Here comes! The latest forecast for the Western Conference champion ESPN next season: Rockets have 35 points and Hu Yong is on the list!

On August 29, almost two months have passed since the trading opening day. The NBA League free market has returned to calm. After the trading operation, the lineup of 30 teams in the league's new season has been basically confirmed! As the two major powerhouses of the Eastern Conference have to passively enter the adjustment period, their overall strength has declined significantly compared to last season. As of now, only the Knicks and the Cavaliers in the East have the strength to compete for the championship in the new season. Compared with the Eastern Conference, Western Conference teams are really crazy this offseason. In the top eight Western Conference last season, in addition to the defending champions Thunder and Timberwolves, other teams have a lot of trading signings, and the competition is more intense than last season. In this environment, the well-known media ESPN made the latest scoring prediction for the team that has the chance to win the Western Conference championship next season, with the Rockets scoring 35 points, and the Lakers and Warriors also on the list! (Score rules: 5 points are counted for the first place vote, 3 points are counted for the second place vote, and 1 point is counted for the third place vote.)

In the eyes of the ESPN invited experts, there are 6 teams with the opportunity to win the Western Conference championship in the new season. Let’s look at the specific ranking based on the prediction score:

No. 6 Warriors - 2 points!

Comment: Although the Warriors still have no actual operational signings, the management is still dealing with the Kumingga team. At present, both sides are not giving in for their respective interests! But the only thing that is certain is that Kumingga is no longer within the Warriors' future plan. Regardless of whether they stay with the Warriors next season, it will not change the management team to form a championship lineup around Curry, Butler, and Zhu Meng. Horford, Melton, Curry Jr. and Payton Jr. have reached an oral agreement with the Warriors, and will appear in the Warriors' lineup in the new season. In April, the No. 7 seed Warriors defeated the No. 2 seed Rockets in the first round. If Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green remain healthy, the West's first two seeds won't be happy to see the Warriors appear in seventh or eighth next spring. In the eyes of the ESPN expert group, they also believe that the Warriors have the chance to win the Western Conference championship in the new season. Horford, Melton and Curry Jr. are the three major players that are highly adapted to the Warriors' tactical system. As long as the three cores can appear healthy in April next year, no one dares to underestimate this team!

No. 4-5th Lakers and Timberwolves - scored 7 points!

Comment: In the just-concluded European Cup, Doncic made his debut, making 7 of 14 shots in 36 minutes, and scored 34 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks. He became the first player in European Cup history to score at least 30 points, 5 assists and 5 steals in a single game. Doncic, who has successfully lost weight, has once again improved his dominance on both ends of the offense and defense. This is great news for the Lakers! During the offseason, the Lakers introduced three first-hand players, Ayton, Laravia and Smart, based on Doncic's wishes. The team has qualified starting center and outside defender, which has solved the lineup problem that has plagued many years! In the first round of the playoffs in April, it was precisely because of these two shortcomings that the Timberwolves were unlimitedly targeted and they were finally eliminated! While the lineup has been upgraded, Doncic has also completed body management, and the team's strength has increased unabated compared to last season! ESPN predicts that they have the strength to compete for the Western Conference Championship!

The Timberwolves did not have much personnel changes in this offseason. The management successively signed up for the inside double core Randall and Reed, retaining the three-tower lineup! The player market lost the substitute core Alexander Walker, and the player introduction only gained the player with certain potential in the draft. The Timberwolves could have chosen to keep Alexander Walker, but their decision to let him leave in the free market shows that they are more confident in their backfield depth than the frontcourt. Time will tell if their choice is correct. Betting on young players is the main theme of the Timberwolves this offseason. As a team that has made it to the Western Conference Finals for two consecutive seasons, there is no reason not to appear in this list. In the prediction of ESPN's new season Western Conference championship, the Timberwolves scored 7 points!

The 3rd Rockets - scored 35 points!

Comment: The Rockets missed the playoffs last season, but they jumped to second place in the West last season, making them one of the biggest dark horses in the league. When facing the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs, everyone knows that they are the second in the West, but the probability of them winning the series is not high. As expected, they were beaten 3-1 by the Warriors at the beginning. Relying on Van Vleet's outbreak, they dragged the series into a tiebreak, and eventually lost in terms of scoring ability and playoff experience! During the offseason, Durant, DFS, Capela and Okogi were further improved while retaining the team's foundation. How far this team can go in the new season ultimately depends on the growth rate of the three key figures Amen, Shin Kyung and Shepard. As long as they achieve expected growth in their respective positions, the Rockets are the strong team in the first echelon of the championship. In the eyes of ESPN experts, it is not without reason that the Rockets have the chance to win the Western Conference championship in the new season ranked third in the Western Conference!

No. 2 Nuggets - Get 50 points!

Comment: Since the end of the regular season last season, the Nuggets have begun to make changes and fired the team's general manager and head coach. Even after this change, the Nuggets have shown strong combat effectiveness in the playoffs, eliminating the Clippers in the first round and forcing the defending champion Thunder into a desperate situation in the second round. In the offseason, the Nuggets quickly made a big improvement in the lineup. They have sent Michael Porter Jr. and the first round pick in 2032 to exchange Cameron Johnson, creating salary flexibility that increases the depth of the lineup, which could be a potential upgrade at the small forward position. Valan, Hardaway Jr., and Bruce Brown, the re-signing hero of winning the championship, were also introduced. The Nuggets management expressed their determination and vowed to give three-time MVP Nikola Jokic a real chance to win the championship again. The ESPN expert group predicted that the Nuggets' probability of winning the Western Conference championship in the new season was second only to the Thunder!

No. 1 Thunder - scored 106 points!

Comment: All the cores of the championship are retained during the offseason - defending scoring champion, MVP and finals MVP Shay Gilgers Alexander is in his early stages of his peak, and his star partners Jay Williams and Chet Homegren are also rising geniuses, and they all stay in the team during the offseason. Compared with other teams, the Thunder does not need a running-in period, which is the biggest difference between them and other Western Conference powerhouses. Although the West is very lively this offseason and there are many teams with strong paper strength, the final result requires players to run-in on the court, and no one can guarantee the result of the chemistry. They have just become the youngest NBA championship team in nearly 50 years. The Thunder has the continuity of the defending champion-level lineup, which determines that the Thunder will still be the first candidate for the Western Conference champion next season. In ESPN's forecast of the Western Conference championship next season, the Thunder scored 106 points, higher than the five teams in second to sixth. What do you think of ESPN’s predictions about the Western Conference championship next season, please discuss in the comment section! (Note: The data in this article can be queried on the ESPN official website)