Western Powers (merged threads)

[joe.linnen]

II know everybody has different views on the West so I want to share what I think and I want ti see what you think.

Powerhouses
Los Angeles Lakers
San Antonio Spurs
New Orleans Hornets
Houston Rockets
____________
Utah Jazz
Dallas Mavericks
Phoenix Suns
______________

Portland TrailBlazers
Los Angeles Clippers
Golden State Warriors

[Scalabrine]

1. Houston Rockets
2. LA Lakers
3. New Orleans Hornets
-------------------
4. Utah Jazz
5. Phoenix Suns
6. San Antonio Spurs
7. Dallas Mavericks
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8. Portland Trail Blazers
9. Denver Nuggets
10. LA Clippers
11. Golden State Warriors
-----------------------
12. Timberwolves
13. OKC
14. Sacramento Kings
15. Memphis Grizzlies

thats how I look at it.

[KF10]

How come the Kings are THAT low? You know that we still won 38 games in the hectic West with significant injuries to Bibby/Martin/Artest, right and rookie coach? We are just losing Artest, I doubt that would significantly lower our win totals to the bottom dwellers of the West IMO.

[RIPskaterdude]

How come the Kings are THAT low? You know that we still won 38 games in the hectic West with significant injuries to Bibby/Martin/Artest, right and rookie coach? We are just losing Artest, I doubt that would significantly lower our win totals to the bottom dwellers of the West IMO.

Yeah but...if we are actually that low and get a top 3 pick, I won't be complaining

[ShaY]

IMO there is only one power hgouse and thats the Lakers.
I see it like this:
1.Lakers

2-5.Hornets , Jazz , Spurs , Rockets (all the same level).

6.Phoenix

7.Dallas

8.Portland

9-10.Clippers and Warriors are the same level.

[RIPskaterdude]

But really, the Kings are better than the T-Wolves and OKC, easily.

[KF10]

How come the Kings are THAT low? You know that we still won 38 games in the hectic West with significant injuries to Bibby/Martin/Artest, right and rookie coach? We are just losing Artest, I doubt that would significantly lower our win totals to the bottom dwellers of the West IMO.

Yeah but...if we are actually that low and get a top 3 pick, I won't be complaining

Yeah, I guess. It's been well over a decade that we didn't land a top pick. But I don't think that we will suck that bad to get it though.

[KiDdFrESh]

No way the Spurs are that low. They've been the best team in the league for nearly the past decade. It doesnt matter how old they are as long they have Duncan, Parker, & Ginobli then they are a force to be reckoned with. I agree that they might have lost a step but they are far from a push-over.

This is how I would rank the West. I personally think the Rockets will win the West, but I'll give the Lakers the top spot for now since they are the defending WC Champs I predict both teams will win 60(+) games this season.

1.) Lakers - Defending WC Champs and will have their trio for a full season and Bynum will be returning to the court as well.

2.) Rockets - We won 55 games last year with both of our stars missing a significant amount of games. We traded for Artest without giving up any key contributors and also brought Brent Barry who shoots lights from the 3 and proved to be a factor throughout his career in the playoffs and finals.
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#3 spot was tough

3.) Spurs - I have to go with the Spurs because of their experience but they need to add some quality depth at the backup G positions.

4.) Hornets - They had a magnificent season last year and added James Posey but they still need to find some good backups for West & Chandler because they have none. They dont have a backup PG either, unless your counting Mike James No but seriously they are very very good.

5.) Pheonix - They will have a full year of Nash, Amare, & Shaq and still have solid role players around them. I like the addition of Barnes as well. Alot depends on how the players adapt to the new coach and system. Things could get ugly but I think they are way too talented to say their window of oppurtunity for a title has closed.

6.) Mavericks - Surprise Surprise !!! I know the Mavs fell off big time towards the end of the season last year. But I think will be better this season having Kidd running the show and chemistry building up. Avery didnt know how to utilize Kidd and thats amazing considering how he single handly turned the NJ franchise around. Especially with a new coach I'm not going to write off the window of oppurtunity for a championship just yet. (Although im sure most of their fans have)
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7.) Jazz - Of course come playoff time, the Jazz will be at the 5 spot but thats only because they will win their awful divison. They are not better than any of the teams listed above them. They have the same solid team the past couple of seasons with one of the greatest coaches of all time. I just dont see them ever going anywhere. Im expecting a 1st round exit for them this year. I'm calling it now.

Im gonna give the Jazz their own level because they arent good enough to win it all but they are still alot better then the teams I'll be listing below them
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This is where it gets tricky. I think 8-11 could be decided by just a couple of games.

8.) Golden State - Yes they lost Baron Davis but by retaining Ellis, Biendris, and signing Maggette. I still think they are going to be a good enough team to fight for the last spot.

