Playoff teams
1. Los Angeles Lakers: If Andrew Bynum stays healthy and Ron Artest behaves, then the Lake Show should be better than they were last year. I don't see them reaching 70 wins, but regardless this is their conference to lose.
2. San Antonio Spurs: Biggest threat to the Lakers in the West. Tim Duncan is healthy and motivated, which is scary to think about. The addition of Richard Jefferson makes them a faster and better overall team. Add in Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, and you'll see a Spurs team that will win the Southwest Division with ease.
3. Denver Nuggets: They will take a step back from last year, but I still see them winning the division over Portland. They can be threats for a Western Conference Championship, but they have so many egos on the roster that I don't see it happening.
4. Dallas Mavericks: The addition of Shawn Marion will help this team with defense and rebounding. Josh Howard's health could be a reason for concern, but with Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Marion, and Jason Terry, this team should have no problem finishing in the top five.
5. Portland Trail Blazers: Portland is a team that is better in the regular season than they are in the playoffs. They'll compete with Denver for the division title, but in the end they are still a very young team with a very bright future. I'm not sure how Andre Miller will fit in, and I'm not sure if Greg Oden can play 20 games without getting hurt, but if everyone is healthy and everyone has good chemistry, this could be a team that finally makes some noise in the playoffs.
6. Utah Jazz- Deron Williams is one of the best point guards in the NBA, and he'll have a great roster to work with with guys like Carlos Boozer, Paul Millsap, Mehmet Okur, and Andre Kirilenko.
7. New Orleans Hornets: I see the Hornets struggling a lot this year, but ultimately I think Chris Paul is too good of a leader and playmaker for his team to miss the playoffs.
8. Oklahoma City Thunder: Call me crazy, but I see the Thunder being the surprise team in the West. Kevin Durant will become a superstar this year and could quite possibly lead the league in scoring. Russell Westbrook will improve, and now he has solid complement in the backcourt with rookie James Harden, who is very NBA ready. The Thunder will storm everyone by surprise, and beat out the Suns and Clippers for the last playoff spot in the West.
The rest
9. Phoenix Suns
10. Houston Rockets
11. Los Angeles Clippers
12. Minnesota Timberwolves
13. Golden State Warriors
14. Memphis Grizzlies
15. Sacramento Kings
No comments:
Post a Comment