Mike Rose | @MFRose11 (Twitter)
Tuesday, October 13, 2015 | BataviasBest.org
The NBA season is quickly approaching, and with that being said over the next few weeks I’ll be breaking down how I think this season will play out conference, by conference, division, by division.
To start out we’ll be looking at the Western Conference, a conference in which you could be a fan of probably 10 or 11 different teams and feel you have a legitimate championship opportunity this year – and not be delusional (*cough* Lakers fans *cough*). So as you look at the standings from last season, the playoff teams in the West were Golden State, who eventually won the Finals, Houston, San Antonio, the LA Clippers, Dallas, New Orleans, Memphis, and Portland. Coming into this year those eight should all still be in the mix as well as Oklahoma City, Phoenix, and improved Utah and Sacramento teams. Therefore, since the West is so deep, let’s look Division by Division and see what could be in store in the ‘Wild West’ this year.
Northwest Division
Last year’s winner: Portland Trailblazers
The Northwest Division was certainly the weakest of the three divisions last year and coming into this year I expect much of the same.
The NW features two of the three teams I expect to finish in the bottom of the conference in the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. Both teams have been caught between trying to contend and bottoming out until the T-Wolves finally did last year and were rewarded with first overall pick of this past year’s draft – Karl Anthony Towns. Both teams are in full rebuild mode and are hoping that their most recent first round picks will help them moving forward, but I wouldn’t expect much from either squad this season.
Kevin Durant hasn’t played a regular season game since February, however his return added to Russell Westbrook should allow for a very successful campaign for the Thunder this season.
Now on to a team that were playing in the NBA Finals back in 2013 but injuries have stunted a chance at redemption for this team. Kevin Durant hasn’t played a regular season game since February, however his return added to Russell Westbrook should allow for a very successful campaign for the Thunder this season.
One of my surprise teams of the season comes from this division and that would be the Utah Jazz who closed last season with one of the best post all-star break records in the league. The emergence of Rudy Gobert in the middle made them a dominant defensive unit and they will certainly turn some heads this season.
Finally we have last season’s division champs the Portland Trailblazers who, after losing LaMarcus Aldridge, appear to be in for a down year in comparison to their recent success. I would expect for Portland to give a decent push to the playoffs but with the west being as deep as it is, they will likely fall short.
My Projected Northwest Division Standings:
1. Oklahoma City Thunder
2. Utah Jazz
3. Portland Trailblazers
4. Minnesota Timberwolves
5. Denver Nuggets
Pacific Division
Last year’s winner: Golden State Warriors
The Pacific Division is home to the reigning NBA champions as well as some of the worst ran franchises in the league right now.
We’ll start however with the Phoenix Suns who have been left barely on the outside looking in within the Western Conference Playoff race the last two seasons. After the failure of the three PG system last season, Phoenix has retooled with the additions of Tyson Chandler and 1st round pick Devin Booker and seemed to be in good position heading into this season and look like they may be able to finally break through into the playoffs this season.
The owner and coach do not see eye to eye and the star player’s egos, Rondo and Cousins, will likely hinder this team as talented as they may be.
Now on to a team that will most likely disappoint again in the Sacramento Kings. Although they made some additions to the roster this season such as Rajon Rondo, Willie Cauley-Stein, Marco Belinelli, and Caron Butler, the Kings are simply a dysfunctional mess. The owner and coach do not see eye to eye and the star player’s egos, Rondo and Cousins, will likely hinder this team as talented as they may be.
Another team of this division that will likely be a bottom feeder of this conference, the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers although they have the returning Kobe Bryant, Roy Hibbert, rookie D’Angelo Russell, and sixth man Lou Williams this team will likely not be able to develop the chemistry necessary and simply are not talented enough to push for the playoffs in the West. Don’t fear though Lakers fans things are looking up and the Lakers finally seem to have a sense of direction.
The other Los Angeles team, the Clippers, had an interesting offseason to say the least. After seemingly losing DeAndre Jordan to Dallas, they managed to kidnap him and get him to resign. The Clippers also added Paul Pierce and Lance Stephenson to the mix and will bring a loaded roster into the season. Expect the Clips to be a force to be reckoned with this season. Last be not least he defending NBA Champions led by last seasons MVP Steph Curry bring back a very similar roster to last season’s title team. This team returns all of their key cogs and should be the favorites to repeat as western conference and NBA champions until the rest of the field adjusts to their new additions and losses.
My Pacific Division Standings:
1. Golden State Warriors
2.Los Angeles Clippers
3. Phoenix Suns
4. Los Angeles Lakers
5. Sacramento Kings
Southwest Division
Last year’s winner: Houston Rockets
Finally we are on to what is without question the best division in the NBA. All 5 teams will be major players in the title race this season after they all reached the postseason last year. In order to keep up in the Southwest you always need to be improving and all 5 of these teams did make improvements to their rosters (except maybe Dallas but blame DeAndre Jordan for that one.)
This division not only features great teams but it also features the man who will soon be the best player in all of the NBA, Anthony Davis.
This division not only features great teams but it also features the man who will soon be the best player in all of the NBA, Anthony Davis. Davis and his Pelicans (this name still sucks) were able to get into last years playoffs after tying for the 8th and final spot. Davis, who is now reportedly adding a three pointer to his arsenal, asserted himself among the game’s elite last season with a PER of 30.81. The only other players to ever record higher for a single season? Well that would be Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James. So it’s pretty clear Davis, who is only 22 years old, has a bright future ahead of him. As for this year Davis should put together a MVP caliber campaign and I would expect to see the Pelicans come playoff time.
Next up would be a team that knows a little something about winning, the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs, who were already loaded, added All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge and are probably a lot of people’s title favorites. For me I give the nod to the Warriors until I see how this group will mesh together, but on paper look out for this group.
Then there is the Memphis Grizzlies who have seemed to found a star in Marc Gasol and have had their defense and grit carry them the past few seasons. The Grizzlies sticking with the that theme went out and acquired Matt Barnes in the off season who I’m sure will be playing as angry as ever, especially against the Knicks. On a serious note the Grizzlies will be around come playoff time barring an injury to Gasol and maybe this will be the year they break through into the Finals.
Dallas should still remain competitive but I would not be at all surprised to see them fall out of the playoffs this year.
The Dallas Mavericks led by Dirk Nowitzki, and not led by DeAndre Jordan, had an interesting couple of months. After seemingly signing Jordan and then having Jordan return to LA instead and only walking away with Wesley Matthews on a max deal seems problematic. However Dallas should still remain competitive but I would not be at all surprised to see them fall out of the playoffs this year.
Finally, we have my favorite team the Houston Rockets. Houston brings back a similar group to the team that was one of last season’s western conference finalists. A big addition however will be Ty Lawson who was acquired from Denver for almost nothing. Lawson, who has had some troubles with the law, will help this team immensely if he stays out of trouble. The Rockets were also hampered by some tough luck last year as injuries plagued them all season. MVP runner up James Harden was still able to keep them afloat but he could only do so much. This group if they can all stay on the court, will be a dangerous team and a serious threat for the title.
My Southwest Division Standings:
1. San Antonio Spurs
2. Houston Rockets
3. Memphis Grizzlies
4, New Orleans Pelicans
5. Dallas Mavericks
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That wraps things up for my preview of the Western Conference. Stay tuned next week as I’ll be previewing the Eastern Conference, as well as the Playoffs the following week.
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