Seed the West

KGboss · Post #41 » by **KGboss** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 6:58 pm

Spurs
OKC
Lakers
Denver
Clippers
Memphis
Houston
Dallas

Spottieottie · Post #42 » by **Spottieottie** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 7:01 pm

Utah at 9, even 10.. ok fine, its justifiable.

At 12 or 13? Rofl. Hahaha. Bookmarked.

(slight knock on wood)

Post #43 » by **Texas Chuck** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 7:02 pm

1. OKC-- seems like a lock, elite talent, young legs to do it over 82
2. SAS-- they do it every year--Im not going to pick against them
3. LAL-- Nash is such a huge upgrade
4. LAC--really like their moves but Griffin and Jordan are still such questions: health and low IQ
5. Memphis--have them here but could see Denver and Utah pass them
6. Denver--season really depends on McGee which is a dangerous position
7. Utah-- I could see them anywhere from 4-lottery. They have several players who could break out--Moe should be a big improvement over Harris as well. Williams is going to help. But if Favors/Hayward/Kanter dont step forward...
8. Dallas--ITs hard to imagine a Dirk team wiht decent support not making the playoffs but if Collison or Mayo get hurt they are really going to struggle

Ginger Bean · Post #44 » by **Ginger Bean** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 7:04 pm

Wow, some of you have Houston quite high. They'll be interesting to watch, and I hope they develop, but 7th or 9th seed for an inexperienced young team?

MNister89 · Post #45 » by **MNister89** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 7:13 pm

1. Clippers (61-21) - Think they have had a terrific offseason. Odom and Crawford bring great versatility and depth to their rotation. Expect Griffin to round out his game this season. Need reliable 4th big though. I expect Eric Bledsoe to evolve into elite defensive reserve this season a la Avery Bradley last year and provide a huge boost to an otherwise geriatric backcourt.

2. Thunder (60-22)- I think they will have tough time winning a title with their current roster. Too reliant on jumpshots. Need a post scorer to get easy buckets. I expect the Thunder to stay elite though and make another deep playoff run. Should consider moving Harden and/or Ibaka while they can to find a post presence offensively and depth on the wing.

3. Lakers (57-25) - Don't think Nash makes the Lakers automatically unbeatable. Kobe looks very old in London and while Nash will bring efficiency he does nothing to help Lakers biggest problem: lack of athletes to stop Durant and Westbrook. Have by far worst bench amongst West contenders. An injury to one of their four stars could be especially devastating. Time to make Bynum the centerpiece on offense. Kobe needs to be willing to defer. These guys will play some beautiful basketball though.

4. Spurs (51-31)- I think this is the year they take a step back in the regular season. Splitter needs to grow into a reliable option, because the frontcourt looks very average at best. If Duncan can stay healthy, they maintain from last year but I don't think this roster is immune to a big drop-off. Development of Leonard is key.

5. Grizzlies (48-34) - Grizzlies need to build around Marc Gasol and move either Randolph or Gay to compete with the LA teams and the Thunder in the playoffs. Gay is worth more as trade asset than he is to Memphis IMO. Griz need a wing scorer and Arthur to become a reliable stretch four off the bench. No longer a trendy sleeper pick, its time for Griz to realize their potential.

6. Wolves (47-35) - Kirilenko will be a huge addition. He and Budinger are already massive upgrade on wing over anything Wolves had since KG. The departures of Milicic, Beasley, Johnson, Randolph and Webster will help instill a winning culture. Rubio's health is key obviously. Pekovic and Love make up one of NBA's most physical and skilled frontcourts. If Derrick Williams or Aleksey Shved add anything to the table, this might be a contender.

7. Nuggets (46-36) - Wilson Chandler's return will be a boost. Lawson, Afflalo, Gallinari, Faried and McGee are all solid players, but the West is once again stacked and this team needs a go-to scorer. Who will get easy points in the paint? Faried and McGee need to develop.

