Who Will Win the 2021 Championship?

[dankok8]

Vote and explain your choice.

[mehyaM24]

no voting option...

[Kiddlovesnets]

I think the Lakers will, they have by far the best rosters in the current NBA. Lebron/Davis/Drummond make one of the best big threes in the league, and they have two six men of the year caliber role players in Shroder and Harrell. Meanwhile the other role players like Kuzma and Pope are good enough to start on every contender team.

This is a deep and balanced team that has no weakness, the best I have seen since 2017. As long as they stay healthy, I fail to see any excuses for them not winning it all. If Durant beats this Lakers super team, he makes a case for top 5 all time.

[mehyaM24]

brooklyn is hands down the favorite - vegas agrees. nobody is stopping the big three (kyrie, durant & harden) because of their spacing. picking up lma & griffin also solidified their bench.

[Kiddlovesnets]

brooklyn is hands down the favorite - vegas agrees. nobody is stopping the big three (kyrie, durant & durant) because of their spacing. picking up lma & griffin also solidified their bench.

Lakers are pre-season favorites and remained as title favorites even after Harden trade:

https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2021_preseason_odds.html
https://www.sportsbettingdime.com/news/nba/updated-2021-nba-championship-odds-all-30-teams-james-harden-traded-nets/

[mehyaM24]

Lakers are pre-season favorites and remained as title favorites even after Harden trade:

https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2021_preseason_odds.html
https://www.sportsbettingdime.com/news/nba/updated-2021-nba-championship-odds-all-30-teams-james-harden-traded-nets/


a few weeks ago, the nets - not lakers - dethroned them as title favorites.

https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-03-08/nets-lakers-favorites-to-win-nba-title-odds-blake-griffin

(https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-03-08/nets-lakers-favorites-to-win-nba-title-odds-blake-griffin)that was before LMA which now makes them odds-on favorite.

[Kiddlovesnets]

a few weeks ago, the nets - not lakers - dethroned them as title favorites.

https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-03-08/nets-lakers-favorites-to-win-nba-title-odds-blake-griffin

(https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-03-08/nets-lakers-favorites-to-win-nba-title-odds-blake-griffin)that was before LMA which now makes them odds-on favorite.

‘Cause it took injuries into consideration, which is irrelevant since the Lakers will be fully healthy into the playoffs. When they are healthy, the Lakers are overwhelming favorites.

[mehyaM24]

‘Cause it took injuries into consideration, which is irrelevant since the Lakers will be fully healthy into the playoffs. When they are healthy, the Lakers are overwhelming favorites.

lebron isn't in his prime anymore. and davis is hurt frequently. meanwhile the nets have been awesome without kd.

with LMA & griffin now it isn't even close. brooklyn wins easily. if they dont? it'll be the WOAT upset in nba history

[Nike D'Antoni]

It's the Nets, not even close.


EAST Top four
Bucks
Sixers
Nets
Heat or Celtics

WEST Top four
Jazz
Nuggets
Suns
Clippers

I doubt the Lakers make playoffs without Lebron.

[Kiddlovesnets]

lebron isn't in his prime anymore. and davis is hurt frequently. meanwhile the nets have been awesome without kd.

with LMA & griffin now it isn't even close. brooklyn wins easily. if they dont? it'll be the WOAT upset in nba history

AD is hurt frequently, and so are with KD and Irving. Lebron aint in the prime now but I heard hes still one of the best players in the league? Or are you saying that, hes not top 5 in the league anymore?

Also LMA/Griffin are washed, they wont see much playing time coming into playoffs. They are here because they want to win for a ring, and any sane fans know that Drummond > LMA and Griffin combined.

[SouBeachTalents]

I think the Lakers will, they have by far the best rosters in the current NBA. Lebron/Davis/Drummond make one of the best big threes in the league, and they have two six men of the year caliber role players in Shroder and Harrell. Meanwhile the other role players like Kuzma and Pope are good enough to start on every contender team.

This is a deep and balanced team that has no weakness, the best I have seen since 2017. As long as they stay healthy, I fail to see any excuses for them not winning it all. If Durant beats this Lakers super team, he makes a case for top 5 all time.
:roll: Dumbest poster on ISH bar none

[mehyaM24]

AD is hurt frequently, and so are with KD and Irving. Lebron aint in the prime now but I heard hes still one of the best players in the league? Or are you saying that, hes not top 5 in the league anymore?

