07-24-2021, 05:58 PM
(07-24-2021, 05:07 PM)cjeter24 Wrote: I definitely wouldn't say they are the favorite to make the finals out of the West. Lakers didn't have health on their side, and they'll have ways to improve. I'll be very surprised to see them not be the favorites. I would think there's a pretty good chance they are the favorites to win the title overall next year. Nets may be higher.
Depends a lot on what the Lakers do this offseason. They have caproom, IIRC. Do the ring-chasers join up with Lebron and AD after what happened last year? I know, *everyone* was injured in the pandemic-shortened season, but Lebron is getting awfully old, and AD is always debilitated. Or close to it. Who's to say both those guys are healthy next year? Who are their running mates? I would still have the Suns penciled in unless they lose CP3, in which case they likely fall in the 5th or 6th in the West tier next year. And if the Mavs don't make some significant overhauls this offseason, I'd be very pleasantly surprised if even a CP3-less Suns team doesn't sweep the season series this year.