Predict Western Standings

[Poe]

Be sure to add your own predictions!

 

 

Here's mine:

 

 

1) Los Angeles Lakers - This shouldn’t be too surprising to anyone. They are the defending champions after all. It’s the same team plus an upgrade at point guard with the addition of Steve Blake while retained Derek Fisher, and upgrading the backup wing position with the defensive minded Matt Barnes, and a back up center with veteran Theo Ratliff. It shouldn’t be too hard to guess that they have a great chance to make it back into the NBA finals once again.

 

2) Portland Trailblazers - Last year, they managed a 50 win record and made the 6th seed in a very tough western conference despite 3 of their 5 starters missing game due to injury at some point during the season including Brandon Roy and Greg Oden, as well as many of their key bench players. Now that they are healthy, they will surely improve without a doubt, and quite considerably at that.

 

3) Dallas Mavericks - They have some major depth with one of the best benches in the league with Jason Terry as the sixth man, and Shawn Marion as the seventh. Unlike last season, they will also have a full year of Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood, plus the recent addition of Tyson Chandler. We should also expect an increased role for the lightning fast Rodrigue Beaubois, who may potentially start next to Jason Kidd.

 

4) Denver Nuggets - Other than the addition of Al Harrington, it is the exact same team as last year. Though Harrington is a very good player, I feel both the Mavericks and a healthy Blazers team are still better.

 

5) Utah Jazz - They replaced Carlos Boozer with Al Jefferson, and upgraded Wesley Mathews to Raja Bell. It remains to be seen how well Jefferson will play alongside a dominant PG, and exactly how much improvement there will be, if any at all. He may ultimately prove to be an upgrade over Boozer, or perhaps there will be chemistry issues. Or perhaps these moves may prove to have a lateral affect as I still project them to have the same seed as last year.

 

6) San Antonio Spurs - An interesting offseason acquisition in Tiago Splitter from overseas, which should surely improve the frontcourt. Without any further improvements however, if the team remains healthy, we shouldn’t see much improvement in their record. Not unless this aging squad finds a way to improve from within.

 

7) Oklahoma City Thunder - Superstar Kevin Durant and upcoming star Russell Westbrook will lead this team back into the playoffs. However, they’ll need to strengthen the rest of the team if they want to become contenders. Youth and potential will allow them to improve from within, but that can only go so far. They may need to find more talent in the future, particularly at PF and C.

 

8) Houston Rockets - There is a lot of hype surrounding the Rockets, but I feel their future is too reliant on a single player’s return. If Yao’s comeback is unsuccessful, I do not expect much higher than the 8th seed for this team, perhaps even worse if one of the younger teams, like the Kings or the Warriors, winds up building faster than expected. It is virtually the same team as last year after all, which failed to make the playoffs. If Yao does return and reach his old form however, I do expect a higher seed. Perhaps the 4th or 5th seed.

 

9) Sacramento Kings - Following the dominant ROY season from shooting guard Tyreke Evens, the Kings draft another high talent in center DeMarcus Cousins. Pairing a dominant bigman with a dominant little man has proven to be lethal in the past, so we can expect a bright future coming from this franchise under these two young talents. Add them with the high scoring power forward Carl Landry, the versatile Donte Greene, and a solid bench including Samuel Dalembert, Jason Thompson, and Francisco Garcia, this team may surprise people. We still have yet to see how DeMarcus Cousins will adapt to the big leagues, so I’m a little reluctant to go as far as saying they will make the playoffs, though I think it’s definitely a possibility.

 

10) Phoenix Suns - The same team as last year minus Amar’e Stoudemire plus Hedo Turkoglu and Josh Childress. There are a lot of question marks surrounding how well the perimeter players can be affective without Amar’e, and how well Hedo will fit alongside Nash. This team may potentially surprise people and snag a playoff spot, but on the flip side could just as easily fail miserably as well.

 

11) Golden State Warriors - After Stephen Curry’s impressive rookie year, Monta Ellis producing All Star caliber numbers, plus the recent additions of all star David Lee and a developing high potential player in Dorell Wright, it’s clear that the talent is there for the Warriors. But unfortunately, offsetting the abilities of the players of this franchise, the coaching is not. The management needs to put together a better coaching staff before we start to see some real success out of this team.

 

12) Memphis Grizzlies - Despite being two seeds away from the playoffs last season, the management made no effort to improve the team. The talent is there, particularly in the starting line up. That isn’t the main problem for the Grizzlies, though. What this team lacks is a clear defined role for each player. There are too many scorers and not enough facilitators. Lots of strong rebounders, but they lack defense collectively. They should try to trade some players for pieces that fit the Grizzly puzzle.

