Playoffs in 2008? A Look At The NBA’s Western Conference

The NBA preseason is under way and the regular season opener tips off on Halloween. Many teams made some changes while others rosters remained stuck together like glue; were they the right things to do? Will it be enough to get into the playoffs this year? Here is look at who has a shot at the playoffs and a title for the upcoming 2008 NBA season.     Pacific Division

Golden State Warriors

The Warriors were the bandwagon team in last year’s playoffs after they upset the Mavericks in the first round. In the off season they traded one of the top players and leaders in Jason Richardson for a raw rookie in Brandon Wright; bad move. They did, however, draft Marco Bellinelli in the first round, who showed during the summer league that he could be one of the top scorers in this draft class, but he most likely won’t be able to fill the void left from Richardson’s departure. Stephen Jackson contributed a lot to the team last season, but he is now in his second season with the organization, so that means it is about time for him to blow up again if you look at the patterns from his history with other franchises. Their top player, Baron Davis, is injury prone and is demanding a huge contract extension; no matter what they do with him he will either be injured or angry. The nice surprise from last season could be a   disaster this time around.

LA Clippers

Elton Brand=injured! Shaun Livingston=injured! Playoff hopes=none! Without Brand and Livingston they are missing their best player and a starting point guard. Sam Cassel is too old, hobbled, and injury prone to run the team for an entire season and there are no other guards worthy of doing so on the roster. Corey Maggette is never really happy and Cutino Mobley can’t run the team, so unless Tim Thomas finally lives up to the potential he showed seven years ago this team is back at the bottom of the cellar.

LA Lakers

Kobe Bryant started the off season with a trade demand, then flipped and flopped his desires all summer. He is upset with the ownership and front office, so going into the season the rest of teammates may feel a little on the edge, especially Andrew Bynum, who has been the main target for many of his rants. Unless Kobe makes everything right in the locker room on day 1 there is likely to be much turmoil around all season, which is enough to keep this team out of the playoffs. If they don’t make Kobe happy then the season could be over before the All Star break.

Phoenix Suns

Shawn Marion has demanded to be traded; they might as well get rid of him now before he is too much of a distraction because losing him won’t hurt the very much since they are very deep. Steve Nash can get things moving for the Suns even if Marion is gone, because he has Amare Stoudamire down low with Raja Bell, Leandro Barbosa, and James Jones on the wing. The addition of Grant Hill will also take the pressure off of Nash since he can run the offense and distribute the ball as well. If they do trade Marion, they should get some valuable assets in return; if not, Boris Diaw just has more of an opportunity to step and contribute. This team will be a title contender yet again.

Sacramento Kings

This team has fallen apart over the last few years. Mike Bibby is rumored to be involved in trade talks; if he is gone to me it says rebuild time. They still have good talent in Kevin Martin, who is a good shooter and scorer, but Brad Miller is always injured and Shareef Abdur-Rahim isn’t what he used to be. Ron Artest’s game has fallen off recently as well, so it seems like this team will rely heavily on its young talent, like Spencer Hawes, who is currently injured, and Quincy Douby. It could be rough for the kings.

     Southwest Conference

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks suffered an embarrassing loss in the first round of the playoffs last year to the eighth seed Warriors; was the loss motivation for the off season or something to dwell on? This team is extremely talented, but no one knows how they will respond to last seasons ending, but chances are they will come out blazing. Dirk Nowitzki played well over the summer in the European tournament, so he will probably continue to put up MVP caliber numbers for his squad. Jason Terry and Devin Harris give the Mavs two good guards; both can score when needed to and can also distribute the ball. Last season Josh Howard emerged as an All Star and at times was the best player for this team; he has improved every year that he has been in the league and is likely to be better again this year. With the talent on this team there is no reason why they shouldn’t be one of the top five teams in the league.

Houston Rockets

The Rockets biggest problem last season was depth, but they tried to fix that by signing Steve Francis and trading for Mike James. Bonzi Wells is apparently ready to play for new coach Rick Adelman, which will give the Rockets another weapon off the bench, that is, if he shows up. None of these new additions really matter though if Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming can’t stay healthy for the season; if they are healthy the Rockets are one of the best teams in the west, in not healthy, they will struggle to get wins. The success of this team will likely fall on T-MAC’s back.

Memphis Grizzlies

This team has a great mix of young talent and veteran leadership; it could be the year that this team breaks into the playoffs and out of the first round. Pau Gasol has been healthy since the midway point last season, but there are still rumors going around that he wants out of Memphis. Gasol needs to take a look at this team and realize that they can be very good; all he has to do is play like an All Star. If Gasol is playing well then the opportunities are endless for Mike Miller and Rudy Gay. Their biggest question mark is at point guard, they have an old Damon Stoudamire and second year man Kyle Lowry, who showed promise last season until he broke his wrist, as well as highly touted rookie Mike Conley Jr. If one of these guards can emerge as a leader this should be a fun team to watch.

