September 22, 2008 – Dr. Dime
Last week I shared with you some of my preliminary thoughts in a listing of short previews on each team in the Eastern Conference for the 2008-09 NBA season. Well here are my ‘shorts’ on the Western Conference heading into the new season.
Once again if you want my satirical point of view on the off-season transactions, player news, and team’s hopes for next season, except this time for the Western Conference, then here they are. In order of worst to best record last season:
Oklahoma City Thunder/Seattle Supersonics
Well i’ve posted this team with the Sonics logo for good ol’ times sake, but if you haven’t seen the new Oklahoma City Thunder logo yet you can check it out here in all its various forms. This team has adopted a youth movement a-la Portland Trailblazers circa 2007. This may be even more of an extreme case however as the Thunder next season will have 6 new players on their roster, 5 of which are rookies who have never played in an NBA game. Couple that with the fact that their leader and star player Kevin Durant is only a sophmore player in the NBA and until September 29th, is still only 19 years old, and you have a team that is sure to have its ups and downs again this season.
Durant gave Seattle fans a lot to cheer about in the last quarter of the 2007-08 season, and provided he picks up where he left off this team should surely win more games than they did last year. This team is so young though that they have no hope of making the playoffs, but boy fans are going to be entertained with this young core of Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook, the mysterious Serge Ibaka, and DJ White. Throw in the high flying veterans Desmond Mason and Chris Wilcox and fans will certainly get their money’s worth in some high scoring shoot-outs.
Memphis Grizzlies
Doesn’t it seem like the Memphis Grizzlies have been in like an 8 year rebuilding project? When does the project get the green light for competing for playoff position? Well although the Grizzlies certainly won’t compete for the playoffs this year, I finally feel like maybe this Memphis team is headed in the right direction. Picking up one of the brightest and most talked about rising stars in the draft this year, OJ Mayo, will certainly go a long way to pleasing season ticket holders.
There are lots of teams on the youth movement including these Grizzlies, but with Pau’s brother Marc Gasol finally comin’ to the league, newly signed Iranian center Hamed Haddadi, and the coupling of OJ Mayo and Mike Conley in the backcourt, the Grizz should certainly be more competitive than last year in lots of ball games.
Minnesota Timberwolves
I was very disappointed in the lack of off-season moves for the Timberwolves. I realize they are banking on the further development of their young core Al Jefferson, Corey Brewer, Rodney Carney, Randy Foye, Rashad McCants etc. But they seem to have a log jam of serviceable Center/Forwards that they could have traded to pick up some premium talent.
I think the draft day trade to bring in big man Kevin Love was very curious, and i’m interested to see how the T-Wolves plan to use Love in combination with Jefferson in game situations. With that said, I don’t see the Minnesota Timberwolves winning many games this season. They may squeak a few out just on sheer athleticism, but they will once again be among the bottom dwellers of the Western Conference.
LA Clippers
The big talk this summer and probably for the start of the season surrounding the LA Clippers will be their failure to resign their franchise player, Elton Brand. Sure Brand would be nice to have, but the moves the Clippers have made in the summer since Brand left for Philly have been genius. Bringing in quality veterans to fill their needs such as Camby, Williams, and R.Davis were all great moves. They have brought in great youth in Eric Gordon and DeAndre Jordan. And to me Al Thornton seems about one season away from being a surprise All-Star in this league.
If Baron Davis and Marcus Camby both stay healthy this season the Clippers have a good shot at making the playoffs. Some of you might think i’m crazy, but think about how the Clippers will use Camby for help defense with Kaman anchoring the paint, or how J-Will will be the solid back-up point guard Baron Davis never had, or how fast Al Thornton, Ricky Davis, and Cat Mobley can fill it up in bunches. Clippers this year may be the surprise team in the West if they can find the chemistry necessary when bringing together a new roster.
Sacramento Kings
Sorry Kings fans, but the Sacramento roster just isn’t going to cut it. I love Kevin Martin’s game and all, but I have a feeling the Kings are going to go into a free fall this year in the Western Conference standings. They came out on the short end of the stick in the Bibby transaction, and in my opinion (regardless of his personality flaws) made a completely lopsided trade with the Rockets giving up Ron Artest. I realize teams were low balling the Kings after it was public knowledge that both the team and Ron wanted a separation, but they gave him away for squadoosh, and they are probably going to pay for it.
