So I guess it's just about right on where they are as far as outright betting goes. No doubt that OKC will be the top favorite, their core is intact and with just minor additions to their team. Cavs was a good team last year, maybe they can have a break out run and push past the second round with Mitchell and Garland.
Same with the Nuggets, they still have Jokic at the helm, although they've traded Porter Jr., they added Cam Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas to give Jokic some time to rest and then put him in the last 6 minutes of the 4th quarter.
I like their current ranking in the championship futures, mainly because i trust the active players they have right now.
Irving doesnt need to rush his return, he can take his time to recover. as long as the mavericks can maintain a playoff spot, thats already good enough.
Im sure hell be back before the playoffs, fully healthy and ready to go.
OKC seems like a good candidate without a doubt, after all they are the reigning champions. People called Sam Presti a mad men when he started to just trade anyone he can find, just get more and more picks.
At one point I remember, they had like 3-4 first round picks for many years in a row. But dude knew something nobody else knew, those players, those picks, turn into a team, and could become even more picks, and one day, they could trade those picks to get a good player. Look at them now, all that rebuilding, all that tanking, and now they are the winners finally. They also used the fact that there aren't any superstar dominating team anymore, most teams look equally good, at least top 5-6 looks greatly close to each other.