sacbee.com After a wild week of moves, the West is changed - and stacked.

The West's best center, sure. The West's best big man? Aren't Duncan and Garnett pretty big? I mean, I'd love it to be true, I'm just not quite so sure it is.

 

How are you supposed to pay for Swift as the 17th guaranteed contract?

 

That wasn't a bad prediction, but I have a feeling it may turn out a lot more like this...

1. Memphis- This team is filled with tons of talent and really know how to share the ball and play some D. I can only see this team getting better under Hubie Brown. The Pistons have shown that you don't need a superstar in order to be the league's best team, can Memphis?

2. San Antonio- Without *the* Lakers and no one to make a last second prayer (*ah hem* Derek Fisher), things look a lot more open. With a new 3pt threat (Brent Barry) and a wiser Ginobili things are looking up.

3. Minnesota- Last year the Wolves were really on top of their game. Garnett and co. were happy to make it as far as the conference finals only to get slammed in 6 games by the Lakers. Notice a trend?

4. Sacramento- The Kings need Webber healthy if they want to stay atop the Western Conference. Vlade left, but the team that won 55 games is sure to hang around.

5. Houston- This was a huge offseason for the Rockets. Francis, Mobley and Cato were sent packing for possibly the best shooting guard in the NBA. So many questions. Will Yao & TMac mesh? Can TMac thrive in Van Gundy's offense? Stay tuned...

6. Dallas- Losing Jamison and Nash was big. They shouldn't lose too much steam tho with Marquis Daniels and Danny Fortson (a much better rebounder) ready to fill in. After all, Nowitzki and Finley are still around.

7. Lakers- Well Kobe and Shaq have broken up, Jackson has left the building and so have the championships. Rudy T is now in charge and will have the Lakers playing to their fullest, but it will take some time for this franschise to lick its wounds.

8. Nuggets- It is hard to say where this team will end up next year. They possibly have the deepest team next to the Grizzlies, but if they want to reach the heights of the West I think they need a coach that can take them there.

8. Utah- Jerry Sloan never seems to disappoint. Last year, many people had this team ranked dead last in the league. By the end of the season this team could smell the playoffs. The West is just so deep this year, its hard to figure out where this team will be.

 

The West is so much more competitive than the East. Although the East have three teams that might win the Championship, the West is solid 1-9.

 

If Houston was in the East they would definitely be in the top 3.

 

Why is everyone counting out Phoenix? All they did was add Nash to a running team with Amare, Marion and JJ Thats a lot of talent to not make the playoffs.......

 

First, the perimeter defending of Tmac/whoever is not worse than SF/Cat. SF played littel D at all. Tmac is longer and plays good D when he isn't exhausted by playing offense.

Cato's leaving took away some shotblocking, but Howard is a good rebounder, and Yao will get better. What Howard losses to Cato on D is made up by his better offensive game.

Memphis, on the other hand haven't done much except giving Cardinal a 6-year MLE contract. They can NOT get any better by adding depth. They had depth already. I think Memphis is pretty much standing still, while other west teams are making improvement.

 

Memphis had no go-to guy, who did they add this summer to change that?

Memphis played mediocre D and got swept by Spurs. After Memphis added Cardinal, Spurs added Barry, you put Memphis on top of Spurs? Why?

 

IMO people are really underestimating the Lakers. Divac is a solid center, Grant is a good defensive PF, Odom is a versatile talent at SF, Payton is a shell of his old self but still servicable at PG, and Butler's got a lot of potential. Oh, Kobe's still Kobe, and Rudy T is still a damn fine coach. Memphis, Utah and Denver are getting praise for being "deep", but LA has a better defined starting 5 than those 3 pretenders.

 

This upcoming season may be even more competitive than last season in the West... more parity... 10 legitimate playoff contenders... SA is the cream of the crop. They have it all... good coaching, inside game, outside game, good defense, good depth, discipline. The T-Wolves will still be good, but Spree and Cassell will be a year older... the health of Cassell especially has to be a concern.

 

They way that the Grizzlies tore it up in the second half of the season, I think that there is only room for them to improve especially since they are a young team. Remember, they exploded last year when they didnt even make the playoffs the year before.

Besides, just because I put them first doesn't mean that they are getting past the Spurs in the playoffs. Regular season records might help with home-court advantage, but besides that does not mean anything to your playoff successes because its a new season. Gasol is no less of a go-to-guy than Chauncey Billups. They might surprise you somewhat this year...