Portland Trailblazers
Blazers are going to be H-O-T! I’ll say this only once, the Hornets are the team to beat in the West, but the Blazers are the team with limitless potential this year if there weapons perform the way they are expected to. The Blazers had that hot streak last year where people thought they might break out into the playoff race. Then their youth started to show and they fell off in the latter portion of the season. With the long awaited arrival of Greg Oden to the NBA and the Blazers finally getting their anchor in the middle defensively I look for this team to not only make the playoffs but also give whatever team they play fits. The match-up problems created by having Odom and Przybilla at Center and shifting Aldridge to full-time power forward with front liners Channing Frye, Outlaw, Lafrentz, and Webster. This team will be a nightmare match-up. Especially when you consider combo guards Brandon Roy and Jerryd Bayless are phenomenal scorers from both backcourt positions.
The Blazers probably won’t finish with home court advantage just yet, but they will certainly make the playoffs in the tough Western Conference and barring any injuries will be a mainstay on the post-season for years to come.
Golden State Warriors
Uh oh Warriors fans! Just when it seemed GM Chris Mullin had the Warriors back on track after the defection of Baron Davis, their main guy Monta Ellis gets injured pretty badly. It’s still a bit of a mystery how it happened, as the initial reports out of the Ellis camp that he hurt his ankle working out have been second guessed. Word is the Warriors are considering challenging his $60 million contract signed this summer.
The signing of Corey Maggette, Ronny Turiaf, and Center Andris Biedrins were good news stories, but coupled with the various bad news stories surrounding the Warriors this off-season they may fall further away from contending for that last playoff spot this season. I don’t expect a free fall as they still have a lot of talent, a great coach, and competitive veterans, but they certainly won’t be in serious running for the playoffs.
Denver Nuggets
I think there was a collective cry of “what the bleep” all across Colorado when the Nuggets announced that they had traded away their starting center and former defensive player of the year, Marcus Camby, for essentially cash considerations and a box of smarties.
I still have no idea what the logic was in the Nuggets front office, unless they know something we don’t know about the health of Camby and/or their oft-injured back-up Nene. Could Nene finally be 100% healthy and ready to finally produce at the Center spot for the Nuggets like the entire league has been expecting ever since he was drafted? Although on the surface it seems like a huge void with the loss of Camby, don’t be too quick to dismiss the Nuggets as a contending team. With Kenyon Martin, Nene, and Carmelo Anthony on the front-line and Iverson, and Atkins in the backcourt this Nuggets team is still as lethal as ever offensively. If Coach Karl can somehow improve this team’s defense they will still be one of the more feared teams in the league on any given night.
Although the Nuggets still don’t seem to be good enough defensively to win a 7 game series against a contender, they certainly have enough talent to make the playoffs. A lot of their success this season will depend on the development of the hot shooting rising stars, Linas Kleiza and JR Smith.
Dallas Mavericks
Most of the Dallas Mavericks roster has been preaching that they need more time with Jason Kidd before the full impact of last seasons trade for the future hall of fame point guard can be seen. I love Jason Kidd and what he has done during his time in the league, but after I witnessed just how much more effective Chris Paul and Deron Williams were for Team USA this summer I realized Kidd’s time in the spotlight is almost done.
The Mavericks will have a lot of pressure on them to perform this year after making relatively little to no changes to their roster, and their core being just another year older. I expect the Mavericks to fight hard for a playoff spot this year, but if I had to pick an odd man out from last year’s playoff teams in the West, the Mavericks might be the squad I figure could fold and not make the post-season in 2009.
Phoenix Suns
I’ve always been one to buy into the hype of the ‘Diesel’ Shaquille O’Neal. And to date, i’ve never really been disappointed. I realize sooner or later Shaq will just be too old to produce the way he needs to for his team to be contenders. But I truly believe that time has not come yet. A full season with his new teammates in Phoenix, a new coach, and a bad rap in a club about Kobe should be all the motivation Shaq needs to lift the Suns once again to the elite status in the Western Conference. I’m thinking the Suns will be back to having a home court advantage heading into the 2009 playoffs.
The fact that Amare Stoudemire didn’t play in the Olympics and was working on his game all summer scares me. I would think it would be scaring every power forward in the league as well. If Amare can improve his defense this year as he is saying he will, he’ll finally emerge as one of the top players in the league and the Suns may once again be a favorite to win it all.