8. Mavericks (44-38) - Brand and Kaman moves were savvy additions. Bring depth, leadership to frontcourt. Backcourt however is a mess and simply lacks talent. Collison is average PG at best; more of a sixth man ideally. Imperative that Beaubois or Jones grow as scorers off bench. Wouldn't be shocked if they miss the playoffs.
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JUST MISS
9. Warriors (42-40) - Thought they had a terrific draft. Barnes and Thompson are a great young pair of wings. Late picks Ezeli and Green both also look like rotation players. If Bogut and Curry can stay healthy, the Warriors look to have a very intriguing roster. Need depth badly though. Defensive stopper on the wing would help a lot. AK47 would have been a perfect fit. Need an upgrade over David Lee at the 4.

10. Jazz (41-41) - With a rugged and versatile frontcourt, the Jazz will be competitive. But are Marvin and Mo Williams really the answer? Need more from Hayward and Burks to improve. Moving either Jefferson or Millsap for a complete PG or wing would bring balance to the roster and provide invaluable minutes to Kanter and Favors. One or two years, and major moves, away.

11. Hornets (39-43) - I think Anthony Davis is going to be a monster very quickly. If Gordon is healthy and coaching staff can find workable PG rotation b/w Rivers and Vasquez they could crash playoff party before long. Anderson signing was very smart. Need a wing stopper though & depth.
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LOTTERY
12. Blazers (31-51) - Batum and Aldridge are only above-average starters. Like Lillard and Leonard, but the Blazers have fallen off dramatically. Could maybe win 40 games though, or lose 55.

13. Suns (28-54) - Have some good pieces. I think Beasley finds his game and grows up. He can be an elite scorer. Also like Dragic, Scola and Gortat trio. Wing play though is mess with one-dimensional guys like Wes Johnson and Shannon Brown due to receive a lot of run.

14. Kings (25-57) - Desperately need to clear roster clutter. Build around DMC, and Thomas Robinson. Isaiah Thomas is good, but not a NBA starter long-term - he is entirely helpless defensively. Moving two of Thornton, Fredette, and Evans is a necessary for Kings to become legitimate. Major culture issues must be addressed for Kings to put their considerable talent to use properly.

15. Rockets (21-61) - Asik and Lin are average NBA starters. Between Motiejunas, Royce White, Jeremy Lamb, Chandler Parsons and Terrence Jones, the Rockets need to find one or two solid players. In far a long year. Should move Martin and fully embrace rebuild. Rockets have a nice assortment of young talent moving forward from which to craft a future core, but much work remains.

Xsy · Post #46 » by **Xsy** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 7:16 pm

Utah is 7th seed at worst.

People seem to remember the 8, 9, and 10 seeds nipping at Utah's heels, but they forget Utah was only 5 wins away from the 3 seed. 3 wins away from the 6 seed.

Mavs, Nugs, Clips, and Grizz really didn't do THAT much better than the Jazz.

Utah has four lotto picks who should all improve, lost 3 of their worst players in Raja Bell, Josh Howard, and CJ Miles, and finally fixed their outside shooting by bringing in Williams, Williams, and Foye.

For reference, Mo Williams, Marvin Williams and Randy Foye combined for 278 3 pointers last season-Jazz hit 273 last year.

With actual outside threats this year, we can spread the floor, and our solid rotation of bigs will be even more dangerous than ever.

smith2373 · Post #47 » by **smith2373** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 7:20 pm

1. Thunder
2. Lakers
3. Spurs
4. Clippers
5. Nuggets
6. Grizzlies
7. Jazz
8. Timberwolves
9. Mavericks
10. Suns
11. Warriors
12. Rockets
13. Trail Blazers
14. Kings
15. Hornets

Emperor_Earth · Post #48 » by **Emperor_Earth** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 7:26 pm

1. OKC - fairly obvious, better regular season team than LAL imo
2. LAL - I think the slightly better team, but will drop games early and a significant injury away from dropping 5-10 games
3. MEM - good blend, depth, and a third year together should pay massive dividends
4. SAS - TD is finally? too old to help much
5. DEN - good regular season team, HCA, fast pace
6. LAC - got significantly worse this offseason under the radar. VDN fired after first round playoff exit
7. MIN - Rubio, Derrick, Love, Pekovic will only get better
8. PHX - my darkhorse, i think beasley will be a great fit with uptempo Dragic

CBNC
DAL - Dirk will quietly ask mgmt for a trade after D12 gets traded to LAL/BKN
HOU - Lin will hit a brick wall 25 games in when he realizes playoffs are a mirage when KMart is your #2 guy
GSW - Bogut will get injured. Classic GSW style disappointment
POR - somebody gets injured... it's POR
UTA - they don't trade a big and give them young guys too few minutes...
SAC - lol no
NOH - srsly?

