Now with Shaq gone to the west, let's rank the WEST

Here's my take:

1. San Antonio
- Same team as last year with the addition of Brent Barry. Plus
another year of experience for Tony Parker
2. Minnesota
- Same team as last year. Don't see them free falling too much
but Spree and Cassell aint getting younger.
3. Sacramento
- Same team as last year with a healthy Webber(****)
4. Dallas
- Still have all have alot of firepower with
Dirk/Finley/Walker/Stackhouse and Gang.
5. Houston
- Questionable Bench. Lack of Depth will really hurt against
the top 4. Scoring will still be a concern because of bench.
6. Denver
- Good Depth but lack a go to guy. Don't tell me Carmelo is it
with his .400 shooting.
7. Memphis
- Good Depth but lack a go to guy.
8. Phoenix
- This team could suprise people with Nash running the point
and another year of experience for Amare.
9. Lakers
10. Hornets
11. Utah
12. Portland
13. Seattle
14. Golden State
15. Clippers

 

You know, it's funny how people always rank Utah low as dirt, and they always come out and make people look dumb? I am not their fan, but I know as long as Jerry Sloan is their coach, they will keep winning. I am a huge Jerry Sloan fan, in fact.

They won 42 games last year, and this year, they added two good rookies in Humphries and Snyder, got to pretty impressive FAs in Okur and Boozer, and AK is one year older and better, get a healthy Harpring back, and how can they win less than what they won last year? Please explain.

Well, here is mine:

Spurs
Wolves
Kings
Rockets
Jazz
Lakers
Grizzlies
Mavs
------ Playoff line-----
Suns
Nuggets
Blazers
Sonics
Clippers
Hornets
Warriors

Well, it's too early to do this, but anyway... BTW, I think I overrated the Rockets. We don't have a good pg now, and our bench is horrible. So... we need some additional moves to be in the top 4 in the West.

 

Controversial, I know. But I think New Orleans will surprise.

 

damn its going to be a competition, only team you can say wont make it is Golden State, and maybe Portland and Seattle. Besides that ANYteam in the west could make the playoffs.

 

seems like our whole division will be in the playoffs by these predictions

Rocket River

 

Do the Lakers even make the playoffs next year? Even with Kobe, I say they don't cut it. The West is fierce. They'll have nobody to contend with the conference's dominant PFs (Odom can't guard Duncan, Webber, Randolph, Nowitzski, Brand, Stoudemire) nor will they have a C to contend with Yao. Shaq changed the game so much so that they didn't need a dominant PF. Not any more.

Add to that the fact that Rudy will placate Kobe and run the offense through him. It'll be 1 on 5 every single game. Kobe is no Jordan. It's not even close.

Besides, I really think Kobe is going to bolt to the Clippers. Kobe on the Clippers would destroy Kobe on the Lakers, any day of the week.

Clippers
C - Kaman / Ely / Wilcox
PF - Brand/ Ely / Wilcox
SF - Maggette
SG - Kobe
PG - Jaric / Livingston

Lakers
C - ?
PF - ? (Malone's not coming back w/o Shaq) / Medvedenko
SF - George / Walton
SG - Kobe
PG - ? (Payton's not coming back w/o Shaq / Fisher is gone)

Is it even close?

 

More like...

Clippers
C - Kaman / Ely / Wilcox
PF - Brand/ Ely / Wilcox
SF - Maggette
SG - Kobe
PG - Jaric / Livingston

Lakers
C - Clark/Divac?? backup Grant
PF - Odom/Grant
SF - Butler/Walton
SG - Bryant/George
PG - Payton or Fisher (Fisher if he's guaranteed a starting spot)

2 big impact players on the Lakers with Bryant and Odom, to maybe 1 on the Clippers with Brand. It's close, more so when you consider the fact that they're the Clippers, they've always been doomed!

