Official West Conference Prediction Thread - updated 10/25/16

[KL78192020]

Thunder will be much lower once Westbrook is traded, they need to trade him sooner rather than later. The further they go into the season the more his value drops.

[TaylorTag]

1. Golden State
2. LA Clippers
3. San Antonio
4. Portland
5. Houston
6. Memphis
7. Utah
8. Oklahoma City (with Russell)
9. Minnesota
10. Denver
11. Dallas
12. New Orleans
13. Sacramento
14. LA Lakers
15. Phoenix

[sharmaraps]

1) Golden State
2) San Antonio
3) Houston
4) Clippers
5) Minnesota
6)Portland
7) Memphis
8) New Orleans
9) Utah
10) Dallas
11) Denver
12) Lakers
13) Phoenix
14) Sacremento
15) OKC

Westbrook gets traded to New Orleans for Evans, buddy Hield, couple picks etc. And goes to new orleans and kills it wwith AD. They Make the playoffs and face KD and GSTATE first round.

[stitches]

Oh well.... the hell with it... I guess I'm going all in with homerism

1. Golden State
2. San Antonio
3. LA Clippers
4. Utah
5. Memphis
6. Portland
7. Oklahoma City
8. Minnesota
9. Houston
10. Dallas
11. Denver
12. New Orleans
13. Sacramento
14. Phoenix
15. LA Lakers

[Catchall]

All-in homerism would be putting the Jazz ahead of the Clippers....

[LeCalinou]

1. GSW - obvious
2. SAS - who else?
3. POR - they will build on their progress from last year
4. LAC - they are definetly good, better than other teams, but are they better than they were last year? Paul is a year older, Griffin a year dumber, Crawford closer to his retirement and Pierce is 2 years late on his retirement plan.
5. MEM - better equiped than last year, on paper, but Gasol, Randolph, Conley, Parsons are all coming off injuries or down years. The combined recovery time of their injuries is around 2 years. They do have better bench players (good draft), so they could manage the minutes better.
6. UTA - they have finally taken care of their weaknesses, Exum is coming back, Joe Johnson will help and the others will all improve. Have to wait for them to actually play games, but they have better potential than everyone except GSW.
7. MIN - same story, they've adressed their weaknesses, are a year older (in the good sense), but they need very more maturity from their young stars. You can improve skill level by training, but it takes time to grow up. But still quite good and with enough potential.
8. OKC - simply because Westbrook will be free and they'll adapt their game plan accordingly. They need shooters that have a complimentary player mindset. Will have to hope Russell will still be on the roster after February.

[LeCalinou]

Oh well.... the hell with it... I guess I'm going all in with homerism

1. Golden State
2. San Antonio
3. LA Clippers
4. Utah
5. Memphis
6. Portland
7. Oklahoma City
8. Minnesota
9. Houston
10. Dallas
11. Denver
12. New Orleans
13. Sacramento
14. Phoenix
15. LA Lakers

Really?
Houston, Dallas, Sacramento and Phoenix, better than LAL?

[ken6199]

Really?
Houston, Dallas, Sacramento and Phoenix, better than LAL?

Houston most likely. Dallas it not done yet. The other two Idk, I personally have:

9. MIN
DAL
LAL
DEN
PHX
NOP
SAC

[DaVoiceMaster]

Warriors

Spurs

Clippers
Grizzlies

Blazers
Thunder

Rockets
Jazz
Mavericks
Timberwolves
Pelicans
Nuggets

Sacramento
Suns
Lakers

Clearly, it's a little early to know how things will play out, but just based on past practice, acquisitions this summer, etc ... this is my guess. I clustered the various groups and I think you could probably swap any of the teams in that cluster with each other.

[Remixed]

1. Golden State
2. San Antonio
3. Houston
4. Utah
5. Oklahoma City
6. LA Clippers
7. Memphis
8. Portland

9. Denver
10. Minnesota
11. New Orleans
12. Dallas
13. LA Lakers
14. Phoenix
15. Sacramento

I don't post here often, I'm just a spectator... but this is just so wrong on so many levels that I just had to step in and say something.

You have the Warriors at 1 and Spurs at 2... ok, fair enough. But after that it just get's ugly.

