Seed the West

[elbowthrower]

Pacific: Lakers/Clippers/Warriors/Kings/Suns
Southwest: Spurs/Grizzlies/Mavericks/Hornets/Rockets
Northwest: Thunder/Nuggets/Timberwolves/Jazz/Blazers

Seeding:
1. Thunder
2. Spurs
3. Lakers
4. Grizzlies
5. Clippers
6. Nuggets
7. Mavericks
8. Jazz

Same as last year!

9. Timberwolves
10. Warriors
11. Blazers
12. Suns
13. Kings
14. Hornets
15. Rockets

You've got the Wolves finishing 3rd in their division, Jazz 4th.
Yet you've got the Jazz making the playoffs and the Wolves with the 9th seed.

[carrottop12]

Thunder
Lakers
Spurs
Clippers
Jazz
Mavs
Wolves
Nuggets

The West is going to be decided by very few games because the entire conference is going to beat up on one another. The complete opposite of the East. It's going to come down to scheduling to get advantages in and the Jazz have a very friendly schedule this season.

They only play the Lakers and Spurs three times each, no four games in five nights, and some pretty friendly back to backs. Those kinds of things add wins to your final total, and change the playoff outlook.

[Nuggets_Talk]

pretty sure the jazz are winning 62. at worst.

[Catchall]

OKC
LAL
SAS
LAC
UTA
MEM
DEN
DAL/GSW

Minny needs Rubio back.

[Catchall]

pretty sure the jazz are winning 62. at worst.

Sarcasm aside, the Jazz should win 50 games.

[Bskey]

1: OKC
2: LAL
3: SAS
4: LAC

5: DAL
6: MEM
7: MIN
8: DEN/GSW

9: GSW/DEN
10: Utah
11: NO
12: POR
13: PHO
14: SAC
15: HOU

Things that could be different without surprising me are Portland, Utah, or NO sneaking into the POs while Dallas or Minny not make it.

[LakersSquad]

1. OKC
2. Spurs
3. Lakers
4. Memphis
5. Clippers
6. Dallas
7. Denver
8. Phoenix

#1: Lakers should get it, Nash always get the most out of his teams. My guess is he will have input on offensive schemes and Pau Gasol seems recharged. Without or without Howard, this team is the BEST club in the west.

#2: Thunder. This team still needs that interior presence. Finals team last season, I do not see a big drop off, Lakers got a lot better, Thunder will be the 1b team in the west this year.

#3: Spurs. I don't bet against team Popovic.

#4: Clippers. Did they get better? a little bit. With Billups healthy last season they were scary. With Billups, Crawford they should be a little bit better record wise.

#5: Mavericks. Retooled Mavericks club. IMO Howard will arrive in Dallas in January. Made a lot of shrewd signings, class A program.

#6: Timbertrolls. Wolves turned trash into treasure. AK47 along with Love and Pek will be a formidable frontcourt, about as good as any in the west. Rubio is a great playmaker albeit a sloppy/injured one. Again the coach here is what gives me faith.

#7: Grizzlies. Gay and Zach somehow do not play well together. Mayo left without being replaced. Marc is good, but they need to make a trade. Still a top 3 team if in the east, but in the west and their lack of that "superstar" Griz will be a 7th seed. The Atlanta Hawks of the west.

#8: Warriors. Surprise team of the year. This club comes in healthy with Bogut (top 3 center in the league) Lee, Curry and a team full of gunners -- this team could make Mike D'Antoni blush with their running and gunning. Health is what separates this team from being the 15th in the west tho.

Out of the playoffs.

#9: Denver. Nuggets have amassed a quality ensemble of role players, or replaceable parts. I am a believer in winning requires players playing above their salary. They have 2 players Lawson and Faried, capable of doing so. They had better be buyers at the deadline because they need a big name or a big draft pick.

#10: Jazz. Size = wins in the NBA Jazz have a lot of bigs, they will be around 500 and wind up 10th. They need a back court and a small forward to make the playoffs.

#11: Suns. Here is the beginning of the cliff. Seed 10 will be about 500, seed 11 will be closer to 400. PHX has unproven prospects at almost every position. Gortat will have to show he is a legit player and not a stat pad machine.

#12: Kings. Solid size, Jimmer and Tyreke are good players.

#13: Hornets. Eric Gordon is a good player. They made a nice little trade to gain a little more size. Davis will provide defense. I don't have much good to say about the product that will wind up on the court though.

#14: LaMarcus Aldridge. Batum is overrated and now overpaid. Alderidge is a top pf, but as a power forward in the west, is he really a significant mismatch over the other 10 elite bigs out there?

#15: Rockets best player is Jason Williams 2.0. Anyone remember the Vancouver Grizzlies the year before Hubie Brown took over?? On a positive note, at least Rockets broke their treadmill!


Those are my rankings. feel free to debate my reasons I am ready to defend them!

Until the Lakers fix the bench OKC runs the west.

