Kawhi Leonard drives to the basket against Anthony Davis. (Getty Images)

The biggest winner during the NBA offseason was the city of Los Angeles.

Staples Center will be the center of the basketball universe as we enter the 2019-20 NBA regular season because two of the best teams in the league will play 82 times in Downtown Los Angeles.

The pride of Riverside, Calif., Kawhi Leonard chose the glitz and glamour of Hollywood over the cold winters in Toronto (duh!) and he brought another Southern California native, Palmdale’s Paul George, with him. Leonard and George now form a formidable 1-2 punch as members of the L.A. Clippers. Add pitbull guard Patrick Beverley and super subs Lou Williams and Montrez Harrell in the mix and you have a team that is favored to capture the NBA title.

This could be the year the Clippers will finally be able to put up a real banner at Staples Center instead of those giant selfies that hung during the Lob City era.

“Everybody being high character. Sacrifice. Wanting to win. Determination. Knowledge. All that together. Just being on the floor, going out there as one unit. All trying to accomplish that ultimate goal. That’s what drives a championship team,” Leonard said.

LeBron James has been awfully quiet all offseason — outside of a few Taco Tuesday posts on social media. LeBron is so accustomed to playing through June that this was the first offseason where he had a full five months off in more than a decade. And all this waiting has King James extremely anxious.

“I’m very motivated. Right now I’m not in a talking-about-it mode. I’ve been very quiet this summer for a reason,” LeBron said. “My mother always taught me don’t talk about it be about it. That’s where I’m at. As a team and myself, we need to get the Lakers back to where they’ve been accustomed to.”

LeBron appears rested and ready to go, and he now has a super sidekick in All-Star forward Anthony Davis.

The LeBron-AD combo became a reality after the Lakers traded away one-third of their roster. But the Lakers brass feel it was a necessary move because now they feel like they have their best 1-2 punch since Shaq and Kobe.

OneManFastBreak predicts the eight teams that’ll make the playoffs in the Western Conference:

1-L.A. Clippers (58-24) – The Clippers would be a lot higher if it wasn’t for Paul George’s offseason surgery on both his shoulders. The timetable PG’s return is around November. Also, the Clippers are planning to implement the same load management approach the Toronto coaching staff did with Kawhi. It won’t matter much if Kawhi or PG take a few games off. These Clippers are the deepest team in the league. Center Montrezl Harrell brings effort and energy every single night, and combo guard Lou Williams is arguably the best closer in the game. Doc Rivers’ crew will be there in April, May and potentially June.

2-Denver Nuggets (56-26) – Nikola Jokic is now universally recognized as the best center in the NBA. The big man from Serbia is redefining the center position with his ability to score, rebound and pass. Jokic is the anchor of a Nuggets squad that is deep and talented. Point guard Jamal Murray gained some much needed playoff experience last year and ready to become the team’s closer. If Michael Porter Jr., 21, ever gets out of the training room and onto the court, the Nuggets could be battling for the top spot in the West for the next few years.

3-L.A. Lakers (54-28) – The Lakers have five championship-caliber players on the roster: LeBron, AD, Danny Green, Avery Bradley and Kyle Kuzma. To win a title, you need at least seven to eight solid guys in the rotation. For now, the Lakers don’t have that. Rajon Rondo, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Dwight Howard are extremely limited, and so is JaVale McGee. You can’t trust them in a seven-game series. As long as Davis and LeBron are healthy, the Lakers have a formidable squad. But if one or both miss time, the Lakers are back to being a lottery team. Bringing back Rondo was a mistake. It hinders the progress of Alex Caruso and Quinn Cook.

4-Houston Rockets (53-29) – It is now or never for coach Mike D’Antoni. D’Antoni has his best roster since his Phoenix Suns days, and some could argue it could be better. James Harden is at the height of his powers and there are no signs of him slowing down. In fact, he seems to be getting better and better. The acquisition of Russell Westbrook was panned by critics. Not sure why. Westbrook is a former MVP who is hungry for a title. He and Harden are good friends off the court, and they played together in Oklahoma City. Great players figure out a way to co-exist on the court. Harden and Westbrook will figure out a way to make it work in Houston.

5-Portland Trail Blazers (50-32) – If you still don’t think Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum are two of the best guards in the league then you should pull up YouTube videos from the 2019 playoffs. Lillard sent the Thunder home with a dagger 3-pointer from Beaverton, while McCollum was at times the best player on the court during the Blazers-Nuggets series that was an instant classic. The loss of center Jusuf Nurkic was masked with the addition of Hassan Whiteside. If Whiteside can provide rebounds and defense, Lillard and McCollum will take care of the rest.

6-Utah Jazz (49-33) – Donovan Mitchell has been teasing us for the past couple of years with his star potential. It’s time for Mitchell to finally make that big leap and become the true alpha dog. Mitchell has a better supporting cast this season with the acquisition of point guard Mike Conley and sharp-shooting forward Bojan Bogdanovic (the taller Bogdanovic).

