NBA 2019-20 Preview

NBA 2019-20 Preview
by Alex "Moose" Strizak

Getty Images/Ringer Illustration

After an overwhelming offseason, it's time to tip off the NBA season. And with all these exciting rookies, veterans in new places, I'm going to surprise Y'ALL and say that this season is going to take us back to our roots...

Let me explain...

I think an old rivalry will be reborn, and a new one will take shape that we never thought possible.

The new rivalry that we get to enjoy is the re-vamped Lakers versus the finally relevant Clippers. The Clippers defense is by-far the best in the league entering the season, and the Lakers offense has the potential to be deadly. This is all good news for us sports fans!

The old rivalry reborn is Lakers-Celtics returning to center stage. I don't think people realize how good the Celtics are and the potential run they could go on. They will be efficient and effective as long as everyone can do their job #Bellichick.

Ben Huff and I will now make predictions on each conference and then will predict our Conference/NBA Finals.

Western Conference

Moose Prediction

1. Los Angeles Lakers😮

2. Utah Jazz

3. Los Angeles Clippers

4. Denver Nuggets

5. Houston Rockets

6. Portland Trailblazers

7. Golden State Warriors

8. Dallas Mavericks😏

Bubble: San Antonio Spurs

Ben Prediction

1. Los Angeles Clippers😟

2. Los Angeles Lakers😮

3. Utah Jazz

4. Denver Nuggets

5. Portland Trailblazers

6. Houston Rockets

7. Golden State Warriors

8. San Antonio Spurs

Bubble: Dallas Mavericks

Eastern Conference

Moose Prediction

1. Milwaukee Bucks

2. Boston Celtics😮

3. Philadelphia 76ers

4. Toronto Raptors

5. Indiana Pacers😏

6. Brooklyn Nets

7. Detroit Pistons

8. Atlanta Hawks😲

Bubble: Miami Heat

Ben Prediction

1. Milwaukee Bucks

2. Boston Celtics😮

3. Philadelphia 76ers

4. Indiana Pacers😮

5. Brooklyn Nets

6. Toronto Raptors

7. Detroit Pistons

8. Miami Heat

Bubble: Orlando Magic😕

Western Conference Finals

Moose Prediction

Los Angeles Lakers over Los Angeles Clippers😳

Ben Prediction

Los Angeles Clippers over Los Angeles Lakers😨

Eastern Conference Finals

Moose Prediction

Boston Celtics over Milwaukee Bucks😧

Ben Prediction

Milwaukee Bucks over Boston Celtics😎

The Finals

Moose Prediction

Los Angeles Lakers over Boston Celtics😰

Ben Prediction

Los Angeles Clippers over Milwaukee Bucks😵

So let's review this as I just threw a lot at you...

In the East, I am very confident in the Bucks to have a tremendous regular season. HOWEVER, I have my doubts that they can win a championship. They're going to face a tough Boston team at some point of the season and teams that I feel have drastically improved like the 76ers and Pacers.
I always pick the best coaching staff when teams are this evenly matched up, so I give the advantage to Boston when it matters.

In the West, the Lakers-Clippers face offs are going to be sooooo entertaining. Mix in some Russ Westbrook + Harden versus Chris Paul's rebuilding Thunder, the "underrated" Warriors, Jokic's no joke Denver squad, and a deep Jazz lineup. This will be anyone's conference to win, and I put my trust in the talents of LeBron and AD now that they have the right complimentary pieces in Danny Green, Quinn Cook, and Cousins (eventually)...

Which is why the Lakers are my Tip-Off prediction champs over the Celtics in a classic match-up. We're a long ways away but it would be so choice to have a Lakers-Celtics 7 game series...

Moose's Tip-Off Power Rankings

1. Boston Celtics

Yes, I have the Lakers beating them, but sometimes sports don't make sense... Here's a deep team that will make some noise this year. I do think they are going to miss Al Horford, but with their coaching and personnel they have no excuse to not be Top 5 all season long on these Power Rankings. Kemba Walker and Enes Kanter are great additions to the Brad Stevens scheme. I hate giving Boston teams credit, but they have to be considered a serious threat entering this season.

