By Jireh Owen
Staff Writer | The Pacific Times
The National Basketball Association is starting the 2020-21 season later this month to the excitement of many fans.
“I’m personally excited, although there are some risk factors,” said Hadia Ahmad, an NP3 High freshman. “The NBA is doing the best they can to add the precautions of the pandemic. The NBA is a good source of entertainment during these difficult times.”
It’s been two months since the last NBA season ended in the bubble of Orlando, Fla.
Freshman Caleb Kuo from Franklin High and a NP3 High P.E. teacher Casey Harris both agree that starting the new NBA season is a good idea as long as players stay safe and take precautionary measures. They said having the NBA back is as good for entertainment.
“I hoped that the number of games would be the original 82 games,” added Kuo.
Kuo and Harris said they would prefer the same playoff format like last season where there was “the play-in tournament between the eighth and ninth seed to decide which teams would make it to the playoffs,” said Kuo.
“I think Giannis Antetokounmpo might win the MVP this season,” said Harris.
If that happened, it would be Antetokounmpo’s third time in a row to win.
Harris, Ahmad, and Kuo all agree that the Lakers would have the best shot of winning the NBA Finals again.
“I think Klay Thompson will have an impact on the games this season,” Kuo said. “Depending on how fast Klay can recover will determine how many games the Warriors will win.”
Klay recently suffered a torn right Achilles tendon which ended his hope of finishing the 2020-21 NBA season.
Ahmad said that Stephen Curry would play a huge impact this season. Ahmad and Kuo’s favorite basketball team is the Golden State Warriors.
Kuo and Ahmad both said that the Clippers vs. Lakers and the Warriors vs. Bucks might be intense duels this season. In addition, Ahmad and Harris thinks that the Lakers vs. the Nets could be a nice match up since Kevin Durant is back in the game.
“I don’t think the Thunders should’ve traded Kelly Oubre Jr so it’s a win for the Warriors,” said Kuo.
There were some trades that happened preseason, according to Kuo and Ahmad. They said that when Chris Paul got traded to the Suns, it was a smart trade. Kuo and Ahmad are both interested in the Golden State “Oakland” jerseys and Kuo also said that he also enjoyed the Suns “Valley” jerseys.
Harris said he would like to see the Sacramento Kings get to the playoffs this season.
“I think the Kings will play great and win a good percentage of their games but most likely miss the playoffs again,” Kuo said. “I project 9th seed, 43-39 record,”
Kuo and Ahmad think that the Kings might be close but not close enough to make it to the playoffs.
“In my opinion, I don’t think the Kings did as good as they could’ve this off-season,” Kuo said. “They traded away Bogdan Bogdonovic, an important piece. However, they did draft a solid player Tyrese Halliburton as the 12th pick in the draft.”
Overall, many people like Ahmad, Kuo, and Harris are excited for the upcoming 2020-21 NBA season. They’re anticipating the duels, the new city edition jerseys, and the exciting games that will happen this season.
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