Also LMA/Griffin are washed, they wont see much playing time coming into playoffs. They are here because they want to win for a ring, and any sane fans know that Drummond > LMA and Griffin combined.

lebron & ad have missed more games than irving and harden. also lebron isn't in his prime, so when he comes back it'll be tougher on him to lead his offense. unlike kd who already has 2 players that can do that for him. all kd has to do is spot up and shoot. that's literally it - which illustrates how stacked that team is.

lma/griffin will be far more valuable because of their skillsets. they'll have more pt than drummond who can't guard bigmen that can shoot. drummond is there to improve the lakers versatility but against most playoff teams he wont see the court.

brooklyn is now the favorites though. and since vegas predictions are your thing, all you can do is concede.

[Manny98]

Nets obviously

[Axe]

Whatever king kong's team is.

[Indian guy]

To me it was over the moment Harden signed with Brooklyn. Teams with that kind of star power simply don't lose.

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

Nets


To me it was over the moment Harden signed with Brooklyn. Teams with that kind of star power simply don't lose.

What's your take on people who bring up defense?

Don't think it'll matter personally. To me their offense is WORLDS better than everyone elses. Still, I see that talking point brought way too often. With the media too.

[Indian guy]

Nets



What's your take on people who bring up defense?

Don't think it'll matter personally. To me their offense is WORLDS better than everyone elses. Still, I see that talking point brought way too often. With the media too.

Their defense has been just fine over the past month or so (top 10). And their offensive talent is unprecedented in NBA history. They will cruise (and have been since acquiring Harden).

[Kiddlovesnets]

Their defense has been just fine over the past month or so (top 10). And their offensive talent is unprecedented in NBA history. They will cruise (and have been since acquiring Harden).

The Lakers have big three now and they are a superteam, some things have changed since yesterday.

[Thenameless]

Lakers. Two Top 5 players. Lots of depth. Great defense. Also, the acquisition of Drummond cannot be underestimated. It will give the team a big shot of adrenaline.

[Indian guy]

The Lakers have big three now and they are a superteam, some things have changed since yesterday.

I don't pretend to know much about Drummond, but everything I've been reading from his former teams' fanbases tells me they are happy as **** to be rid of him. Poor defender, finisher and inflated rebounding numbers seems to be the rap sheet on him.

[imdaman99]

Nets or Lakers. Which sucks, don't want either of them winning. I'd rather Utah or Denver if I can't have the Knicks winning it. Get some new blood in there. You know, teams that have not taken shortcuts.

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

Their defense has been just fine over the past month or so (top 10). And their offensive talent is unprecedented in NBA history. They will cruise (and have been since acquiring Harden).

Didn't know they picked it up on that end. Wow. I agree with you though.

[Kiddlovesnets]

I don't pretend to know much about Drummond, but everything I've been reading from his former teams' fanbases tells me they are happy as **** to be rid of him. Poor defender, finisher and inflated rebounding numbers seems to be the rap sheet on him.

Z-Bo was a guy like this in his Blazers and Knicks years, and he became a very different player with the Grizzlies.

[Sulico]

Nuggets def Bucks 4-3

[dankok8]

Didn't know they picked it up on that end. Wow. I agree with you though.

They didn't pick it up. In the 9 games since the all-star break, they have a DRtg of 115.5 which is 27th in the league. Nets are terrible on defense and have been all season.

I think the Lakers as long as Lebron is fully healthy and Davis can go (say at 80%) are easy favorites. They have the best defense in the league and I can't see them not having at the very minimum a top 10 playoff offense. They will be a tough out.

[dankok8]

Bump

[Jasper]

Vote and explain your choice.

u closed the poll way to soon

[dankok8]

u closed the poll way to soon

The poll isn't closed. It closes on April 5...

[Airupthere]

There is only one person here that would vote for the sixers.

[light]

You have to favor the team with stable, consistent championship leadership, elite offensive players, elite rebounding and the top ranked defense.

"Defense wins championships."
"No rebounds, no rings."

Essentially, the Lakers are good at everything whereas the Nets are only good at scoring.

[LBJ]

You have to favor the team with stable, consistent championship leadership, elite offensive players, elite rebounding and the top ranked defense.

"Defense wins championships."
"No rebounds, no rings."

Essentially, the Lakers are good at everything whereas the Nets are only good at scoring.

