The biggest problem in 2021 seems LA Lakers once again. Their roster is clearly stronger, but LeBron will be a year older, and we will see will Davis's body be again on maximum during playoff like this summer after an unexpected 3-month pause due to pandemic. 2nd biggest threat is another LA team, the Clippers. The team will be less deep than last season, but I think Kawhi will play a full season this time, without these days off, so I think this time the better seed will be probably a key factor in eventual Clippers/Nuggets WC SF repeat, so eventually reaching #2 seed would be very important for our chances to reach WCF again.
Denver fails to improve its roster this offseason, but the Warriors have a much bigger problem with Thompson season-ending injury, while Houston is probably done as a contender once Harden gone as expected. But Portland is worthy to be mentioned which finally fixed their forward spot, and Dallas too, especially if they find the way to improve their roster with one notable player before trade-deadline. Also, Utah with recovering Bogdanovic can be a dangerous dark horse in the West race, while Suns 2021 roster is very intriguing.
For the best-case 2021 scenario for Denver most of these conditions should be fulfilled:
- No injured starters in the playoff (BIG3 especially)
- Super-Murray bubble breakthrough to be a new reality
- Porter (almost) becomes 3rd star, and no more Malone sabotages MPJ improvement and playing time
- Harris, former 60%TS% shooter (but 52%TS% past two seasons), recovering his shooting on at least 55%TS% range
- Bol Bol turns into NBA-starter level forward and gets from Malone 20mpg
- Barton adjusting his game better to the Denver system
- Millsap aging not been a dramatic decline
- Barton-Bol-Morris-Green being TOP10 bench in the league
Here are world bookmakers odds about Western Conference 2021 Winner expectations:
Of course, the most controversial is Houston odds because there was a mixed current strong roster with possible implosion.
