Western Conference Outlook

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

I think OKC is #1 in the regular season this year. They look beastly.

[bwgood77]

I think OKC is #1 in the regular season this year. They look beastly.

I agree. As good as GS was last year, they relied quite a bit on Iggy and Bogut who are getting older, and of course Gentry is gone, and Kerr is out right now. I expect them to take a small step back and OKC to take a huge jump forward.

SA is kind of a WC. I could see them being really tough adding Aldridge, but I could also see age starting to catch up to them. I think those three teams could be close, and Hou/LA will be right there too. Those five should be close. I'm usually high on Memphis, but Zach is getting old too. I think they are definitely a playoff team though.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

I think OKC is #1 in the regular season this year. They look beastly.

I agree. As good as GS was last year, they relied quite a bit on Iggy and Bogut who are getting older, and of course Gentry is gone, and Kerr is out right now. I expect them to take a small step back and OKC to take a huge jump forward.

SA is kind of a WC. I could see them being really tough adding Aldridge, but I could also see age starting to catch up to them. I think those three teams could be close, and Hou/LA will be right there too. Those five should be close. I'm usually high on Memphis, but Zach is getting old too. I think they are definitely a playoff team though.

Just because Tim Duncan has aged like a fine wine doesn't mean SA owns the elixir of youth. I think TP, in particular, is really slowing down. And Ginobili is unreliable. I see neither a sufficient influx of youth to make up for these losses, and I worry about relying on Diaw and West. Kawhi is a very good player, but a world-beater he is not.

I also agree about GSW. They got really lucky with their health last year, and they took a lot of teams by surprise. They're not a deep squad, so an injury or two can lead to big talent downgrades. I see OKC leapfrogging both of them - and maybe HOU as well.

I honestly don't know what to make of LAC at this point. But those are your top 4 teams. I think the remaining spots are open, though I do think MEM and NOP get in. And IMO, there's no good reason why we shouldn't be among the top 8.

[Christine-In-AZ]

A lot of good parts, but I don't think there are any qualities that will put fear into many opponents.

Bledsoe & Knight are borderline all-stars at CG, but I wouldn't consider either one a top 10 SG or PG. Unless they develop a tremendous back court synergy they're (the Suns strength) not going to carry the Suns anywhere close to playoff-land.

Morris is Morris. He's an average or a bump above average starting PF. Not going to do damage on a consistent basis. Warren? I'm sure he'll score plenty when he plays, but I question other facets of his game...good young player. PJ? He'll keep busting, but in the end he's an average NBA player.

Len and Chandler make for a nice center position tag team, but nothing most teams can't handle. I'm also worried Tyson will just "check out" if the Suns W-L numbers are pretty bad come 2016.

Teletovic will have some crazy shooting games at the 4, but I doubt he'll have any more of a factor for wins than G. Green did last year.

Weems? Like Teletovic he'll likely have some nights that'll make you wonder "wow", and probably have even more nights wondering "what?"

Really like Booker. All but lost all my hopes for Archie. Leuer looks like a good get.

Plenty of average-good parts. Doubt it's going to add up to much. Feels a lot like the '10-'11 season to me (Hedo and Warrick and Childress).

Anyway, 34 wins should get PHX into a single digit lottery position, and from that spot the ping pong balls can actually deliver some luck. The Suns are due for something sweet in the luck department.

[Cutter]

West standing end of season.
1. OKC- this is the year it comes together.
2. Houston
3. Clippers
4. Warriors - fluke last year, good but not great.
5. Suns- yes, I said Suns!
6. grizzly- they no longer have the Suns number, Chandler makes a big difference.
7. Pelicans - need more talent around Davis.
8. Spurs - old age, LMA doesn't make much difference.

[Christine-In-AZ]

#1. -Oklahoma City ...60+ wins. They're in FU mode all season, and back it up.

