The NBA season is still suspended and there is still no definite timetable as to when action will resume, if ever. But despite the uncertainty of the 2019-20 NBA season, the betting gods already have their prediction for the 2020 NBA champion.
According to bookmaker SportsBetting, the NBA Finals will be between the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers. The same betting site has the Bucks as the betting favorites to beat the Clippers in a seven-game championship series.
The Bucks were the best team during the 2018-19 regular season as they won 60 games for the first time since 1981. Giannis Antetokounmpo had his first MVP season but the Bucks were stopped by the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals. This year, the Bucks were on a mission to finally claim the league’s top prize.
Antetokounmpo was having another MVP season and in fact, he was a huge betting favorite over LeBron James to win his second straight Maurice Podoloff trophy before the season was suspended.
The Bucks had the best record in the league again up to the point when the season was paused.
Milwaukee’s chief competition in the East would be the Toronto Raptors and the Boston Celtics but with these teams currently ranked 2nd and 3rd in the East, respectively, only one of them will advance to face the Bucks in the Conference Finals. Milwaukee was also 34-5 against the Eastern Conference this season so they aren’t expected to be challenged until the NBA Finals.
The Bucks are led by Antetokounmpo who averaged 29.6 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game. He is aided by All-Star Khris Middleton who is putting up 21.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. The Bucks have an unusual one-two punch is Giannis and Middleton but the two have produced results as Mike Budenholzer has built a terrific supporting cast around them.
On defense, the Bucks have been spectacular. They led the league with a defensive rating of 101.6 points per 100 possession and were the top rebounding team in the league at 51.7 boards grabbed per contest. Milwaukee’s Brook Lopez ranks second in the league in blocked shots at 2.4. swats per game. The Bucks are third in the league in that department as well.
The Clippers were the preseason betting favorites to win the NBA title after they acquired two superstars during the previous offseason. L.A. signed Kawhi Leonard in free agency after the latter led the Toronto Raptors to the 2019 NBA title. The Clippers also acquired Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder in a trade.
However, the Clippers dealt with injuries to George and load management of Leonard during the entire season and they struggled to find consistency. With Leonard and George starting to play more minutes together in February and March, the Clippers moved to second place in the Western Conference when the season was suspended.
Experts are predicting the Clippers to face their cross-town rival Lakers in the 2020 Western Conference Finals. The Lakers have been the most dominant team in the Western Conference this season but they lost their first two matchups against the Clippers during the 2019-20 season. One thing not going for the Clippers is that 14 out of their 20 losses this season were against Western Conference teams. Despite that, observers believe this team will be ready when it matters most and their depth would be an edge against the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.
Leonard paced the Clippers with 29.6 points 7.3 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game while George put up 21.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game. But Los Angeles’ real strength was their bench which was led by Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams’ 18.7 points per game and Montrezl Harrell’s 18.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. L.A. was tied for the 4th best scoring offense in the league at 116.2 points per game.
Landry Shamet, Ivica Zubac, and Patrick Beverley are scoring at least 7.9 points per game, and scorers like Marcus Morris and Reggie Jackson who will most certainly be very valuable during the playoffs.
The Clippers also have players like JaMychal Green, Maurice Harkless, and Patrick Patterson deep down on their bench. Leonard and George are two of the best one on one defenders in the league and we don’t have to use stats to prove that. The Clippers also ranked third in rebounding at 48.0 per game and they were 6th in the league in opponents points in the paint allowed at only 44.9 per game.
Here are the current betting odds for the NBA Finals. Odds from SportsBetting as of 04/21/20:
So if the betting gods are correct and the stars will align, we are going to see the Bucks and Clippers meet in the 2020 NBA Finals. The Bucks will have the home-court advantage over the Clippers and that could play a big factor. The Bucks lost just thrice in 31 home games played during the 2019-20 season while the Clippers were a mediocre 19-13 when playing outside Staples Center.
Giannis Antetokounmpo will lead the Bucks again and he will face a familiar nemesis in Kawhi Leonard who contained the Greek Freak in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals. With Leonard defending Giannis, the Bucks had an offensive rating of 83.8 only with Giannis shooting just 30% against Leonard. If Antetokounmpo got shackled by Kawhi, what more against a team with Kawhi and Paul George?
The Bucks’ roster pales in comparison to the Clippers. L.A. has added at least a pair of very good players in Marcus Morris and Reggie Jackson. They also added Joakim Noah to their defensive unit. But while the Bucks don’t have as many big names, they are a cohesive team whose role players do their jobs night in and night out. It will be interesting to see the Clippers’ chemistry with new pieces like Morris and Jackson.
I think this will be an interesting Finals series. The Bucks were the best and most consistent team during the 2019-20 regular season and they have what it takes to go all the way. The Clippers were the preseason favorites and while they have not lived up to that hype, they were slowly getting there when the season was suspended.
The series will feature Milwaukee’s team chemistry and L.A.’s overwhelming talent. The Clippers certainly have better names on their lineup but the Bucks play better as a team. Milwaukee has been very consistent all season long while the Clippers have had their ups and downs. I expect to see a back and forth series here.
Mike Budenholzer and Doc Rivers are two excellent bench tacticians who will cross each other out here. This series will go down to the players and in a long series like this, I think that chemistry beats talent. The Clippers’ struggles on the road should play a big factor here too and Milwaukee’s dominance at their home floor should be key to winning the 2020 NBA title.
So yes, I think the Bucks beat the Clippers in a six or seven-game series if they meet in the 2020 NBA Finals.
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