1.) Lakers 2.) Mavs - improved center position are stacked at all positions 3.) Thunder -- young guys are getting better 4.) Portland -- Doubt they have as many injuries as last year 5.) Nuggets -- If karl is back they will be good 6.) Rockets -- will get Yao 7.) Jazz -- Lost boozer, but got jefferson 8.) Spurs -- got splitter I anticipate next year being even more brutal with cp3 healthy, the clippers with everyone healthy, the kings and mem getting better.
Lakers Mavs-Rockets Blazers-Jazz-Nuggets-Spurs Thunder-Hornets-Phoenix Clippers-Sacramento-Memphis Goldenstate Minnesota
1. Lakers - no explanation needed 2. Mavs -too much talent at every position 3. Rockets - Yao Ming and Kevin Martin for whole season + 42-40 = win 4. Jazz - major upgrade from Boozer to Jefferson 5. Portland - Deadly if healthy 6. Nuggets - Will Carmelo be traded??? 7. Thunder - Don't feel like they're a deep team...Durant gets too much superstar treatment, not too high on him. 8. Spurs - Old.
1.) Lakers 2.) Thunder 3.) Mavs 4.) Nuggets 5.) Rockets 6.) Blazers 7.) Spurs 8.) Jazz Three through five could go any direction, as well as 6-8 IMO.
I agree with you...just because they're young and got to the 1st round does not make them an automatic top West team.
The 2nd seed last year had 55 wins. The Thunder had 50, and have by far the most room to improve with their young players. I guess I shouldn't have made them a lock for the second seed, but I feel like they'll get 55+ wins.
1. Lakers 2. Thunder 3. Rockets 4. Nuggets 5. Spurs 6. Mavs 7. Blazers 8. Suns 9. Grizz 10. Utah 11. Hornets 12. Clippers 13. Warriors 14. Kings 15. Wolves BAM.
Here are some reasons why i think some of the other teams won't be so high. Mavs - Dirk/Kidd are older Nuggets- Melo is already talking about going to NY with Chris Paul, is he going to play inspired Jazz - Jefferson is not better than Boozer chemistry with Deron Williams, the man can't even learn the Triangle offense. Spurs - They are old...no Free Agency action Blazers- They remind me of the Rockets (can't stay healthy), personally A Miller is not the PG they need for that team.
A lot of the west's role players and low/mid level stars moved east... West seems a little weaker than last year. Some people seem to think teams improve every year, especially in the west which is obviously untrue. Their performance is how they compare to the overall skill level of the league as a whole and weighted towards their own conference as they play with the conference twice as often. The Rockets improvement is quite tangible even with no additional free agents. Statistically our weakness at center is the worst the league has seen in many years. Yao did not play, TMac did not play 99% of the time, Kmart was a King most of the season, Ariza struggled to find his role, Battier is on the decline. Those deficiencies are largely rectified this year. With health as a caveat I predict 53 wins. If we land Brad Miller that merely mitigates slightly the downside if Yao goes down. So... 1. Lakers, team to beat, Jackson back 2. Dallas, Haywood returns, Weakness in Kidd who is getting old 3. Denver, Strong team in regular season 4. Houston, Tangibly improved from last year, Yao effectiveness a question mark. 5. Portland, Young team getting better, will Camby and Oden last the season? 6. Oklahoma, Young team getting better 7. New Orleans, Paul seems healthy 8. San Antonio, Getting Old, lost players, Splitter will take time
How are they not a top West team? They gave the Lakers the hardest series, outside of the Finals. And they didn't even have the big men to counter Gasol and Bynum. By default, seriously... Lakers Thunder Rest of West
Agreed, except: 1. Lakers 2. Thunder 3. Nuggets 4. Rockets 5. Blazers 6. Mavs 7. Spurs 8. Suns 9. Utah 10. PHX 11. Hornets 12. Kings 13. Clippers 14. Warriors 15. Wolves
1) LA 2) Dallas 3) Houston 4) OKC 5) Denver 6) Portland 7) San Antonio 8) Utah __________ 9) PHX 10) New Orleans 11) LAC 12) Memphis 13) Sacramento 14) Golden State 15) Minny
Agreed. That's all and well, but you have not evaluated why you think the Thunder WILL BE as high. I have given several reasons: 1. Personally I don't think Durant is as talented as other people tout him to be. During the playoffs, he had questionable shot selections when under pressure. Most of his points come through the superstar treatment - freethrows. 2. Not a deep team. Bench is nonexistent. 3. Not a tall team. Frontline is laughable. On the other hand, there ARE several legitimate reasons for why they would improve: 1. Russell Westbrook is going to be an all star PG. Book it. 2. Youth.
