It's all a little bit messy and nobody is quite sure how it's going to work, but the 2020-21 NBA season is here.

Teams have barely entered camp, meanwhile the poor rookies are only just starting to get to know the league and will soon find themselves out on the court with the best players in the world. 

Like last season, this one carries different challenges. Still, the Stats Insider Futures Model has crunched the numbers to give us championship probabilities and we've looked into what might influence that probability moving forward.

RELATED: NBA 2020-21: Who's Best Placed To Win The Eastern Conference?

Dallas Mavericks: 4.7%

The Dallas Mavericks wrapped up the 2019-20 season with the best offence in the NBA scoring 116.7 points per 100 possessions. It's the highest offensive rating in NBA history. 

That's with Luka Doncic playing just his second season in the league and Kristaps Porzingis struggling his way through 57 games. Should Doncic take another step towards an inevitable Most Valuable Player award, while Porzingis gets his body right, the Mavericks will again be a premier offensive team. 

However, Dallas won't become a premier team in the Western Conference until they address their 111.7 defensive rating. The addition of Josh Richardson is a start. The drafting of Australia's Josh Greencould also prove pivotal if he can step into a productive role on day one.

The Mavericks will be a force throughout the 2020's. Doncic ensures that. Just how much of a force depends on their defence this season and beyond.

Denver Nuggets: 4.1%

JeramiGrant is a significant loss for the Denver Nuggets. In a team that struggled to a below-average 111.0 defensive rating, Grant's defensive prowess will be missed. Particularly if Michael Porter Jr. - who is expecting a hearty bump to his minutes - can't find a way to stop the players opposite him from scoring. 

Sharp Nuggets minds are excited about Porter Jr. on the offensive end. He averaged 22 points per game shooting 55.1% from the field and 42.2% from deep in seven regular-season bubble games. He however leaves a lot to be desired defensively.

Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray have formed one of the most dangerous offensive duos in the league. Jokic, in particular, has levels to lift and shapes as a guy that will finally receive the recognition he deserves this season. Again, scoring points won't be an issue for this team.

How far Denver goes, and how high their preseason 4.1% rises, all depends on the number in the defensive rating column come playoff time.

Golden State Warriors: 2.2%

The comeback season for the Golden State Warriors hit a massive snag before it even began with the news that Klay Thompson is out with an Achilles injury. The potential of a fairytale ride from the worst team in the NBA one season to champions the next is all but gone with Thompson missing.

Still, Steph Curry is fit and healthy. Draymond Green is surely well-rested given it will have been 300 days since his last game on opening night. Kelly Oubre is a nice pick-up, and Andrew Wiggins is entering what are typically the prime years of a ball player's career. If Wiggins is ever to play anywhere close to the value of his $30 million a year contract, it starts now with Curry and Green.

An outrageous rise to a high seed looks out of the question, but if Steph returns as the player he was, the Warriors can rustle a few feathers in a loaded conference.

RELATED: Can The Wounded Golden State Warriors Still Contend In The West?

Houston Rockets: 2.2%

It's all questions and no answers for the Rockets to start the 2020-21 season.

• Will James Harden be there by the end of it?
• Can John Wall re-create his pre-injury 20.7 points and 8.7 assists in 32 games throughout 2018-19?
• What offence will new coach Stephen Silas employ?
• Will that offence involve a big man?
• How does DeMarcus Cousins look?

Questions, questions, questions. Few teams enter season 2020-21 under more mystery than Houston. 

Los Angeles Clippers: 9.9%

The Los Angeles Clippers learned some valuable lessons last season. 1) Don't talk like champions until there is a ring on your finger and 2) Resting players until you're playing for a ring doesn't help nurture championship chemistry. 

Expect Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to spend more time on the floor ironing out the kinks this season. This is a big call, but we should hear a little less from Patrick Beverley this season too. The Clippers have the star power of a championship team, but just need to spend a season carving out cohesion and chemistry. Quietly.

