ESPN Stats & Information 6y

The 2017-18 NBA season is upon us

Opening night in the NBA is the earliest it's been since 1980, and the number of high-profile players switching teams this summer has positioned this season to be one of the most exciting in recent history.

Can anyone beat the Warriors?

The Warriors (and the Cavaliers) are trying to become the fifth team to reach the NBA Finals in four straight seasons. The others: 2011-14 Heat, 1984-87 Celtics, 1982-85 Lakers and 1957-66 Celtics. Of those four teams, only the 1957-66 Celtics won more than two titles during that run of four consecutive trips to the Finals. ESPN's Basketball Power Index gives the Warriors a 67 percent chance of reaching the Finals.

According to the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, the Warriors’ over/under win total is 67. If Golden State reaches that number, it would be the fourth time – and fourth straight year – in which they do so, breaking a tie with Michael Jordan’s Bulls for the most 67-win seasons in NBA history.

So who has the best chance of knocking off the champs? According to BPI, it’s the Rockets, who have a 20 percent chance of beating them in a best-of-7 series (assuming Golden State has home-court advantage). The Rockets are followed by the Spurs (19 percent), Celtics (19 percent), Thunder (15 percent) and Cavaliers (14 percent).

LeBron enters his 15th season

LeBron James will be eyeing his fifth MVP this season. According to the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, James is the MVP favorite at 4-1, just ahead of Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard (all 9-2). He could become the first player to win the MVP award in his 15th season or later in NBA history. The latest into a career anyone has won it is his 14th season, by Karl Malone in 1998-99.

Among the other milestones James is looking to reach: his eighth straight Finals appearance (would be the sixth player to appear in eight straight Finals); his 12th 1st-team All-NBA selection (would break a tie with Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone for the most in NBA history); he needs 1,213 points to become the seventh player with 30,000 career points.

Celtics look to be team to beat in the East

The Celtics don't have many returning pieces from the team that reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season. Four players are back from last year's team, and the Elias Sports Bureau notes that the Celtics are the first team in NBA history to return four or fewer players the season after leading a conference in wins.

The additions of Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward and Jayson Tatum make the Celtics the first team in the common draft era (since 1966) to acquire multiple All-Stars from the previous season and make a top-three pick in the same offseason, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Westbrook got much needed help this offseason

Whenever Russell Westbrook was off the floor last regular season, the Thunder had the scoring margin of a 21-win team. It was even worse in the playoffs, as the Thunder were outscored by 58 points in the 46 minutes he was on the bench.

The Thunder now have three players who can create their own offense as Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony all ranked among the top 10 in isolation scoring last season. The Thunder's second-highest ranked player in isolation scoring last season was Victor Oladipo, who ranked 113th league-wide.

In addition to creating their own offense, Anthony and George also offer good off-the-ball offense. Anthony ranked in the 94th percentile in points per play on spot-ups, and George ranked in the 84th percentile in that same category last season.

Can Harden and Paul co-exist?

Chris Paul and James Harden will need to adjust to not having the ball as much, since both ranked in the top eight in touches, time of possession and passes per game last season.

Entering his 13th NBA season, Paul will need to adapt to Mike D'Antoni's fast-paced style of play. Just twice in his career has Paul played on a team that ranked among the top half of the NBA in pace.

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