data-mm-id=”_xlgmaxdad”>The 2020 NBA Playoffs are approaching and it's become clear who the legitimate contenders are who will will most certainly come up short in the postseason. Only one team can win the title, but how many teams have a legitimate shot? Below are three real championship contenders and four pretenders who are going to learn that it just isn't their year.NBA CONTENDERSLos Angeles LakersThe last eight seasons that LeBron James was healthy, he took his team to the NBA Finals. His team won three of those titles. He usually has a second superstar with him and that role is played by Anthony Davis who has a whopping 13 games worth of playoff experience. Luckily guys like Danny Green and… Dwight Howard… fill out the roster. At 35-years old, LeBron is still near the top of his powers and that could be enough.Los Angeles ClippersThe Clippers, for all their issues with health and fit and otherwise, will end up one of the top seeds in the Western Conference. If Paul George and Kawhi Leonard were able to load manage themselves properly during the regular season, they have a shot. History generally says that you need to be together for a few seasons to win a title, but Kawhi proved that you can just show up, win, and leave. Talent could win again.Milwaukee BucksThe Milwaukee Bucks are finally ready to win a title. This is the dream of how the league works. They drafted Giannis Antetonkounmpo and built a team around him as he became a superstar. They got playoff experience and advanced to the conference finals last year and lost to the eventual champions. This year they're the best team in the league and ready to blow through the Eastern Conference and win a championship. NBA PRETENDERS Miami HeatMiami has won just one playoff series since LeBron James left in 2014. They're a another tough, deep team that should be a difficult out in the playoffs, but this current Heat roster has more questions than answers. Will Jimmy Butler finally be the best player on a team that wins multiple playoff series? Will Pat Riley's inability to land Danilo Gallinari come back to bite the Heat in the playoffs? How effective will Bam Adebayo be in the playoffs? Does Andre Iguodala have anything left in the tank for a deep playoff run? The answers to most of these questions will probably upset people in Miami. Boston CelticsThe Celtics have three 20-point per game scorers in Jason Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker. They have Olympians. They have a good coach in Brad Stevens. They have balance and a deep rotation and they have playoff experience. Boston, a superstar short and a seed or two too low, will fall short. This time with a new point guard at the helm.Toronto RaptorsThe defending champions are the feel-good story of the season. With Kawhi Leonard gone, they haven't missed a beat and will enter the playoffs with one of the top seeds in the Eastern Conference and maybe the best record in team history. Eventually, they will miss Leonard. Pascal Siakam has been great and replaced Kawhi's production, but at some point, they will miss Kawhi and that's when they will come up short. Denver NuggetsDenver has won just one playoff series with Mike Malone and Nikola Jokic. They're going to have the toughest road to the Finals with the Lakers and Clippers and a really pesky lower seed in the first round. The Nuggets are still a year and another player away from serious contention.
Related Posts
Pep Guardiola believes Sergio Aguero is ready to help Manchester City in the Champions League final following his glorious Etihad Stadium farewell.
Aguero came off the bench on Sunday to score a brace as the Premier League champions thrashed Everton 5-0 – his final game in England s top flight before his City contract expires next month.
All attention now shifts to the showdown with Chelsea at Porto s Estadio do Dragao in six days time and Guardiola felt Aguero s 183rd and 184th Premier League goals gave a timely demonstration of his enduring quality.
Yeah, of course [he can play in the final], he told a post-match news conference. We have five substitutions. At the beginning, I don t know, I have to think about it.
He has something special, Sergio. O…
According to Marca, Spanish club Valencia are interested in making a move for Rafael da Silva at the end of the domestic season which is when his contract with French side Lyon is set to expire. The 28 year old has been with Olympique Lyonnais ever since 2015 when he made the switch over from Manchester United, which is where he spent the prior seven years of his professional career.
Rafael has done well to carve out a strong tenure for himself in France, to the point where many feel like he’s experienced something of a ‘career resurgence’ after a questionable end to his tenure at Old Trafford.
Rafael is at the top of Valencia’s wish list although he certainly isn’t the only player they’ve got their eye on, with Kiko Femenia from Watford also grabbing their …
Mikel Arteta believes Alexis Sanchez s arrival at Arsenal is a statement of intent from the Premier League title hopefuls.
After prising German star Mesut Ozil away from Real Madrid last season, Arsenal pulled off another transfer coup by completing the signing of Barcelona forward Sanchez on a five-year deal.
Sanchez won six trophies during his three-year spell in Spain and arrives at the Emirates on the back of yet another fourth-placed finish for Arsenal in the Premier League.
Arsenal scored 68 goals in 38 league matches last campaign their lowest tally since the 2008-09 season but Arteta says the Chile international will add pace to the club s attack and ease the load on leading striker Oliver Giroud as the club aim to win their first Premier League title sin…
Pedri hopes Barcelona team-mate Sergio Busquets stays with the Blaugrana, but identified Frenkie de Jong as a capable replacement for the evergreen midfielder.