Ty Lue is an exciting hire in place of Doc Rivers. The freshly extended Luke Kennard provides the Clippers with elite shooting while some will argue Serge Ibaka is an upgrade on Montrezl Harrell. All that is left to find is an experienced facilitator for the moments Beverley's bulldog defence and Sweet Lou's isolation sets don't fit the game plan at that moment.

It's not quite boom or bust for the Clippers, but Leonard is an unrestricted free agent after this season...

RELATE: Inside the LA Clippers playoff meltdown 

Los Angeles Lakers: 17.4%

"Remarkably, the Lakers may have increased the distance between themselves and the playoff peloton." - Have The Lakers Improved Enough To Win Consecutive NBA Championships?

The 2019-20 NBA champions will enter the 2020-21 season as heavy favourites and with a better team.

In picking up the Sixth Man of the Year in Montrezl Harrell, along with his runner-up, Dennis Schroder, the Lakers have added two high-quality pieces around Anthony Davis and LeBron James. The franchise seems confident in Kyle Kuzma's development, so much so that they recently extended his contract. 

Their big body duo of Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee has been replaced by the bounceless Marc Gasol. While they might take a step back in that regard, Wesley Matthews can peg it back up as a replacement for Danny Green's perimeter defence. 

Injuries to James and Davis are the obvious potential roadblocks to back-to-back championships. Perhaps Father Time finally knocks on James' door on his 36th birthday? Whatever pops up (something always does in this league), the Lakers are best-positioned to handle it as 17.4% favourites to win the championship.

Memphis Grizzlies: 0.8%

The Memphis Grizzlies are running it back this season after a deathly quiet off-season. 

Ja Morant can only get better in the wake of his 17.8 points, 7.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds Rookie of the Year campaign. The kid is a freak. The only moments you don't want to be watching him is when he lands a dunk like a new-born giraffe.

Somewhat forgotten behind Morant is Jaren Jackson Jr. who is another stud. His development alongside Morant will determine Memphis' next move. There is Murray/Jokic levels of appeal to these two so long as they keep trending the right way.

The Grizzlies, while exciting, are young and inexperienced. Assumed improvement of young players is all there is to guide us through preseason predictions. Will it be enough to close in on a .500 record and sneak into the playoffs? A lot needs to break right.

Minnesota Timberwolves: 0.4%

This season? It's not looking much better despite drafting Anthony Edwards with the No. 1 overall pick. Ricky Rubio returning is unlikely to change Minny's fortunes. It all comes down to Karl-Anthony Townsand to a lesser extent, D'Angelo Russell.

If Towns plays like one of the best bigs in the NBA while Russell and company fold in around him where required, the Timberwolves may surprise a few people.

"tHe WoLvEs aRe GoInG tO bE bAd tHiS sEaSoN" pic.twitter.com/siMT9pfe9V

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) November 14, 2019

New Orleans Pelicans: 0.8%

The pre-Bubble darlings didn't fire a shot and failed to sneak into the playoffs last season. In response, the front office called for a culture change and hired the defensive-minded Stan Van Gundy to fill the coaches chair.  

Van Gundy's first task is to improve the Pelicans' 19th-ranked 111.9 defensive rating. Only then can the focus turn to the likes of Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram dominating on the offensive end.

Trading away Jrue Holiday won't help Van Gundy improve the defence. Although. Eric Bledsoe is about as good as a perimeter defender you'll ever get in a Holiday-for-something trade with picks scattered on top. Steven Adams (remarkably the highest-paid player on the roster) is a handy addition and will help accelerate the culture change in the direction of toughness and defence.

This feels like a transition year for the Pelicans. They have the talent to sneak into the playoff seeds in year one under SVG, but being forced into the Play-In Tournament seems the more likely path.

Oklahoma City Thunder: 0.3%

From the man that wanted to "all but guarantee their four-season playoff streak comes to an end" last season, we're tipping it all over again for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Chris Paul inspired an unlikely run to the playoffs but is now in Phoenix. All that is left is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 82 draft picks over the next decade.