Houston at 3... I'm assuming you're thinking they'll revert back to their 2014-15 form. Can't see that happening. They're awful defensively and just got worse by losing Dwight Howard and adding Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon. Harden's ego is so inflated at this point there's gonna be close to zero ball movement and they'll implode like they did this past season.

Jazz at 4... lmao I'm sorry but George Hill, 35 year old Joe Johnson and Borris Diaw aren't the differences between missing the playoffs and becoming a top 4 team. To be a great team, you have to have at least 1 great player. Gordon Hayward is not a great player. Good, not great. They'll be fighting for those 7-8th seeds if they stay healthy.

OKC at 5... Westbrook is great, but he's not gonna be able to lead that team by himself to the 5th seed. When KD played just 27 games in 2014-15 and Westbrook was carrying the load, they didn't even make the playoffs. I suspect they'll still be fighting for a playoff spot but definitely not getting that 5th seed.

Clips at 6... They obviously aren't doing anything in the playoffs but they'll definitely win a lot of regular season games again. 6 is too low.

Grizz at 7... They have one of the better starting lineups in the league now after adding Parsons. If they stay healthy, they should be a top 4 seed. 7 is too low.

Blazers at 8... They've essentially brought back their whole team from last year plus added Evan Turner and Festus Ezeli. And there's no reason to think McCollum won't expand his game even more this season. They may not be better than the 5th seed that they were last year, but they definitely won't fall back 3 spots.

Then you got Denver over Minnesota and Dallas at 9?? First of all, Dallas has one of the more complete starting lineups in the league and should definitely be a playoff team. D-Will/Matthews/Barnes/Dirk/Bogut is a serious lineup if they stay healthy. Not only are they a playoff team but should be fighting for those 4th-6th seeds. Then Minnesota... they're much better than Denver and it's not close. Rubio, Dunn, Wiggins, LaVine, Shabazz, Dieng, Towns... so much great young talent on that squad. Denver really only has Mudiay, Murray, Faried, and Gallinari. Much more talent and star power on the T-Wolves.

Not trying to be disrespectful but man I just completely disagree with your rankings.

[SouthernFried]

1. Golden State
2. San Antonio
3. Houston
4. Utah
5. Oklahoma City
6. LA Clippers
7. Memphis
8. Portland

9. Denver
10. Minnesota
11. New Orleans
12. Dallas
13. LA Lakers
14. Phoenix
15. Sacramento

I don't post here often, I'm just a spectator... but this is just so wrong on so many levels that I just had to step in and say something.

You have the Warriors at 1 and Spurs at 2... ok, fair enough. But after that it just get's ugly.

Houston at 3... I'm assuming you're thinking they'll revert back to their 2014-15 form. Can't see that happening. They're awful defensively and just got worse by losing Dwight Howard and adding Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon. Harden's ego is so inflated at this point there's gonna be close to zero ball movement and they'll implode like they did this past season.


Not trying to be disrespectful but man I just completely disagree with your rankings.

The Rockets literally got a coach that would do nothing but play to Harden's strengths. I can see Gordon and Anderson being huge difference makers as they will thrive in a D'Antoni-guided offense. As long as Brewer's minutes are limited and D-Mo is brought back, we're set.

[qman]

The Rockets literally got a coach that would do nothing but play to Harden's strengths. I can see Gordon and Anderson being huge difference makers as they will thrive in a D'Antoni-guided offense. As long as Brewer's minutes are limited and D-Mo is brought back, we're set.

D'Antonio hasn't coached a good team since Nash was an all-star. And Houston doesn't appear to have the depth inside to compete with the better teams in the west. They will score lots of points when they are healthy. The problem is that Anderson, D-Mo and Gordon will miss 40 games each. Prepare for a long of Ariza at the 4 so your can start Brewer has his hustle.

Portland is the team I can't figure out. Did they worse by signing Turner? Or are they going to play him at the 4?

[Remixed]

1. Golden State
2. San Antonio
3. Houston
4. Utah
5. Oklahoma City
6. LA Clippers
7. Memphis
8. Portland

9. Denver
10. Minnesota
11. New Orleans
12. Dallas
13. LA Lakers
14. Phoenix
15. Sacramento

I don't post here often, I'm just a spectator... but this is just so wrong on so many levels that I just had to step in and say something.

