The 2021-22 NBA season is going to be a unique ride. On one hand, the Eastern Conference has more depth with a handful of young teams coming into their own last season, as well as a busy offseason for teams near the bottom of the playoff picture.

Meanwhile, the NBA Western Conference is a bit of a guessing game with some significant injuries affecting frequent playoff participants, teams getting healthy and new blood entering the mix.

Here are the five players under the most pressure in the upcoming NBA season. Note: individuals like Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving aren't in the running due to either being prohibited from playing for their respective teams or the likelihood that they hold out.

NBA pressure points:

5) Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves

At some point, the T-Wolves have to answer the pivotal question of whether they're all in with this group or if they're going to reboot through trading their premier playmakers. To avoid another disappointing season, Towns has to have an MVP-caliber NBA campaign.

D'Angelo Russell is healthy, Anthony Edwards is coming off an encouraging rookie season where he flaunted the ability to be a fluent scorer and Malik Beasley has become a legitimate scoring option. Head coach Chris Finch needs his NBA franchise player to answer the bell, which means impacting the game in more ways than just the box score.

Towns can play in the post, drain midrange jump shots and stick three-pointers in transition. All the while, he's an elite rebounder. We're talking about a 25-year-old who's a walking 20-10 every time he steps on the floor in the NBA.

In years past, there was always an excuse for the T-Wolves coming up short of the NBA playoffs outside of them simply playing in the West. That excuse doesn't exist this season.

Minnesota has stayed true to Towns. Now he needs to reassure their faith in him by taking over NBA games and serving as more of an anchor on the defensive end.

4) James Harden, Brooklyn Nets

At the moment, Irving isn't playing for the Nets this season due to New York City's COVID-19 regulations and the NBA organization not allowing him to be a part-time contributor. That puts more pressure on Kevin Durant and James Harden, the latter being more vital than the former.

Durant showed that he can carry a team without a healthy costar by his side, as the Nets took the eventual NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks to seven games in the second round of last postseason. For a full season, he and the Nets can't be solely reliant on one player, which they won't be with Harden playing to his capabilities.

Harden is one of the elite scorers in NBA history, and he enters the season as a secondary scoring option for the first time in his career since he was last teammates with Durant on the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Nets have the depth to win the NBA Finals without Irving, but with a handful of veterans present, health is paramount. Harden's health and impact loom large. As long as he's playing to his strengths and scoring at a high level alongside Durant, the Nets will be just fine.

The thought of Harden being the second scorer in any NBA offense is absurd, as is. But with Irving not present, the Nets' investment in Harden becomes all the more precious (they moved on from the likes of Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince and multiple first-rounders to acquire Harden from the Houston Rockets).

3) Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls

The Bulls have an enticing starting five (Lonzo Ball, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Patrick Williams and Nikola Vucevic). At the same time, these individuals are trying to get a team to the playoffs for the first time since 2017, making this experiment no sure thing. What likely ensures an NBA playoff berth for the Bulls is LaVine adapting to the new environment around him.

In all likelihood, LaVine will have the ball in his hands less, as Ball becomes the primary ball-handler who gets the ducks in a row and DeRozan gets the ball in isolation. Head coach Billy Donovan has a lot of prolific scoring options in his starting five alone.

However, if LaVine fires away too many jump shots when he gets the ball rather than attacking the basket, the Bulls' offense could disappoint. At face value, this is an NBA playoff team, but it's also one with players who have struggled to click as a collective whole.

As superb of a player and talent he is, LaVine plays a role in their struggles. The Bulls need him to transition to being effective without the ball in his hands while taking advantage of the attention those around him will attract (DeRozan and Vucevic).

It's difficult to double-team anyone in this five-man unit. There's no margin for error with any teams trying to crack the bottom of the NBA Eastern Conference playoff picture. That entails the bedrock of the Bulls, which is LaVine, playing up to its billing from an impact standpoint.

2) Kyle Lowry, Miami Heat

It took seven years, but the Heat finally got the point guard of their dreams in Lowry. With that said, Lowry is 35, meaning he could only have two, if not one season left of high-level play, which is what the Heat need from him. There were plenty of viable point guard options on the free agent market, and the team chose to sign-and-trade Goran Dragic and Precious Achiuwa to the Toronto Raptors for Lowry.

In essence, they're squeezing whatever is left out of Lowry. The positive for Miami is that they don't need him to drop say 20 points a game; Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo are the driving forces of the offense, Duncan Robinson is an elite shooter and Tyler Herro is an electric scorer.

Lowry has to be the glue piece and an NBA player who forces teams to keep their eyes on everyone. He still gets to the rim off the dribble with ease, sticks outside jump shots and is a competitive defender. Lowry is an upgrade over Dragic, who has dealt with a number of injuries over the last two years.

The former was brought in to get this team back to the NBA Finals and make sure that what happened last year never happens again (the Heat were steamrolled by the Bucks in the first round of the playoffs).

Depth is an issue for the Heat. It can be alleviated if they get a fully functioning version of Lowry who, like the bulk of his starting comrades, is a clutch player with a trove of playoff experience.

NBA pressure carrier:

1) Russell Westbrook, Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers want to get at least one more championship with LeBron James, which is why they decided to make the bold trade with the Washington Wizards for Westbrook. There are two questions that come with this move for the Lakers: 1) do they have the depth to withstand an NBA season? and 2) how will Westbrook and James jell?

Regarding the first question, the Lakers have a reasonable balance of youth and veterans coming off their bench. Simultaneously, Talen Horton-Tucker and Trevor Ariza are currently nursing injuries. The depth comes into play because Westbrook's arrival has the Lakers paying three players max money, which clogs up the payroll. Furthermore, they sent a trio of talented players to the Wizards in Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

As for the second question, Westbrook and James are each ball-dominant players, meaning one or both of them is going to be surrendering dribbles. How does that work with a pair of players who have limited years of elite NBA play left in tank? It's an expensive risk, making it of the essence that Westbrook proves the Lakers' risky offseason to be worthwhile.

The UCLA product is still one of the most dangerous players in the NBA with a head of steam and is a reasonable facilitator. Los Angeles has three premier scorers (James, Westbrook and Anthony Davis). James and Davis have chemistry.

The two stars and Westbrook don't have that rapport quite yet. Westbrook getting the Lakers back to the NBA Finals is the endgame. Them not doing as such makes the trade a forced transaction that limited the team's ability to restock head coach Frank Vogel's rotation.