Of all 22 teams that went to Orlando for the NBA restart, only three are truly capable of competing for the Larry O'Brien Trophy: the Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Milwaukee Bucks.

James came older but also better-prepared

LeBron James is turning 36 years old in less than five months, but he averaged 25.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 10.6 assists per game while leading the Lakers to lead the Western Conference with a 49-14 record before the suspension.

Sure, James could not dominate the game as he used to in the Eastern Conference, but he only played 34.9 minutes per game, shorter than that of any season in his career. Moreover, the over-four-month-long suspension gave him enough time to rest and save energy for the playoffs.

Unlike the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers between 2012 and 2018, today's Lakers do not have that open spacing on the court as they only have two reliable 3-point shooters. So it's more difficult for James to drive towards the rim like a terminator while looking out to pass to open teammates.

Nonetheless, for the first time in his career, James had a league-top-5 big man, Anthony Davis, as his teammate. Having played 55 games so far this season, Davis could drop 26.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 2.4 blocks. His true shooting percentage (TS%) (61.4), Defensive Box Plus/Minus (2.8) both reached career highs. With such a combination of a universal defender, effective finisher, and off-ball scorer as his teammate. James could invest most of his efforts in the offense.

Furthermore, unlike the Cavaliers between 2015 and 2018. The team, today's purple, and gold built their success on defense, which was rated the fourth-best in the league. Meanwhile, being the fourth-best offensive rebounding team should increase the Lakers' success rate of attack in every possession that matters.

Leonard does not fit in with Clippers

Kawi Leonard, 29, is playing for the third team in the ninth season, chasing the third ring of his career. When he joined hands with Paul George in the Clippers last summer, this team which never made Conference Finals before suddenly became the biggest champion candidates.

Then there was the long, painful run-in period filled with relapses, injuries, and trades. After some four months, the outside world realized that the Clippers were not as unstoppable as expected. They could not find a balanced squad between offense and defense; chemistry was still thin between Leonard and George; the team won a lot of games but more like a group of remarkable individuals instead of a will-operating team.

Leonard was still that effective, universal, reliable scorer he had been for the past three years. He had no dead angle from the 3-point line to the paint. His 6.9 free throw attempts per game were not much aggressive, but as an isolation wingman who launched over half of his attacks in the middle range, Lenard managed to keep a TS% of 58.4 while carrying a usage percentage (USG%) of 33.2.

Nonetheless, like his playstyle, Leonard did not seem to fit in the Clippers' lineup well enough. His career-high five assists per game were more like the consequence of his teammates' better-finishing ability instead of the much-improved orchestrating skill of his. In many games, Leonard went to rt, did his job, and left victorious – most teams were not good enough to stand against the Clippers' outstanding isolation offense. A few teams were able to weather the pressure and separate Leonard from the rest of the Clippers. When that happens, both him and the team will be in serious trouble.

What does Antetokounmpo need to do to take the throne?

The NBA already announced that the Most Valuable Player's selection would be up to performance before the suspension. That meant Giannis "the Greek Freak" Antetokounmpo will retain the honor.

Having averaged 29.6 points, 13.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.0 steal, 1.0 block at a TS% of 60.8 with a USG% of 37.4, OBPM of 7.4, DBPM of 4.1 while leading the Bucks to lead the league with a 53-12 record, Antetokounmpo is the best player so far in the regular season.

Does that sound familiar? Didn't he receive the same praise (and the MVP award) last season? Then in the playoffs, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks continued to crush forward. They swept the Detroit Pistons, walked over the Boston Celtics, led 2-0 over the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Finals, and came so close winning Game 3.

Then they were taken apart by a series of magical 3-pointers from Fred VanVleet and probably top 3 team defense in NBA history, losing the series 4-2. Antetokounmpo found it increasingly hard to go for the rim, either in transition or half-court offense. When he posted up, Toronto always knew how to double team him without giving him the chance to pass to an open teammate around the 3-point line.

Improving his shooting so no one can afford to leave him open in the perimeter sounds nice, but that may not be the best option for Antetokounmpo. When you were only able to take 0.6 shots from downtown at a rate of 28.5 percent per game in your career, it might be too late to transform your game from assaulting the rim to shooting outside.

Antetokounmpo should learn how to find the open teammate on the weak side when the defenders double-team him, increase his off-ball plays, and go to a deep position before receiving the ball to make easy shots. Meanwhile, coach Mike Budenholzer has to make Milwaukee's shooters keep moving on the court. The more they can force the opponents' defense to chase them, the less pressure Antetokounmpo will face inside.