2. Los Angeles Lakers
Yeah yeah yeah, get your "LeBron Bias" out of your system and then read the rest of this Laker writeup... Ok, LeBron is still one of the best current players who just teamed up with another great current player. Add in the 3 and D style of Danny Green with Quinn Cook and eventually Cousins, and this team is legit. I know it's hard to hear for Lakers fans, but they should have expectations to win this season...

3. Milwaukee Bucks
They are very deep and are a serious threat this year. BUT, is it too early to make Dodger references? I'm going to anyway... I have no doubt that they can threaten for the best regular season record, but do they have what it takes to win in the postseason? I have my doubts...

4. Utah Jazz

What a surprising lineup they've put together with the addition of Mike Conley. I feel their forwards are a bit weak, but their defense is suffocating and should be fun to watch against the high flyin' Western Conference offenses.

5. Los Angeles Clippers

I am an absolutely huge Kawhi Leonard fan. His two-way ability on offense and defense is unmatched right now in the game, and he gets to have Paul George to compliment him. However, my concern is their bench play. It's a long season with a lot of injuries (including Leonard's past history of injuries) which means sometimes your bench can save your season. Hopefully, the Clippers will be blessed and not have to worry about injuries...

6. Denver Nuggets

Jokic is a stud. Some nights, this team's shotmakers will run you out of the building. On a cold night, I believe in the underrated Paul Millsap to help carry the load. They are progressing towards being serious playoff contenders.

7. Houston Rockets

James Harden is soft, but that's the way the game is played these days... His shot creating, or should I say "foul creating", is superb and he adds a fantastic distraction in Russell Westbrook. The offense should be electric, but will they be able to stop other teams from scoring 105+ a game?

8. Philadelphia 76ers

They are legit talent-wise. Injuries are always a drastic concern for this team, but with the additions of Horford and also Harris at last trade deadline, Embiid and Simmons should have a pretty fun season making a run for some actual playoff damage.

9. Portland Trailblazers

I've always been a Lillard-McCollum fan. Add in Hassan Whiteside and a trending-up Zach Collins, and this team is once again in a position to raise some eye brows this season. We shouldn't be surprised by their success, but somehow we'll find a way to sleep on them again...

10. Gold State Warriors

The biggest question mark of the year... How will the post-Durant era go? Will Klay be back by the All-Star Break? Will Steph and D'Angelo be able to carry this team in a wild Western Conference? One thing for sure is Steph Curry will be as legit as he always has been, but the team's overall success this season is up for serious debate...

11. Toronto Raptors
The sweetness of Kawhi and championship, gone so quickly... This team is still talented, but obviously takes a step back when they lose their star player. The talent is more spread out for them this year, but there is still talent.

12. Indiana Pacers

Do NOT sleep on this team. Sadly, Oladipo still isn't back. However, I am a huge fan of the Turner-Sabonis combo and think this team can quietly stay near the top of the Eastern Conference. And if Oladipo returns any time soon? Woah, look out for these guys...

13. Dallas Mavericks

Thank you to Ben for doubting Luka Doncic. I will take the "Rookie of the Year Bet" victory very loudly! Porzingis looks fantastic in the preseason, and what I really like is how mobile Doncic and the unicorn are to not get in each other's way.

14. Brooklyn Nets

They were the surprise team of last year and should be taken seriously this year. There's obviously room for regression, but Caris LaVert and Spencer Dinwiddie are very talented and can help hold the fort down until Kyrie and Durant get healthy enough to return to the court. Obviously, once Durant returns this team will have quite a different ranking on the Power Rankings...

15. San Antonio Spurs

This is the team where I have serious doubts they'll make the playoffs. But then I see their team name and their head coach, and I know they'll find a way to make the playoffs. Confused? So am I... But I've learned to just stop doubting these constant success teams and I just roll with it.

