Clippers reshuffle their ceiling with Beal, Collins, Lopez and CP3 joining a deep, veteran-laced core that already boasted Kawhi Leonard and others. The debate centers on whether health and depth can vault LA past Thunder and Nuggets, with the panel noting the West’s top-heavy odds and Clippers’ new balance of size, shooting and playmaking. Bulls chatter underscored Chicago’s youth surge, led by Matas Buzelis, as a potential beacon in a franchise stuck between contention and rebuild.