A new campaign kicks off on Tuesday, October 16 with the Golden State Warriors as champions and all the spotlights on LeBron James in the Los Angeles Lakers

Several 'hits to the table' occurred in the best basketball in the world. LeBron James in Los Angeles, a more benevolent calendar with the players, Kawhi Leonard in the Toronto Raptors, Manu Ginobili will no longer be present, a Christmas that promises with the duel between Lakers and the current champions Golden State Warriors, and finally Carmelo Anthony, in what may be his last attempt to win a championship ring, is now with the Houston Rockets.

This is the scenario presented by the NBA in its 2018-19 edition, which starts on Tuesday, October 16 at the Oracle Arena, with the match between the Warriors and the Oklahoma Thunder. LatinAmerican Post shows you our vision:

Let's start with the predictions, because for ESPN, teams that we have become accustomed to seeing in the playoffs in recent years, such as Cleveland Cavaliers in the East and San Antonio Spurs in the West (21 years in a row playing beyond the regular phase), are closer to being eliminated than to qualify for the postseason, after playing between both the finals of the 2012-13 and 2013-14 campaigns. The reasons?, not to count on its main figures: LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard, respectively. Kevin Love will have it very difficult in Ohio without another star player, while the Spurs have accepted that it was time for the transition without Leonard, Ginobili, or Tony Parker.

For the television sports channel, its prediction game throws in this positional order the Boston Celtics, the Toronto Raptors, the Philadelphia Sixers, the Indiana Pacers, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Washington Wizards, the Miami Heat and the Detroit Pistons, as the possible eight classified by the Conference This ahead of Cleveland or the Chicago Bulls.

If Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward can remain injury-free most of the season, the Celtics are undoubtedly the big favorite on that side of the NBA, where it's clear that they are not the best teams in the league.

In the same way, ESPN tries to predict what could be the behavior of the Western Conference, which is the big favorite to take the title again on the basis that the main stars of the League play in teams from the West. In that sense, the order could be Golden State Warriors, now stronger with the addition of Damarcus Cousin, then Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans Pelicans, and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Out of the postseason could be good quintets like San Antonio (as already mentioned), Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, and even the Dallas Mavericks, a team that will mark the NBA debut of the Slovenian jewel: Luka Doncic.

Maybe you're interested in reading: The NBA will not be the same without Manu Ginóbili

Calendar to smile

The Diario Marca, publishes some data related to television broadcasts that confirm the theory that LeBron James tilts the NBA on the side he is on. It is much more commercial and attractive. For this reason, the Lakers will lead this season the section of games televised with 31, while the champion and great favorite, Warriors, seconds it with 28.

The Rockets will also enjoy 28 televised games, while in the East, the two most attractive teams in terms of broadcasting seem to be the Celtics and the Sixers, who occupy third overall with 27 televised games.

On the other hand, the average number of games played by teams will decrease by 13.3 percent, something that has been implemented since season 15-16, and that has already reached 31 percent for four years, says Marca.

As in the previous harvest, the calendar does not have four games in five days for any group, while, in parallel, the schedule of five games in seven days decreased by 42%. Several players of the League complained last season of the demanding calendar in some fragments of the campaign and the NBA There will be no teams that play eight commitments in 12 days, in addition to the data provided. Something unpublished, according to Marca.

The Diario Marca also makes reference to the two duels between the Lakers and Celtics, the two most winning franchises in the history of the NBA. The opportunity to see LeBron against former Cleveland teammate Kyrie Irving (with whom he won the ring in 2016) will be on February 7 at the Boston Garden and March 9 at the Staples Center.

The most notable possible

It is impossible not to try to predict who can be the most valuable of a season that is about to begin. That's what Mx.Nba.com is dedicated to, who through its specialists mentioned four names that can perfectly stay with the award that was awarded James Harden in the last campaign 2017-18. Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, the Australian Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia Sixers, Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warrriors, and Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder. The question is, why did not anyone mention Harden again?

As for the possible rookies of the year, there are five names that are highlighted by Sportball, after the draft held last July. The two favorites are the 19-year-old Slovenian, Luka Doncic (Dallas) and the pivot De Andre Ayton (Phoenix Suns). Then there's Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks) and NCAA record man, Marvin Bagley of the Sacramento Kings and Collin Sexton, who will pair with Kevin Love in Cleveland Cavaliers with the objective of competing. Doncic is the favorite to play in a team with a little more aspirations.

LatinAmerican Post | Onofre Zambrano

Translated froom "Esto es lo que debes saber sobre la temporada 2018-19 de la NBA"

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