#2 thru #5. -GS/SA/LAC/HOU ...55ish wins each. It's weak I know, but I just can't separate Golden State, San Antonio, LA Clips and Houston per the regular season. These 4 teams plus the Thunder are all legit title contenders.

#6 -Memphis ...50 er so wins. On an island of "very good, but not truly in the hunt"

#7/8 -Utah/New Orleans ...42-44 wins. Two team with bright futures, but injuries & "sophomore" hiccoughs keep them at the bottom of the West's playoff set.

#9 -Sacramento (yes, that Sacramento) ...maybe 40 wins! In the playoff hunt until the last week of the season.

#10 -Denver ...37-38 wins?

#11/12 -Phoenix/LAL ...both the Suns and Lakers end up in the low to mid 30s for win totals and fight for supremacy.

#13 -Portland ...30 wins. Blazer fans just have to grin and bare it.

#14 -Dallas ...28 wins. Cuban and the rest of the organization smartly embrace the reality, acquiesce, bottom out and keep their pick. "Sorry Dirk, but..."

#15 -Minnesota ...low 20s. More good talent coming next season.

[lilfishi22]

#1. -Oklahoma City ...60+ wins. They're in FU mode all season, and back it up.

#2 thru #5. -GS/SA/LAC/HOU ...55ish wins each. It's weak I know, but I just can't separate Golden State, San Antonio, LA Clips and Houston per the regular season. These 4 teams plus the Thunder are all legit title contenders.

#6 -Memphis ...50 er so wins. On an island of "very good, but not truly in the hunt"

#7/8 -Utah/New Orleans ...42-44 wins. Two team with bright futures, but injuries & "sophomore" hiccoughs keep them at the bottom of the West's playoff set.

#9 -Sacramento (yes, that Sacramento) ...maybe 40 wins! In the playoff hunt until the last week of the season.

#10 -Denver ...37-38 wins?

#11/12 -Phoenix/LAL ...both the Suns and Lakers end up in the low to mid 30s for win totals and fight for supremacy.

#13 -Portland ...30 wins. Blazer fans just have to grin and bare it.

#14 -Dallas ...28 wins. Cuban and the rest of the organization smartly embrace the reality, acquiesce, bottom out and keep their pick. "Sorry Dirk, but..."

#15 -Minnesota ...low 20s. More good talent coming next season.

You think we're gonna lose more game than last season? What's your rationale for that?

[DRK]

West standing end of season.
1. OKC- this is the year it comes together.
2. Houston
3. Clippers
4. Warriors - fluke last year, good but not great.
5. Suns- yes, I said Suns!
6. grizzly- they no longer have the Suns number, Chandler makes a big difference.
7. Pelicans - need more talent around Davis.
8. Spurs - old age, LMA doesn't make much difference.

[Christine-In-AZ]

double post

[Christine-In-AZ]

#1. -Oklahoma City ...60+ wins. They're in FU mode all season, and back it up.

#2 thru #5. -GS/SA/LAC/HOU ...55ish wins each. It's weak I know, but I just can't separate Golden State, San Antonio, LA Clips and Houston per the regular season. These 4 teams plus the Thunder are all legit title contenders.

#6 -Memphis ...50 er so wins. On an island of "very good, but not truly in the hunt"

#7/8 -Utah/New Orleans ...42-44 wins. Two team with bright futures, but injuries & "sophomore" hiccoughs keep them at the bottom of the West's playoff set.

#9 -Sacramento (yes, that Sacramento) ...maybe 40 wins! In the playoff hunt until the last week of the season.

#10 -Denver ...37-38 wins?

#11/12 -Phoenix/LAL ...both the Suns and Lakers end up in the low to mid 30s for win totals and fight for supremacy.

#13 -Portland ...30 wins. Blazer fans just have to grin and bare it.

#14 -Dallas ...28 wins. Cuban and the rest of the organization smartly embrace the reality, acquiesce, bottom out and keep their pick. "Sorry Dirk, but..."

#15 -Minnesota ...low 20s. More good talent coming next season.