7-San Antonio Spurs (48-34) – The Spurs have made the playoffs for 22 straight seasons under Gregg Popovich, and that streak will continue this season. Popovich may have pulled off his best coaching job last year. Pop integrated DeMar DeRozan into the Spurs system and had him play the Manu Ginobili role. LaMarcus Aldridge is doing his best fulfilling the Tim Duncan role. Now, Pop’s next challenge is to develop a point guard to play the Tony Parker role. He’s got a couple of willing students in Derrick White and Dejonte Murray.

8-Golden State Warriors (46-36) – It’s strange seeing the Warriors this low in the postseason seedings, but that’s the harsh reality brought about by the departure of Kevin Durant, the injury to Klay Thompson, the loss of Andre Iguodala and the retirement of Shaun Livingston. The biggest challenge for coach Steve Kerr and his coaching staff will be managing the minutes for Steph Curry and Draymond Green. Will Kerr burn out Curry and Green just to earn a seventh or eighth seed? That’s a tough call for a proud franchise.

Last teams out: Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Memphis Grizzlies

Is this Phil Jackson’s last dance in L.A.? Does Kobe Bryant have dead legs? Is Kobe’s finger injury hindering his shooting? Is Derek Fisher on his last legs? Is Pau Gasol still too soft? Can Andrew Bynum return from another injury?

Though all those questions are legit and can be concerning for Laker Nation, the defending champs still finished with the best record in the Western Conference and are still the class of the Western Conference despite all their health problems.

Can the Lakers repeat? Yes, but it is not going to be easy. All eight West playoff teams won 50 games and just seven games separated No. 1 and No. 8. OneManFastBreak.net predicts the winners of each round in the Western Conference playoffs:

FIRST ROUND

(1) L.A. Lakers vs. (8) Oklahoma City Thunder: Phil Jackson recently got fined $35,000 for comments he made about how the refs give 21-year-old scoring champ Kevin Durant of the Thunder the benefit of the doubt on a lot of foul calls. Durant fired back and said he was disappointed with Jackson’s claim. Nothing like some trash talk to get the playoffs started. Score one for the Zen Master. The Thunder may have youth on their side, but the Lakers’ experience and size will prevail. Lakers in 5.

Former NBA scoring champion Kobe Bryant goes head-to-head with new scoring champ Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

(4) Denver Nuggets vs. (5) Utah Jazz: Despite not having their head coach and their starting power forward still hobbled, the Nuggets still have enough firepower to knock off the Jazz, who may or may not have a healthy Carlos Boozer, center Mehmet Okur has a strain Achilles’ injury and Andrei Kirilenko is nursing a strained calf muscle. The return of Kenyon Martin to the starting lineup allows Nene to save all his energy on offense, and K-Mart also fortifies Denver’s defense. Utah will have troubling matching up with Carmelo Anthony, who could average 30 points in this series. Nuggets in 6.

(2) Dallas Mavericks vs. (7) San Antonio Spurs: This could be the best matchup in the first round in the West. The Mavs seems to always draw the Spurs in the playoffs, but they don’t seem to mind. Gregg Popovich is running out of defensive schemes to stop Dirk Nowitzki, and this year Dirk won’t have to worry about dealing with Bruce Bowen and his dirty tactics. Dallas eliminated San Antonio last season, but the Spurs didn’t have a healthy Manu Ginobili, who has turned back the clock and is playing his best ball. Ginobili, 32,  could single-handedly make this a seven-game series, but watch for the burnout factor. The Mavs know how to attack the Spurs defense, which hasn’t been the same all season. Mavericks in 7.

(3) Phoenix Suns vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers: I would give the Blazers the nod if Brandon Roy were healthy. But he’s not. Phoenix led the league in scoring (again!) and Amare Stoudemire seems to be in a happy place right now and should be able to counter Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge. Blazers’ defense is good enough to keep this a competitive series but not enough to advance. Suns in 7.

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

(1) L.A. Lakers vs. (4) Denver Nuggets: This matchup should have been the conference finals, but the Nuggets lost their mojo down the stretch when K-Mart went down and George Karl was hospitalized. The Nuggets won the season series 3-1 from the Lakers and don’t fear the defending champs. Chauncey Billups is the key. Through four games in last year’s playoff series against the Lakers, Billups controlled the tempo and absolutely killed the Laker guards. But then his legs went dead the final two games and the Nuggets were eliminated. If he can sustain a high level of play for an entire series, the Nuggets could clip L.A. At 33 years old, with the added responsibility of being the player/coach of the Nuggets, I don’t think Billups has enough left in the tank. Lakers in 7.

(2) Dallas Mavericks vs. (3) Phoenix Suns: Steve Nash gets to play against his BFF Dirk Nowitzki, which bodes well for Phoenix because Nash loves to show Mark Cuban that he made a mistake in trading him to Phoenix. Shawn Marion should also be motivated to play against his former team, and he knows what Nash and Stoudemire love to run on offense. This is the series the Mavs get their money’s worth out of Caron Butler. He should be able to score at will against Grant Hill or Jason Richardson. Dallas could potentially have a finishing lineup of Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Caron Butler, Shawn Marion and Nowitzki late in the fourth quarter. Mavericks in 6.

