Ranking the West
After discussing the Jazz's fortunes Wednesday, we'll talk about the rest of the league today. Here's my Western Conference predictions going into the season. We'll check back in April to see how misguided I was.
Three division winners
1. L.A. Lakers It's hard not to regard the Lakers as Western Conference favorites considering they went 41-16 (counting the playoffs) with Pau Gasol in the lineup and will welcome back center Andrew Bynum from a knee injury.
2. Houston No team had a better off-season than the Rockets, who added not only Ron Artest but also Spurs veteran Brent Barry. If Artest is on his best behavior, Houston could win the West and Yao Ming could be an MVP candidate.
3. Utah As long as they win the Northwest Division, the Jazz will be assured a top four playoff seed. After losing six times at EnergySolutions last season, the question is if the Jazz finally can claim home-court advantage for a round or two.
The Fab Fourth
4. New Orleans Don't know if the Hornets can win 56 games again, but they will finish ahead of San Antonio for another season in the Southwest. We'll see if championships (or at least deep playoff runs) continue to follow James Posey.
Playoff teams
5. Dallas Having replaced Avery Johnson as coach with Rick Carlisle, the Mavericks might be the West's biggest question mark. They're two years removed from a 67-15 season, with Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki sure to benefit from a full season playing together.
6. San Antonio The Spurs have trended downward from 63 wins to 58 to 56 the last three years. They'll slide a little more this season with Manu Ginobili recovering from ankle surgery and a roster (Roger Mason aside) that continues to get older.
7. Portland It's going to take a couple of years for the Blazers to take their place among the West's elite. They'll eventually get there with a core of young players that includes Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden.
8. Phoenix The Suns averaged 58 victories in Mike D'Antoni's four full seasons as coach. They'll be hard pressed to win 50 with Terry Porter taking over. Porter's greatest challenge is squeezing productive years out of Steve Nash and Shaquille O'Neal.
On the outside
9. L.A. Clippers The Clippers will be better than many observers expect after losing Elton Brand to Philadelphia. They have the starting five (Baron Davis, Cuttino Mobley, Al Thornton, Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman) of a playoff team and a promising rookie in Eric Gordon.
10. Denver Seeing no reason to pay the luxury tax and finish eighth in the West, the Nuggets unloaded Camby to the Clippers for the right to swap second-round draft picks. Denver has loads of high-priced talent (Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony) but must decide about its direction.
11. Golden State The Warriors watched Davis leave for the Clippers, then spent $194 million on Kelenna Azubuike, Andris Biedrins, Monta Ellis, Corey Maggette and Ronny Turiaf. They won't see any return on that investment this season, especially with Ellis already injured.
The bottom four
12. Oklahoma City Despite going 20-62 last season in Seattle, the Thunder will get a boost after relocating to Oklahoma City. The Thunder can accelerating the building process around Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook with $25 million in cap space next summer.
13. Sacramento As many headaches as Ron Artest caused, the Kings needed to get more than Donte Greene, Bobby Jackson and a first-round pick from Houston in return. It will be interesting to watch the development of centers Spencer Hawes and Jason Thompson.
14. Minnesota The Timberwolves could badly regret their draft-night trade of O.J. Mayo in a couple of years. It's hard for Minnesota to sink much lower than last season's 22-60 record, especially with Al Jefferson, Kevin Love and Mike Miller on the roster.
15. Memphis Maybe this finally will be the season the Grizzlies win the draft lottery. Rudy Gay and Mayo at least bring Memphis fans hope. The Grizzlies won't go anywhere with young and younger point guards Mike Conley, Kyle Lowry and Javaris Crittenton.
Eastern Conference: The Celtics went 66-16 last season while the Sixers made a late push to reach the playoffs with a 40-42 record. With the signing of Elton Brand, though, Philadelphia will battle Boston for the East's top playoff seed this season.
The Sixers have a strong starting five (Andre Miller, Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, Brand and Samuel Dalembert) plus a deep bench with Louis Williams and free-agent additions Donyell Marshall, Theo Ratliff and Kareem Rush.
Even though they gave up on Yi Jianlian after one season, the Bucks will make the playoffs with the additions of Richard Jefferson, Luke Ridnour and Joe Alexander and the hiring of Scott Skiles as coach.
Both the Bobcats (Larry Brown) and New York (D'Antoni) will benefit from their coaching changes. It wouldn't be a surprise if Charlotte reached the playoffs, especially if Adam Morrison and Sean May have comeback seasons, but the Knicks still are a season away.
