With the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics off to the NBA Finals, some people are already thinking about next year's champion. Of course, a lot of teams experienced injuries this season while others will have new and improved rosters. This has many speculating on what we are going to see out on the court, and as you can imagine, the Inside The NBA crew has been a major part of that discussion.
Recently, Charles Barkley was asked whether or not the Dallas Mavericks could be title contenders next year. Barkley let out an emphatic no explaining how the roster just isn't there yet. However, he did say that the Los Angeles Clippers are his pick for the title as he believes Kawhi Leonard and Paul George will be healthy and ready to show that they are the best duo in the world.
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“My favorite next year is gonna be the Clippers,” Barkley said. “When they get Kawhi Leonard and Paul George back healthy, with all the trades they made. So the Mavericks — as I told you last year about the Atlanta Hawks — that was fool’s gold last year. That was more of a Philadelphia meltdown than the Hawks beating them. To me, it’s the same thing this year with the Mavs. It was really more of a Phoenix Suns meltdown, but they got a long way to go to be a contender in my opinion.”
Without Kawhi, the Clippers made it to the Western Conference Finals just a couple of years ago. Having said that, there is a real chance they could do something impressive at full strength. It isn't going to be easy though as the Western Conference is more stacked than it has ever been.
Let us know what you think of Barkley's remarks, in the comments below.