NBA Western Conference Preview 08

The NBA 200-2009 season is now officially underway and with that i only see appropriate to give you my predictions as to what will be the outcome of this season.

Northwest

Utah Jazz #3 seed
Denver Nuggets #7 seed
Portland Trail Blazers
Minnesota Timberwolves
Oklahoma City Thunder

This division seems to always be pretty close. The Jazz have the tools to walk away with this division again. The Nuggets have the talent and Portland has the young guys stepping in and will take a few years until they are great. As we have seen in the past, the northwest division in the west has not been very strong. The Nuggets will give the Jazz a run but at the end of the season, I beleive you will see a division filled with 3 teams fighting for a playoff spot. I do not see a lot out of Minnesota. Kevin Love will help but he can't work miracles. The Thunder will get more fans in Oklahoma City, but will it matter?

Pacific

L.A. Lakers #2 seed
Phoenix Suns #4 seed
L.A. Clippers #8 seed
Golden State Warriors
Sacramento Kings

All the way west out on the Pacific coast is where this conference usually ends up. There is so much talent in this division of 5 teams. Kobe and the Lakers will pick up right where they left off. They made it all the way to the Championship last year and will be looking to do the same in 2008-2009 and this time, come out on top. The Suns will struggle based on the fact that they are going to be dealing with injuries all year. Shaq will be on and off with injuries. Steve Nash is getting up there in age and he might spend some time on the sidelines. Injuries will haunt the Suns although they will make it to the playoffs, it will not be a smooth ride. I have always liked the Clippers. With the addition of Baron Davis, this team s now built for a run into the playoffs. Golden State is just the 4th team in the state of California in this division. They really should just call it the California division. And Sacramento, yeah....

Southwest

New Orleans Hornets #1 seed
Dallas Mavericks #5 seed
Houston Rockets #6 seed
San Antonio Spurs
Memphis Grizzlies

Another division filled with talent. In the southwest, there are usually 4 teams that have hopes of the postseason and this year, same story. The Spurs are going to struggle. Ginobili out for the start of the season is going to play a huge role and the Spurs will fall into a huge hole that they will realize they cannot get out of. They will miss the playoffs for the first time since 1997. The Hornets are becoming the powerhouse in the west and really the team to beat. This division will be a runaway although the records of the Mavs and the Rockets will have good records and will make the playoffs. But compared to the Hornets, it won't even be close. The Mavs with Dirk and Jason Terry are always a playoff threat. Not that they do anything when they get there. Ron Artest, T-Mac and Yao will team up for a 3rd place finish. They will need to play without Artest I'm sure for a few weeks because everyone knows he cannot stay out of trouble. The Grizzlies are going to struggle again. Hakim Warrick is their star. Hey, SU alum, but he cannot lead a team to anything more than a 5th place finish hoping to not be the floor mat of the league.