NBA Season Preview: Western Conference

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008
by austin.carroll

Last week we brought you a NBA Season preview from the Eastern Conference.  As we get ready to start up the NBA season in a week we’ll head out west to preview what’s been the more dominate conference in the past decade.

We’ll start off in the Southwest division with the Dallas Mavericks who have been argued to be in the past 5 years the most talented team in the league. They acquired a new coach this year in Rick Carlisle who was previously with the Indiana Pacers. The Mavericks are known to be very talented but soft and have struggled to make it past the first couple rounds of the playoffs. Carlisle will look to mold the talent that he has and try to develop some toughness in Dallas.

The Houston Rockets had a talented team last year but did not make it past the first round of the playoffs. Their star player, Tracy McGrady, has never made it out of the first round of the playoffs in his entire career. The Rockets picked up Ron Artest to strengthen their defense and try to win a championship.

The Memphis Grizzlies have been an improving team for the past few seasons. They are very young but with the acquisition of star O.J. Mayo from USC the Grizzlies look to make some noise this year.

The New Orleans Hornets had a very impressive season last year. With star David West in the paint and Most Valuable Player finalist Chris Paul the New Orleans Hornets made it to the Conference Finals last season. In the off-season, the Hornets acquired James Posey from the Boston Celtics to improve their team defense. Maybe that was the missing piece of the puzzle.

Last but not least in the Southwest division is the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs still have the same basic team that won them their championship rings in the past decade but they are getting old. They still have Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli, and Tim Duncan but their surrounding cast has altered in the past couple years. Even though they are getting old, the Spurs have made the playoffs every year and look for them in the post-season once again in the upcoming season.

The Northwest division is dominated by two very good teams in the Utah Jazz and the Portland Trailblazers. The Utah Jazz is a very strong and well-rounded team that is built for the playoffs. The Jazz are led by All-Star point guard Daron Williams who is surrounded by guys such as Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur, and Andre Kirilenko. Look for them as a possible Western Conference champions in the upcoming season.

The Portland Trailblazers have been a solid team in the past couple seasons. Last year they drafted Greg Oden but he injured himself before the season and was out for the entire 2007-2008 season. This year he is 100% healthy and hungry in his first real NBA season. He will be surrounded by European stud Rudy Fernandez and young superstar Brandon Roy.

The next best team in the Northwest division is the Denver Nuggets. They are led by the duo of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson. The Nuggets are known for their offense but struggle on the defensive end. With the loss of Marcus Camby, who was their defensive anchor, the team should be even less of a defensive threat in the upcoming season. Don’t look for the Nuggets to make the playoffs in the 2008-2009 season.

The Minnesota Timberwolves haven’t been very good for the past decade and should remain that way in the upcoming season. The team’s best player is Al Jefferson but with the draft selection of UCLA star Kevin Love the T’Wolves are on their way to improvement.

The biggest news in the NBA off-season was the moving of the Seattle Supersonics to Oklahoma to become the Oklahoma City Thunder. They remain the same team but are now in a different location. They have a couple very talented young players in Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green but their main superstar is second-year Kevin Durant who will look to lead his team to improvement this season.

The final division in the Western Conference and the NBA is the Pacific division. The best team in the Pacific division last year was the Los Angeles Lakers. Kobe Bryant finally received a deserving MVP honor last year and led his team to the NBA finals. With the return of Andrew Bynum the Lakers will improve their interior defense and will look to win a ring in the upcoming season.

The Phoenix Suns have been a very talented team in the past few seasons led by All-Star point guard Steve Nash. In the off-season the Suns hired head coach Terry Porter after Mike D’Antoni left to go to the New York Knicks. The big question is will Terry Porter’s new style work with Steve Nash, Amare Stoudamire, and Shaquille O’Neal.

The Sacramento Kings have been very mediocre after their talented stint a few years ago. Currently they are a mix up of young guys and a few veterans as well. Their star player is Kevin Martin who went to a very small college and has become a very good player for the Kings. He just signed a huge contract extension so the Kings look to build around him in the upcoming seasons.

The Golden State Warriors are probably the most exciting team to watch in the NBA with their up-tempo style offense and pressure defense. Veteran point guard Baron Davis led them the past few seasons but he was traded in the off-season to the Los Angeles Clippers. The Warriors will still have a lot of their main guys this season with Stephen Jackson, Monta Ellis, and Al Harrington so they should still be a tough team to beat.

Last but not least to wrap up the entire NBA is the Los Angeles Clippers. This off-season, the Clippers picked up two star veterans in Baron Davis and Marcus Camby and also drafted Indiana star-scorer Eric Gordon. With the addition of these three guys to an already solid group of players the Clippers will have a very good season.

Photo Credit: themikelee

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