 

13) Los Angeles Clippers - Blake Griffin returns, but the team looks as sloppy as ever. Other than the healed rookie, there is very little talent on this squad, and not much of a bench either. They need to find an upcoming star through the draft to pair with Griffin.

 

14) New Orleans Hornets - There are too many problems within the organization to make much of a playoff run this year, especially involving their best player. If the organization had a clear focus on a set goal for the franchise, I would expect more, but that doesn’t seem to be there. Maybe they can finally head in a direction once they trade Chris Paul.

 

15) Minnesota Timberwolves - Lots and lots of projects. They are going to spend the season focusing on bringing the inner star out of Michael Beasley and giving Darko Milicic a comfortable role in what may be a break out year by some small chance. Along the way, they will look to further develop Johnny Flynn and Kevin Love, and their draft pick Wesley Johnson. Bringing Ricky Rubio back from overseas and gaining another draft pick to strengthen the wing position, and they may be a very scary team down the road.

Edited July 30, 2010 by Poe

[Sun Tzu]

1. Los Angeles Lakers - Without a doubt the best team in this conference, once again.

2. Dallas Mavericks - Tyson Chandler was a good addition for the Mavs. I think it was a great move.

3. Denver Nuggets - I'm not sure, this team might even drop to 5th I reckon. I'm just not confident in this team anymore for some reason.

4. Portland Trailblazers - I think this team will be a good if Greg Oden stays healthy and plays at least half their games.

5. Phoenix Suns - I don't know why everyones doubting them. I think they have a chance to surprise, just like last season.

6. Utah Jazz - Al Jefferson was a great addition for this team, but will he be able to offer what Boozer did to this team?

7. Houston Rockets - I really hope Yao Ming can stay healthy, if he can then things will turn out great.

8. Oklahoma City Thunder - I think this team will make the playoffs, maybe even get a better position in the playoffs.

9. San Antonio Spurs - The strength of the West is so strong this year.

10. Sacramento Kings - Great additions and it may help them a lot but like what I said about the Spurs.

11. Golden State Warriors - Refer to Kings.

12. New Orleans Hornets - Good team but I don't think this team can get it together and win.

13. Memphis Grizzlies - Refer to Kings/Warriors.

14. Los Angeles Clippers - Refer to Kings/Warriors/Grizzlies

15. Minnesota Timberwolves - This team will most likely be the wooden spooners.

[JWaLL]

1. Los Angeles Lakers

2. Dallas Mavericks

3. Portland Trailblazers

4. Denver Nuggets

5. Oklahoma City Thunder

6. Phoenix Suns

7. Houston Rockets

8. Utah Jazz

9. San Antonio Spurs

10. Sacramento Kings

11. Memphis Grizzlies

12. Golden State Warriors

13 Los Angeles Clippers

14. New Orleans Hornets

15. Minnesota Timberwolves

[Poe]

So you guys believe a core of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Tim Duncan isn't going to make the playoffs after getting 50 wins last year? Even after upgrading their center position?

 

 

And you guys also believe Nash can lead the Suns back into the playoffs without a second star in the West?

[moeroadkill]

1:Lakers (58-62wins) best team in the west no doubt.

2: Mavericks (55-58wins) with the addition of Butler Haywood and Stevenson they now have a full offseason and season to learn one another and play as one.

3: Nuggets (54-58 wins) they added another scorer but i cant see it making a huge difference

4: Jazz (54-56 wins) they lost some pieces but i think with ak back to full health al jefferson healthy and wants to redeem himself also playing along side d will. jazz will always hang around

5: Thunder (52-55 wins) same team with another year of development under the belt i dont expect them to make a drastic improvment record-wise

6: Rockets (51-54 wins) they get to mesh together better but i dont think yao will make a huge difference, i cant see him being the player he once was, although i hope im wrong.

7:Blazers (50-53 wins) can oden stay healthy? Joel is out for a few months (i believe). i think this team is in a bit of a rut and have to many question marks around them

8a:spurs (49-51 wins) team is only thinking about the playoffs, however i think they are going to have to rely on their younger guys to get over that hump . i wouldn't be surprised if they didnt make the playoffs this season.

