I’m doing my NBA
preview first by previewing each conference individually and then previewing
how I think the playoffs will turn out.
So without further ado here is my Western Conference season preview:
Western Conference
1.
San Antonio Spurs
Every year people say the Spurs are too old and they aren’t as good as
last year will be sad to learn that this team will probably have the best
record in the NBA. They did last year
while basically resting their starters all year and I see no reason why they
would be worse. They are returning the same
core players and personally I expect Kawhi Leonard to make a big jump in
performance. I expect him to expand his
offensive game and turn into a shutdown defender. Overall for the Spurs though I expect Coach
Popovich to use the deepest team in the NBA to its full disposal and lead the
Spurs to the best record in the NBA.
2.
Denver Nuggets
To be clear this is a regular season prediction piece and I don’t think
the Nuggets when it comes to the playoffs are the 2nd best team in
the West, however when it comes to the regular season this team is as dangerous
as any team. They are the most athletic team
in all of basketball who like the Spurs are extremely deep and Coach George
Karl has shown a willingness to use that fact to its full advantage. The team added Andre Igoudala and with the
expected improvements of the “Manimal” Kenneth Faried and the always
interesting Javele McGee the Nuggets are without question going to be
good. This team has one of the best
offenses in basketball and with the addition of Igoudala should have a vastly
improved defense. This team can run any
team off the floor with its youth and athleticism and given its depth the team
is likely going to be a regular season juggernaut.
3.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Before the trade of James Harden I had them as the 2nd seed
in the West but of course that changes everything. So before I preview the team I’ll tell you my
thoughts on the trade from the Thunder’s perspective. Overall if the Thunder were going to trade
Harden then they got as good a haul as they could hope to ask for. Kevin Martin is a solid player, Lamb is a
good prospect and the picks could prove to be valuable. However the trade without question knocks
them down a peg as a title contender this season. Really though the move comes down to the fact
that they weren’t willing to pay Harden the money he deserves and thus traded
him because of it. They probably got the
best possible package back in return but if they hadn’t paid Kendrick Perkins
as much as they did then it wouldn’t be an issue. The team is very profitable and without
question they would be financially fine if they decided to pay Harden. Overall the team as a whole is quite strong
and is on the short list of title contenders.
They have Kevin Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka and an underrated nucleus who
can give any team in the NBA fits. I
think losing Harden makes them lose some of their regular season dominance
especially as the team adjusts to playing without him at the start of the
season.
4.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers are without question another one of the few teams that can
win the title this year, and they will have to do it on the strength of its Big
4. They have offensive mastermind Steve
Nash, one of the greatest of all time in Kobe Bryant, the always underrated Pau
Gasol and the best center in basketball in Dwight Howard. This team should be offensively and
defensively dominant if all their players play up to their potential but there
are many reasons, at least in the regular season this team is going to have its
struggles. First of all, their entire
big 4 is in some way a question mark.
Dwight Howard is recovering from back surgery, Steve Nash is leaving Phoenix’s
training staff, Pau Gasol is another year older, and Kobe Bryant is another
year older and has to share the ball in the backcourt for the 1st
time in his career. Really the team
outside of those 4 players isn’t that good either so injuries to any of those
guys, likely considering their age and Howard’s back would hurt them
substantially. The team is going to
have its struggles as the regular season goes along but it is without question
one of the best teams in all of basketball.
5.
Memphis Grizzlies
Well here we are, after everyone expected them to break through last
year the Grizzlies lost in the 1st round to the Clippers. This team has an interesting makeup in the
modern NBA as the team relies on their big men to score and their guards to
play defense. They are an extremely
interesting team that can create some difficult matchup problems for teams ill
prepared to play against their bigs. This
team is probably going to be about as good as last year’s unit but could
improve slightly if Zach Randolph is able to return to his form from 2 seasons
ago. This team though is an overall
solid unit that’s defense will keep them in all games and is one of the best
teams in the West.
6.
Los Angeles Clippers
In what I see as Chris Paul’s final season in Los Angeles I think the
Clippers are going to have a disappointing season. They have the worst coach in all of
professional basketball, Vinny del Negro, and in an improved Western Conference
in all likelihood didn’t get better. By
virtue of having the best point guard in basketball, Chris Paul, and one of the
league’s best young talents, Blake Griffin, this team is without question going
to be competitive. However I just see
this team closer to the middle of the Western Conference pack than the top of
it.
7.
Utah Jazz
Last year the Jazz were able to sneak into the playoffs as the 8 seed
and this season I expect them to build off that performance. The team has one of the best frontcourts in
basketball with Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Derrick Favors and Enes
Kanter. The rest of the team is solid
with the underrated Gordon Hayward, and the added Mo Williams. They coached by Ty Corbin who through his
first couple of seasons has done a good job and seems to be improving.
8.