Barca great Gerard Pique confirmed his retirement in November and Xavi s side may be set to lose another veteran, as Busquets nears the end of his contract in June.
The 34-year-old remains a pivotal part of Xavi s midfield trio, alongside youngsters Pedri and Gavi, helping Barca to sit two points clear of Real Madrid at the LaLiga summit heading into the World Cup.
While 20-year-old Pedri continues his seismic rise in both international and domestic football, Busquets called an end to his Spain career after their World Cup elimination in the last 16 to Morocco.
Pedri urged his midfield partner to c…
Barcelona recovered from a goal behind to see off Galatasaray 2-1 on aggregate and advance to the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
The visitors wasted plenty of opportunities in last week s goalless first leg and fell behind in the tie when Marcao headed Galatasaray ahead after 28 minutes on Thursday.
However, Pedri fired Barca back on level terms before half-time and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang continued his good form by putting his side ahead for the first time.
Xavi s side saw out the victory at a hostile NEF Stadyumu to make it 11 games unbeaten in all competitions and take their place in Friday s draw for the next round.
Jordi Alba blocked a goal-bound Bafetimbi Gomis shot and Frenkie de Jong shot wide from a one-on-one as both sides pushed for an …
Italy international Andrea Pirlo has revealed AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi blocked his move to Chelsea in 2009.
Pirlo, now of Juventus, was on the verge of reuniting with Carlo Ancelotti at Stamford Bridge after the Italian manager called time on his eight-year spell in charge of Milan at the end of the 2008-09 Serie A season.
Daniel Sturridge, Yuri Zhirkov and Nemanja Matic had all arrived in London following Ancelotti s unveiling as Chelsea coach.
In extracts from his autobiography titled I Think Therefore I Play , Pirlo, who eventually joined Juve in 2011, had begun discussing personal terms before Berlusconi ended his hopes of a switch to the Premier League.
Ancelotti was my motivation for agreeing to head to London. But, in the meantime, Berlusconi h…
Jack MacKenzie put his clinching goal in Aberdeen’s stunning 3-1 win at Ibrox on Saturday down to payback for his European error in Germany.
The 23-year-old Dons defender made sure of the three cinch Premiership points against Rangers on Saturday with a drive in the 86th minute which sent the travelling Red Army into raptures.
The Pittodrie side led with goals from centre-back Stefan Gartenmann and midfielder Jamie McGrath before Abdallah Sima reduced the deficit after Gers half-time substitute Scott Wright was sent off for picking up a second yellow card for a foul on Gartenmann.
A first Dons goal for Stefan
— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC)
It was a first start for MacKenzie since conceding an early penalty in the 2-1 Europa Conference League d…
Karim Benzema scored a late double as Real Madrid snatched a 2-0 victory at 10-man Real Valladolid on Friday to leapfrog Barcelona at the top of LaLiga.
Carlo Ancelotti s side looked set to be frustrated at the Jose Zorrilla Stadium in their first game after the World Cup, with Benzema squandering a gilt-edged first-half chance.
However, the France international – who missed Qatar 2022 through injury – made amends as he converted from the penalty spot with seven minutes remaining before sealing victory six minutes later.
Valladolid saw forward Sergio Leon sent off for dissent after the award of Benzema s penalty as Madrid dug deep to go one point clear of Barca, who play their game in hand at home to Espanyol on Saturday.
— LaLiga English (…
Verdict: HT/FT Home win
Best Odds:
Bookmaker:
Having seen their impressive 17-match unbeaten run come to an and at Hull in the League Cup, Manchester United prepare for the FA Cup challenge against Wigan keen to make a swift return to winning ways.
Manchester United
Following the early-season criticism, Jose Mourinho finally managed to establish a fine rhythm and lead his team to record a remarkable run of 17 matches without a defeat in all competitions, with the last defeat coming back in November 2011, when Red Devils suffered a 2-1 blow to Fenerbahce in the Europa League. The impressive run came to a halt during the week, unfortunately, as were stunned to a 2-1 defeat, which ultimately had no effect on their place in the finals. Mourinho’s men h…
Verdict: Home win
Best Odds:
Bookmaker:
Serie A champions Juventus are set to welcome Portugal giants FC Porto, who are facing a gargantuan task of clawing back from 2-0 down to write another piece of history in the UEFA Champions League.
Juventus
Bianconeri are sitting in the driving seat for the return leg of the Champions League Last-16 tie against Porto as they carry a two-goal lead into the Tuesday’s match at their own stadium in Turin. Massimiliano Allegri’s men are going through a purple patch which saw them win eleven and draw one of their last 12 matches across all competitions. To put their current stretch of form in even better perspective, it is enough to say that Serie A titleholders are unbeaten at their own stadium since August 2015,…