8b: hornets (49-51wins) im stuck on this one its tough with cp3 back this team is a playoff team. however the west is stronger and they haven't gotten any better for the past 2 years

10: grizzlies (46-50 wins) pretty much in the same boat as thunder. they just need to develop and grow together

 

and the rest i dont know dont really care it could go either way

[Big Penny]

1. LA Lakers

2. Dallas Mavericks

3. Portland Trailblazers

4. Houston Rockets

5. Utah Jazz

6. Denver Nuggets

7. Oklahoma City Thunder

8. San Antonio Spurs

9. New Orleans Hornets

10. Memphis Grizzlies

11. Los Angeles Clippers

12. Phoenix Suns

13. Sacramento Kings

14. Golden State Warriors

15. Minnesota Timberwolves

[Dash]

1. Los Angeles Lakers

2. Houston Rockets

3. Dallas Mavericks

4. Portland Trailblazers

5. Denver Nuggets

6. San Antonio Spurs

7. Oklahoma City Thunder

8. Utah Jazz

9. Los Angeles Clippers

10. Memphis Grizzlies

11. Phoenix Suns

12. Golden State Warriors

13. Sacramento Kings

14. New Orleans Hornets

15. Minnesota Timberwolves

[Nitro]

The West is really tough. I'll just give my top 8...

 

1) Lakers

2) Mavericks (probably choke in playoffs, but they'll win a lot of regular season games)

3) Nuggets

4) Blazers

5) Thunder

6) Spurs

7) Jazz

8) Suns (I doubted them in 2005-2006 when they lost Amare...won't make that mistake again)

[Beastley]

1. Los Angeles Lakers

2. Dallas Mavericks

3. Portland Trailblazers

4. Denver Nuggets

5. Oklahoma City Thunder

6. Phoenix Suns

7. Houston Rockets

8. Utah Jazz

9. San Antonio Spurs

10. New Orleans Hornets

11. Memphis Grizzlies

12. Sacramento Kings

13 Los Angeles Clippers

14. Golden State Warriors

15. Minnesota Timberwolves

[Multi-Billionaire]

1. Los Angeles Lakers - Champs and actually got better smh

2. Denver Nuggets - There's a reason why we were 2nd in the west before GK stepped aside, and only .500 ballclub when he's away... we plummeted from 2nd to 4th but had GK stayed, we could have had more wins than LA (only 56 wins) and been the 1st seed... we added Harrington who has pledged to be a team player and get back to what he's known for in his Indiana days: defense... I think Melo will resign so there's no distraction, and believe AAA and Ty will improve.

3. Portland Trailblazers - When healthy, there's no reason why they shouldn't be here...

4. Oklahoma City Thunder - They will be good, but not sure if they can consistently be there... Scott Brooks has to break the COY curse and performs again

5. Dallas Mavericks - Dirk and Carlisle historically can't rebound from a season where they disappointed (1st round exit)

6. San Antonio Spurs - It's about Tiago Splitter, if he can contribute big, they can be dangerous. RJ should be more comfortable with the system and know what to expect more.

7. Sacramento Kings - I don't think Cousins will be great, but I do think he'll fit in nicely with Evans and the team.

8. Houston Rockets - They should be at least here if Yao is healthy...

9. Los Angeles Clippers - Healthy Blake Griffin can make a lot of difference

10. Phoenix Suns - Losing Amare is big... why were they so hot in the second half of last season? Because Amare was arguably the season's second half'a best player. Yes, they play D now, but it's marginal improvement, not significant. Losing Amare is a blow.

11. Utah Jazz - Matthews was key for them... losing him will hurt, and Boozer had years of chemistry with team, I'm not ready to say Al Jefferson will fit right away. It's a season of adjustment for this team. Big doubter.

12. Golden State Warriors - Steph Curryyyyyyyyy

13. Memphis Grizzlies - The players are not necessarily selfish but they don't fit together

14. New Orleans Hornets - Chris Paul's drama, Emeka and West's discontent put them here... I see Collison and Thornton being the only spotlight for this team

15. Minnesota Timberwolves - Flynn should still be out once the season starts, will KLove continue to be underutilized, will Darko continue to play but show little, will Wesley Johnson perform? Is David Kahn incompetent or genius? The only bright spot is Corey Brewer who should continue to improve.

[AllenIverson#1fan]

1. Los Angeles Lakers

2.. Denver Nuggets

3.Dallas Mavericks

3. Portland Trailblazers

4. Denver Nuggets

5. Oklahoma City Thunder

7. Utah Jazz

8. San Antonio Spurs

9. Houston Rockets

10 New Orleans Hornets

11. Memphis Grizzlies

12 Sacramento Kings

13. Golden State Warriors

14 Los Angeles Clippers

15. Minnesota Timberwolves