Happy New Year everybody. May all your hopes and dreams come true. Now we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about something more significant, at least on this blog: basketball. With the season already into the new year, time goes by faster than a Chris Paul bullet pass on the break. So without further ado, take a look at the Western Conference and see who’s doing great, and who’s doing…. Not so great.
Records and standings are through December 31.
1. Los Angeles Lakers (25-5): The scary thing is that this team isn’t even playing at its best right now. Their defense could be better, Odom and Bynum aren’t performing up-to-par, and Derek Fisher doesn’t have a real back-up anymore with Jordan Farmar out, yet the Lakers still lead the West. Trevor Ariza is quietly emerging as one of the best sixth men in the NBA.
2. New Orleans Hornets (19-9): Just like the Lakers, the Hornets also could be slightly better than they are right now. Peja Stojakovic is shooting at only 40%, and both he and Tyson Chandler have missed some games due to injury. The Hornets have now the fifth best record in the League, while I was expecting them to be in the top three.
3. San Antonio Spurs (20-11): Like always, so-called journalists are so quick to write somebody off, so when in November the Spurs were struggling to stay around the .500 mark, people wrote that this was finally the year that the Spurs were getting too old. Remember, this was without Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. And now? They are third in the West, and by the way: getting Roger Mason might be one of the best off-season signings last summer.
4. Denver Nuggets (21-12): Speaking of writing teams off, I really thought the Nuggets had no chance of being a top team in the West, especially after the Camby “trade”. But since the arrival of Chauncey Billups the whole team went through a transformation into something I haven’t seen in years in Denver: they play defense. In a League where Steve Nash won the MVP two years in a row, Billups should at least be considered at the end of the season.
5. Houston Rockets (21-12): Why is it that I still don’t believe this team? Why is it that I still think that they, once again, won’t do a whole lot in the playoffs, although it’s still very far away? Maybe it’s because T-Mac will never be 100% healthy this season. Maybe it’s because Ron Artest is shooting only at 37%. Maybe it’s because their 7’6 center isn’t rebounding in double figures. Only time will tell if I’m right or wrong.
6. Portland Trail Blazers (20-12): It must be fun to be a fan of this team. Rudy Fernandez is a true player, Brandon Roy is someone we must see next month in Phoenix, and Greg Oden shouldn’t worry so much. There are rumors that they might trade Travis Outlaw to Memphis in exchange for Mike Conley. That would be fun for Oden, but guys like Outlaw are great to have on your bench, since he can do a little bit of everything. If it was up to me, I wouldn’t change a thing and see how far they can go with this roster.
7. Dallas Mavericks (19-12): A team without a starting shooting guard, that’s the first thing I notice when I look at the Mavs’ roster. Josh Howard is manning that position right now, but only by default. Jason Terry should already receive the Sixth Man of the Year award, but Dallas has to watch out. Utah, currently ninth in the West, will only get better, and it’s weird to think that either the Mavs, Jazz or Suns might miss the playoffs this year (unless the Blazers or Rockets totally collapse in the next couple of months),
8. Phoenix Suns (18-12): In two months, Shaq will turn 36. I am in disgust by the many websites, even the ones I hold in high regard, who are so overly negative of O’Neal, a living legend and still a top five center in today’s NBA. Shooting at 60%, scoring 17 points and grabbing nine boards along the way in less than 30 minutes per game in the winter of his career is something that hopefully will bring him back into the All-Star Game when February comes around.
9. Utah Jazz (19-14): How good could this team be if Carlos Boozer was healthy? Paul Millsap is playing great in his absence, and recently Deron Williams said that he was finally playing pain-free for the first time this season. Expect the Jazz to climb up in the standings.
10. Memphis Grizzlies (10-22): A huge leap from the ninth, to the tenth team in the West. When Memphis traded Pau Gasol to the Lakers last season, everybody thought it was a joke, a case of bad management, not knowing his “little” brother Marc Gasol would turn out to be such a fine player. He, Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo will find some ways to win some more games this season.
11. Golden State Warriors (10-24): Don Nelson shouldn’t be in this League anymore. Embarrassing to see what he puts his team through this season.
12. Los Angeles Clippers (8-23): I hope that Baron Davis is right when he says this is a transition year, and I also hope that management acknowledges that. I still believe with this roster the Clippers are way better then what their record shows, despite the fact that they have no bench. Never expected Zach Randolph to fit in so well before he got injured.
13. Sacramento Kings (8-24): At least Reggie Miller 2.0 is finally back, but other than Kevin Martin and the rookies Thompson and Hawes, damn near everybody is on the trading block for Sacramento.
14. Minnesota Timberwolves (6-25): Kevin McHale shouldn’t be in this League anymore. Without Al Jefferson the Wolves wouldn’t have won a single game this season.
15. Oklahoma City Thunder (4-29): There are some bright spots with this team that make me wonder why they are this bad. The roster isn’t that awful (Durant and Green are playing great), and if newly acquired center Nenad Krstic is somewhat healthy, they finally get some scoring from a big guy other than the erratic Chris Wilcox. Expect some trades within now and six weeks involving either Wilcox, Nick Collison, Joe Smith or Earl Watson.
3 comments:
Another great writeup! Dude seriously I think you can write for your local sports magazine there.. ;-)
Anyway not so much to add besides the fact the Clips aren't just lucky... Even when they were complete, I just thought they were underperforming. I am hoping to see better performance from them
And to add Denver is awesome even though they were losing some easy games. They are my favorite team now
Mel, I never expected them to win so many games already. Of course Billups has a huge impact on this, but the rest of Denver's roster hasn't changed all that much. Kenyon Martin plays well and seems to be healthy though (knock on wood), Nene's great, and even the Birrrrrrdman is playing well from the bench. I'm surprised by their commitment to defense, I thought everybody could score 120 against them, but they're playing some very good ball this season.
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