2022-23 NBA Season Preview Odds and Predictions
The new NBA season begins Tuesday night with per usual a doubleheader on TNT as the Philadelphia 76ers visit the reigning Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics in the first game, and the Los Angeles Lakers visit the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors in the nightcap as the Warriors will raise another banner to the rafters in San Francisco.
Warriors Won’t Repeat
I don’t believe the Dubs will repeat even in the Western Conference.
Barring injury, we are going to see history this season as LeBron James will pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most points scored. Kareem has 38,387 points and LeBron 37,062. The Lakers were linked to a possible trade for Nets star Kyrie Irving much of the summer, but that never happened and LA was forced to hang on to Russell Westbrook even though he’s clearly not a fit on that roster for first-year Lakers head coach Darvin Ham.
Brooklyn not only kept Irving (who can become a free agent after the season) but also superstar Kevin Durant even though he not only demanded a trade this summer but also that Coach and Canadian legend Steve Nash be fired. Owner Joseph Tsai said no. We have yet to see Ben Simmons take the court in a Nets uniform after he missed all of last season, but he’ll be out there Wednesday when the Nets the New Orleans Pelicans and Zion Williamson, who also missed all of last season.
2022-23 NBA Futures
On Thursday when the Los Angeles Clippers visit the Lakers it will be the return of two All-Stars for the Clippers who missed last season in Kawhi Leonard and John Wall (he was with Houston). The Clippers are my pick to win the NBA title at +464. My pick as Eastern Conference champion at +262 is the Milwaukee Bucks. They might have won the East last season if not for an injury suffered by All-Star Khris Middleton in the postseason. He won’t be ready to start this year, either, but isn’t too far off.
A lot of teams are going to tank this season for the best chance to win the draft lottery and the chance to select 7-foot-4 Frenchman Victor Wembanyama. He’s considered the best prospect since LeBron. “Everybody has been labeling this unicorn thing,” James said of Wembanyama. “Everybody has been a unicorn for the last two years, but he’s more like an alien. I’ve never seen — no one has ever seen anyone as tall as he is, but as fluid and as graceful as he is out on the floor.”
The Raptors certainly will be a playoff team again but probably won’t win the Atlantic Division simply because it’s the deepest division in the league. Boston is the +130 favourites. Toronto has an over-under of 46.5 wins and is +963 to win the division. The team’s big offseason move was adding veteran swingman Otto Porter Jr. in free agency from Golden State.
The pick for MVP is Memphis point guard Ja Morant +907. For Rookie of the Year, it’s Sacramento’s Keegan Murray, who is +336. He might miss the opener, though, as he landed in COVID protocols.
The Utah Jazz are probably going to be NBA’s worst team after trading away the likes of Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic this summer. More Utah veterans likely will be dealt by the trade deadline.
