Young teams challenge for NBA championship

By: Desh Gaurav Sekhri

The NBA regular season concluded on Wednesday night, with playoff seeding being decided only in the last few games. It starts 19th April. The Miami Heat, seeded second in the Eastern Conference, are the defending champions. Their season has been more solid than spectacular. While top performers, such as the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Heat booked their spots convincingly, former heavyweights the LA Lakers, the Boston Celtics, and the New York Knicks have been poor.

The season also saw teams with young rosters emerging as legitimate contenders. The Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Golden State Warriors are four teams driven by talent coming of age. This season also saw some impact player transfers, with Dwight Howard and James Harden helping the Houston Rockets become a team to watch out for, as is also the case with the Toronto Raptors and the Brooklyn Nets.

There is a strong possibility that a young team could win the title this season. With rosters set up to succeed over the next few years, keep an eye out for inexperienced teams pushing for an impact this season. Also, the free agency of a few big stars—including possibly LeBron James—and the impending retirements of some of the league’s stalwarts— Spurs’ Tim Duncan—should add value to the playoffs.

The favourites for the NBA title are likely to be the Heat, the Pacers and the Thunder, though the aging Spurs could defy the numbers and win.

The author heads the sports initiative of a law firm