By Charlie Mensh

The NBA season is back and there is a lot of excitement that is surrounding it this year. The talk of the offseason was obviously the move of Lebron James to the La Lakers from the Cleveland Cavaliers. The real question surrounding the move is how far can the lakers go this year? They are in the western conference which is the toughest conference in the NBA. They will have to get through the warriors, Rockets and Jazz. The addition of Lebron to this young core of talent raises eyebrows for many people in the western conference and it creates an immediate threat to the powerhouses.

  The eastern conference has talent but it is highlighted by the potential dominance of the Boston Celtics. The Celtics, when healthy, have a few young stars in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. They have superstars in Kyrie Irving, Al Horford, and Gordon Hayward who look to make a run to the finals for the first time as a unit.

   The Toronto Raptors also added a super star to their team. The addition of Kawhi Leonard to the Raptors gives them a major chance to contend for the eastern conference as the defending eastern conference champs in the regular season.

    Sleeper teams in this years league that could give teams a run for their money are the Jazz led by Donavon Mitchell, the Sixers led by Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, and the Hornets led by Kemba Walker. These teams are not talked about much but have lots of talent and could make some noise in the league.

   The Lakers are definitely the talk of the league. They have a lot of young talent in forward Kyle Kuzma, and guards Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram. The Lakers added older veterans to the roster such as Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson and Javale McGee to give leadership and toughness to their team. The hope for this team is that the young stars can mesh with the older players and be carried by Lebron to a championship.

   The league is shaped around superstars, and the Warriors have multiple. They are centered around Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson but they added a huge piece to the puzzle this offseason. They signed Demarcus Cousins who is a top center in the NBA. He is a versatile center that fits this system and can score in many ways that will most likely make the warriors extremely tough to guard. The Warriors are back to back champions and they look to defend their title once again.

   The NBA is full of talent this year and young stars are everywhere. Senior Joe White believes the Knicks can make some noise this year.

“Kevin knox will win rookie of the year, take that for data” said White.

Knox is one of many rookies that are looking to claim that honor.

   The NBA should be very exciting this year.

Photo Provided by Creative Commons