You think we're gonna lose more game than last season? What's your rationale for that?

I will admit that my call of 34 wins for the Suns is a bit more "intuiton & hunch" versus "information & crunch" but...

-With the player changes from this time one year ago I see this team somewhat better at preventing opponents from scoring, but more than somewhat worse at scoring. I'm calling a net negative on point differential vs. last year.

-For me last year's lack of offensive flow...playmaking was extremely frustrating. Even wins were painful to view. Ugly ball. I hated it. Iso after iso after iso. Hero ball to win games...and it actually worked a fair amount of the time. 3 of last year's "hero ballers"- Bledsoe, Dragic, Thomas, Keef and Green are gone. Knight fills one of those spots. Who else on this current roster can put on the cape when needed? Weems? Goodwin? Booker? Warren? Maybe 1 or 2 of them can come to the rescue in an isolation based offense, but not having Dragic, Thomas and Green I believe is going to hurt the Suns offensive numbers significantly. Their combined departures could really be a big negative in the last 2 minutes of games. If the Suns become a much, much better passing-playmaking team it's not nearly as big of issues. I don't see that happening, especially with Bledsoe and Knight and (who else?) running the offense.

-The fortunes of this team weigh far too heavily on the play of Markieff Morris. I still think he's stewing inside. In theory, Chandler should help Keef's play, but if Morris struggles at all this year he's going to blame everybody but himself. He'll try, but dude is ready to jump ship...blame the organization if it doesn't go right for him.

-4 core veteran players are "paid" with no new contracts coming until 2020 or ever again for Chandler, Bledsoe, Knight and Morris. Not a big deal, but if the season goes south, this fact could make it worse.

-Yes Tyson Chandler will help big time with his hard-nosed center play and leadership. I have no doubt he'll give it his all...at least for a time. Still, overall, it feels like an awkward fit. Him and Aldridge I get that, but on a team that's at least 2 or 3 years from making any real noise? Maybe he is in for the long haul, but it wouldn't surprise me if somehow, someway he's on a contender or near contender's roster after the deadline. Really wish the Suns had overpaid for a veteran center with leadership qualities 16 month's ago. Not doing that REALLY F'd up everything.

There are a few more reasons in my previous Suns specific prediction post, but in general, this team seems very ill defined...no real strengths, that while still having some good depth. Maybe they can go 10-11 players deep, play with college-like intensity 48 minutes a game and reprise what happened in '13-'14. I just don't think it will happen, and feel it's more likely it never really comes together, followed by a slow descent the last half of the season. That's my hunch.

[lilfishi22]

I will admit that my call of 34 wins for the Suns is a bit more "intuiton & hunch" versus "information & crunch" but...
-With the player changes from this time one year ago I see this team somewhat better at preventing opponents from scoring, but more than somewhat worse at scoring. I'm calling a net negative on point differential vs. last year.

-For me last year's lack of offensive flow...playmaking was extremely frustrating. Even wins were painful to view. Ugly ball. I hated it. Iso after iso after iso. Hero ball to win games...and it actually worked a fair amount of the time. 3 of last year's "hero ballers"- Bledsoe, Dragic, Thomas, Keef and Green are gone. Knight fills one of those spots. Who else on this current roster can put on the cape when needed? Weems? Goodwin? Booker? Warren? Maybe 1 or 2 of them can come to the rescue in an isolation based offense, but not having Dragic, Thomas and Green I believe is going to hurt the Suns offensive numbers significantly. Their combined departures could really be a big negative in the last 2 minutes of games. If the Suns become a much, much better passing-playmaking team it's not nearly as big of issues. I don't see that happening, especially with Bledsoe and Knight and (who else?) running the offense.