9.) L.A. Clippers - They lost Brand and Maggette but still managed to put together a nice team by adding B-Diddy, Camby, and Ricky Davis.

10.) Portland - Its tough to put Portland here but like I said I think any of these 4 teams could get the last spot in the west but it will definatley be close. They are still a young team with a great core and a great coach. Lets see how effective Oden & Bayless can be. IMO, those two players are the x-factors for this team. If both players contribute consistently then will likely sneak in at 8. But I had to put them behind GS and LAC right now because they are so young.

11.) Nuggets - Its going to be a tough year for Denver imo. They gave away Camby and thats going to hurt. They are very thin at PF/C and still have no PG. And I think George Karl is a horrible coach for this team. But as long as they have Melo & AI im sure they will still manage to stay in the race for the final spot.
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12.) Sacramento Kings - They arent going to drop off that much despite losing Artest. They have a good young core and a great Coach. Plus there fans are unbelievable so I can see them winning a good share of their home games. And they are still one of those teams that will beat you if you underestimate them.

13.) Minnesota - I feel they messed up trading Mayo but thats over and done with. I dont see them improving drastically but a few of their young guys could step it up this year.

14.) OKC - I like this young team and I could see them improving marginally at best. To be honest I almost put them ahead of Minnesota.

15.) Grizzlies - They arent going anywhere. The Mayo trade was probably the best trade they've made in the franchise history. I could see them being worse this year unless Mayo has a huge rookie season ala Durant last year. Honestly with Miller gone theyre only scorer is Gay.


Ok now bash me away. But I took my time thinking this through as you can see and I think its pretty damn legit.

[jefe]

15.) Grizzlies - They arent going anywhere. The Mayo trade was probably the best trade they've made in the franchise history. I could see them being worse this year unless Mayo has a huge rookie season ala Durant last year. Honestly with Miller gone theyre only scorer is Gay.

First
Second, do you think we acquired Mayo to play defense and rebound?

[KiDdFrESh]

15.) Grizzlies - They arent going anywhere. The Mayo trade was probably the best trade they've made in the franchise history. I could see them being worse this year unless Mayo has a huge rookie season ala Durant last year. Honestly with Miller gone theyre only scorer is Gay.

First
Second, do you think we acquired Mayo to play defense and rebound?

I was wondering if anybody would catch that.

I guess I wasnt clear enough. What I meant to say was that unless Mayo has a big rookie season like Durant did (15-20 ppg could happen) then there only scorer would be Rudy Gay with Mike Miller gone.

[YaoisGodsAnswer]

1. Lakers
2. Rockets
3. New Orleans
4. San Antonio
5. Utah Jazz
6. Phoenix Suns
7. Dallas Mavericks
8. Portland Trailblazers

[ChrisTheFuturePaul]

Hmm, OK, will probably be completely wrong, but here goes... In order of most wins, not playoff seeding....

1. LA Lakers - 58-64 wins - With Bynum back, Gasol at PF they will be hard to beat. Only question marks: Odom mostly playing SF & solid PG play.

2. New Orleans - 50-58 wins - I'm struggling to see them better last years regular season, I think teams would have learned alot about playing New Orleans from the San Antonio series. But they'll be tougher in the playoffs next year and prolly get more respect from the refs.

3. San Antonio - 50-55 wins - They'll have their ups and downs and somehow get to another 50 win season.

4. Phoenix - 48-54 wins - Amare + Nash will get you above 50% alone, the rest of the suns will get you another 7-14 wins ;p

5. Utah - 48-54 wins - Can't really split the Suns and Utah for potential. Expect a big year from D Will.

6. Houston - 45-52 wins - I'm not buying the "Artest is the final piece" hype, this team will still likely suffer injuries, poor chemistry and lack of killer instinct.

7. Portland - 43-50 wins - Portland will be very solid this year, I don't think this team is the dynasty alot of people are making them out to be, but they'll make noise this upcoming season.

8. Dallas - 41-48 wins - Cuban played his trump card with the Kidd trade, it backfired, its downhill for Dallas, starting with a disappointing 2008/2009.

Agree? / Disagree?

[Rox_Nix_Nox]

The spurs have taken a step back. Not to put them down or anything but I think even their fans would tell you that.

1. Lakers
2. Rockets
3. Jazz
4. New Orleans
5. Suns
6. Spurs
7. Mavericks
8. blazers

not in any divisional order

[Vindicater]

The Mayo trade was a great move for the Timberwolves. Mike Miller is better then Mayo RIGHT NOW and Kevin Love will be better then Mayoin acoule of years.


We win in the future and present.

[HarlemHeat37]

the Spurs HAVE taken a step back..but you realize we were THE BEST team in the NBA 2 years ago? and made the conference finals last year?..the step back is from 2 years ago, meaning we aren't the best anymore..

