by Aubrey Moore
The NBA Playoffs do seem likely to begin in April and the NBA Finals are scheduled to be determined in June this year with the games shortened to 72 games. The Los Angeles Lakers are the reigning champions in the NBA championship being the penultimate team standing in the NBA bubble.
They are still widely considered to lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy in 2021 again. Teams like the Los Angeles Clippers as well as the Brooklyn Nets may have considerable things to say about the Lakers going in for a back-to-back championship. Teams are growing even stronger with the addition of some key players compared to last year’s rivalry.
The Contenders
We’re staring at these three teams as the absolute favorites to scoop up the NBA Championship. While many are sure to threaten them, crucial changes to their roster, along with continued progress, would allow them at least to make it to the Conference Finals.
Los Angeles Lakers at +200 odds
The Los Angeles Lakers completed that target last season by taking the Larry O’Brien Trophy to Los Angeles City for the seventeenth time in their history of franchises. Among the key players were LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Dennis Schroder with some notable additions namely, Harrell and Gasol. The Lakers are looking much better this season. Despite incurring loss but fading veterans Bradley, Howard, and Rondo.
Brooklyn Nets at +400 odds
If you saw a team headed by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, you’d have to start betting on them walking into the NBA Championship automatically, right? Due to the talent and dominance of the Lakers, the Nets have decided to make a new Big Three shot with Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving, while the bookmakers have now given the Nets +400 chances with their star players alone are enough to win them the 2021 championship title.
Los Angeles Clippers at +550 odds
Considering last season, the LA Clippers struggled. Supposed to be the season that veils the Clippers franchise in basketball career, the team squandered their chance and was taken out in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. Clipper’s key pieces were Serge Ibaka, Paul George and Kawhi. The Clippers acknowledged their loss thinking that they merely failed to efficiently perform during last year’s playoffs rather than degrading themselves who don’t have what it takes to succeed. But one thing is clear, the Clippers are among the strongest in the NBA at the top of their game.
NBA Championship 2021 Futures
Based on the best bookmakers for bets on basketball, Lakers is now placed at + 220 betting for the odds of winning for their second title while Brooklyn Nets sits at +400 betting odds and Los Angeles Clippers at + 550 odds. Here are full 2021 NBA odds for all 30 basketball teams.
| Los Angeles Lakers | +220 | San Antonio Spurs | +1000 |
| Brooklyn Nets | +400 | Atlanta Hawks | +15000 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | +550 | Memphis Grizzlies | +15000 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | +750 | New Orleans Pelicans | +15000 |
| Utah Jazz | +1200 | Houston Rockets | +17500 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | +1400 | Charlotte Hornets | +25000 |
| Boston Celtics | +2000 | Cleveland Cavaliers | +25000 |
| Denver Nuggets | +3000 | New York Knicks | +25000 |
| Miami Heat | +4000 | Orlando Magic | +25000 |
| Phoenix Suns | +4000 | Washington Wizards | +25000 |
| Dallas Mavericks | +5000 | Sacramento Kings | +25000 |
| Golden State Warriors | +6000 | Oklahoma City Thunder | +40000 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | +6600 | Chicago Bulls | +40000 |
| Indiana Pacers | +7000 | Detroit Pistons | +60000 |
| Toronto Raptors | +7000 | Minnesota Timberwolves | +60000 |
Brooklyn Nets Big Three: Should Lakers fear?
With James Harden finally added to the team Nets, they have formed the next Big Three with Durant and Erving. Fans and analysts immediately took the chopsticks at the sole firepower for the Brooklyn Nets roster. Well, who wouldn’t be? Just looking at the most dangerous offensive weapon in the entire league with two of them having won titles for scoring and MVP’s it can’t be messed around.
So, the question is, should the Lakers fear Brooklyn Nets? The most immediate answer to that is maybe a curvy no but it is more complicated than what it looks.
In particular, Irving’s dedication to the team is somehow questionable. For instance, being missing point guard for rather “mysterious” personal reasons according to a verified tweet by an ESPN Senior NBA insider and the talks about his dissatisfaction with Brooklyn’s front desk.
Apart from psychological dynamics of the Alpha Dog Trio competing together, there are also actual physical considerations. All three of Durant, Irving and Harden are best off with the ball in their hands but it doesn’t mean they cannot be factors off the ball. So far, Durant had missed six games being traced twice for Covid-19 this season. He returned to face GSW, although he didn’t shoot that well, Brooklyn Nets are a complete steamroller with him on the team
These concerns do not mean that the Nets are not strong or that they should not be able to reach the Finals and fight against Lakers. They only serve to demonstrate that success in the NBA is based entirely on a multitude of variables, and that one error here or there can snowball in something catastrophic.
So, yes, the Nets are a threat, much like the Clippers, the Bucks, the 76ers, the Celtics, the Heat, the Nuggets and whoever else you want to bring into the competition mix. But until they’ve got their backs to the wall in a seven-game series, the Lakers have no one to fear but their own health and fitness.