US media announced the seven favorites in the new season: Rockets soar to third place, Lakers and Warriors are unfortunately out of the election

With less than two weeks left before the training camp for the new season, US media "Sbnation" has announced the seven potential favorite teams in the new season, including the Rockets soaring to third place, and the two favorite teams of the Lakers and the Warriors were unfortunately defeated.

Lakers and Warriors are out of the top seven, both of which have multiple historical superstars, have lost to the top seven, but the reasons are different.

The Warriors are mainly because the difficulty of renewing the contract hinders the team's reinforcement operation. The Warriors are still in zero operation state until the offseason. With less than two weeks left before the training camp, there are only 9 formal contract players on the roster.

The reason why the Lakers failed to be selected comes from two aspects. On the one hand, it is the uncertainty of the core James' future, and on the other hand, the management has begun to prepare for the future construction of Doncic and has not made every effort to strengthen the existing lineup.

7th place: Magic team

The young Magic team was selected for the list. In the offseason, the Magic fired the first shot in the trading market, spending a lot of money to 4 first rounds, one first round swap, Pope and Cole Anthony packed it back to Bain, an underestimated large-scale three-pointer, which targeted the gaps in the backcourt and projection.

Plus, the three core players of Bankairo, Wagner Jr. and Suggs have recovered health and continued to grow. The Magic, which played the second defensive efficiency in the league last season, is expected to truly enter the championship ranks in the new season.

Especially when Tatum was seriously injured and fell into chaos in the East, the Magic ushered in a good opportunity to transform and prove themselves.

6th place: Timberwolves

Timberwolves experienced a disappointing season, losing the important rotation of the wings, Alexander Walker, and could only pin their hopes on sophomore rookies Dillingham and Shannon Jr. In addition, Conley is one year older, and the Timberwolves' lineup strength on paper has declined.

But as a team that has reached the Western Conference Finals for two consecutive years, with Edwards' further growth and the improvement of Randall's chemistry with Gobert, they are still expected to go further in the new season.

Fifth place: Knicks

After experiencing the failure of last season, the Knicks fired Thibodeau and chose to trust Mike Brown to turn from defensive first to offense.

Considering that both the core cores of Brunson and Towns have defensive problems, this reverse attack has the hope that the Knicks will completely form a real championship competitiveness.

4th place: The Cavaliers

Cavaliers are the most anticipated contenders in the East in the new season. They have a luxurious lineup configuration and have already played the league first in the offensive end. At the same time, the core players are very young and have huge room for imagination.

The only shortcomings are the playoff experience and the stability of young players such as Garland and Mobley in the face of difficult games, which is also the reason why they failed to get a higher ranking.

Third place: The Rockets

As the biggest winner in the offseason, the Rockets achieved a comprehensive lineup upgrade in the offseason after winning the second best result in the Western Conference last season.

Not only did they sign Finney Smith, Capela and Okogie further expanded their advantages in defense and lineup depth, but they also traded at low prices to target the key ball skills, Durant, a historical scorer, to strengthen their shortcomings.

With the growth of talented stars such as Amen, Shin Kyung, Xiao Jia and Ethan, the Rockets in the new season are fully prepared to win the championship.

Second place: After the Nuggets

completed the cleaning of the management and coaching staff under tremendous pressure during the final stage of the regular season last season, the Nuggets finally spent an effective offseason.

Potter Jr., who is in a state of unstable condition, has been upgraded to Cameron Johnson. With the addition of Valan, Bruce Brown and Hardaway Jr., the Nuggets will once again attack the championship under the leadership of Jokic, the first player in active service.

No doubt, the top spot belongs to the defending champion Thunder, and the Thunder will occupy this position before the new champion is born.

What's more, the Thunder retained all the championship teams in the offseason, and the three core members have experienced the baptism and transformation of the finals. In addition, they have a large number of draft pick chips, this Thunder team has the capital and opportunity to establish a dynasty.