By Timothy An

As the 2020-21 NBA season kicks off, it’s time to take a look at some predictions for this upcoming season. Though it was a shortened offseason, we saw a variety of moves take place involving the top contenders of both conferences. The Los Angeles Clippers lost their coach, Doc Rivers, who went to the Philadelphia 76ers and lost their 6th Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell, to the defending NBA Champions Los Angeles Lakers. We have Stephen Curry returning to the Golden State Warriors and finally get to see Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving playing together in Brooklyn. Jrue Holiday got traded to the Milwaukee Bucks and Chris Paul now finds himself with a young, talented roster in Phoenix.

The number of moves we saw this offseason will make this next season exciting and unpredictable.

However, we’ll try our best in this article to break down who we think will make the playoffs and how this 2020-21 NBA season will play out.

Western Conference

1. Los Angeles Lakers 

2. Los Angeles Clippers 

3. Portland Trail Blazers

4. Denver Nuggets

5. Utah Jazz

6. Dallas Mavericks

7. Phoenix Suns*

8. New Orleans Pelicans*

9. Golden State Warriors*

10. San Antonio Spurs*

• The Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers are my two locks to make the playoffs in an otherwise unpredictable Western Conference. The Lakers are coming off an NBA Championship and have added talented pieces in C Montrezl Harrell, G Dennis Schroeder, C Marc Gasol, and SG Wesley Matthews. The Clippers may have lost a few pieces, but still have Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, while picking up Serge Ibaka and Nicholas Batum who will be key additions to this team. 

• The Portland Trail Blazers and the Denver Nuggets are two teams that played incredibly well in the bubble last season. I expect both these teams to build off their success and find themselves in the top-4 of the Western Conference this season. However, with how talented this conference is, both these teams will have to play at a high level to get home-court advantage in the playoffs. 

• The Dallas Mavericks are a talented team that I could easily put into the 3rd slot in the Western Conference. However, their lack of defense and the injury to Kristaps Porzingis could hurt them in a major way to start the season and hold them back from claiming a top seed. 

• The 7 and 8 seed will be very close. It will come down to the Phoenix Suns, New Orleans Pelicans, San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, and Memphis Grizzlies. There are many teams fighting for this spot and it will make it a very interesting regular season. I chose the Suns and the Pelicans because I believe the Spurs don’t have enough talent, the Warriors don’t have the chemistry, the Rockets have too many question marks, and the Grizzlies are just one year away. 

Eastern Conference

1. Milwaukee Bucks

2. Brooklyn Nets

3. Miami Heat

4. Philadelphia 76ers

5. Boston Celtics 

6. Toronto Raptors

7. Indiana Pacers*

8. Atlanta Hawks*

9. Washington Wizards*

10. Chicago Bulls*

• The Milwaukee Bucks hold the number one spot as they have the perfect combination of chemistry, talent, and experience.

• The Brooklyn Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers are two teams that definitely have the talent, but need some time to find their chemistry if they want to make a deep run in the postseason. 

• The Miami Heat are coming off of a great run in the bubble that should help propel them into a top seed in the Eastern Conference.

• The Boston Celtics have the talent, but without Kemba Walker to start the year, this team is missing a point guard and may fall behind in the standings early. 

• The Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers are two teams you can always count on to put on good performances throughout the regular season. How far these teams will be able to go in the postseason are up for debate, but I am convinced both these teams will find their way into the playoffs. 

• The 8th seed comes down to the Atlanta Hawks and the Russell Westbrook-Bradley Beal led Washington Wizards. Though the Wizards definitely have the star-power advantage, I believe the Atlanta Hawks have acquired the depth and experience they need to find themselves in the playoffs this season. 

First Round

(1) Los Angeles Lakers 4-1 vs. (8) New Orleans Pelicans

(2) Los Angeles Clippers 4-0 vs. (7) Phoenix Suns

(3) Portland Trail Blazers 3-4 vs. (6) Dallas Mavericks

(4) Denver Nuggets 4-2 vs. (5) Utah Jazz

The Lakers and the Clippers take care of business against two young, inexperienced teams. 

The Dallas Mavericks are led by Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis to a victory against the Portland Trail Blazers. Close, high-scoring series, but Doncic becomes unstoppable as the Trail Blazers can’t find a defender to slow him down offensively. 

The Denver Nuggets are too deep and defeat the Jazz in six games. 

(1) Milwaukee Bucks 4-0 vs. (8) Atlanta Hawks

(2) Brooklyn Nets 4-1 vs. (7) Indiana Pacers

(3) Miami Heat 4-2 vs. (6) Toronto Raptors

(4) Philadelphia 76ers 3-4 vs. (5) Boston Celtics

The Bucks, Nets, and Heat take care of business against much less talented teams. 