100%

:cheers:

[dankok8]

I don't understand all the Nets votes. The odds of their Big 3 just being healthy and playing the entire playoffs is quite small.

[HBK_Kliq_2]

This season has been so flooded with injurys because they crammed the schedule so tightly together. Durant injured, LeBron injured, Anthony Davis injured, Paul George gets injured every month.

It's a matter of who can stay healthy at this point. I think if everyone is healthy, clippers will win the title.

[TommyGriffin]

Well, we know which retard picked the Clippers.

[EagleFang]

The Bucks should win just for getting 0 votes.

The Nuggets will win just for not being listed.

[LoneyROY7]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsZlY0Vz4-o&ab_channel=Sounds

[999Guy]

Their defense has been just fine over the past month or so (top 10). And their offensive talent is unprecedented in NBA history. They will cruise (and have been since acquiring Harden).

https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/advanced/?sort=DEF_RATING&dir=1

Their defense has been horrendous for the entirety of March.

They haven’t had KD, but they haven’t had dominant basketball in this past month. Tons of clutch wins and just outlasting bad teams. They had an imprsssive February however.

You said teams with this star power don’t lose... but they do. GS would’ve just flat out lost in the 18 WCF if Paul doesn’t go down. And people have spent years saying it was bc they missed Iggy, but Brooklyn doesn’t have players like Iguodala. No elite defenders and lacking in BBIQ.

They will get truly roasted on defense by the middle of any high level playoff series. Jrue Holiday won’t shoot below 50% against the level of athleticism and help defense they possess. Middleton will get to his spots and Giannis would live...just live in the paint and at the free throw line cause they’ll have nothing but reaches and overplays to try and guard him with.

Milwaukee’s size in general will just terrify them. And Philly’s. Those are big-ass well-rounded ass teams with experienced coaching staffs even though doc may be trash. They’re not getting trashed by a team with a lottery defense.

Brooklyn’s defense is flat out early lottery level. They’re not cruising by anything.


And I want to add, KD and Kyrie are dumb. KD literally never passing or boxing out is why the 18 WCF was so close. Kyrie sabotaged Boston with the dumbest play for a star guard maybe ever. They have anti-intangibles. Guys who are worse than their talent level. Outside Harden and Griffin anyway.

[dankok8]

Yea Nets are still crap on defense. They are 27th in DRtg or something like that since the all-star break IIRC.

But an even bigger issue is health. I think there is a very big chance that their team simply won't be healthy enough to win a title.

[Jasper]

I don't hav time to type : Bucks

[bladefd]

I really want to say the Lakers, but I cannot. Nets are too good and stacked up the wazoo.

[Nike D'Antoni]

Nets just blew a playoff team without Durant/Harden/Griffin. They are doing this constantly.

Nets can have one or two key injuries, and still will win the title.

[Bronbron23]

Vote and explain your choice.

Lakers. Bron and ad resting while kyrie putting wear on his knees and kd isn't the same with the Achilles. They have no defense and defense wins championships.

And getting blake and Aldridge is shit. They're both shells if themselves. Looks good on paper but it's not gonna make much of a difference.

[kawhileonard2]

Clippers.

[Axe]

You have to favor the team with stable, consistent championship leadership, elite offensive players, elite rebounding and the top ranked defense.

"Defense wins championships."
"No rebounds, no rings."

Essentially, the Lakers are good at everything whereas the Nets are only good at scoring.
'Good at everything' when they couldn't even win against perennial playoff teams without the services of king kong? Lmao.

[wagexslave]

The disrespect, not even putting the Suns in the list of choices despite being the hottest team in the league since the bubble started, having the 2nd best record in the league, being top 10 in offensive rating, top 5 in defensive rating, and top 3 in net rating, #4 in TS%, #2 in PIE, #1 in Assist Rato, #3 in FG%, #2 in Assist/TO, #2 in +/-, and the list goes on.

Keep pretending the Suns don't exist and aren't playing smart teamwork-oriented basketball with good ball movement, good defense, and good depth(highest +/- bench in the league). Those are all things that translate well into the playoffs. But nope, let's keep pretending they're some scrub ass team who doesn't even deserve a mention. :oldlol::confusedshrug:

[dawsey6]

Stranger things have happened in NBA history than the 2021 Lakers entering the playoffs fully healthy as a tournament team. This'll just be one of those strange things, but they can still win the championship.