Houston Rockets
The Rockets win streak last season was based on hard work and gritty defense. How long would the Rockets 22-game streak have been if they had one of the best on the ball defenders the league has ever seen in Ron Artest? Well we are about to find out. I’m not saying the Rockets will accomplish another big streak, but they certainly will have a higher win total than they did last season. Artest can effect the game in so many ways, and if you remember when Artest was at his best in Indiana, it was when he could focus his energy on defense without having to carry the team offensively. Back when he had Reggie Miller and Jermaine O’Neal to fill it up.
This year with the unselfish and hot shooting Rafer Alston running the point, superstars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming to handle the offense, and Ron-Ron to shut down just about any player on the opposing team that Adelman sicks him on, the Rockets should be one of the top 4 teams in the Western Conference earning them home court advantage for the playoffs. T-Mac can kiss his first round exit blues goodbye if Artest stays healthy and focused on basketball.
Utah Jazz
I can never say enough about Deron Williams. The guy is a magician with the ball on the court. He may not get the same level of press that Chris Paul gets for being the ‘NBA All-star Point Guard’ of the future, but in my eyes he’s not very far off from being every bit as good as Paul. Paired with Team USA teammate Carlos Boozer, the duo should have that taste of winning still fresh in their minds and be gunning hard this year for another run at the title.
Everyone knows exactly what Boozer, Williams, Kirelenko, Okur, and Korver bring to the table, but the key to the Jazz success this year will be just how much Ronnie Brewer, C.J. Miles, and Ronnie Price have improved and are ready to contribute. If their young guns are as active as the Jazz organization expects them to be this season, the sky is the limit for Utah.
San Antonio Spurs
As much as it seems that the somewhat of a dynasty the San Antonio Spurs have had is coming to an end, I just can’t bring myself to mentally count them out as contenders for the title. How can you? Every time you start to doubt them they bounce back in classic Duncan/Popovich style and make a serious run.
With Ginobili re-aggravating his ankle injury at the Olympic games in Beijing this summer for Argentina, I would expect he will miss some significant time to start the season after requiring surgery. This could leave the other Western Conference teams with a bit of a false sense of security as San Antonio may slip out of the top 8 in the West heading into the new year. But if they don’t slip too far back, my guess is San Antonio will show the professionalism they so regularly display and make a big second half of season push to close out one of the bottom playoff spots in the West. From there, I expect every team in the league to be fearful once again of the Spurs.
New Orleans Hornets
I haven’t been shy about saying it. My pick to win the Western Conference regular season race this year is the New Orleans Hornets. There are far too many elite and dangerous teams in the West though to pick them yet as your NBA Finals favorites. However, a healthy Chris Paul will ensure that this Hornets squad night in and night out is consistently successful at executing on both ends of the floor. The addition of James Posey will not have any dramatic effects throughout the regular season, so I hope the New Orleans fans are not expecting as much. However come playoff time the Posey heroics and the genius of signing him will certainly show its true colors. Posey is a difference maker, he is two or three necessary big shots or big stops that makes the difference in a tight playoff series between a winner and a loser.
LA Lakers
Andrew Bynum, Andrew Bynum, Andrew Bynum. I love the Lakers chances as much as the next guy, but I can’t believe how quickly the media has annointed Andrew Bynum as the second coming of Christ in Lakerland. I mean the guy had a decent stretch of 30 some odd game last season, but they were nothing spectacular or even All-star worthy. I do believe Bynum has the potential to be an excellent NBA Center, and one day may even be an NBA All-star, but I am a bit cautious about saying he is the missing piece to the Lakers puzzle that will guarantee them a title. For starters, he’s never even played with Pau Gasol yet. What if they don’t play well together side by side in the paint. Having two big bodies in close proximity can sometimes restrict both players ability to operate. I’m not saying that’s what will happen, but i’m certainly considering the possibility.
At the end of the day, any team with Kobe Bryant cannot be taken for granted. I would agree that the Lakers should make the playoffs, but I highly doubt they will win the regular season playoff race. In fact they may struggle to even retain a home court spot for the post-season. But just like last season, any team that makes the playoffs in the Western Conference has a shot at winning it all. The playoff race this year will only get tighter than last year.
If you have any thoughts or predictions for this upcoming NBA season, please drop a comment below for our readers!