--Ross Siler
Three division winners
1. L.A. Lakers It's hard not to regard the Lakers as Western Conference favorites considering they went 41-16 (counting the playoffs) with Pau Gasol in the lineup and will welcome back center Andrew Bynum from a knee injury.
2. Houston No team had a better off-season than the Rockets, who added not only Ron Artest but also Spurs veteran Brent Barry. If Artest is on his best behavior, Houston could win the West and Yao Ming could be an MVP candidate.
3. Utah As long as they win the Northwest Division, the Jazz will be assured a top four playoff seed. After losing six times at EnergySolutions last season, the question is if the Jazz finally can claim home-court advantage for a round or two.
The Fab Fourth
4. New Orleans Don't know if the Hornets can win 56 games again, but they will finish ahead of San Antonio for another season in the Southwest. We'll see if championships (or at least deep playoff runs) continue to follow James Posey.
Playoff teams
5. Dallas Having replaced Avery Johnson as coach with Rick Carlisle, the Mavericks might be the West's biggest question mark. They're two years removed from a 67-15 season, with Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki sure to benefit from a full season playing together.
6. San Antonio The Spurs have trended downward from 63 wins to 58 to 56 the last three years. They'll slide a little more this season with Manu Ginobili recovering from ankle surgery and a roster (Roger Mason aside) that continues to get older.
7. Portland It's going to take a couple of years for the Blazers to take their place among the West's elite. They'll eventually get there with a core of young players that includes Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden.
8. Phoenix The Suns averaged 58 victories in Mike D'Antoni's four full seasons as coach. They'll be hard pressed to win 50 with Terry Porter taking over. Porter's greatest challenge is squeezing productive years out of Steve Nash and Shaquille O'Neal.
On the outside
9. L.A. Clippers The Clippers will be better than many observers expect after losing Elton Brand to Philadelphia. They have the starting five (Baron Davis, Cuttino Mobley, Al Thornton, Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman) of a playoff team and a promising rookie in Eric Gordon.
10. Denver Seeing no reason to pay the luxury tax and finish eighth in the West, the Nuggets unloaded Camby to the Clippers for the right to swap second-round draft picks. Denver has loads of high-priced talent (Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony) but must decide about its direction.
11. Golden State The Warriors watched Davis leave for the Clippers, then spent $194 million on Kelenna Azubuike, Andris Biedrins, Monta Ellis, Corey Maggette and Ronny Turiaf. They won't see any return on that investment this season, especially with Ellis already injured.
The bottom four
12. Oklahoma City Despite going 20-62 last season in Seattle, the Thunder will get a boost after relocating to Oklahoma City. The Thunder can accelerating the building process around Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook with $25 million in cap space next summer.
13. Sacramento As many headaches as Ron Artest caused, the Kings needed to get more than Donte Greene, Bobby Jackson and a first-round pick from Houston in return. It will be interesting to watch the development of centers Spencer Hawes and Jason Thompson.
14. Minnesota The Timberwolves could badly regret their draft-night trade of O.J. Mayo in a couple of years. It's hard for Minnesota to sink much lower than last season's 22-60 record, especially with Al Jefferson, Kevin Love and Mike Miller on the roster.
15. Memphis Maybe this finally will be the season the Grizzlies win the draft lottery. Rudy Gay and Mayo at least bring Memphis fans hope. The Grizzlies won't go anywhere with young and younger point guards Mike Conley, Kyle Lowry and Javaris Crittenton.
Eastern Conference: The Celtics went 66-16 last season while the Sixers made a late push to reach the playoffs with a 40-42 record. With the signing of Elton Brand, though, Philadelphia will battle Boston for the East's top playoff seed this season.
The Sixers have a strong starting five (Andre Miller, Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, Brand and Samuel Dalembert) plus a deep bench with Louis Williams and free-agent additions Donyell Marshall, Theo Ratliff and Kareem Rush.
Even though they gave up on Yi Jianlian after one season, the Bucks will make the playoffs with the additions of Richard Jefferson, Luke Ridnour and Joe Alexander and the hiring of Scott Skiles as coach.
Both the Bobcats (Larry Brown) and New York (D'Antoni) will benefit from their coaching changes. It wouldn't be a surprise if Charlotte reached the playoffs, especially if Adam Morrison and Sean May have comeback seasons, but the Knicks still are a season away.
--Ross Siler
8:57 AM
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2 Comments:
How did you do in your predictions last year?
Hey Jeremy--I don't remember ranking the West last year. I had the Jazz finishing 51-31 and they went 54-28. And I nailed both playoff series, picking the Jazz in six against Houston and Lakers in six against the Jazz.
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