absolutely brilliant for the Bucks in the NBA Finals as he led them to their first title in 50 years and if they’re going to win back-to-back titles, he’ll have to be in top form again. Whether losing P.J. Tucker to the Miami Heat this summer will have a significant impact on the Bucks remains to be seen, but they did add depth with George Hill and Rodney Hood during free agency week that should help offset some of their losses.
In theory, there is little separation on paper between the aforementioned three faves, but in terms of the odds the Bucks are priced significantly larger than the Nets and Lakers. Indeed, for those that feel Milwaukee’s “true” odds are much lower, betting on the Bucks now would be a value play.
