Teddy Brita: Grade 8

The NBA season has officially started, and all of the excitement and drama are back with it. There are plenty of teams who can call themselves championship contenders. Last year’s champions, the Golden State Warriors, return with their entire team intact, minus David Lee. The Cleveland Cavaliers still have their stellar “Big Three” of Lebron James, Kevin Love, and Kyrie Ivring, along with a strong supporting cast. Plenty of other teams have made key additions over the offseason.

My prediction is that the San Antonio Spurs will make it out of the Western Conference. They made key offseason additions of David West and LaMarcus Aldridge to aid the experience of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker. Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard also continue to get even better by the day.

Of course, the Cavaliers will make it out of the Eastern Competition, with no real competition to stop them. Once the Warriors, Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Los Angeles Clippers finish throwing haymakers at each other, a well-rested, deep, and talented Cleveland will be waiting at the Finals. If their Big Three can stay healthy and the rest of the team can take the load off of Lebron James, they can bring a championship to the success-starved city of Cleveland.