The 2020-21 NBA Preseason Schedule is announced
The NBA announced the preseason schedule during last week, it will be a total of 49 games, played between December 11th and December 19th, and featuring the LA Lakers vs. LA Clippers on opening night at Staples Center, at 10:00 pm ET. Training camps are already tipping off this week, and the regular season will start on December 22nd, as you probably already know.
It seems like just yesterday that we were watching the NBA in the Orlando bubble. In fact, it was just over a month ago, October 22nd was the date of the last game of the NBA Finals, where the LA Lakers got their 17th ring, after defeating the Miami Heat in 6 games. And just like that, we’re about to start a new season.
What to look for during the NBA preseason?
The preseason is clearly the time for teams to try to get back in shape, go back to training, test out their new signings, try to get some good chemistry in the team, understand the coach’s ideas and try to get to opening day in the best form possible.
The NBA Draft was held not too long ago, and it’s always exciting to see the future stars make their first steps into the league, plus free agency has also been kind of a wild ride for most teams, so it will take some time to get everyone in place and ready to fight for the championship.
Teams like the Lakers, Nets, Suns, Hawks, Rockets, Hornets, Celtics, and a few others have had a crazy offseason and will feature some key changes to start this season, while others like the Heat, Nuggets or Jazz, have peace now that they have signed their biggest stars to long-term contracts. Little has been heard about the Milwaukee Bucks, who lost Wes Matthews to the Lakers, or about the Dallas Mavericks in the West, who have played it low profile, but keep their big duo, Doncic and Porzingis.
The biggest, and saddest news comes from the Golden State Warriors, as Klay Thompson got injured again while having a private training, a torn Achilles tendon. He underwent surgery successfully already and is expected to make full recovery, but he will miss the entire season again. Big blow, without a doubt, for Steph Curry and Steve Kerr, who were expecting to go full on again in the West and try to compete with the Lakers for the title.
Who is favorite to win the NBA right now?
The Lakers are front runners and are expected to repeat, as they were the best team last season, and probably the team that got the better deals during free agency for this season. LeBron James is still in top shape, Anthony Davis is the next big superstar in this team, a few key pieces for the championship are staying, like KCP, Caruso and Kuzma, and on top of this the team signed Wes Matthews, Montrezl Harrell, Marc Gasol, and Dennis Schröder. Some have said already that this is probably the best team LeBron James has ever had, which is a lot to say. Lakers are around +220 to +250 to win the championship.
After them we have Milwaukee Bucks +470, Brooklyn Nets +625, LA Clippers +650, Golden State Warriors +1700, Miami Heat +1730, and Boston Celtics +1800, while the Toronto Raptors, 2018-2019 NBA Champions, are +4000, way in the back.
Are you ready for the new NBA season? Who do you think is going to take the trophy home?