New Orleans Hornets

The Hornets are another team that has good young talent; it’s just that they are in a deep Western Conference. Chris Paul will likely continue his ascent among great point guards in the league. Paul and David West have formed into high-quality duo that can tear teams apart. The addition of Julian Wright gives another target that can slash to the basket. One problem they have is with some of their veterans; Peja Stojakoviv and Bobby Jackson, both are constantly injured and taking up a lot of salary cap space. They should have a shot at the playoffs this year, but the West is so deep it will be a battle for the last few spots.

San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs didn’t add anyone to their roster, but it doesn’t matter because Tim Duncan is still there. The Spurs will be a contender in this league until Duncan retires. They did get a year older, so they may be half a step behind at times this season, but they will still dominate and easily win many games. Michael Finely and Brent Barry will continue to provide shooting and defense off the bench while Tony Parker and Manu Ginobilli cut teams up with their wild, up-tempo play. This team will once again be in contention to be the world champions.

     Nothwest Division

Denver Nuggets

Once again the Nuggets will look to improve upon their mediocre, somewhat disappointing seasons they have been turning in recently. On paper this team looks loaded and ready to win the division, but on the court is another issue. They showed towards the end of the 2006-07 season that maybe they have matured and grown up, but until they can come together as a team for an entire season there will always be questions with this team. Carmelo Anthony showed over the summer with the US Team that he is ready to lead this team to glory; the problem is that he has to share the ball. Melo and Allen Iverson seemed to coexist last season, but can they keep up the teamwork for a new season? Will Kenyon Martin play more than two games and actually earn some of that 12 million a year he makes? Will Iverson play the point or will he play the two and allow Chucky Atkins to run the offense? Will Nene Hilario continue to improve, or will he take another step back like he has done in the past? Will Marcus Camby stay healthy? There are so many questions surrounding this team that there is no telling what to expect, but if things come together it good be a good year for the Nuggets.

Minnesota Timberwolves

When Kevin McHale traded Kevin Garnett he showed the world that it is time to rebuild. It will likely be a rough season for this young team but they certainly have a bright future. They have built a talented young core that will grow and develop together. The centerpiece to this core is Al Jefferson, who is one the best young power forwards in the league. They have surrounded him with slashers, scorers, and shooters in players like Cory Brewer, Randy Foye, Rashad McCants and Gerald Green. They also have a beast on the boards in Craig Smith, who proved to be a bruiser down low and should compliment Jefferson’s game well. It will be a down year for this team, but the sky is the limit for their future.  

Portland Trailblazers

The Blazers struck gold when they drafted Greg Oden with the 1st overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. Everything was looking up for this team until someone realized their gold was the kind for fools when Oden injured his knee; but all is not yet lost for this team. They have great young talent in Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy, ever improving big man Lamarcus Aldridge, and young gun Martell Webster. The biggest move they made was getting rid of troubled power forward Zach Randolph while acquiring promising young big man Channing Frye. They also have good guards in Jarret Jack, Sergio Rodriguez and newly signed   point man Steve Blake. They also drafted Josh McRoberts in the second round, who at one point was considered a likely lottery pick; he could end up being the steal of the 2007 draft. The West is too deep and loaded for this team to make the playoffs, even if Oden was healthy, but this will be a great year for this team to get experience and land another high draft pick next year. This team is quickly becoming the team of the future.

Seattle Supersonics

The Sonics have started over now that they traded Ray Allen and Rasard Lewis. They received Jeff Green, a very talented multi dimensional forward for Allen, and a future 2nd round pick for Lewis. The biggest move they made was drafting high scoring superstar in the making Kevin Durant. Durant is a franchise player who one day might be the face of the entire league. They have decent point guard play with Luke Ridnour and Earl Watson; both players are capable of running the team. In the frontcourt they are extremely young, Saer Sene, Robert Swift (though he is injured again) and Johan Petro are each loaded with potential. Chris Wilcox and Nick Collison have both turned into solid big men. They will be in the cellar this year, but if one of their young centers can develop they will be a team for the future.

Utah Jazz

The Jazz will look to improve on their impressive playoff run last season as Deron Williams looks like he might be the next great point guard in this league; teamed with Carlos Boozer he has formed into one of the most devastating duos in the NBA. Mehmet Okur has shown that he is one of the top shooting big men in the league and is a third scorer on this team. The bench is strong with Paul Millsap and Matt Harpring providing hustle and energy from the reserves, Harpring is one of the most physical players in the league and plays extremely tough defense. The success that this team can achieve may all come back on Anrei Kirlenko. He has been unhappy and even demanded a trade a few weeks ago in Russia, but things have been quiet since training camp opened up. If AK47 can just play and have a productive season this team could have another deep playoff run in 2008.

Western Conference Playoff Picture

1-Phoenix Suns
2-San Antonio Spurs
3-Houston Rockets (A deeper bench will win some games for them)
4-Utah Jazz
5-Dallas Mavericks(Could be tough to overcome last years failure)
6-Denver Nuggets (Could be much worse if problems arise)
7-Memphis Grizzlies
8-Golden State Warriors (If players stay in line, they get in)

Lakers just miss because they can’t get help for Kobe.