Who are the contenders for the NBA title this season?

Can anyone topple the Warriors?

The NBA season is coming into view now, with the first pre-season games pencilled in for the end of the month.

Teams are locking down their rosters for the coming campaign and the likely contenders are starting to take shape.

The Coral News Team have looked at the teams that could be pushing for the title…

Golden State Warriors

The Golden State Warriors are 4/7 favourites to retain their title. They’ve been in each of the last three Finals, winning two of them. Their recent success is no surprise, considering the strength of their roster.

Steph Curry remains the best shooter in the game, and quite possibly of all time. Kevin Durant can rack up plenty of points, but he’s grown into a rock-solid defensive player too. Steve Kerr also has the likes of Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala to choose from.

Despite all of their talent, the playoffs and Finals can be a lottery. Injuries or a loss of form at the wrong time can bring a season to a premature end. But they’ll fancy their chances against any side.

Boston Celtics

The Celtics have lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers in each of the last two seasons. Can they go the distance this time?

They haven’t made any major additions during the offseason, but the return to fitness of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward will be a huge boost.

And now that LeBron James is no longer playing in the East, they’ll be confident of topping the conference.