[lovethewire]

People saying the Mavs didn't get better obviously didn't see us play, a healthy dirk alone is an upgrade, injuries from being out of shape plagued him, collison is better than Kidd, Mayo better than Terry kaman and brand better than Haywood odumb also coaching still matters, vdn and hollins aren't elite coaches
1. Lakers
2.okc
3.lac
4. Sas
5. Dal
6. Memphis
7.den
8. Man

As for Utah, they'll be awful defensively, Phoenix, a Nash and hill combo is still better than dragic and Beasley

[RoyalWun]

1. San Antonio Spurs
2. Oklahoma City Thunder
3. Los Angeles Lakers
4. Denver Nuggets
5. Los Angeles Clippers
6. Dallas Mavericks
7. Memphis Grizzlies
8. Utah Jazz

9. Minnesota Timberwolves
10. Phoenix Suns
11. Portland Trail Blazers
12. Golden State Warriors
13. New Orleans Hornets
14. Sacramento Kings
15. Houston Rockets

[Winsome Gerbil]

pretty sure the jazz are winning 62. at worst.

Sarcasm aside, the Jazz should win 50 games.

[Catchall]

People saying the Mavs didn't get better obviously didn't see us play, a healthy dirk alone is an upgrade, injuries from being out of shape plagued him, collison is better than Kidd, Mayo better than Terry kaman and brand better than Haywood odumb also coaching still matters, vdn and hollins aren't elite coaches
1. Lakers
2.okc
3.lac
4. Sas
5. Dal
6. Memphis
7.den
8. Man

As for Utah, they'll be awful defensively, Phoenix, a Nash and hill combo is still better than dragic and Beasley

Favors, Marvin Williams, Hayward and Mo Williams aren't awful defensively. Add Millsap.

[jazzfan1971]

Yeah, assuming we start favors and marvin our defense is better on paper.

I didnt thi k we were awful last year as it was. Exploitable, yeah. Awful, no.

[old rem]

I'd agree with the consensus top 6.

seeds 7+8...toss up with Warriors,Mavs,Jazz,Wolves and maybe the Blazers as possibles.

Houston,Phoenix and N Orleans are in full tilt Start Over mode...Sac....ought to have the talent to challenge for 8 seed but where's the chemistry? The clock is ticking on the Lakers,Spurs, Mavs. Players can go from "getting old" to "ought to retire" pretty quick.

[Ruckusmh]

It seems to me that most of the backlash in this thread came from that one dude who put the Jazz at 13 or 14 or something. Jazz may miss the playoffs, who knows, but 13 is not happening. I think between 6-10 is most likely.

[Texas Chuck]

It seems to me that most of the backlash in this thread came from that one dude who put the Jazz at 13 or 14 or something. Jazz may miss the playoffs, who knows, but 13 is not happening. I think between 6-10 is most likely.

I think its actually come from the non-stop trolling by Nuggets Talk...

I never really thought about Denver/Utah being big rivals but I guess it makes sense

[nguyenbalong]

Yeah, assuming we start favors and marvin our defense is better on paper.

I didnt thi k we were awful last year as it was. Exploitable, yeah. Awful, no.

our defensive rating when sap played the three was at 85 per 100. The best defensive team in the NBA I believe was Boston with a 95 per 100 rating. So when we used our big three line up we were pretty solid defensively. With an upgrade in Mo and Marvin were pretty solid. Also teams can no longer just collapse the paint because we have an actual outside threat.

[HuskerJeff]

1) OKC
2) LAL
3) LAC
4) SAN
5) MEM
6) DEN
7) MAV
8) Twolves

Book it

[TwentyOne920]

1. OKC - Teams that make it to the Finals tend to have a very good season record the following season, especially if their core remains intact. Think Dallas' 67 win season.
2. SAS - They brought back a squad that won 20 straight, and Pop stands head and shoulders above the other contending coaches.
3. LAL - They will have the same RS record as SAS, but lose out due to tiebreakers. Steve Nash will make Pau Gasol into a 20/10 guy again.
4. LAC - Bench hasn't gotten leaps better, but it still is better. Contingent on Paul/Billups/Griffin's health, however.
5. DEN - they were doing great until injuries hit them in the middle of the season. Expect Lawson to have a bigger role.
6. MEM - Sure, they're dangerous, but Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph coexist only slightly better than Melo and Amar'e.
7. DAL - Never count out a team with Dirk and coached by Rick Carlisle.
8. MIN - The Wolves win a pivotal game against the Jazz to gain the tiebreaker.

9. UTA - Same record as MIN but loses tiebreaker.
10. GSW - above .500 but health issues will cause them to falter down the stretch.
11. POR - Lillard will be a serious contender for ROY but Olshey may want to continue rebuilding.
12. PHO - Goran Dragic is a nice young point guard, but he is not Steve Nash.
13. NOH - Unibrow will put up 10/10/2/2 in his first season, and Monty Williams is a coach who can compete. Everything depends on Gordon's health, however.
14. HOU - sure Linsanity may never replicate itself but they're a young team. Better in this place than the 14th pick.
15. SAC - can they get their heads on straight? And can they solve the logjam at point guard?

[nguyenbalong]

Dont forget if GSW miss the playoffs they will tank like a mother because Utah has their first round top 6 protected. GSW have proven to be efficient tankers last year.

[TwentyOne920]

Dont forget if GSW miss the playoffs they will tank like a mother because Utah has their first round top 6 protected. GSW have proven to be efficient tankers last year.

Didn't it get to the point they effectively treated the last few games as a summer league of sorts by starting rookies at every position?