You have the Warriors at 1 and Spurs at 2... ok, fair enough. But after that it just get's ugly.

Houston at 3... I'm assuming you're thinking they'll revert back to their 2014-15 form. Can't see that happening. They're awful defensively and just got worse by losing Dwight Howard and adding Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon. Harden's ego is so inflated at this point there's gonna be close to zero ball movement and they'll implode like they did this past season.


Not trying to be disrespectful but man I just completely disagree with your rankings.

The Rockets literally got a coach that would do nothing but play to Harden's strengths. I can see Gordon and Anderson being huge difference makers as they will thrive in a D'Antoni-guided offense. As long as Brewer's minutes are limited and D-Mo is brought back, we're set.

Exactly lol. D'Antoni will ONLY play to Harden's strengths... he won't emphasize defense, which is Harden's biggest weakness. The Rockets could be one of the worst defensive teams we've seen in a long time.

[SouthernFried]

The Rockets literally got a coach that would do nothing but play to Harden's strengths. I can see Gordon and Anderson being huge difference makers as they will thrive in a D'Antoni-guided offense. As long as Brewer's minutes are limited and D-Mo is brought back, we're set.

D'Antonio hasn't coached a good team since Nash was an all-star. And Houston doesn't appear to have the depth inside to compete with the better teams in the west. They will score lots of points when they are healthy. The problem is that Anderson, D-Mo and Gordon will miss 40 games each. Prepare for a long of Ariza at the 4 so your can start Brewer has his hustle.

I don't see the issue with injuries considering this squad:


...made the Playoffs last year. We've made key upgrades since then.

On D'Antoni: Exactly, he hasn't coached a good team. This is a good team. This is a talented group of guys who were led astray by mismanagement and a rookie coach that didn't know up from down. Bear in mind this was a Western Conference Finals team only a year ago. I understand people have their doubts on his defensive effectiveness, but I argue that the guys on this team are exactly what D'Antoni has needed in order to fully succeed.

[SouthernFried]

I don't post here often, I'm just a spectator... but this is just so wrong on so many levels that I just had to step in and say something.

You have the Warriors at 1 and Spurs at 2... ok, fair enough. But after that it just get's ugly.

Houston at 3... I'm assuming you're thinking they'll revert back to their 2014-15 form. Can't see that happening. They're awful defensively and just got worse by losing Dwight Howard and adding Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon. Harden's ego is so inflated at this point there's gonna be close to zero ball movement and they'll implode like they did this past season.


Not trying to be disrespectful but man I just completely disagree with your rankings.

The Rockets literally got a coach that would do nothing but play to Harden's strengths. I can see Gordon and Anderson being huge difference makers as they will thrive in a D'Antoni-guided offense. As long as Brewer's minutes are limited and D-Mo is brought back, we're set.

Exactly lol. D'Antoni will ONLY play to Harden's strengths... he won't emphasize defense, which is Harden's biggest weakness. The Rockets could be one of the worst defensive teams we've seen in a long time.

As a coach, you gotta deal with what you got. Harden is who he is at this point. Better to bring his special talents to the max and make a good efficient use of the team's training and coaching resources.

[WildArkieBoy65]

[b]1. Golden State Warriors
2. Los Angeles Clippers
3. San Antonio Spurs
4. Dallas Mavericks
5. Portland Trailblazers
6. Oklahoma City Thunder
7. Utah Jazz
8. Memphis Grizzlies

9. Denver Nuggets
10. Minnesota Timberwolves
11. Phoenix Suns
12. New Orleans Pelicans
13. Sacramento Kings
14. Los Angeles Lakers
15. Houston Rockets

[bleu]

1. Golden State
2. San Antonio
3. Houston
4. Utah
5. Oklahoma City
6. LA Clippers
7. Memphis
8. Portland

9. Denver
10. Minnesota
11. New Orleans
12. Dallas
13. LA Lakers
14. Phoenix
15. Sacramento

I don't post here often, I'm just a spectator... but this is just so wrong on so many levels that I just had to step in and say something.