[Bronbron23]

The disrespect, not even putting the Suns in the list of choices despite being the hottest team in the league since the bubble started, having the 2nd best record in the league, being top 10 in offensive rating, top 5 in defensive rating, and top 3 in net rating, #4 in TS%, #2 in PIE, #1 in Assist Rato, #3 in FG%, #2 in Assist/TO, #2 in +/-, and the list goes on.

Keep pretending the Suns don't exist and aren't playing smart teamwork-oriented basketball with good ball movement, good defense, and good depth(highest +/- bench in the league). Those are all things that translate well into the playoffs. But nope, let's keep pretending they're some scrub ass team who doesn't even deserve a mention. :oldlol::confusedshrug:

I like the suns too but you can only pick one team. Wouldn't say it's disrespect to say lakers, clippers and nets are more likely to win

[Full Court]

How do the Jazz have no votes so far? Do people really think the Jazz don't have a shot at the championship???

[Bronbron23]

I'm still amazed at how little confidence bron stains have in their guy. If he's the best in the world and the best ever shouldn't you think he's winning no matter what? That's how i always felt about mj. I always thought he was gonna beat the pistons or the celtics because i thought he was the best. I never said someone else was better and the favorite. How come bron stains don't feel the same way? How come they don't have confidence in their guy? Especially given bron has another atg on his team. At some point this constant lack of confidence has to be a reflection of your guys ability or your own bitch like tendencies. Maybe it's a bit of both:confusedshrug:

[HBK_Kliq_2]

Clippers are still #2 in SRS and not 1 minute yet of their death lineup with Rondo/Beverly/George/Kawhi/Ibaka

Nets don't have good enough defense. Irving/Harden is the worst defensive backcourt in NBA history, that blonde highlights center guy will get his ass kicked by Embiid. Durant is the weakest minded superstar in NBA history.

[Axe]

How do the Jazz have no votes so far? Do people really think the Jazz don't have a shot at the championship???
That team hasn't gotten past the wcsf since 14 years ago.

[Xiao Yao You]

That team hasn't gotten past the wcsf since 14 years ago.

When is the last time the Clippers, Sixers, Nets and Bucks have made it past the conference finals? :facepalm

[Axe]

When is the last time the Clippers, Sixers, Nets and Bucks have made it to the conference finals? :facepalm
Bucks made it to the ecf two years ago :oldlol:

[Xiao Yao You]

Bucks made it to the ecf two years ago :oldlol:

should have said past

[Axe]

should have said past
Ah nets made it past the ecf in 02 and 03 iirc

[Xiao Yao You]

Ah nets made it past the ecf in 02 and 03 iirc

so recent? :cheers:

[Axe]

so recent? :cheers:
Nope, but this year they might have a shot at it again.

[Xiao Yao You]

Nope, but this year they might have a shot at it again.

looks like they might

[HBK_Kliq_2]

When is the last time the Clippers, Sixers, Nets and Bucks have made it past the conference finals? :facepalm

Warriors and raptors are are more likely to make the finals then those teams because they made the finals in 2019. I'm axe and this is my logic because I'm a dumbass. Hahahaha wow that guy really needs to get it together with this twisted ass logic of his.

[Axe]

*slurping on kawhit's dicc*
Lmao come back to me once the flippers with the flaw and pandemic p make the finals this year, ya kawhit nutsucking dimwit. :rolleyes: ./.

[SATAN]

I'm still amazed at how little confidence bron stains have in their guy. If he's the best in the world and the best ever shouldn't you think he's winning no matter what? That's how i always felt about mj. I always thought he was gonna beat the pistons or the celtics because i thought he was the best. I never said someone else was better and the favorite. How come bron stains don't feel the same way? How come they don't have confidence in their guy? Especially given bron has another atg on his team. At some point this constant lack of confidence has to be a reflection of your guys ability or your own bitch like tendencies. Maybe it's a bit of both:confusedshrug:

He and AD are injured. What the hell is wrong with you?

[SATAN]

How do the Jazz have no votes so far? Do people really think the Jazz don't have a shot at the championship???

They will be gone in the 1st or second round.

[LBJ]

They will be gone in the 1st or second round.

If they face the Lakers, they will be out. But they make it past the Spurs or Warriors or Grizzlies in round 1.

[Axe]

If they face the Lakers, they will be out. But they make it past the Spurs or Warriors or Grizzlies in round 1.
Depends.