CONFERENCE FINALS

(1) L.A. Lakers vs. (2) Dallas Mavericks: It’s hard to get a complete scouting report on this matchup because the Mavericks retooled their team after the All-Star break. Lamar Odom can match up with Nowitzki, but I’m not sure if the Lakers can rely on LO for an entire series. The health of Andrew Bynum becomes a big story here. If Bynum is healthy, the Lakers should be able to roll in 5 or 6 games because the Mavs can’t handle both Bynum and Pau Gasol in the paint. The Mavs don’t have an answer for Gasol if he plays power forward. However, if Bynum struggles, Gasol then moves into the center position where he, at times, gets pushed around. This is the series where we find out if Kobe still has that fifth gear. The Mavs have Butler, Marion and Jason Kidd to throw at him defensively and Bryant will have to find a way to score despite the injured finger. I think he will, but the Mavs will push the Lakers to the max. Lakers in 7.

The Nuggets are also an eclectic group, a roster that is loaded with guys who put the “swag” in swagger and has about as many nicknames as tattoos.

Melo came into this season in the best shape of his life and was a starter in the All-Star Game; K-Mart appears to have rediscovered the spring in his legs; The Birdman is again among the league leaders in blocks; Mr. Big Shot continues to point this team in the right direction and is enjoying the best season of his 13-year career; and J.R. Swish has never seen a 3-point shot he didn’t like.

Add them all up and you have an extremely explosive and dangerous team capable of beating anyone in the Association.

Denver is 7-2 against the Lakers (2-1), Cavs (2-0), Magic (1-0), Celtics (1-0) and Mavericks (1-1). The Nuggets also own a NBA-best 12-6 mark against teams with a .600 record or better.

Based on those inspiring numbers, you can certainly make a case for Denver as the best team in the NBA. If anything, the Nuggets are clearly THE team out West who can challenge the Lakers in a seven-game series.

The Lakers were very fortunate to win on Sunday (Feb. 28) as Chauncey Billups (4 for 12) and J.R. Smith (3 for 12) went uncharacteristically cold in the second half and Ron Artest locked up Carmelo Anthony with some old-fashioned bully defense. But don’t let L.A.’s recent victory be the measuring stick for the Lakers-Nuggets simmering rivalry. The Nuggets still lead the season series 2-1 and it took a monumental defensive effort by L.A. to swing the momentum in their favor at home.

The Las Vegas Hilton currently has the Nuggets at 12-1 to win it all, which is very enticing odds considering the reward is higher than the risk.

Despite head-scratching losses to sub-.500 teams such as the Wizards, Clippers, Timberwolves, Sixers and Kings (twice), the Nuggets remain undaunted and have brushed off those minor slip-ups with some really impressive wins.

Last week the Nuggets outlasted the Cavaliers, 118-116, in overtime on Feb. 18, then got drilled by the Wizards the following night, but redeemed themselves two days later by outgunning the Celtics, 114-105.

Though the Nuggets trail the Lakers by 5 ½ games for the best record in the Western Conference, they firmly believe they can compete with the world champs and are convinced they can knock them out without the benefit of homecourt. It’s a belief the Nuggets built up from last season’s six-game war with L.A. that has carried over into this season, evidenced by their two resounding victories over Kobe and Co.

In a 126-113 win at Staples Center on Feb. 5, the Nuggets found a way to overcome the absence of Anthony thanks to Billups, who made nine of 13 3-pointers en route to a career-high 39 points.

“He runs the show, and guys who run the show are really important. Forget the scoring part. He’s got so much more going on. He makes threes and he makes free throws,” Wynn Las Vegas oddsmaker John Avello said of Billups, the Colorado native and veteran point guard who is averaging a career-best 19.8 points per game this season.

Billups’ free-throw shooting (90 percent) is the hidden gem of his all-around game, making him a tough cover late in the game because you don’t want him on the line.

The Nuggets remind me of the 2000 Portland Trail Blazers and the 2002 Sacramento Kings. The Blazers and Kings were deep and talented teams, and each endured a heated rivalry with the Lakers.

The 2000 Blazers – led by Scottie Pippen, Rasheed Wallace, Steve Smith, Bonzi Wells, Arvydas Sabonis and Damon Stoudamire – pushed the Lakers to seven games in the conference finals, but squandered a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter and lost.

The 2002 Kings – led by Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic and Doug Christie – thought they were good enough to win the title, but Robby Horry’s buzzer-beater in Game 4 and a few bad calls allowed the Lakers to win the series.

Denver and L.A. are bound to meet in the West Finals this season, and the Nuggets (107.4 PPG) are one of the few teams in the league that can match the Lakers’ firepower (102.7 PPG) and have two guys in the lineup – Anthony and Billups – who are capable of making clutch shots.

It will take the Lakers’ “A” game to defeat the Nuggets in a playoff series. Anything less simply won’t cut it.