My Western Conference breakdown...

Are we a playoff team THIS YEAR? We are adding a possible franchise changing center, the top (or second best, depending on you feel about Gasol #2) Euro import, and Mr. Bayless, who looked pretty impressive yesterday. I decided to break down the Western Conference Simmons style, with a reverse countdown.

LOTTERY TEAMS

#15 Memphis – Lots of young talent, but unless Arthur and Gasol #2 are studs out of the gate, they are lacking any real interior presence.

#14 Minnesota – Young and raw. Could be a contender in a few years, but they need their young guys to mature a little more before they become a serious threat.

#13 – Oklahoma City Whos – One more year before they really can be considered a threat. Durant may go for 25 a game this year, and Westbrook looks like a keeper, but once again, who plays in the middle? A “source” close to the Whos game me some insight on their draft philosophy this year. “Who does KP want? Let’s get him!”

#12 LA Clippers – Great they signed Baron Davis. Now they have Baron Davis and….

#11 Sacramento – They have to keep Artest happy, and that is already going to be tough since he feels they tricked him into not opting out. Kevin Martin can score, although he has the ugliest jumper in the NBA. And they drafted Jason Whatshisname?

#10 Golden State – I think they are in for a tough year. They already didn’t play any defense, and then to essentially trade Baron Davis for Corey Maggette is a tough loss.

FIGHTING FOR THE 8th SEED

#9 Phoenix – Getting older every minute. Imagine if they had Rudy… and Luol Deng… and Joe Johnson… even Sergio. Makes you thankful for PA.

#8 Dallas – See Phoenix, except the owner part. Cuban is TOO aggressive, kind of like Whitsett, always tinkering. Now they have 3 bigs who cant score, a 35 year old point guard who is spending his whole summer playing ball (Go Team USA!), and the softest all-star in the league.

#7 Denver – If they played just a LITTLE defense, they could be elite. AI is still a stud, which is unbelievable after all the punishment they take, and Carmelo is one of  the best pure scorers in the league. If only they played some D…

#6 PORTLAND – I think this is pretty reasonable spot to project us to. I don’t think we will be a top 4 team THIS YEAR, but we should keep the trend of a 10+ win improvement this year. Oden will probably struggle with foul trouble the first half of the year, and then look out league. Aldridge should benefit the most from Odens presence a la Stoudamire last year when Shaq showed up. B. Roy is a perennial All-Star waiting to happen, and Rudy should be fun to watch. Outlaw and Webster should both improve over last year, and throw in a little Bayless, and this is going to be a great year!

LOCKS

#5 San Antonio – Duncan has about 2 very good years left. They tend to coast through the regular season, but they looked vulnerable last year, and could be in for a bigger slide then this. But never count out Popovich and Co.

#4 Houston – If Yao and/or McGrady can stay healthy, they could be dangerous. That’s a big IF, considering Yao is coming off foot surgery, and playing in the Olympics, and McGrady has back problems.

#3 LA Lakers – As much as I hate to admit it, they have the best player on the floor most nights. They could be losing 2 key role players in Turiaf and Vujacic, which could hurt them. I’m not sold on Bynum, maybe I’m crazy.

#2 Utah – Jerry Sloan is a great coach as much as I dislike him. They are solid 1-8, and all their players can shoot.

#1 New Orleans – As nice as Chris Paul would look in a Blazer uniform (KP wanted him BAD), I am happy with the way things turned out. Paul established himself as the best point guard in the league last year, and his supporting cast is only getting better.

So that’s my impression of the Western Conference this year. Agree to disagree if you like, but that’s my thoughts and I’m sticking to them.