Eye on the West; who bags the rights?

• The NBA is back and obviously, we are all excited
• Teams are shaping up for the challenge
• The Western Conference has the reigning champions

The NBA is back and obviously, we are all excited at the return of the best league as far as basketball is concerned. Teams are shaping up for the challenge, with so much to prove in the coming season. The Western Conference has the reigning champions and will definitely attract sizable attention from punters.

We will try and look up the favourites to bag the overall title based on the firepower we have in this conference. The Denver Nuggets are expected to go all the way to the finals again but we don’t expect the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers to give them an easy time.

As we make these picks you can also make your NBA predictions and picks on Sportytrader, which has a list of the most competitive odds across bookies and this way you can go all the way to pick who will win the NBA Championship. As the Nuggets return with an almost identical team that won the championship last season, we expect them to stand out as outright favourites. On Sportytrader they are deemed favorites to beat the Lakers in their opening game.

Player Longevity

One area the Nuggets beat opponents with is both the longevity and durability of their players. They didn’t have many injuries to their key players, and this gave them an edge. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, for example, led the team well during the playoffs. Their combination was deadly and made the Nuggets almost look unbeatable. Jokic was almost flawless, and having such quality players adds to the advantage when seeding.

The quality on their bench is also another angle that ads to the Nuggets’ firepower. However, in this same conference, the Phoenix Suns will be out to prove they can stop the Nuggets dominance. The Suns come into the season as second favourites. Their agenda for the season will definitely be driven by their big trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. These super shooters mask the Suns’ defensive weaknesses in a special way.

The Warriors

The Golden State Warriors fell short last season but can’t be overlooked as far as advancing from the west is concerned. They come in as the third favorites to bag the Western Conference bragging rights. When we look at the Warriors, Steph Curry will always be in the picture.

Gary Payton II eventually joined Golden State Warriors. Photo/Sporting News

He has done well in the preseason and looks to be in great shape. He will surely take this form to the season and have the capacity to carry it along all season if he stays injury-free. The addition of Chris Paul to the Warriors’ roster throws in another angle – that of leadership. Chris Paul will be more of a role player for the Warriors, and the bonus for the team is he is ready to work with fewer minutes.

In this same line, we can leave out the LA Lakers. With LeBron James coming into the twilight of his career, he will want to sign out in style. He has shown the potential to carry the team along and as he has hinted at retirement a few times, the team will want to give him that boost as well. We expect the Lakers to challenge for the Western Conference title.