The 2022 NBA season is only weeks away, and fans have to be wondering who will win it all. While that kind of thinking might sound premature with 82 games on each team’s schedule, it’s always fun to speculate. Furthermore, the offseason has created a few more interesting wrinkles that will be fun to watch play out.
One example of this is The Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka, who has been suspended for an entire season after allegations of an inappropriate relationship surfaced. This means Boston is without the head coach that helped them to the Finals last year and could create chemistry problems for the Eastern conference powerhouse
This will also create a chance for other teams in the Eastern Conference to step up and march to the finals in The Celtic’s absence. Names such as The Chicago Bulls, The Miami Heat, and The Milwaukee Bucks all come to mind. There is a dark horse that some fans seem to be passing up on though.
Eastern Confrence Finals Winner: Milwaukee Bucks
It’s no secret that The Milwakee Bucks are impossible to ignore in the East after their 2021 Title and here is no exception. The team has an all star roster of Gianiss Antetokoumnpo, Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday and Bobby Portis. Those guys averaged above ten points per game last year and there’s little doubt they can again.
Antetokoumnpo looks primed for another 25+ point per game season and that’s going to be tough to beat. Another thing that makes him unstoppable is his whopping 11.6 rebound per game. Him and Portis, who averages nine reboudns per game wil be an interesting combo to compete against.
The Bucks also had some of the best three point shooters in the league last year, which just makes them more dangerous. Khris Middleton Jrue Holiday are both above average from behind the arc and there are others on the bench that are too. What about their defense though? Are they capable of putting of coming up cluth on that side of the ball?
While The Bucks were one game away from reaching The Finals again, a 109-81 loss to The Boston Celtics ruined that dream. What made it worse was the fact that The Bucks always seemed to come up short on defense during the series. For example, they dropped game 2 by a score of 109-86.
They did their best to even the series, but were beaten by ten points or more in game six and seven. This is a glaring problem for the former champions and is something they will need to work on if that want another title. Thats going to require the Bucks to increase their defensive rebounding, and blocks per game.
Only two players on The Bucks averaged a block per game in 2021-2022 season and that’s something that’s got to change. A Guy like Antekoumnpo needs to be more physical and contest more shots. The whole team needs to do a better shot of that and make the shotoer adjust to them
. They also need more defensive reboudns. Antetokoumnpo only averages 9.6 defensive reboudns per game, marking another stat that needs to change. Despite these shortcoming, the team has a chance to go deep this season based off their offense. They just need to make some defensive adjustments to better compleiment their domineering offense.
Western Confrence Finals Winner: The Golden State Warriors
It’s difficult to bet against a team that went 16-6 in last year’s postseason against the best The Eastern Conference had to offer. This run included a 4-1 routing of The Denver Nuggets, a 4-2 beating against Thee #2 Grizzlies, and a 4-2 Finals record against THe Boston Celtics. This team never even let another team get close to knocking them off the mantle
Looking at their starters and you have a who’s who of the best in The NBA today. A modern-day superteam if you will. This includes Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and several other key role players. Add in a coach like Steve Kerr, who has amassed four titles in eight years and you have a proven winning strategy.
What about that three-point game though? Everyone knows this is where The Warriors thrive, with four or more players averaging more than one 3-point shot a game. 12 of their players are 30% or better from behind the arc, including Thompson, Curry, and Wiggins. There just seems to be no defending these men from deep.
The Warriors are like any other team though and are prone to their weaknesses as well. The biggest drawback for Golden State however seems to be their offensive rebounding and turnovers. Both account for some of the worst stats on their sheet and could easily result in a losing season.
NBA Finals result: Golden State Warriors defeat The Milwakee Bucks 4-2
The Milwakee Bucks will have one of the most high-powered offenses in the NBA throughout the 2022 season. An offense with playmaking abilities and better rebounding. One that will be better from behind the arc and a more dominant defense With that being said, none of it would be enough to stop a full-powered Golden State Warriors.
As long as The Warriors keep this super team together, it will be difficult to beat them. Of course, there’s the possibility of wear and tear throughout the 2022-2023 season, but that’s a big if. Even if they do manage to lose one or two players throughout the season to injury, they are still too dominant to lose. Expect another championship for The Warriors in 2022. Everyone else is just competing for second place.