Spurtatcus · Post #49 » by **Spurtatcus** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 7:32 pm

The Jazz did make some tweaks but so did the team they will be fighting for 8th for (Minnesota)

lodom7 · Post #50 » by **lodom7** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 7:39 pm

OKC
LAL
LAC
SAS
MEM
DEN
DAL
MIN

joen212 · Post #51 » by **joen212** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 7:47 pm

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

LoyalKing · Post #52 » by **LoyalKing** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 7:55 pm

1 - OKC
2 - Spurs
3 - Lakers
4 - Clippers
5 - Memphis
6 - Mavs
7 - Denver
8 - Wolves

Mattya · Post #53 » by **Mattya** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 8:03 pm

OKC
LAL
LAC
MEM
SAS
MIN
DAL
DEN

UTAH
GSW
POR
NOH
PHX
HOU

carrottop12 · Post #54 » by **carrottop12** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 8:15 pm

I'm not sure I love the Nuggets roster either, again they have some solid players, but I think McGee falls apart with his new contract, otherwise a lot rides on the shoulders of Lawson.

Soupman · Post #55 » by **Soupman** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 8:16 pm

1)LAL(getting nash pretty much locked up 1st seed before the season started)
2)OKC
3)DAL*(with mid season trade at the deadline)
4)SAS
5)LAC
6)MEM
7)MIN
8)POR(if healthy)
------------------------------------------
9)DEN
10)PHX
11)UTA
12)HOU
13)GSW
14)SAC
15)NOH

LocLaker · Post #56 » by **LocLaker** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 8:17 pm

Trader_Joe wrote:1. LAL
2. OKC
3. LAC
4. SAS
5. MEM
6. DEN
7. DAL
8. MIN
9. UTA
10. PHO
11.GSW
12. SAC
13. POR
14. NOH
15. HOU

put sas ahead of lac and its good imo.

fordirematt2452 · Post #57 » by **fordirematt2452** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 8:20 pm

OKC
SAS
LAL
LAC
DEN
MEM
UTA
MIN

GSW
DAL
POR
NOH
SAC
PHO
HOU

LoyalKing · Post #58 » by **LoyalKing** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 8:20 pm

Don't know why Jazz fans are complaining so much about being out of the playoffs this season.

I mean, they barely improved. Teams like Minny, Phoenix and GS improved so much more.

Mo Williams
Gordon Hayward
Marvin Williams
Paul Millsap
Al Jefferson

This starting lineup doesn't make the playoffs this season.

OKC, LAL, LAC, SAS, MEM,DAL and DEN are basically locks to make the playoffs in the West. Then you have teams like Minny, Suns, GS and the Jazz fighting for the last spot. Of the bunch, the Jazz probably has the worst starting lineup and they don't have a special bench.

If healthy, Minny has a much better team than the Jazz to be honest.

Kupchak9 · Post #59 » by **Kupchak9** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 8:28 pm

As it stands

1. OKC
2. LAL
3. SA
4. LAC
5. Minny
6. MEM
7. DEN
8. GSW
9. DAL
10. HOU
11. UTAH
12. SAC
13. NO
14. POR
15. PHO

OmniDEN · Post #60 » by **OmniDEN** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 8:36 pm

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

I think the top 4 speak for them selves. I have Nuggets at 5 on the sole contingency that they will remain somewhat healthy. Mavericks at 6 solely because of Dirk having an MVP type season and having nice pieces added around him like Collison and Kaman, I liked those additions. Jazz at 7 because they're underrated, have solid big men (better than most teams), an emerging young player in Hayward, and now Mo-Williams who hopefully will provide the outside shooting from the PG spot that they need. Grizzlies at 8 because I think they've regressed after Gay came back, and will do so even more.