I hope everybody realizes that arguably our 2nd best player was in and out of the lineup for almost half the year last year..Ginobili was injured for the entire playoffs..

how is there ANY argument to put the Spurs behind the Suns? I'd love to hear it..we just beat them 4-1 with an injured Ginobili..age? they have Nash and Shaq..

the Hornets? this is understandable..but we did just beat them without home-court and with an injured Manu..I understand with the Posey signing, but on a whole other tier? doesn't make sense to me..

Utah? possibly..but Jazz fans don't wanna play our team in the playoffs for a reason..

LA is the only team that should be on another tier..and Houston could be if we're talking about how it looks on paper..

doubt the Spurs though..this is the formula..other teams have the hype in an odd year..

[iamworthy]

Spurs are ahead of the Suns. They are a better coached team and they excute when it counts.

[That Nicka]

This is how I see it:

Lakers 60+
Hornets 60
Rockets 58
Jazz 56
Spurs 55
Suns 54
Mavs 52
Blazers 48
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Warriors 44
Nuggets 44
Clippers 40
TWolves 38
Kings 30
OKC 26
Grizzlies 18

[carrottop12]

Lakers - I'm tempted to put the Spurs here because I think fully healthy they are the best team in the league, but the Lakers took it to them last year so I give it to them, plus they get Bynum back which should really help them.

Spurs - When healthy they are as good a defensive team as there is in the NBA, and still have plenty of scoring. As lame as it sounds, for some reason in odd years they are just a better team. I see no reason why it won't happen again this year unless Duncan really takes a step backwards. Parker and Ginobili are still in their prime. They will be just fine.

Jazz - Were 3 games out of first plays when the season ended last year and they were still the 3rd youngest team in the league last season. They gave the Lakers a good fight in the second round, Deron is only getting better and Boozer, Okur, Korver and Millsap are in potential contract years. The Jazz should be a much better road team next year then they were this year, and don't expect another 5-11 December out of them. If the Jazz were to have gone .500 that month they would have had HCA in the playoffs.

Hornets - I expect them to step back a little this year. They were way under the radar last season during the first half of the year which helped them get off to a good start. I expect them to struggle more with a target on their back, everyone is going to take them seriously every game this season which didn't happen last year.

Dallas - A full year and preseason with the Mavs will benefit Kidd a lot. Dirk is still a great player, and the rest of the team should adjust to Kidd as well. They won't be great, but they should still be a solid team next season and a pain in the first round.

Phoenix - They are getting older, Shaq will be close to done this season, and I just don't think his heart is into it anymore with this team. Nash is declining, and while Stoudamire should improve, it won't be enough.

Rockets - A injury bug won't magically miss them this year. When you have a 7'6 with a history of injuries, running up and down the court jumping around carrying 300+ pounds, injuries are just the nature of the beast. There is a reason 7'6 guys never stay in the league very long, and Yao is a perfect example. He hasn't played more then 57 games since the 04-05 season, and his injuries are all from basic plays. He broke his knee jumping for a blocked shot, his foot gave in due to stress fractures, again simply from running. That's a pattern, not a fluke thing. His body just can't handle this type of stress. 82 games is way to many for a man his size. And none of this is mentioning McGrady's injury plagued history, nor Ron Artest's recent battles with injury and craziness. They just won't play together enough to really challenge in the West.

Portland - The first step towards the future, the Blazers finally make the playoffs again and my guess is have a pretty good run in the playoffs. Their young core still start to mature and it will be nice to see Oden play in some real NBA games.

[That Nicka]

how is there ANY argument to put the Spurs behind the Suns? I'd love to hear it..we just beat them 4-1 with an injured Ginobili..age? they have Nash and Shaq..

the Hornets? this is understandable..but we did just beat them without home-court and with an injured Manu..I understand with the Posey signing, but on a whole other tier? doesn't make sense to me..

Utah? possibly..but Jazz fans don't wanna play our team in the playoffs for a reason..

LA is the only team that should be on another tier..and Houston could be if we're talking about how it looks on paper..

doubt the Spurs though..this is the formula..other teams have the hype in an odd year..

I have the Spurs at #5 after the Lakers, Hornets, Rockets, and Jazz.. Because, they are not built for the regular season anymore... They cant coast like they usually do because there were never this many good teams... The big three only plays like 34 min per game so I cant see them being a top 4 seed... But I still think they could beat the Jazz in the playoffs and maybe the Rockets and Hornets... However I do think the Hornets may have surpassed them.. The Spurs beat them in 7 on their home floor but that was Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler and David Wests first playoff run... I assume all 3 of them will be better this year and now they have Posey who they can put on Ginobili....

Anyways, even though I see the Spurs being a 5 seed, I still see them as the 3rd or 4th best playoff team in the conference

[fivas14]

Batron how dare you not put the Rockets at number 1 winning the championship with Ron Artest and Brent Barry winning Co-MVP of the season?