Mavs are done. Book it.

If everyone stays somewhat healthy, this is a conservative guess as to where we are

1. L*kers 64-18
2. Hornets 56-26
3. Jazz 54-28
4. Rockets 53-29
5. Spurs 53-29
6. Suns 52-30
7. Blazers 50-32
8. Denver 48-34

With the PTBs counting on big production from 3 rookies, they make 1 last final last appearance in the lottery.

1) LAL
2) NOH
3) UTH
4) HOU
5) SAS
6) LAC
7) PHX
8) DAL
9) PDX
10) DEN
11) SAC
12) MIN
13) GSW
14) SEA
15) MEM

The Mavericks, Warriors, and Nuggets don’t make it. So we’re mostly in agreement, but I think the Lakers and Mavericks do worse that you think, and the Suns a little better. I see even more parity in the West this year, with only Sacramento, Memphis, and Seattle totally sucking. Denver will just miss the playoffs, Minnesota and Golden State will compete, especially at home.

According to my calculations, you have the bottom 4 teams averaging only 12.5 wins each.

1) Hornets
2) Jazz
3) Spurs
4) Lakers
5) Blazers
6) Suns
7) Mavs
8)Rockets

Nuggets, Clips, GSW out.

Clips- 2 man teams will no longer make the playoffs, and Denver barely counts as 3 people

Golden State- doesn’t have the guts to spend the money needed to improve their roster, even with picking up Maguette from the Clips

Teams in order of record, not playoff seeding….

1. Lakers (Bynum + Gasol for full season)
2. Rockets
3. Hornets
4. Spurs
5. Blazers
6. Jazz
7. Suns
8. Clippers

Out:
9. Mavericks
10. Nuggets
11. Warriors

I combined all the forecasted Western Conference leaders on a spreadsheet and added a value for thier rankings in the standings based on top 12 teams (for this I added in the Kings as team 12 since they were actually mentioned with the other 11 teams that have a legit shot at the playoffs). Eight B-edgers posted rankings and I factored them all in. Here is the combined rankings for next year with their total points:

1 Lakers 90
2 Hornets 84
3 Jazz 75
4 Spurs 72
5 Rockets 65
6 Suns 53
7 Blazers 51
8 Clippers 43
9 Mavericks 39
10 Nuggets 25
11 Warriors 18
12 Kings 9

What do you think?

1. Everyone here is overestimateing all the win totals. The easy series sweeps just are NOT going to be there next year as Memphis, the Clippers and Minnesota all got substantially better this offseason and all their young players are a year older. Instead of the whopping 8 50-win teams we saw last year, look for only 5 next year, Portland, unfortunately, not being one of them.

2. Almost everyone here is underestimating the Suns. After the trade, they had such a short time together before the playoffs this year and when Nash is on your team Chemistry becomes a top priority. Look for this team to get home court advantage next playoffs after learnin how to play together with a new coach.

3. Houston is about to explode with W’s. They have had how many years in a row with major injury issues? I have a feeling this is the year where things finally go right for them and they make it through the season without any depressing news. I see them as a 2-seed and a WCF appearance.

4. San Antonio will do what they did last regular season but even more of it. LOSE. They rest their old bodies during the season and try to surge late, but it ain’t gunna work no mo’. They will barely be over 500 but they will be the most dangerous 8 seed ever.

5. Dallas will be similar to the Suns in that they will bounce back after a trade that caused chemistry problems on the court. With Kidd at the point, they will start playing like we once feared they could.

Check back here 9 months from now, you’ll see the following picks are fer real.

1. LA Lakers
2. Houston Rockets
3. New Orleans Hornets
4. Phoenix Suns
5. Dallas Mavericks
6. Utah Jazz
7. Portland Zers
8. San Antonio Spurs

Nobody will be that bad. The truth is that even the bottom feeders of the western conference got better this summer, especially the Clippers, Wolves, and Grizzlies. Western teams will be beating each other up all season long. The teams with the best records will be the teams who make it through the season with the fewest injuries.

I’d rather have the 8th seed. Last year we had LA’s number, and played really well against them. If we get the 7th seed, then we would probably have to play N.O. or San Antonio, which would be though.

Although this will all be subject to change by the time the season is actually starting.

