The Golden Path to the Finals

With the NBA season right around the corner, teams are scrambling to add the last key pieces that could push them over the top and into the Finals next season. These are just a few of the teams that could make it to the coveted NBA Finals.

The Boston Celtics: The Celtics were so close to making it to the Finals this past season, and then LeBron happened. However, the King has now entered the Western conference for the first time in his 15 year career, which leaves the Eastern conference wide open. Boston is looked at as the obvious favorite to win the East. The Celtics lost arguably their two best players in Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward to injury last season, and still managed to take the Cavaliers to 7 games in the Eastern Conference Finals. With Irving and Hayward added to an improving roster of Jayson Tatum, Terry Rozier and Jaylen Brown, Boston should easily carve their way to the Finals.

The Golden State Warriors: Who could have thought the Warriors would make this list? The Warriors are one of the greatest teams ever assembled in the history of basketball. With four returning all-stars in Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, plus the addition of 4x all-star Demarcus ‘Boogie’ Cousins, the Warriors are the clear favorite to win it all. The Warriors haven’t let the pressure of being the greatest team ever get to them yet and, barring injuries, should make a return trip this year.

The Los Angeles Lakers: Deemed “The Meme Team,” the Lakers loaded their team with several high intensity personalities this summer, including the greatest player in the world, LeBron James. The Lakers are one of the more interesting teams in the league this year. They’ve added the likes of Rajon Rondo, Michael Beasley, Lance Stephenson and Javale McGee to their roster. Despite the addition of several questionable veterans, the Lakers are still a young team. If young players like Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma show improvement, the addition of the volatile veterans could be just what they need to push them to the Finals. With LeBron James on your team, the Finals are never out of sight.

The Toronto Raptors: Last season was a weird one for the Raptors. They finished first overall in the Eastern conference with a record of 59-23, but after a clean sweep from LeBron and the Cavaliers, they promptly fired their head coach Dwayne Casey, who went on to win Coach of the Year. In the offseason, they traded their franchise player Demar Derozan for Kawhi Leonard, who had multiple problems with the Spurs franchise and hasn’t touched the court in over a year. Regardless of all of the craziness going on in Toronto, there’s no question the team has talent. A healthy Kawhi Leonard is still a top 5 player in the league, and point guard Kyle Lowry has been selected to the All-Star team the last four years. With LeBron in the West, the Raptors could sneak by the Celtics into the Finals.