Minnesota Timberwolves
As long as Kevin Love stays healthy then I think the Timberwolves are a
playoff team this year. If they are able
to survive the first couple of weeks while he recovers I think this team could definitely
make the post season. They have Ricky
Rubio, the dynamic point guard who while struggling shooting the ball makes
plays offensively and is extremely underrated defensively. Nikola Pekovic is an extremely underrated
center who is extremely physical and can be dominant at times in the low
post. Kevin Love is one of the 5 best
players in all of basketball, and extremely gifted offensive player that is a
dominant rebounder and amazing passer.
They also upgraded their wing rotation substantially, their weakness
from last season, with the additions of Chase Budinger, Brandon Roy, and Andrei
Kirilenko. This team should be a playoff
team as long as Kevin Love is able to recover fully from his injury.
9.
Dallas Mavericks
Another team that might have their season derailed by an injury to
their superstar power forward, Dirk Nowitzki.
Overall as a team without question the Mavericks are going to be worse
than they were last year, when they were barely a playoff team that had an
almost embarrassing title defense. They
were banking on getting either Deron Williams or Dwight Howard and right now it
is looking like they won’t be getting either.
This team did an admirable job of recovering from that effort and was
able to sign OJ Mayo, Elton Brand to try to turn the team into a playoff
one. With Dirk’s injury starting the
season off I don’t see the Mavericks rallying and making a playoff run.
10.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors are a team that could go in many different directions as
they have multiple talented players but many of those same players are
unproven, injury prone, or flawed. This
team could easily make the jump into the playoffs if everything goes right, but
I don’t see that happening. Their point
guard is Steph Curry, a gifted offensive talent who cannot for the life of him
stay healthy. Their center is the elite
defensive but limited offensive and injury prone Andrew Bogut. A full season out of him could singlehandedly
turn a below average defense into an above average one. However he hasn’t proven he can stay healthy
for a full season and I can’t imagine him staying healthy for a full
season. This team can compete with
anyone but over the course of a full season I can’t see them staying healthy
enough to make the playoffs.
11.
New Orleans Hornets
Of any team on that isn’t making the playoffs, this team without
question has the brightest future. They
have a future superstar, Anthony Davis, seemingly future star in Eric Gordon
and underrated power forward Ryan Anderson.
Davis is going to be a superstar and there is a good chance that one day
he is going to be one of the best players in all of basketball and I am
expecting a great rookie season. I think
Anderson and Gordon have very good seasons as well surrounding him as the team
does better than expected. However
outside of those 3 players the team is extremely weak which will likely prevent
them from competing for a playoff spot this season.
12.
Houston Rockets
Well that changed quickly, before the trade I had them holding the worst
record in the West, but with the addition of James Harden I see them doing substantially
better. This is even entirely due to what
Harden brings on the court but I think his addition reinvigorates the franchise
as well. While they gave up a lot for
Harden I feel like it is worth it considering they have been desperately
seeking a star player and now they have it.
The move also makes them more likely to acquire other star players who
want to join up and play with the Beard; especially with the emerging and controversial
Jeremy Lin, along with the underrated defensive ace Omar Asik. This team is also extremely young and has a
ton of other assets that they could turn into another star player whether via
trade or free agency. The Rockets are
one of the best run franchises in the league and while even with Harden they will
struggle this season their future is quite bright.
13.
Portland Trailblazers
Well last season signaled the start of a rebuilding process in Portland
a disappointing development brought about by injury problems with Greg Oden and
Brandon Roy. They have a star player in
Lamarcus Aldridge and some solid wings in Wes Matthews and Nicholas Batum, but
outside of that they have a lot of weaknesses.
Considering Aldridge becomes a free agent in 2015 they better hope this
rebuilding process goes quickly if they hope to keep him.
14.
Phoenix Suns
Well the Steve Nash era is finally over. After being the face of the franchise since
joining the team in 2005 the Suns are starting the season without Steve
Nash. Considering that he is not the
only player that they are losing this is going to be a substantial loss and
will cost the team dearly. He
singlehandedly can carry an offense and while they added Goran Dragic he is
nowhere near the level that Nash is at.
They are a nice team but in a deadly and deep Western Conference their
talent level just doesn’t matchup. This
team is going to be one of the worst in all of basketball and is going to be
fully committed to rebuilding.
15.
Sacramento Kings
Well there is no possible way that any team could be worse put together
than this Sacramento Kings team. It’s
one thing to play with one ball stopper who when he touches the basketball is
almost a guarantee to shoot, but it is another thing entirely to have a team
full of players like that. They employ
Marcus Thorton, Tyreke Evans, Demarcus Cousins, Jimmer Fredette, and Aaron
Brooks. Most teams don’t have one player
that is as much of a black hole as any of those guys. There are some great talents, especially
Cousins, but they don’t play defense at all and offensively they never pass the
basketball. I think this team is going to
be the worst in the West which might be a slight overstatement but I don’t
think it will be.
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