1) Lakers - hate to say it, but they’re going to be good
2) San Antonio - Looks like they’re picking up Maggette, Ginobili will be healthy
5) Utah - we’re not taking the Pacific Division title just yet
3) New Orleans - continuing to remind us that John Nash really messed up that draft
4) Phoenix - Terry Porter is the man
6) Houston - McGrady gets one more shot at Utah to get out of the first round
7) Denver Nuggets - Carmelo takes it to another level, still they’re not great
8) Portland Trail Blazers - we BARELY sneak in and lose handily in the first round

9) LA Clippers - Boom Dizzle can’t quite get them over the hump
10) Dallas Mavericks - Team underachieves and collapses before the all-star break
11) Sacramento Kings - They’ll continue to quietly overachieve with a bad roster
12) Memphis Grizzlies - A little better this year
13) Minnesota Timberwolves - ditto
14) Golden State Warriors - they don’t have a point guard
15) Oklahoma City Evildoers—Clay Bennett is a cruel, soulless man

I also was just contemplating the how the West will be won next season and I’m glad there is a fanpost to comment in.

As I was putting together my own regular season record predictions for the West, I realised that nearly every team was vulnerable. That, combined with the parity of the top 10 teams, makes it almost impossible to feel comfortable (for me at least) to predict win-loss records.

There are some teams that are near locks to make the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean their seeding can be nailed down. Here’s a quick rundown of why no team in contention for the playoffs is safe in the West (in no particular order).

Mavericks: Getting Old, no post players, must rely on jumpshots. I don’t see how they make the playoffs without another team underperforming or getting injured.

Nuggets: vulnerable to injuries, no true PG, not a “team”, play in same division as blazers. The nuggets seemed to be held together by bits of string and chewing gum. They will still be dangerous offensively, but their inability to do anything meaningful in the playoffs is sign they’re on their way out. They are a borderline lottery team depending on health.

Suns: 3/5 starters are old and falling apart, not enough shooters, no D. This is a team that could go deep into the playoffs or end up in the lottery. They are the biggest wildcard in the West. I, personally, don’t see how Shaq, Nash and Hill can make it through a whole season. They will limp into the playoffs.

Clippers: history of futility and injuries, no depth, The starters look good on paper (so do the Blazers) but that doesn’t mean they can get it done. Baron and company couldn’t get it done in GS with 48 wins…..does anyone think the Clippers can pull out a season like that? A close call here, but their curse will not be lifted, back to the lottery.

Kings: no PG, old front court, no depth. The Kings seemed to be playing above their head last season and I think they’ll come down a bit next season.

Warriors: lost Baron, could have worst starting 5 in the west this year. Some sports writers are stating that GS’s current lineup would rival the Grizzles, Wolves and Sonics. Ouch. Baring a big FA signing, the Warriors plummet out of contention in the West.

Jazz: They can’t seem to play D without fouling and Boozers’ inconsistent end of year play could be a sign of bad things to come. This is one team that looks pretty good for next year, but you never can tell, right? They will compete for the NW division title and make the playoffs.

Hornets: no bench, Peja is getting old. The Hornets should be pretty solid but their lack of depth, especially at the 4 and 5 could come back to hurt them. This is another team that looks like a lock for the playoffs. (Ok, some of these reviews aren’t that bad).

Lkers: Everyone should know how to play the Lkers after reviewing tapes of the finals. Of course, not everyone will be able to accomplish what the Celtics did, but the game plan is there. They are soft and you can get into their heads. Anyone with a strong 3 can attack “the machine” and Radmonivic and pretty much have their way. All of that being said, they are still probably the best team out West next year.

Spurs: OLD, OLD, OLD, no bench. They will stll be in the playoffs due to the Big 3, great team play and experience, but an injury to Manu (like in the playoffs), for example, would completely derail them. Dangerous, but in one of their last years of serious conention.

Rockets: Obviously, injuries to T-Mac and Yao are the Rockets main concern. As a consequence of that the ability of their backups to play well in their stead will determine where Houston ends up. If they can play like they did during the streak then the Rockets will have a similar season as they did last year. If not, well, it’s over. I’d be surprised if neither Yao or McGrady spends a significant (15 games min.) out over the course of the year. They will make the playoffs if they stay healthy enough.

Lastly, the Blazers. Actually, it seems a little silly of me to point out what everyone here already knows. So, I suppose I’ll talk about what I became more aware of after really putting some thought into the state of the Western Conference.
1. There are 5 teams (GS, Dal, Phx, Den, Hou) that finished higher than us last year who could easily finish below us this year. All of these teams have crucial issues to address and/or prepare for it they wish to make the playoffs.
2. The parity of the West will once again make the playoff race extemely tight in the 4-10 spots and maybe even futher down. That means that the borderline teams listed above are in even more danger than they would be other seasons. Small issues will be magnified by the small margin of error.
3. Even with a certain degree of homerism, we have a legit bench, especially compared to a lot of the teams in the West. I don’t think I appreciated our bench until I really looked over the backups on some of the other squads.