After winning their fifth championship in 15 years, the San Antonio Spurs have cemented themselves as one of the greatest basketball dynasties ever. The Spurs, who lost in the 2013 NBA Finals to the Miami Heat, were able to exact revenge this time around. Led by the ageless wonder Tim Duncan the Spurs embarrassed the Heat their second time around by taking the series four games to one. It seems like the Spurs get older and wiser with each passing year, they are still the reigning champions and favorites to repeat come June.
Opening Night on Oct. 28 will feature the Spurs against their in-state rivals, the Dallas Mavericks and dominant veteran forward Dirk Nowitzki. The Mavericks, who entered the playoffs as the number eight seed, nearly upset the Spurs in the first round before losing the series in seven games. The Mavericks acquired guard Raymond Felton and welcomed back center Tyson Chandler when they traded point guard Jose Calderon, center Samuel Dalembert, shooting guard Wayne Ellington and point guard Shane Larkin to the New York Knicks.
The Los Angeles Clippers have been the talk of the NBA since the beginning of the year when recordings leaked of owner Donald Sterling making racial slurs. Sterling was banned for life from the NBA and fined $2.5 million by new commissioner Adam Silver. While Sterling tried to fight the NBA and take them to court, the team was eventually sold for a record $2.5 billion to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
The Clippers won a nail biting first round series against Golden State (in seven games) before losing in the second round to the Thunder (in six games). Despite the disappointment of getting knocked out in the playoffs, the Clippers are finally the number one basketball team in Los Angeles and one of the more fun teams to watch in the NBA. With the Donald Sterling affair over and a new owner who appears to be willing to spend what it takes to be the top dog in the West, look for the Clippers to improve on the number three seed where they finished last year.
Superstar forward Kevin Durant won his first MVP award during the 2013-14 season, finally being able to push past the “second best NBA player” label he’s dealt with while LeBron James has been stacking MVP awards in South Beach. Durant lead the league in scoring for the fourth time in his career and added 6.9 rebounds per game (RPG) and 3.5 assists per game (APG). The Thunder will be needing more than the 46 games they got out of point guard Russell Westbrook last season to be able to win the Western Conference. Westbrook who had surgery on his right knee causing him to miss 36 games, is the x-factor to the Thunder. A healthy and productive Westbrook will help take pressure off Durant and allow the Thunder one of the best two player punches in the NBA.
The Los Angeles Lakers set a franchise record with 55 losses last season, as they had their worst season in franchise history. Kobe Bryant only played in six games and the team played absolutely pitiful. With a healthy Bryant returning and acquiring point guard Jeremy Lin, power forward Carlos Boozer and forward Julius Randle (the seventh pick in the draft) the Lakers will improve from last season. While many consider Boozer’s career on the decline, it won’t be as bad a season as last year, but expectations aren’t too high.
The Western Conference will once again be highly competitive (the West’s number eight playoff team had a better record than the East’s number three seed). These teams will once again beat up on each other and make it any teams race until the playoffs start. Even a team like the Minnesota Timberwolves, who finished two games under .500 will be one of the most watched Western Conference teams after acquiring 2013 top draft pick Anthony Bennett and 2014 top draft pick Andrew Wiggins in the deal that sent power forward Kevin Love to the Cleveland Cavaliers. While the Spurs are the favorites right now to repeat, this conference can go anyway and once the playoffs start, expect things to get messy.
Connor Anthony can be reached at connor.anthony@spartans.ut.edu