Northwest Division
1. Oklahoma City Thunder
Before Kevin Duran’t toe injury & Russell Westbrook’s fractured hand,
the Thunder were primed to be a Top 3 team in the West, top5 in the league
overall, as they looked to get past the injury bug that derailed them from
getting back to the Finals in the last two years. Reggie Jackson being out
doesn’t help things either. Jeremy Lamb is out with a bad back. Rookie 1st
rounder Mitch McGary is out with a broken foot. New acquisition Anthony Morrow
is also sidelined with an injury. The injury bug has made himself comfortable
in Oklahoma City, and it’ll be up to Serge Ibaka & the young reserves to
hold down the fort until KD& Westbrook come back. In the unforgiving
Western Conference, OKC will be laying catch up for the rest of the season when
they get the whole team intact. It may or may not cost them home court
advantage in the playoffs, it remains to bee seen. Scott Brooks has his biggest
challenge as a coach thus far. He has his work cut out for him. OKC may be the
most dangerous below 4 seed we’ve seen out the West in some time. Getting back
to the Conference Finals should get Brooks Coach Of The Year.
Over/Under: 53 wins
2. Portland Trailblazers
LaMarcus Aldridge is a free agent after this season. Rip City shouldn’t
worry much about that, because he’s re-signing with them. Why wouldn’t he?
Leave all that big market talk out of this & look at what he comes back to.
Damien Lillard, who made his 1st All-Star game in his sophomore
campaign after winning Rookie Of The Year. Nic Batum, a do-everything SF who’s
STILL getting better. Solid as a rock Wes Matthews. Defensive stalwart Robin
Lopez. Dorrell Wright & Thomas Robinson, along with picking up Chris Kaman
& Steve Blake to provide them additional depth. CJ McCollum & Myles
Leanord may or may not come around this year, we’ll see. Terry Stotts has a
full ouse to play with, and Portland is looking to become a Top 10 team defensively
in order to get to the next level. Scoring isn’t a problem with these guys,
they’re more than capable of sustaining their offensive production. It’s on the
defensive end for them, if they want to get to the next level.
Over/Under: 53 wins
3. Denver Nuggets
Injuries a re the main reason the Nuggets looked so mediocre last season.
Missing key players for most of the season, the team never had a chance to gel.
They have depth, athleticism, defense, and just enough shooting to make teams
play them honest every night. Ty Lawson is the engine that makes them go.
Kenneth Faried showed out this summer playing for the US Men’s National Team in
Spain. He’s been improving since he got into the league, so expect him to
continue that trend heading into his 4th season Danilo Galinari is
100% coming back from an ACL. JaVele McGee, Nate Robinson & JJ Hickson are
all coming back from season ending injuries. All this means is that Denver will
be at full strength, being able to push the ball in transition, have a balanced
attack, Play solid defense, and boast one of the league’s better second units. I got Wilson Chandler being a Sixth Man Of The Year candidate early out the gate. They won 36 games despite being shorthanded. They will definetly be better this
year, IF they can stay health.
Over/Under: 46 wins
4. Utah Jazz
The Jazz are basically a blank slate. They’ve been rebuilding via the draft
& trades these last several season, and one should give them props for
compiling such a good group of young players to build a contending team with.
Dream scenario for 1st year coach Quinn Synder, who gets to use this
balnk slate to implement his system & change the culture in Utah. Pushing
the ball, spreading the floor, moving the ball & playing hard on both ends
makes perfect sense with the youth on their roster. Gordon Hayward is th ealpha
dog of this group, thanks in large part to the extension he signed during the
summer. He’s going to be asked to take on a leadership role& bring it every
night. Derrick Favors & Enes Kanter gotta find a way to give each other
space to operate. Once they figure that out, they’ll be fun to watch. Alec
Burks, Trey Burke & Dante Exum are gonna be a fun, tough, athletic 3-guard rotation
(though we may see plenty of turnovers). Rudy Gobert has alot of spectators
curious after showing flashes in international play this summer. Overall, the growing
pains will be present, but if they buy in, play hard & compete, the kids
will be alright.
Over/Under: 34 wins
5. Minnesota Timberwolves
You couldn’t ask more of Kevin Love in his time in Minnesota. His gaudy
numbers wasn’t enough to get the Timberwolves in the playoffs in the Wild West.
Now that he’s moved on to Cleveland, everything is on Ricky Rubio to lead this
squad out of the doldrums they’ve been in for the last 10 seasons. New acquisition
Thaddeus Young joins a team that has a blend of youth, athleticism, and
veterans like Kevin Martin, Chase Budinger, Nikola Pekovic, JJ Barea &
Corey Brewer. Getting Andrew Wiggins & Antony Bennett in the Love trade to
go along with their lottery pick Zach LaVine & their second rounder Glenn
Robinson III. Gorgui Dieng & Shabazz Muhammed may also push for more
minutes this year, as they showed signs of being nightly contributors,
especially Dieng. Flip Saunders has to figure out how to stay competitive, while
developing the younger guys. Wiggins is the future, so his development will play
into how Minnesota move going forward.
Over/Under: 30 wins
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