The 2016-17 season of the NBA proved to be another exciting one for fans of basketball, culminating in the matchup of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors in the Finals. It was the latter that emerged triumphant of course, with a memorable 4-1 series win.
However, with thoughts now turning to the 2017-18 season, it is time to consider how it might pan out once the action gets underway.
The regular season of the NBA gets started in October, and at the moment the teams are busily preparing for it.
It was last season’s Eastern Conference finalists, the Boston Celtics, who had No. 1 pick in the draft. They used this to try and address some of the flaws on the wing in particular, which stalled them last time out.
They added offensive quality in the form of Jayson Tatum, who is widely considered one of the best in the league in his position. The Celtics also went on to pick up the likes of Kadeem Allen and Jabari Bird, so they could be contenders this year.
Surprisingly, last season’s runners up, the Cavaliers, opted not to bring in any new players during the draft, so they will be relying on the same group from the 2016-17 season.
This is a risky strategy despite the obvious quality that exists within the Cavaliers’ roster, as the likes of Golden State have built on their success last season by strengthening again.
Although the Warriors didn’t sign many players (they hardly needed to with the best roster in the league), they did pick up Josh Bell.
He is a versatile defender who will give them more options in that area, and his signing is an indication that Golden State has no intention of giving up their crown if they can possibly help it.
Despite the impressive draft picks by a number of sides, a number of NBA pundits are already marking them down as clear favorites to win again in the 2017-18 season.
Indeed, many of them feel that it will come down to a battle between Golden State and Cleveland once again , which would be the fourth year in a row that this has happened; genuinely unprecedented in NBA history.
The Celtics could be one of the teams to look at if you are hoping for a different NBA Finals lineup, as they have built on last season’s Eastern Conference Finals appearance with a strong performance in the draft.
Of course, with several months still to go until the new season gets started, it is all just speculation at the moment.
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