16. Detroit Pistons

They have a lot of young guys on this roster, which means we don't quite have the full picture on how deep this roster really is. Blake Griffin still can't be the true star of a team, and unfortunately for Detroit, they look to be caught in the middle of good and below-average. Either way, it doesn't win titles...

17. Atlanta Hawks

Here's a team trending up. Trae Young is legit, and De'Andre Hunter looks like another great draft pick by this front office. Look for them to raise some eye-brows on some surprising victories and to win me some dough in daily fantasy...

18. Miami Heat

This is my bubble team. They aren't good enough to win a conference, but they add Jimmy Butler which keeps them hovering around the playoffs. I've never been a big Jimmy Butler fan, in fact I think he hurt the 76ers last year, and the only reason they're this high up is the face the Eastern Conference will pad their win total.

19. New Orleans Pelicans

Here's a great team to keep an eye on this year. Zion is already looking fantastic, while also adding in the Laker-load shipped over in the AD trade. We forget how solid Brandon Ingram is when he's healthy, and they also have amazing athletes like Jrue Holliday and Jaxson Hayes. I'm going to be watching this team very closely this year...

20. Oklahoma City Thunder

Well, that rebuild escalated quickly... I do like the combo of Chris Paul and Gallinari, but the team just isn't deep enough and needs time to rebuild their system with more young talent.

21. Memphis Grizzlies

Ja Morant, I feel, is going to give Zion a run for his money for Rookie of the Year. Zion is still my favorite to win it, but the combo of Morant and Jackson, Jr. is soooo intriguing and it shows what a great job the Grizzlies have done in rebuilding so quickly. Also, Garyson Allen loves winning and getting under people's skin. What a perfect addition to the Grizzlies! They're slowly becoming my favorite team...

22. Phoenix Suns

They've been trying to stock up talent through the draft for about 3 years now and it really hasn't payed off. I do like the addition of Rubio to help out Booker, but this team just can't seem to click. Maybe this is the year where it all finally clicks? Maybe not...

23. Chicago Bulls

Here's a rebuild I can get behind. There still a little ways away from making a serious impact in the win column, but Zach Lavine is coming around and they now have surrounded themselves with solid prospects. The question will be, can at least half of the prospects become respectable NBA players?

24. Minnesota Timberwolves

What a trainwreck. Wiggins was suppossed to be the answer, and KAT was supposed to be an MVP candidate. So what happened? Don't get me wrong, I like Culver as a rookie, but he doesn't solve all of their current problems. They should seriously consider being sellers at the trade deadline or even right now for all I care.

25. Orlando Magic

A lot of rankings I've seen have the Magic much higher than I do. It's hard for me to see why... They run back almost the exact same lineup where they needed guard help and they go out and draft Mo Bamba (did someone tell them that he's not a guard?). They bring in Michael Carter-Williams and Fultz, who failed as guards for 76ers teams that desperately needed help at that position... Oy vey.

26. Sacramento Kings

The rebuilding has begun and Fox has been an honestly great surprise at the point guard position. They'll look to let their youth continue to grow and learn while they try to continue their successful drafts.

27. New York Knicks

What are we hoping for here? I like RJ Barrett, but he can't carry a team on his own. The next big name on their roster is Julius Randle, which just puts into perspective how far off this franchise is. Sorry to the Knicks fans who have a LONG season ahead of them and an even more sad future of watching Durant school them for the next few years to come.

28. Washington Wizards

Bradley Beal is all alone and I think his personal stats are going to be great because of that. However, the team as a whole won't have much success to look forward to. With John Wall out on an undetermined timetable, the Wizards winning seems to be on the same timetable.

29. Cleveland Cavaliers

LeBron is still in LA, right?... Ok, so Cleveland won't be good. Pretty simple, but the past 15+ years have taught us this...

30. Charlotte Hornets

Michael Jordan says he wants to own a team that wins a championship and is serious about it. The way they have drafted and their inability to sign free agents has absolutely destroyed any hope of winning for this franchise. With the depart of Kemba Walker, it may be a rough year for all involved in Charlotte.