As the NBA stands right now, despite injuries, the Lakers and Nets remain the favorites to win their respective conferences.  As mentioned, both teams have been dealing with injuries this year, but when healthy has very intimidating rosters.  In the past few weeks, both teams have also made some great moves by acquiring veterans who had been recently bought out.

The Lakers are clear and obvious title contenders as they are the reigning champs and still have the great duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.  Before the season the Lakers also acquired point guard Dennis Schröder and big man Montrezl Harrell.  Recently, both of their stars have been dealing with injuries, but they have bolstered their roster even more in signing veteran big man Andre Drummond and veteran wing Ben McLemore.  These are two great signings as Drummond brings dominance on the boards and McLemore brings a consistent 3-ball.  Having Drummond down low will help Davis and Harrell by allowing them to play a bit further from the rim while Drummond takes care of rebounding.  McLemore will help space the floor with his shooting ability.  The Lakers have made some great moves to try to go back-to-back, but on the East Coast, the Nets have also been making moves to better their roster.

The Nets are clear favorites to win the East with their superstar trio of James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving.  This trio has also been dealing with injuries with all three of them missing time throughout the season.  Regardless of these injuries, the Nets have an absolutely stacked roster holding 6 current and former All-stars total.  They have recently signed two great veteran big men, Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge who will be a big help to their Big 3.  Blake Griffin is a very athletic player who can take it to the rack with ease while Aldridge is an all-around great big man who can rebound and score in the low post while also being an underrated playmaker.

With these recent additions, it will really be a surprise if we don’t see a Lakers vs. Nets Finals this year.  Although there are many other great teams, these two seem to be ahead of the rest in star power and experience.  Anything can happen, considering injuries and such, but it looks like we will have an exciting Finals this year!