The NBA Season 2022/2023
With the Golden State Warriors reclaiming last years 2022 NBA Championship, the Warriors have once again proven to be a major player in this year deep Western Conference. With a healthy squad and a few new faces added to the rotation, the Warriors will be looking to defending their Championship with an iron fist from start to finish. Last year opposing teams counted them out and paid the ultimate price when it was all said and done.
With key players the likes of Kawhi Leonard (Clippers), Zion Williamson (Pelicans), Jamal Murray (Nuggets) and Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers) now healthy, they all possess the missing ingredients to help propel their teams throughout the hardship of the tough Western Conference.
The Los Angeles Clippers have a real good chance at making some serious noise this year. If they can stay healthy enough, the squad that this team is showing up with on opening night is as legit as it gets. They have the right balance of talent to definitely stir the pot throughout the league.
Last year’s shorthanded Denver Nuggets made quite a splash throughout the league and the Playoffs. With returning 2022 NBA MVP Nikola Jokic hitting the floor alongside a healthy Jamal Murray and a tight squad, the Nuggets will be looking to disrupt the league in a very competitive way.
The return of a healthy Zion Williamson has all eyes on the New Orleans Pelicans who will be coming in with a solid starting 5 that will keep the fans interested throughout the year but how far they can go will be up in the air considering just how strong the Western Conference is just surviving the regular season.
Lebron James entering his 20th NBA Season at 37 years old is just amazing. This man is a walking machine that if healthy, alongside another healthy Anthony Davis for a full season, has enough fire power to make some serious noise. Although their Pre-Season games didn’t show it, I personally wouldn’t sleep on them just yet.
The Western Conference is a tourney within itself. The Memphis Grizzlies are a bubbling team prime and ready for the big stage. Their squad is built to compete from top to bottom. They are must watch T.V. when they step foot into the arena. The Phoenix Suns have taken a fall in the standings but still managed to bring back the squad that brought them to the 2021 NBA Finals, giving them a good chance to make some serious strides back to the top. The Dallas Mavericks are coming in with an in-shape Luka Doncic who has proven to be a handful on any given night. With a healthy Tim Hardaway Jr. coming back and a solid all-around squad, the Mavericks will be in the mix. As for the remaining Western teams, the Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, the jury is still out. The Western Conference is not for play.
The talk of the Eastern Conference right now is the Brooklyn Nets coming into this season with a healthy-looking squad of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons who will be gracing the court together with some serious swag. The Nets feel very optimistic of guaranteed success this time around. They will have the fire power to hang with any opponent but will the chemistry hold up?
That said, ignoring the Boston Celtics who reached the NBA Finals last year but were unsuccessful, is an understatement. The Celtics have had a taste of the Finals now and will want retribution for their failed attempt. With their squad still intact with a solid one two punch in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown leading the way, the top of the food chain is not farfetched.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks wreaked havoc throughout the league last year and fell short late in the Playoffs due to injuries to some key players but with a healthy squad and arguably the best NBA player in the league in Giannis leading the way, the Bucks will be making this Eastern Conference run that much intriguing and must watch T.V. whenever they step foot in the house.
The Philadelphia 76ers might be the sleeper team to move up and do some damage or completely drop if they don’t get it together soon. They have a solid squad well-balanced squad that could put fear throughout the league but they have to lay it all together. Joel Embiid showed up big last year playing at an MVP level but in order to have a successful run James Harden is going to have to bring back his MVP type play for them to have any kind of inspiration of reaching the NBA Finals.
The Miami Heat has the right balance of experience from young to old that have reached the NBA Finals. They are strong on both ends of the floor and can hang with the best of them on any given night. They will be a solid team vying for position. That said, they do have the potential of being a sleeper team as well if not taken seriously by their opponents.
The Eastern Conference teams have steadily been improving year after year with surprising, unexpected teams rising out the trenches disrupting the hierarchy of the usual suspects in the Division.
That being said, the Toronto Raptors, Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic and the Detroit Piston will all have to show and prove that they belong amongst the top teams in the league or risk being labelled unworthy of keeping up in the Eastern Conference.
The league is steaming up with talent and new faces. Tune in this Tuesday night October 18, 2022, and be part of another captivating NBA Season 2022/2023.
Blaze
