Giannis Antetokounmpo

Twenty-two teams will participate in the NBA's return, but only a select few have a chance to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy. 

The Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers established themselves as NBA Finals favorites before the shutdown, and that distinction should become clearer in Orlando, Florida. 

Barring a surprising string of results in the eight seeding games, the first time two members of that trio could meet would be the Western Conference Finals. 

The two weeks of play prior to the postseason at ESPN's Wide World of Sports should provide us with a better look at which teams could form the second tier of contenders. 

The Toronto Raptors, Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics are among the franchises on that level now, and they could be joined or replaced by the Philadelphia 76ers and others.  

             

NBA Power Rankings

1. Milwaukee (No. 1 seed in East; 53-12)

2. Los Angeles Lakers (No. 1 in West; 49-14)

3. Los Angeles Clippers (No. 2 in West; 44-20)

4. Toronto (No. 2 in East; 46-18)

5. Denver (No. 3 in West; 43-22)

6. Utah (No. 4 in West; 41-23)

7. Boston (No. 3 in East; 43-21)

8. Miami (No. 4 in East; 41-24)

9. Houston (No. 6 in West; 40-24)

10. Philadelphia (No. 6 in East; 39-26)

11. Oklahoma City (No. 5 in West; 40-24)

12. Dallas (No. 7 in West; 40-27)

13. Indiana (No. 5 in East; 39-26)

14. Memphis (No. 8 in West; 32-33)

15. New Orleans (No. 10 in West; 28-36)

16. Portland (No. 9 in West; 29-37)

17. Orlando (No. 8 in East; 30-35)

18. Brooklyn (No. 7 in East; 30-34)

19. Sacramento (No. 11 in West; 28-36)

20. San Antonio (No. 12 in West; 27-36)

21. Washington (No. 9 in East: 24-40)

22. Phoenix (No. 13 in West; 26-39)

             

We likely won't learn more about the top three teams in the eight seeding games than we already know. 

Each of the three championship favorites have deep rosters and could have their playoff seeds secured fairly easily inside the Orlando bubble. 

Milwaukee needs two victories to lock up the top spot in the Eastern Conference, while the Lakers need four wins to take the No. 1 seed out of the Clippers' reach. 

After they play the Lakers, the Clippers have five straight games against teams that are seventh or worse in their respective conferences. 

Denver does not have an easy schedule, but it can prove its mettle against title contenders at the back end of its eight-game slate. The Nuggets close with the Lakers, Clippers and Raptors. 

If Nikola Jokic and Co. get off to a decent start against Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Portland, it may benefit from that momentum to put up a good fight in the final three contests and hold off Utah for the No. 3 seed. 

Philadelphia is the team to watch in the East because it can generate on-floor confidence heading into the playoffs off one of the easiest schedules. 

After opening with Indiana, the Sixers face five squads that enter Orlando in eighth or worse in their respective conferences. Those matchups should allow Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid to get plenty of reps after missing time with injuries without stressing about the final results. 

If Brett Brown's team takes advantage of the weak schedule, it could soar to the No. 4 seed in the East and avoid a first-round meeting with Boston. 

Memphis and New Orleans are worth watching in their battle for the No. 8 seed in the West, but they could be overtaken by Portland. 

The Trail Blazers have Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins back from injuries and could overwhelm some opponents with Nurkic and Hassan Whiteside in the paint. 

Portland can gain ground on Memphis immediately in its bubble opener, but its path to a play-in series, or direct qualification for a No. 8 seed, may be more difficult than the Grizzlies' or Pelicans' since it has Boston, Houston, Denver, Philadelphia and the Clippers on its schedule. 

Conversely, New Orleans plays six of its contests against its direct competition for eighth in the West and Orlando and Washington. If all goes right for the Pelicans, they could win the fight for the final playoff spot and potentially challenge the Lakers in the first round. 

           

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

The Milwaukee Bucks have dominated the Eastern Conference, but they might not capture the spotlight during the eight seeding games in Orlando, Florida. 

Milwaukee owns a 6.5-game advantage over the Toronto Raptors for the No. 1 seed, and it could have that honor locked up in the first half of contests at ESPN's Wide World of Sports. 

The most drama over the next two weeks is expected to take place in the middle of the standings, where the Miami Heat have a two-game lead over the Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers. 

At the bottom, the Brooklyn Nets and Orlando Magic are in good shape to qualify for the postseason, but the order of the two sides may change because of the absences across the Nets roster.

                

Eastern Conference Predictions

1. Milwaukee

2. Toronto

3. Boston

4. Philadelphia

5. Miami

6. Indiana

7. Orlando 

8. Brooklyn

        

By the time the Bucks and Raptors meet August 10, Milwaukee should have the No. 1 seed secured. 

