West Should Be A Wild Ride, Once Again

We apologize to those who are tired of hearing about how much stronger the Western Conference playoff race is compared to that of the Eastern Conference, but the fact remains that teams attempting to represent the West will have yet another gauntlet to navigate throughout the 2015-16 regular season.

Barring any significant injuries to key players, on paper, the top five or six teams out West probably still include (in no particular order) the Golden States Warriors, revamped San Antonio Spurs, a deeper Los Angeles Clippers team, a healthy Oklahoma City Thunder squad, the Houston Rockets and the Memphis Grizzlies.

The New Orleans Pelicans should be on the rise once again as they welcome new head coach Alvin Gentry. Pelicans fans hope Gentry brings with him creative and exciting ways to feature one of the game’s brightest young stars in power forward Anthony Davis. We last saw Gentry as a vital member of Steve Kerr’s coaching staff as he celebrated Golden State’s title by preemptively letting Davis know they’d be enjoying one together at some point.

While the Pelicans shouldn’t be expected to compete for a title right out of the gates, even a relatively healthy run throughout the regular season should at least result in consecutive playoff berths for a player that could find himself entrenched within the MVP discussion for the better part of the next decade of basketball.

Teams like the Portland Trail Blazers and Dallas Mavericks probably shouldn’t count on another run at the playoffs next season given all of the roster turnover and uncertainty. That isn’t to say they can’t still compete for what will likely be one of the final two or three playoff spots in the West, or even higher if things managed to work perfectly for them on multiple levels. However, keeping pace in the West will be a tough task for Coach Carlisle and Coach Stotts as the Mavs and Blazers are replacing three and four members of their starting units, respectively. Each team has added talent, but in a conference that will offer very few (if any) “easy” nights, it will be interesting to see just how long each new-look roster takes to adjust to playing together. Basketball Insiders’ Joel Brigham broke down Portland’s current ‘youth philosophy’ and whether Damian Lillard is ready to lead this team back to the postseason.

The Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz are each teams looking to make the same leap the Pelicans did last season, as both squads continue to build around solid cores and bright, young coaches. Our Cody Taylor discussed Phoenix’s chances at competing for a postseason spot next season, and I agree with his assessment. The Suns are a very promising ‘work in progress’ at this time. They moved several players in an effort to acquire LaMarcus Aldridge in free agency, but eventually lost out to the San Antonio Spurs. Nevertheless, the addition of center Tyson Chandler could pay considerable dividends if Phoenix’s vaunted medical staff can keep the 14-year veteran on the court for a majority of the season.

The Jazz may not have qualified for the playoffs, but they did finish the second half of the 2013-14 season as one of the hotter teams in the league. In fact, their 21-11 run to complete head coach Quin Snyder’s inaugural year at the helm helped the Jazz achieve their highest win total (38-44) since the 2010-11 season.

More importantly, Gordon Hayward silenced those that questioned the max deal he received last summer by leading a talented, but inexperienced core on that run while outplaying or at least squaring up with some of the league’s best along the way. The key for the Jazz could be whether one of their young point guards (Trey Burke or Dante Exum) can establish themselves as the backcourt leader of the team. If the Jazz can find consistent leadership and production at the point, then watch for them to be in the mix of teams potentially fighting for one of the final playoff spots.

The remaining teams -Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets- have each made significant changes that should be fun to watch develop throughout the season. In addition, Sacramento and Denver have each made significant changes in their respective front offices and with their coaches over the past year.

Former Kings general manager Pete D’Alessandro and head coach Mike Malone have moved on from Sacramento to Denver during that time, while the Kings still appear willing to push forward with George Karl’s desire to play up-tempo basketball in California’s state capitol. Denver moving Ty Lawson to the Rockets should come as no surprise given rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay’s apparent readiness to play at this level and Lawson’s ongoing personal issues. Denver isn’t likely to compete for a playoff spot as the team transitions to one that fits Malone and D’Alessandro’s philosophies, but the franchise at least appears to be heading in the right direction.

The additions Sacramento made (Rajon Rondo, Caron Butler, Omri Casspi) should help, but the question remains whether the team will ultimately side with continuing to build around center DeMarcus Cousins or streamline the lineup to better suit a fast-paced offense. Time will tell in terms of which direction they support, but one thing is certain: the combination of Cousins, Rondo and Karl should at least be entertaining, for however long it lasts.

In regard to the Lakers and Timberwolves, each franchise has clearly embraced a youth movement as each team is stocked with an overabundance of young or unproven talent, which should give their respective fans plenty to be excited over when considering what the futures could hold.

The Lakers are essentially adding two lottery picks to go along with an interesting mix of youth and veteran talent that could make for an entertaining campaign in what appears to be Kobe Bryant’s final season. Bryant should and will absolutely be honored for the magnificent career he’s put together and allowed each of us to enjoy (at varying levels, admittedly), but that should not overshadow or be placed in front of the advancement of a core literally dripping in promise, led by D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle and second-year standout Jordan Clarkson.

Minnesota boasts the top picks from the 2013 (Anthony Bennett), 2014 (Andrew Wiggins) and 2015 (Karl-Anthony Towns) NBA Drafts and a bevy of other budding talents (Shabazz Muhammad, Zach LaVine, Gorgui Dieng and Tyus Jones) that should really develop into an exciting core over the next couple of seasons as well. Each of these teams will probably have win totals somewhere in the 30s, and while that won’t satisfy some of the more impatient fans out there, their true measure(s) of success will be in how quickly each coach is able to get their young rosters to buy into their respective philosophies so that true personal and team growth can be seen over the second half of the season.

Even with several franchises in the process retooling their rosters as well as other teams wrapped within complete rebuilds, the Western Conference should once again provide some incredible competition throughout the upcoming season.