The Thunder will be good again one day, but not any time soon.

Phoenix Suns: 2.1%

There is one team everybody is interested in to start every season. This year, it's the Phoenix Suns.

With plenty of young and talented players led by Devin Booker, the addition of Chris Paul gives the Suns the elite experienced facilitator they have sorely lacked in recent seasons. He's 35-years-old, but as he showed last season, Paul can still ball with the best of them.

Chris Paul coaching the young Suns on the bench 👏 pic.twitter.com/2C04Q4WswP

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) December 15, 2020

Between Booker and Paul, the Suns make for a dangerous opposition in crunch time. Deandre Ayton is another big beneficiary of Paul's arrival. The future Hall of Fame point guard can take Ayton's game to another level giving the Suns three viable offensive options.

It's all coming up Milhouse for the Suns at the moment. Although, an injury to Booker or Paul would rip the carpet from under them. Depth is an issue at the moment. Paul, in particular, can't afford to spend extended periods on the sideline.

Portland Trail Blazers: 2.2%

The Portland Trail Blazers added to their defence with the acquisitions of Robert Covington and Derrick Jones Jr, but make no mistake, this group only goes as far as Damian Lillard takes them.

They're still overly reliant on the enigmatic point guard. He had to drag Portland to the playoffs last season and is in a similar position heading into this one. Unless Jusuf Nurkic takes his bubble form into 2020-21, the Trail Blazers look set for another season flirting with the lower playoff seeds.

Sacramento Kings: 0.3%

Monte McNair's stint with the Sacramento Kings is off to a rocky start after he played a part butchering Bogdan Bogdanovic's sign-and-trade deal to the Bucks. He started to make up for it by drafting Tyrese Haliburton, though how the franchise deals with Buddy Hield is another story to monitor. 

A Haliburton/De'Aaron Fox backcourt is pleasant to think about as a long-term option. In the short term, Hield accepting a role off the bench and playing it professionally gives Sacramento consistent strike on the perimeter. 

Marvin Bagley III - the guy Vlade Divac drafted ahead of Luka Doncic - played just 13 games last season. He's a forgotten man on this Kings roster and can still be a big part of their future. His return from injury at least offers optimism, if not misguided expectations, for the Kings this season. 

San Antonio Spurs: 0.5%

The longest playoff streak in NBA history is over and the halo that shines over Greg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs went with it. 

Popovich teams can never be irrelevant in the playoff discussion, but the Spurs aren't on the tip of too many tongues heading into this season. DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge still don't fit together in today's NBA, and while despite looking excellent at times, Dejounte Murray isn't a guy that can put a team on his back Lillard-style.

As unfamiliar as a Spurs-free playoff picture, their 25th-ranked 113.5 defensive rating is a significant cause for concern. 

Utah Jazz: 3.2%

$205 million.

The Utah Jazz will pay Rudy Gobert $205 million over the course of five years. It's too early to tell whether or not it's a bad deal, but that won't stop people from making a call should Gobert not start this season strong.

Rudy Gobert is signing a five-year $205M extension with the Jazz, per @espn_macmahon

It’s the biggest contract for a big man in NBA history 💰 pic.twitter.com/isveoLurHP

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 20, 2020

Utah won't need reminding of their poor opening quarter to last season. Typically slow offensively, the Jazz struggled to capture their famous defensive form early on. It's something they will need to avoid this time around. The West is too deep to fall too far back this season.

On paper, the Jazz look like a squad that can wrestle with the big dogs of the conference. Donovan Mitchell won't back down. Mike Conley can't be any worse than he was last season while Bojan Bogdanovicis an unheralded scorer that will benefit even further if Conley can find his rhythm. 

It all needs to come together for the Jazz to compete with the likes of the Lakers and Clippers. At the same time, it won't be a surprise to see their 3.2% to win the championship rise as the season progresses.

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