We already checked out the East and what a season it should
turn out being there.
The Miami Heat are the firm favorites to be the Eastern
Conference representative at the Finals and will be joined by the Chicago
Bulls, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, and Atlanta Hawks as serious
contenders.
In the West, the top two in the NBA odds are the Los
Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder. Then there's a host of other teams
such as the San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers, and of
course the Clippers who will right in the mix of things too.
As our Christmas present to you, here's a comprehensive
breakdown of the conference. Standout players, storylines, surprise teams, and
more.
The Western Conference, ladies and gentlemen.
Kobe hungry for more titles
Just behind the Miami Heat in the odds for eventual
champion, the Lakers also hold the title of being the favorites to win the
West.
After they failed to really make a big move during free
agency, the general feeling was that L.A. was on the decline. But let's be
real.. Kobe is still leading the way and Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol are both
still in town as well.
I don't have to tell you the talent is in place, but more
importantly so too is the playoff experience. This team knows what it will take
to get that title, something the team right behind them may be lacking just a
little bit.
The Thunder are in line for another hugely successful
season. They were awesome in 2010/11, finishing with a 55-27 overall record and
the fourth seed in the playoffs.
In the postseason, OKC had no trouble with the Denver
Nuggets in the first round, beating them in five games. They then outlasted the
Memphis Grizzlies in a thoroughly entertaining seven-game series in the
following series, before losing to the eventual champion Dallas Mavericks in
the conference semifinals.
Any team that has a talent as special as Kevin Durant should
always be mentioned as a contender. Still only 23 years old, Durant proved last
season that he could get it done in the playoffs as well, and this is his
chance to go one step further.
All in all, the Western Conference has so much more parity.
There's a plethora of great teams in the West, and with so many key changes
happening here and there, picking who will win seems as difficult as ever.
Other teams in the hunt
There's no clear top five like there is in the East, at
least that's how it looks to me.
I expect the San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, Los
Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies and Portland Trail Blazers
to all be top-notch teams this season.
Everyone is saying the Spurs are too old. Was that also the
case last year when they earned the number one seed (61-21) in the West? Tim
Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili are getting up there, sure, but San
Antonio also has quite a few solid younger prospects in DeJuan Blair, Tiago
Splitter, James Anderson, and Kawhi Leonard.
The Mavericks are coming off a championship year but have
shuffled their lineup quite a bit. Tyson Chandler is gone and that's a huge
loss. The pickup of Lamar Odom is nice, but the Mavs are going to be a lot
worse off defensively now that Chandler's in NYC.
Chris Paul should make for a fantastic one-two punch
alongside Blake Griffin. The Clippers also added Chauncey Billups during the
offseason and have arguably the most explosive player in the league in DeAndre
Jordan. They should be contending
immediately.
Probably the most under-the-radar team, the Denver Nuggets
have the most depth of any out there. They will be running opposing squads to
death, especially because of the condensed season.
Memphis, of course, had that dream playoff run and returns
practically the exact same rotation, but this time with a healthy Rudy Gay.
There are still questions on whether the Grizzlies can perform at a consistent
level throughout an entire regular season.
The Golden State Warriors are going to do much better than
36 wins this season. If they weren't so
terrible on the road (10-31 SU), they would have made the postseason
last year. Mark Jackson is also now in charge and will make Golden State much
better on the defensive end.
At the bottom
The Houston Rockets have a solid team but lack the necessary
star quality to really compete with the best; the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz
will likewise struggle up against the giants in the conference.
Taking up the last spots in the West will be the Minnesota
Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings. These are most definitely two teams to watch
out for in the future, but it will take time for them to mature together first.
The New Orleans Hornets also don't really seem to have a
chance to make the top eight in the conference this season. They have started
building for the future, with Eric Gordon now the centerpiece of the franchise.
That will do it my friends. We hope you are just as excited
as we are about the new season and hitting those winning NBA picks.
As I see it...
Top Five Seeds
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- San Antonio Spurs
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Dallas Mavericks
- Los Angeles Clippers
Western Conference Winner
Oklahoma City Thunder
This is it for Durant and company. All of the pieces are
there and now it's all about execution.
Who Knows? – Worth A Small Wager
Los Angeles Clippers
Denver Nuggets