NBA-Nuggets eye repeat, new-look Celtics and Bucks favored in East as NBA season tips off

The Denver Nuggets head into the 2023-24 NBA season as defending champions but not necessarily the title favorites after the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns all upgraded their rosters via blockbuster offseason acquisitions.

The Nuggets bring back the same starting five that delivered the franchise its first championship last season, led again by the tandem of Finals MVP Nikola Jokic and sharpshooting guard Jamal Murray.

But the Nuggets must survive the loss of key role players Bruce Brown and Jeff Green in a competitive Western Conference that includes a Suns squad that added Bradley Beal to create a Big Three with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.

The Golden State Warriors, determined to add another title before their championship window closes, nabbed veteran guard Chris Paul.

The team boasts a mix of all-time greats in Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green and promising young talent like Jonathan Kuminga for head coach Steve Kerr to direct.

"The West is so hard to predict because there's such a thin margin for error," Warriors general manager turned ESPN broadcaster Bob Myers said on a call with reporters.

"Denver you clearly have to separate out a little bit because they just did it. They lost a little bit of their bench depth, which is not something just to ignore.

"But they still have what you might argue is the best player... in Jokic who can control possessions on offense as good as LeBron (James) ever did from a different type of position. Denver is great."

James and the Los Angeles Lakers, who fell to the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals last season, have designs on lifting the Larry O'Brien trophy come June, as do the steadily improving Memphis Grizzlies.

"We can all throw out our