 

Quite funny that yet again a lot of you think Utah will be at the bottom of the league. I still remember a thread like this last year where hardly ANYONE projected the Jazz to be the 9th seed. Yet here Utah has its best offseason since god knows when and some actually think they're going to be toward the BOTTOM of the west? I think your hatred for Utah is overpowering your ability to think rationally.

I look at it this way...out of all the teams that were in the playoffs last year, only two have upgraded. The Spurs and Rockets. Out of that the T-Wolves, Kings, Grizzlies, Denver, New Orleans (yeah, I know they were in the east last year) have pretty much stayed the same. Of course the Mavs and Lakers have taken a dent over the offseason. Out of the teams that didn't make the playoffs, Utah and Phoenix pretty much had the best progress.

With that said, this is how I see the season next year (playoff teams):

1. Spurs
2. T-Wolves
3. Kings
4. Rockets
5. Jazz
--------- Any of the below can change---------
6. Grizzlies
7. Mavs
8. Lakers/Nuggets

---------

After that it's pretty pointless to rank teams. Anyway, if the Nuggets actually do land K-Mart, I'll give them the 8th seed, but I still doubt they're going to get him. The Lakers will have a good team, a good coach and SHOULD find their way into the playoffs.

I like the Spurs getting Barry, GREAT pickup and it should give them the #1 seed out west. T-Wolves and Kings will battle for the second spot, since they both will probably be atop their divisions. After that I think the Rockets and Jazz will battle for the 4th and 5th spot, but in the end Rockets will win and open up the playoffs down on the Bayou against the Jazz.

I'm probably WAY off in my projections........but it was fun doing it!

 

i think the nuggest are gonna be pretty good next season. Why is everyone ranking them so low.

 

I think the Nuggets COULD be good, but a lot of the west has gotten stronger over the off-season, the Nuggets haven't really done much. So they were an 8th seed last year, that 8th seed is pretty much the same team they had last year. While the team they were battling, the Jazz, has totally upgraded....and the team in front of them, the Rockets, have too.

I'm not willing to fully state the Nuggets will NOT be any higher than an 8th seed, but I think the Jazz has leaped past them thus far....

 

Jack Ramsay, during his ESPN chat this AM (7/12/04), ranked the top 4 teams in the West and Spurs, TWolves, Jazz, and Kings (in that order) and speculated that Utah may have the best front court in the conferrence.

Whether you like Utah or not (I do) or Ramsay or not (I don't), picking them no higher than 10th in the West doesn't make much sense.

 

Hornets next to last? , ;worse than Clippers, Blazers, and Sonics? I can't remember the Hornets missing playoffs since the lockout season when they missed it buy like 1 game with an injured roster. Well, it is just a prediction

Here's mine:

1)Spurs-58
2)Wolves-55
3)Lakers-52
4)Rockets-54
5)Kings-51
6)Mavs-49
7)Grizzlies-46
8)Hornets-42
9)Nuggets-42
10)Suns-41
11)Jazz-40
12)Blazers-38
13)Sonics-35
14)Clippers-31
15)Warriors-29

 

Ramsey was the only ESPN **** that said NOT to count out Utah last year.....that said, I'm not shooting for 3rd place...maybe in a few years.

 

I think Ramsay is overrating Okur. I'd take Marion/Stoudemire/Voskuhl, Finley/Walker/Nowitzki, Stojakovic/healthy Webber/BMiller, and maybe Melo/Nene/Camby over Kirilenko/Boozer/Okur.

 

It's pretty sad when you can take any team 1-12 and have a playoff team in the East.

 

What's really sad is that at least 5 deserving Western Conference teams will miss the playoffs, Cheeks and McMillain will probably lose their jobs over this, Rudy lost his over that very fact!

 

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

However, I think you can take 4-12 and mix and match them anyway you want and be able to build a very good argument to support your case.

 

I'm predicting (again, based only on how the teams look now)

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

 

My guess

1. San Antonio
2. Minnesota
3. Houston
4. Sacramento
5. Memphis
6. Denver
7. Dallas
8. Phoenix
9. Lakers
10. Utah