I'd agree that we're probably less potent offensively (unless Kieff, TJ steps up and Knight returns to near all-star levels) than last season but last season I also felt the machine had to be firing on all cylinders for us to be above average offensively. So last season, the synergy wasn't good with the 3 PG's battling for minutes, possessions and shots which meant somehow that balance between the 3 guards had to be reached, every game, for us to be somewhat special offensively. We essentially had 3 (+Kieff) offensive options who were ready to contribute last year vs this season where we have 2 (+Kieff). You could argue we're less special (or gimmicky) this season and we're certainly more balanced this season with good depth at all spots but "special" got us to just below average in both offensive and defensive ratings

-The fortunes of this team weigh far too heavily on the play of Markieff Morris. I still think he's stewing inside. In theory, Chandler should help Keef's play, but if Morris struggles at all this year he's going to blame everybody but himself. He'll try, but dude is ready to jump ship...blame the organization if it doesn't go right for him.

I agree.

-4 core veteran players are "paid" with no new contracts coming until 2020 or ever again for Chandler, Bledsoe, Knight and Morris. Not a big deal, but if the season goes south, this fact could make it worse.

-Yes Tyson Chandler will help big time with his hard-nosed center play and leadership. I have no doubt he'll give it his all...at least for a time. Still, overall, it feels like an awkward fit. Him and Aldridge I get that, but on a team that's at least 2 or 3 years from making any real noise? Maybe he is in for the long haul, but it wouldn't surprise me if somehow, someway he's on a contender or near contender's roster after the deadline. Really wish the Suns had overpaid for a veteran center with leadership qualities 16 month's ago. Not doing that REALLY F'd up everything.

There are a few more reasons in my previous Suns specific prediction post, but in general, this team seems very ill defined...no real strengths, that while still having some good depth. Maybe they can go 10-11 players deep, play with college-like intensity 48 minutes a game and reprise what happened in '13-'14. I just don't think it will happen, and feel it's more likely it never really comes together, followed by a slow decent the last half of the season. That's my hunch.

All valid points

[jredsaz]

Rockets
Clips
OKC
Warriors
Spurs
Pels
Grizz
Suns
Jazz
Mavs
Kings
Wolves
Blazers
Lakers
Nuggets

Mavs are not making the playoffs. Grizz will slip. AD, despite the game tonight, will kill it and the Suns will make the playoffs

[RaisingArizona]

I'm thinking 6 or 7 seed. Someone will slip we're not counting on. Our young core got better this offseason and we took care of a few chemistry issues that we had. I think we might surprise and look like the team we did two years ago-- this time it won't take 50 wins for the 8th seed, though.

[Kyler Murray]

1) OKC
2) Warriors
3) Clippers
4) Rockets
5) Spurs
6) Grizzlies
7) Pelicans
8) Suns
9) Jazz
10) Mavs
11) Kings
12) Lakers
13) Nuggets
14) Wolves
15) Blazers

[RaisingArizona]

51.

[bwgood77]

OKC 59
GS 58
SA 57
HOU 52
MEM 48
NO 46
DAL 43
UTA 41
PHX 38
SAC 32
MIN 31
POR 25
DEN 23
LA 20

[Qwigglez]

1) OKC
2) Warriors
3) Clippers
4) Rockets
5) Spurs
6) Grizzlies
7) Suns
8) Pelicans
9) Jazz
10) Kings
11) Mavs
12) Nuggets
13) Wolves
14) Lakers
15) Blazers

[jeff2020]

Pray the Suns are one of the worst teams. If not McD will continue to wheel and deal
Like it's a video game

[bwgood77]

Pray the Suns are one of the worst teams. If not McD will continue to wheel and deal
Like it's a video game

Well at least in game threads you can cheer when we suck then.

[JTrain]

Update:

1. Warriors 60
2. Thunder 55
3. Spurs 55
4. Clippers 53
5. Rockets 50
6. Grizzlies 47
7. Pelicans 46
8. Mavs 43
9. Jazz 42
10. Blazers 39
11. Suns 37
12. Kings 32
13. Lakers 31
14. Timberwolves 29
15. Nuggets 26