Man, the West is tough. Here's how I see it at the moment:
1) San Antonio Spurs- Defending champs get the benefit of the doubt. Every season for the past five I thought they were finally going to fall apart due to age. I've been wrong every time. I think Ginobli will continue to decline, but Duncan and Parker continue to be consistent. I think Leonard has a break-out season that makes up for any of the Big 3 declining. And I think that Kyle Anderson was one of the best players in the draft, and that it was a major victory for them to get him so slow. I'm shocked he fell as low as he did.
2) Los Angeles Clippers- This will be a fun team. I think Jordan continues to make strides on both ends of the court, Blake Griffin is already a force of nature, and I liked their off-season.
3) Oklahoma City Thunder- I had a hard time deciding whether to make them 2) or 3). With Durant's injury, I think they come back down to earth just a little. I expect all of the seeds in the West to be super competitive and down to the wire. I think they have a terrible coach, which keeps them down a bit.
4) Memphis Grizzlies- They were 50-32 last season, but they were 37-15 after Marc Gasol came back from injury, which translates to 58 wins over a full season. I think they drafted well (I like Jordan Adams and thought Stokes could go in the 1st round) and will remain healthy this year. I think Vince Carter still has a good season in the tank (he played well in Dallas last year), and I think Quincy Poindexter is healthy and improved. I almost put them at the 3) seed instead of OKC, actually.
5) Golden State Warriors- SPLASH! I think they continue to improve and have another good regular season, followed by another entertaining playoff loss.
6) Houston Rockets- I feel weird putting them this low, because I think they will still be good this year. But the West is just too stacked, Dwight isn't in his prime anymore, they lost Parsons, and Harden sucks at defense. I think they narrowly lose out on a higher seed, but only by a matter of 3-4 games at most. Seriously, I think seeds 2-8 will all be within 5 or 6 points of each other.
7) Portland Trailblazers- Same with the Rockets. I like this team and think they will have a great season, but I think the Rockets and Warriors are still marginally better. Lillard is a great player, and I like Batum/Matthews/Aldridge, but I think ultimately the Rockets and Warriors have real stars in Harden and Curry that keep them just on top of Portland.
Dallas Mavericks- Dirk is timeless. Parsons is a good player, and I think he'll play better under Carlisle than under McHale. I think Chandler has a good season again (last year's Knick team was utterly dysfunctional, and it was Chandler's defense that propelled them to 54 wins the year before.).
9) Phoenix Suns- How the heck is the West so stacked? I hate hate HATE that I have Phoenix missing the post-season, because it's great team. I would love them to make the playoffs. But the other teams in the West are simply better. I think they have some struggles this season juggling the line-up, and I expect Bledsoe to be gone at some point.
10) Denver Nuggets- I like Faried and some of their pieces. Still don't really see a team there, though. And they will always win 35 home games.
11) New Orleans Pelicans- Not yet, Unibrow. Not yet. In the next couple of years, I expect them to become a force to be reckoned with. But not yet. Really, they could be anywhere from 9-12, I think. I just don't see them in the playoffs.
12) Utah Jazz- Again, like their youth and their pieces, but not a cohesive team.
13) Los Angeles Lakers- God only willing. I really hope they don't get a top 5 pick.
14) Minnesota Timberwolves- No Love for Minny. I think Rubio puts up some numbers and Pekovic propels them to a few wins this season. But they will be terrible. Wiggins will be good some day, but I don't think he is going to come into the league as a superstar.
15) Sacramento Kings- I expect Cousins to have a monster year. But without Thomas I don't see anyone else on the team really getting anything done and they sink into the gutter.
To be honest, though, you could talk me into just about any other possible line-up of seeds this year. The West is WIIIIIIDE open. A lot of good teams, and a lot of volatile teams that could go in multiple directions. I feel like there are a bunch of teams that could either make a playoff run OR land deep in the lottery, and I wouldn't be surprised either way.
Topic: Who makes the playoffs in the West? (Read 1918 times)