The top team in the East faces a tricky start against Boston and Houston, but then the schedule gets easier with matchups versus Brooklyn and Miami.

As long as the Bucks win two of those games, it would be mathematically impossible for the Raptors to overtake them. 

Toronto has a chance to feel comfortable as the No. 2 seed before it meets up with Milwaukee. The Raptors face Orlando, Boston and Memphis in the three games prior. 

If the reigning champion beats the Celtics, who it is 1-2 against this season, and makes easy work of the Grizzlies and Magic, it should keep it at least three games ahead of Boston in the win column.

Even if Boston loses its head-to-head meetings with Milwaukee and Toronto, it is in a good position to claim the No. 3 seed. 

Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum and Co. close with Orlando, Memphis and Washington and faces Brooklyn prior to its clash with Toronto. 

Even though Philadelphia is two games back of Miami, it could have the inside track to the No. 4 seed due to its easy schedule. 

After opening with Indiana, the Sixers face five opponents in a row that enter Orlando in a battle for the No. 8 seed in their respective conferences. 

Philadelphia could also have an advantage in its penultimate game against Toronto since the Raptors would likely have the No. 2 seed locked up by then. 

The final five games for both Miami and Indiana may be treacherous. The Heat finish with Milwaukee, Phoenix, Oklahoma City and Indiana twice, while the Pacers take on the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets around their clashes with the Heat. 

If Philadelphia gets on a winning run, and Miami and Indiana split their games, the Sixers could slide into No. 4 and enter the postseason with more confidence than the other two squads. 

Brooklyn and Orlando also have to play each other twice in their competition for the No. 7 seed. 

The Nets and Magic open their Orlando schedules against each other and then meet again August 11. 

In between those meetings, the Magic face four teams above them in the East standings, while Brooklyn faces two in that category and the Los Angeles Clippers. 

Brooklyn's advantage might come in the form of a matchup with Washington, but there could be concerns regarding how productive its rebuilt lineup will look in the first few games.

The Nets are 1-2 in their Orlando scrimmages and could struggle with depth behind Joe Harris, Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen. 

Brooklyn should escape a play-in series with Washington, especially if it beats the Wizards, but holding off Orlando with a half-game lead could be too much for it to handle.

                 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

The NBA restart taking place in a bubble has separated a lot of players from their families, but Giannis Antetokounmpo has benefitted from spending time with his brothers, Thanasis and Kostas.

The Milwaukee Bucks star discussed the situation with ESPN's Rachel Nichols over a game of Uno with his brothers:

"Going through this pandemic, it was really tough for everybody, but one positive that came out of this was we had the chance to be together for two-and-a-half months," Giannis said of his brothers. 

While Giannis and Thanasis play together in Milwaukee, Kostas is on the Los Angeles Lakers. This usually keeps them apart during the regular season, but both teams are staying in the Grand Destino hotel for the restart.

Giannis joked the three of them should have a television show during their time in the bubble.

A day after LeBron James made his MVP case by telling reporters "I've shown what I'm capable of doing," his biggest challenger is refusing to focus on the award at all.

During a media session Tuesday, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said his main concern is bringing a title back to Milwaukee.

"I know there's going to be a lot of people out there talking about the MVP," Antetokounmpo said, per Ben Golliver of the Washington Post. "That's not my main focus. Get better. Win games. Help my team play good basketball. Go and try to win the big trophy; the last time we did that was 1971."

The Greek Freak become the first Bucks player to win the award since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1974 and is still somehow getting better. 

Just take a look at what Antetokounmpo did in 2018-19 versus 2019-20:

2018-19 Averages

27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 57.8 percent FG%, 25.6 percent 3FG%, 32.8 minutes.

2019-20 Averages

29.6 points, 13.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 54.7 percent FG%, 30.6 percent 3FG%, 30.9 minutes. 

Antetokounmpo continues to grow his skill set and is committing his fewest fouls (3.0) since his rookie season when he started just 23 games. 

The overall depth and effectiveness of what the reigning MVP can do on the court rivals anyone who has previously won the award. 

Of course, the biggest difference this season will come down to games played. Before the NBA went on hiatus on March 11, Antetokounmpo had 57 contests under his belt. The league announced Tuesday no games from the NBA restart will count toward awards, and this year's voting, currently underway, will wrap up July 28.

That will likely help Antetokounmpo's case, as any rusty performances in Florida may tilt his season stats. 

Regardless, it's out of Antetokounmpo's hands now, and he can remain focused on his main goal: an NBA championship.