Dallas Basketball

ESPN NBA Season Predictions: Disrespect to Luka, Kyrie & Mavs?

ESPN rolled out its "NBA Summer Forecast" that includes predictions for the Eastern Conference, Western Conference and NBA Finals. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving's Dallas Mavericks weren't even on their radar.

Dalton Trigg

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With two months remaining until the start of the 2023-24 NBA season, it's that time of the year again where predictions are made. On Friday, ESPN released its "NBA Summer Forecast," predicting which team will win the Eastern Conference, Western Conference and NBA Finals.

Although the Dallas Mavericks missed the playoffs last year, it was easy to see the silver lining heading into this upcoming season. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving were both battling injuries at the end of last season, playing only 16 games together, and Dallas simply didn't have the depth to win enough close games to qualify for the postseason.

However, Dallas has revamped its roster with the additions of Grant Williams, Dereck Lively II, OMax Prosper, Seth Curry, Dante Exum, Richaun Holmes and Derrick Jones Jr. while also retaining key in-house contributors like Josh Green, Jaden Hardy, Maxi Kleber, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dwight Powell. As long as there are no significant injuries, it appears to be a given that the Mavs will be much better this upcoming season, but ESPN apparently doesn't feel that way.

Here are the results from ESPN's forecast, where experts were asked to rank their top choices for which team will win the West Finals: 1) Denver Nuggets, 2) Phoenix Suns, 3) Golden State Warriors, 4) Los Angeles Lakers, 5) L.A. Clippers, T-6) Minnesota Timberwolves, T-6) Sacramento Kings.

We understand putting the Nuggets, Warriors, and even the Lakers, to an extent, over the Mavs due to their recent success, but to think a healthy Doncic and Irving, paired with a more sufficient roster, can't at least break into the top seven teams in the West seems to be a little disrespectful. The Mavs have a lot to prove next season, and they'll be eager to do so as more national media outlets doubt them.

Follow Dalton Trigg on Twitter. SUBSCRIBE to Mavs Step Back on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Dallas Mavericks? Click Here. Follow DallasBasketball.com on Twitter and Facebook.

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Dalton Trigg
DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.

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