You have the Warriors at 1 and Spurs at 2... ok, fair enough. But after that it just get's ugly.

Houston at 3... I'm assuming you're thinking they'll revert back to their 2014-15 form. Can't see that happening. They're awful defensively and just got worse by losing Dwight Howard and adding Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon. Harden's ego is so inflated at this point there's gonna be close to zero ball movement and they'll implode like they did this past season.

Jazz at 4... lmao I'm sorry but George Hill, 35 year old Joe Johnson and Borris Diaw aren't the differences between missing the playoffs and becoming a top 4 team. To be a great team, you have to have at least 1 great player. Gordon Hayward is not a great player. Good, not great. They'll be fighting for those 7-8th seeds if they stay healthy.

OKC at 5... Westbrook is great, but he's not gonna be able to lead that team by himself to the 5th seed. When KD played just 27 games in 2014-15 and Westbrook was carrying the load, they didn't even make the playoffs. I suspect they'll still be fighting for a playoff spot but definitely not getting that 5th seed.

Clips at 6... They obviously aren't doing anything in the playoffs but they'll definitely win a lot of regular season games again. 6 is too low.

Grizz at 7... They have one of the better starting lineups in the league now after adding Parsons. If they stay healthy, they should be a top 4 seed. 7 is too low.

Blazers at 8... They've essentially brought back their whole team from last year plus added Evan Turner and Festus Ezeli. And there's no reason to think McCollum won't expand his game even more this season. They may not be better than the 5th seed that they were last year, but they definitely won't fall back 3 spots.

Then you got Denver over Minnesota and Dallas at 9?? First of all, Dallas has one of the more complete starting lineups in the league and should definitely be a playoff team. D-Will/Matthews/Barnes/Dirk/Bogut is a serious lineup if they stay healthy. Not only are they a playoff team but should be fighting for those 4th-6th seeds. Then Minnesota... they're much better than Denver and it's not close. Rubio, Dunn, Wiggins, LaVine, Shabazz, Dieng, Towns... so much great young talent on that squad. Denver really only has Mudiay, Murray, Faried, and Gallinari. Much more talent and star power on the T-Wolves.

Not trying to be disrespectful but man I just completely disagree with your rankings.

No its cool man, I know a few of these predictions are a little out there, but there are always some surprises in the NBA. If I were putting down money I would probably rearrange the order a bit.

I do think that Houston could surprise a bit, I like a lot of the guys on their roster and think they could make it click. And trust me, I'm far from a Rockets fan.

The Jazz at 4 is not too much of a stretch though, even though I'm a Jazz fan. I've seen several projections with them in the 3-5 range, including a Bleacher Report article putting them 4 in the power rankings of the whole NBA.

OKC at 5 could be high, but I wouldn't put them lower than 7. Westbrook is an absolute monster, and IMO one of the top 3 game changers in the league. He's still got a decent cast around him even without Durant, especially after the Orlando trade.

I don't expect many people to agree with my rankings, but the cool thing about sports is that you get to see how things pan out. And if I'm right, great. If I'm wrong, great. There are no absolutes in sports and this is going to be a wild season.

[Bosnian Diehard]

1) Golden State
2) San Antonio
3) L.A. Clippers
4) Oklahoma City
5) Houston
6) Portland
7) Utah
8) Sacramento
--------------------
9) Memphis
10) Minnesota
11) Dallas
12) Denver
13) New Orleans
14) L.A. Lakers
15) Phoenix

[watpho71]

West

1. Golden State
2. San Antonio
3. Clippers
4. Utah
5. Portland
6. Houston
7. Phoenix
8. Memphis

9. Dallas
10. Oklahoma City
11. Minnesota
12. New Orleans
13. Sacramento
14. Denver
15. Lakers

[bwgood77]

West

1. Golden State
2. San Antonio
3. Clippers
4. Utah
5. Portland
6. Houston
7. Phoenix
8. Memphis

9. Dallas
10. Oklahoma City
11. Minnesota
12. New Orleans
13. Sacramento
14. Denver
15. Lakers

Wow, Phoenix in the playoffs? What makes you think that?