The NBA season tips off tonight and we are already looking into the future to June. Which team will be holding the Larry O’Brien trophy when it is all said and done? The Crossover staff makes its predictions. You can find our award predictions and burning questions here.
Howard Beck: Clippers over Bucks
There are at least four teams in each conference who could plausibly make the NBA Finals, a rarity in these modern times. Yay, parity! So ask again in a week, and I might change my answer five times. But this certainly looks like the best shot the Clippers have had since their celebrated 2019 haul of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Both stars are finally healthy, and supported by perhaps the deepest roster in the NBA, including a rejuvenated John Wall. The Bucks had their title defense torpedoed last season by untimely injuries to key players. But Giannis is still Giannis, their championship core is intact, and they have fewer caveats than their rivals in the East.
John Gonzalez: Bucks over Warriors
I seem to have backed myself into a corner here. If I think Joel Embiid wins the MVP, then surely this must be the Sixers’ season to not just get out of the second round (finally, and for the first time since Allen Iverson pushed them into the NBA Finals as East champs some two decades ago), but maybe even reach the Finals. And while I think that very well could happen, I still think the East goes through Giannis and the Bucks. After all, with a banged up squad they still took the Celtics to seven games last postseason. And if the East does indeed go through Giannis and the Bucks, when they’re healthy, then I think the Finals will too and the Larry O’Brien Trophy returns to Milwaukee.
Chris Herring: Bucks over Clippers
It’s tempting to think about plenty of other teams out West—the Warriors, the Nuggets, and maybe even the Suns if they can rebound from last season’s bizarre Game 7 loss—but arguably no team projects to be as balanced on either side as the Clippers. Los Angeles, eliminated from playoff competition after Paul George tested positive for COVID-19 just before a play-in game, gets Kawhi Leonard back. And they add John Wall to a group that might have already stood as the league’s deepest. Still, if Khris Middleton comes back healthy, it’s going to be hard to beat Giannis and the Bucks, who already know what it takes to win the whole thing.
Robin Lundberg: Clippers over Bucks
It's hard for me to pick against Steph Curry and the Warriors given what we saw in the NBA Finals. However, when you combine the drama around Draymond Green with how difficult it is to repeat, I'll go with a fully healthy Clippers squad led by a proven coach in Ty Lue and playoff star in Kawhi Leonard. They are deep and if 100% whole and clicking I'll take them over my default pick in an absolutely stacked East in Milwaukee, who at least have fewer questions to answer than some of the other contenders.
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Chris Mannix: Clippers over Bucks
It’s a little risky going all-in on the Clippers a year removed from an injury-ravaged season but Leonard and George are two of the NBA’s most complete wings and Ty Lue’s roster is loaded with versatile depth, enough to make me comfortable picking a team with a Reggie Jackson/John Wall point guard tandem. The Bucks are the safest pick and I think Joe Ingles is going to help them in the second half. It will be a seven-game war between these two but I think Kawhi outduels Giannis and LA takes the title.
Rohan Nadkarni: Nuggets over Bucks
This is the best team Nikola Jokić has ever played for, and it’s time for him to prove he can be the best player on a championship team. The Nuggets are deep and will have a chance to tweak their roster during the season as well. I do like Giannis and the Bucks coming out of the East. I don’t know if Philly has the shared playoff experience yet, and I think Boston takes a step back with a new coach. I think we get a thrilling matchup between two two-time MVPs. And the Nuggets finally break through.
Ben Pickman: Nets over Nuggets
Could this prediction look absolutely foolish come June if the Nets bow out of the postseason in a similar manner to last season? Without a doubt. But—and this is a big, deep breath of a but—Brooklyn still has one of the most talented cores in the NBA, and the return of Joe Harris, coupled with the acquisitions of Royce O’Neale, Markieff Morris and T.J. Warren give them even more depth. Of course, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons need to gel together—and that’s far from guaranteed—but they certainly have what it takes to outlast two-time MVP Nikola Jokic and a Denver team that seems like a lock to win more than 50 games and is primed for a deep playoff run if Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. return to form.
Elizabeth Swinton: Celtics over Suns
There are question marks on both sides: How will the Celtics play without Ime Udoka? Can the Suns deliver in the postseason? As things currently stand, I’m picking the Celtics to win the East and put it all together after falling short in the Finals last season.
Jeremy Woo: Clippers over Bucks
As someone who hasn't nitpicked this choice to death, this season feels kind of open to me, but I like the Clippers' depth and presumed availability of Kawhi, and also the Bucks to stay a little healthier this season. But my confidence level in this choice is not high.
Kyle Wood: Bucks over Nuggets
The East, once again, is tough, but I like the Bucks, who will get Khris Middleton back and who added Joe Ingles to the mix, to get out of the conference. As for Denver, the last time this team was at full strength it made it to the 2020 West finals, where they took a game off the eventual champion Lakers. Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., both All-Star caliber players, are rejoining the back-to-back MVP in Nikola Jokić. The Nuggets also made some sneaky offseason additions that will have them primed to win the West. But the Bucks will get the best of the Nuggets in a marquee matchup between the two players who have won the last four MVPs.
