Kevin Love
Photo: CBS Sports

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The Best Sportsbooks still have both LA teams at the top of the list to win the NBA title in 2020. But there have been some moves.

The Celtics have some major mojo going on and keep winning games. The Warriors odds are falling; now down to 50-1.

A Couple of Big Moves To Come?

One of the biggest names that we think will get moved at some point this season – even though both the franchise and the player deny it– is Kevin Love.

Let’s be honest, the Cleveland Cavaliers are a complete and total mess and right now Kevin Love’s talent is getting wasted in a full-on rebuild.

There has been a lot of talk about the possibility of the Portland Trail Blazers making moves for the star power forward.

The Blazers haven’t won it all in quite a long time, but they are a perennial playoff team. And imagine adding the talents of Kevin Love to Rip City’s fantastic backcourt of CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard.

Damian Lillard Portland Trail Blazers
Photo: CBS Sports

The Blazers would be instantly thrust back into the conversation for competing for the west.

Hassan Whiteside for Love makes sense. It would give the Cavs a young, talented player that they can build upon, while for the Blazers, they would get that three-point shooting big-man that they love to utilize: remember Arvydas Sabonis?

Love is a double-double machine, he’s averaging 18.5 points per game and 14.5 rebounds. On top of all of this, he’s from Lake Oswego Oregon, just outside of Portland.

So it would be a homecoming. The town would welcome him and he would literally be ‘home.’ It makes sense on multiple levels. The Blazers would get a player that legitimately wants to be there.

But there are other rumors surrounding Portland. They are talking about another Big 3 with the Blazers potentially going after Draymond Green.

The defensive presence of Green in the middle could create a huge impact on Portland. They have no problems scoring the rock, it’s defending where Portland seems to be struggling this campaign.

Draymond Green Golden State Warriors
Photo: Bleacher Report

What about Lonzo Ball over in Pelican-Land? He doesn’t seem to be a huge part of their plans, as he’s only getting around 21 minutes per game. There were some early rumors that New Orleans might trade Lonzo Ball.

But, now that we are seeing the type of playing time he is getting on a consistent basis, it is looking more and more like moving Lonzo might be the best option for both parties, especially since the Pelicans are so guard-heavy at the moment.

But, where would he go? That is tough to say. He underperformed for the Lakers and so far, he isn’t showing himself to be indispensable for the Pelicans.

The Brooklyn Nets vs. The Utah Jazz

Utah is strong this year. Sure they are 6-3, but when you look at different power ranking systems they usually rank between No. 2 and No. 4.

The Brooklyn Nets are still adjusting, but there is a ton of talent over them now. The Nets have an explosive offense that is putting up 120+ points per game.

That said, their defense is basically a leaky sieve that allows just about as much. On the flip side of this coin, the Jazz has the No. 1 defense in the league.

Bojan Bogdanovic Utah Jazz
Photo: Rob Gray, USA TODAY Sports via Reuters

So far, they are allowing just 97 points per game and at home, only 95.20! However, they don’t score with the best of them.

The Jazz’s overall offense ranks back at No. 28 because they only put up around 101 points per game. So, we have a classic matchup of power offense with weak defense vs. power defense with a weak offense.

This one is going to come down who can get their offense rolling. This one is going to be exciting.

These two teams will probably meet somewhere in the middle, with the Nets allowing a bit fewer points, due to the Jazz’s slow offense, and the Jazz allowing a few more points due to well… Spencer Dinwiddle and Kyrie Irving.

Kyrie Irving Brooklyn Nets
Photo: Bleacher Report

I predict that the Jazz win this one, but not by double digits or anything significant. This one will probably come down to a score like 109 to 112, or 112-115 or thereabouts. This one is going to be an exciting battle that tests the mettle of both teams.