| How the West was Won |
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| Written by Phil Partington | |
| Friday, 25 July 2008 | |
 Many eyes are on the Portland Trail Blazers. Their Achilles’ heel will be their youth. Yet, with the addition of last year’s number one overall pick, Greg Oden, this year’s 11th overall pick Jerryd Bayless – who’s tearing it up in summer league – as well as international prospects Rudy Fernandez and Sergio Rodriguez, Portland also has high hopes for a 2009 playoff run. Here’s an early look at how the Western Conference playoff race stacks up in July 2008. Power Rankings 1. Los Angeles Lakers – They lose Ronny Turiaf, but should have Andrew Bynum for the entire season. Imagine a front line of Bynum, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. Add to that an improved Jordan Farmar and Kobe Bryant, and that’s a scary team! 2. San Antonio Spurs – It’s bewildering how fans and media alike believe this team is too old to compete next year. To review: 1) San Antonio made it to the Western Conference finals in last June’s playoffs, which is pretty impressive in such a tough conference; 2) Though they lost in five games to a tough Lakers team, one of their key players, Manu Ginobili, played hurt; 3) Other than Brent Barry, the Spurs hasn’t lost anyone of significance. 3. New Orleans Hornets – After surprising everyone with their success last season, the Hornets will have to deal with being targeted by opponents. The addition of James Posey and the continued development of Julian Wright off the bench should help New Orleans remain near the top of the Conference. 4. Utah Jazz – With another season under its belt, the Jazz should only get better. Along with Chris Paul, Deron Williams is becoming one of the league’s elite point guards, while Carlos Boozer continues to anchor the team’s post game. Also, the Jazz may have gotten the steal of the 2008 NBA Draft by selecting Kosta Koufos with the 23rd pick. 5. Phoenix Suns – The Suns will be taking a more defensive approach this season with Terry Porter at the helm. It’s about time, too. Shaquille O’Neal is on his very last leg, and Steve Nash isn’t getting younger. Adding rookie Robin Lopez and picking up Matt Barnes for cheap won’t hurt. 6. Dallas Mavericks – Dumping Avery Johnson for Rick Carlisle was a mistake. Carlisle’s not known as a defensive coach and has had limited success in the playoffs. That being said, Jason Kidd should be more comfortable with the Dallas offense and getting DeSagana Diop back should help their chances. 7. Houston Rockets – Don’t expect the Rockets to pull off 22-straight games again. That magic was likely a one-time deal. For this team to have any success in the playoffs, Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady need to be healthy at the same time. In addition, the supporting cast must step up their games. Luis Scola was a good find last year and Shane Battier is an incredibly underrated defender. Adding Brent Barry may help, too. 8. Portland Trail Blazers – The Blazers are young, but have a lot of depth. Expecting Greg Oden to score anywhere near 20 ppg – which many seem to be doing – is unrealistic. Oden should shoot for 10 ppg, 10 rbpg with about 2 bspg. Roy is still the leader of this team, but with Oden, Roy and Aldridge, Portland has a strong, young nucleus. 9. LA Clippers – This team has done wonders filling the gap left by Elton Brand. With a starting five of Chris Kaman, Marcus Camby, Al Thornton, Baron Davis and either Cuttino Mobley or Eric Gordon, the Clippers could slip into that final playoff spot. Expect a breakout season by Thornton. 10. Denver Nuggets – The Nuggets traded themselves out of the playoffs by sending Camby to the Clippers for practically nothing. Camby’s not a great one-on-one defender, but he’s a tremendous help defender, which is what the team needed. With such atrocious perimeter defense, Camby bailed them out of many pickles. Kenyon Martin and Nene Hilario are decent, but have health issues. 11. Sacramento Kings – Barring injuries, the Kings will be better than people think. Jason Thompson is proving that he belongs in the NBA and Brad Miller is still a quality center. If Beno Udrih can hold down the point guard position and the team can keep Ron Artest, or at least get some value out of him, expect big things from Sacramento. 12. Golden State Warriors – They may move up this ladder, but without Baron Davis, they may be facing some hard times. They won’t be a bad team. Monta Ellis is certainly an exciting prospect. Anthony Randolph has been outstanding in summer league, though Don Nelson doesn’t like playing rookies. Corey Maggette should fit in just fine, and there are rumors that the Warriors may be acquiring point guard Marcus Williams from the New Jersey Nets for a future first round draft pick. 13. Minnesota Timberwolves – The Wolves are the best of the worst. This spot marks the first team that won’t be a playoff contender, which should give some idea as to how competitive the West will be. Kevin Love is better than people think, but though Love and Al Jefferson should be able to co-exist at the offensive end, there might be questions about their ability to play defense together. This is the year Randy Foye runs out of excuses. If he can’t show more promise, the Wolves might consider moving him. 14. Memphis Grizzlies – The Grizzlies have a young, electric team, especially on the perimeter. They’re going to be fast. However, they have a big hole in the post. Expect Mike Conley to have a better season, especially with Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo alongside him. 15. Oklahoma City Thunder – “Thunder” doesn’t exactly have the same ring to it as “Supersonics.” This team is still young, but certainly has talent. Kevin Durant and Jeff Green should improve, and Russell Westbrook should be able to contribute right away.         Comments
(4)
Dirk Choking
written by Phil P , July 30, 2008
Granted, the Mavs haven't shown a lot of playoff prowess the last couple seasons, but they were overmatched last year and they have made it to the NBA Finals. Second, I have more confidence in the Mavs making the playoffs with Dirk and Kidd (don't forget Howard) than the Warriors with Ellis and Maggette. They have talent, but not a lot of defense. Though, I'm not confident the Mavs will be better without Avery Johnson.
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The Rockets may move past the Mavs with the addition of Artest. report abuse
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Kidd = 1st round exit
written by Chris W , July 30, 2008
Rick Carlisle is a good coach, but I think the team will not be any good under the new coach in the first year. Kidd is old for the league, he still can pa*s, still can dribble, but the reluctance to take shots will cost the team huge!
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And yeah, move the ranking of Rockets, they will beat Jazz this time. report abuse
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Mavs
written by Phil P , August 08, 2008
Good point about Carlisle. Don't get me wrong, I don't think they're going anywhere. They've missed their window. I don't think Carlisle is an especially good coach. However, I think they have enough talent to win enough regular season games to get into the playoffs.
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I would not put Dallas Mavericks so high on the ranking, call me nuts but I think Warriors and Trail Blazers have all the possibilities to beat them in 5 games. Face it, Jason Kidd is old and Dirk Nowitzki chokes when he plays in important games.