Get on the Brooklyn Nets early

After a shortened offseason and a 2020 Los Angeles Lakers title, we’re back in action for the NBA season. The 2021 odds are out, and it’s no wonder to see the Lakers as favorites again on the DraftKings Sportsbook. The Clippers, Bucks and Nets round out the last four, and then we start to get deeper odds from other teams. With a pretty mediocre offseason for free agency, we got a lot of trades, but the Nets came back, which changed a lot in the Eastern Conference and the NBA. In the span of a 72-game season, a lot can happen, but we see a pretty strong group of four likely to make deep runs in the playoffs. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a deeper value to consider, so let’s dig deeper.

Battle in Los Angeles

The Lakers have +230 to repeat as consecutive champions. This isn’t much of a surprise, as the Lakers have arguably the best duo in basketball right now with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Los Angeles knew they needed to improve their roster after last season, as the Western Conference is so deep. Adding Dennis Schroder is a great addition for the Lakers because he gives them a shooter and another ball handler now that Rajon Rondo is gone. Wesley Matthews isn’t what he used to be, but he’ll give the Lakers decent depth. The addition of Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell to the Lakers as their core squad will be a major improvement over what they had last season. Having a better supporting cast will help keep LeBron fresh, as Frank Vogel has talked about shortening the minutes.

As for the Clippers, they have made moves themselves. Starting at the top, Doc Rivers is now out and Ty Lue is the head coach. Patrick Beverley and Reggie Jackson will need to be more consistent this season if the Clippers are to move on from where they were last season. This is still a good team, but the overall roster isn’t all that attractive on paper. Lou Williams had a scoring drop last season, and we don’t know what we’ll get out of Nicolas Batum and Serge Ibaka on the front court, given their age. The core remains Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, who are certainly a good enough duo to win a title, but the Clippers need to get back on track after a playoff and an offseason.

Brooklyn Nets +600

Now is the time to shop the Brooklyn Nets. They have the fourth best chance of winning the title, but this team is loaded with talent from top to bottom. We’ve seen Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving go red hot and Durant looking like he’s his old self is huge for the Nets and the NBA product in general. The rest of the roster is extremely talented and there is so much depth that his bench will be an x ​​factor in many games. They have Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie as secondary options, who have really elevated their game in recent seasons. Joe Harris is going to see a lot of open shots, and he’s a deadly shooter. All space will do well for the Nets. Jeff Green, DeAndre Jordan and Jarrett Allen form the frontcourt.

Brooklyn has a lot of options and is a real threat to win the east, with Milwaukee slightly ahead of them currently. It can’t be said that any of the Eastern Conference teams improved much when the Bucks improved slightly on Jrue Holiday, but the bench remains a question mark. Boston and Miami ran deep runs last year, but they relied more on their roster taking another step than adding pieces. Toronto is beginning its regression and the 76ers are still a work in progress.

Field

Outside of the top four teams, you have a lot of teams that ran deep last year and have solid rosters to repeat. Getting over the hump of teams in Los Angeles, Milwaukee and Brooklyn will be the hardest part. Denver is +2000 who made a deep run against the Lakers in WCF last season, but came up short. I really like this group with Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic. If Michael Porter Jr. takes another step and we get a healthy Will Barton for the year, Denver will be back in the middle of this. Of the Western Conference teams that aren’t in Los Angeles, they have the best odds and the best team to make a deep postseason run. One of the reasons they are behind Miami and Boston is because of the conference. The West has 10-11 playoff-worthy teams, and the 6-8 seeds in the West are far more dangerous than those coming out of the East.

Speaking of Miami and Boston, I can’t see them finishing above the top three seeds. Milwaukee and Brooklyn should be one and two. If every seed in the East advances, Boston and Miami will have a hard time as they could face a Brooklyn / Milwaukee combination in the East semi-finals and finals. Boston’s depth is a big question mark, and they don’t have consistent scoring options outside of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Kemba Walker’s knee remains problematic, so the Celtics are not looking good heading into this year as a championship bet. Miami has a deeper group and will race with the same team that took them to the final last year. They’ll be looking for more from Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro. If they don’t get those jumps from next year, Miami is still at a disadvantage against a team like the Nets with such depth.

There’s one thing to add to the James Harden rumors of a trade. There have been teams like Denver, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and Boston that are rumored to have some kind of interest, but it’s hard to say how loud these rumors really are. Houston is in no condition to win a title, and Harden could certainly be on the move to begin that rebuilding process. The odds would certainly change for the team landing it and for the field in general if that happened.