The 76ers against the Celtics becomes the most intriguing matchup of the first round. It is a very close series but comes down to the lack of chemistry between Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. The Celtics can force Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid to settle for bad shots, while effectively scoring with their trio of Walker-Brown-Tatum. 

Semifinals

(1) Los Angeles Lakers 4-2 vs. (6) Dallas Mavericks

(2) Los Angeles Clippers 4-1 vs. (4) Denver Nuggets 

The Lakers take care of business against the Mavericks as their experience and talent are too overwhelming for the Mavericks to deal with. Dallas can steal a couple of games purely due to great shooting performances, but the Lakers are ultimately able to advance to the Western Conference Finals. 

The Clippers get revenge on the Nuggets from last postseason's embarrassing defeat and are able to easily take care of the Nuggets. I expect Paul George and Kawhi Leonard to play at an extremely high level and advance to the Western Conference Finals. 

(1) Milwaukee Bucks 3-4 vs. (5) Boston Celtics

(2) Brooklyn Nets 4-2 vs. (3) Miami Heat

In what may seem like a major upset in terms of seeding, the Celtics are able to slow down Giannis in his attempt to take the Bucks to the NBA Finals. The Celtics see another major leap from Jaylen Brown and are too tough to stop offensively for the Bucks. Giannis struggles in this series as the Celtics and HC Brad Stevens implement a plan to keep the ball out of his hands. Kris Middleton and Jrue Holiday cannot generate enough offense to keep up with Walker-Brown-Tatum and the Bucks lose in a 7-game series to the Celtics. 

The Brooklyn Nets start to find their chemistry and seem to be clicking on all cylinders. The Kyrie-KD duo is too dominant for the Heat to stop and the Heat are left to rely on hot shooting nights that aren’t consistent enough to win in this series. 

Conference Finals 

(1) Los Angeles Lakers 4-3 vs. (2) Los Angeles Clippers

In the highly anticipated matchup we all hoped to see last season, the Lakers face their cross-town rivals Clippers for an opportunity to play in the NBA Finals. The Clippers play really well as Paul George and Kawhi Leonard continue on their great postseasons and have another impressive performance this series. Serge Ibaka and Nicholas Batum also prove to be vital to the Clippers’ success on the defensive end, while Lou Williams and Patrick Beverly also play pivotal roles. However, the Lakers’ chemistry and depth excel in this series and allow them to make another trip to the NBA Finals. Lebron James and Anthony Davis play well, but Dennis Schroeder, Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Kuzma, Alex Caruso, KCP, and Wesley Matthews all have an impressive series that helps take the load off of AD and LBJ. This is a series in which both superstar duos play well, but the role players of the Lakers prove to be much more talented than those of the Clippers, leading them to back-to-back trips to the Finals. 

(1) Brooklyn Nets 2-4 vs (5) Boston Celtics 

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum continue on their tear through the Eastern Conference with their confidence at an all-time high. They have just defeated the 76ers and the Bucks in back-to-back series and face the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets, on the other hand, are coming off of two pretty easy series and expect another one against the Celtics. Jaylen Brown can slow down Kevin Durant, which still means he averages around 30ppg and 10 rbg, but at a less efficient rate, and Marcus Smart tries to slow down Kyrie Irving. The Nets duo is still able to play well but gets slowed down by these two great defenders and a masterful defensive gameplan implemented by HC Brad Stevens. On the offensive side of the ball for the Celtics, the Nets defensive players simply cannot stop the Celtics. The Celtics are on fire offensively, and the Nets defense is simply not talented enough to stop the Celtics deadly trio. The Celtics advance to the NBA Finals in 6 games. 

NBA Finals 

(1) Los Angeles Lakers 4-2 vs. (5) Boston Celtics

In a classic rivalry matchup, the Los Angeles Lakers face the Boston Celtics for the 2021 NBA Championship. At this point, the Celtics are on an absolute roll, playing a persistent, swarming defense that takes away the best scorers from each of their opponents and finds weaknesses in every offense. They can successfully slow down Anthony Davis and the centerpiece of this Lakers offense all of the postseason. However, the Lakers offense is too talented and able to find a variety of other ways to put points on the board. Between Lebron, Davis, Schroeder, Harrell, KCP, and Kuzma, the Lakers have too many talented scorers who can get hot at any moment. The Lakers offense remains unstoppable and their defense still remains strong centered around their big men in Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol, and Montrezl Harrell. The Lakers take care of business and get Lebron James his 5th ring. 

Follow Timothy on Twitter @timothyan1