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A Basketball Fan's Western Conference Rankings


The 2021-2022 season is going to be interesting, mainly for the fact that very few big trades went down this offseason. Many of the teams in the West are running it back with only minor changes to their rosters, and a handful of them are dealing with injuries to key players. That said, the top 8 teams could easily rise or fall in the rankings as the season wears on, so I'm sticking with how I see them at the start of the season.

1. Phoenix Suns

Not many changes to the WCF Champs roster this year. They lost Dario Saric to an ACL tear in Game 1 of last years Finals series against the Bucks, so Jae Crowder and Frank Kaminsky will likely see a bump in minutes. Looking at their roster, it was interesting to see that 6 of their 8 guards are no taller than 6'4. Otherwise, they are still a team to respect for the way their roster plays.

2. Utah Jazz

Utah fans may have been sad to see Derrick Favors depart, but at least they gained a self-proclaimed stallion in Hassan Whiteside to back-up Gobert. They also picked up the offense-only Eric Paschall and steady veteran Rudy Gay (I wonder if the other players will struggle communicating when they call 'Rudy' on the court and both Gobert and Gay respond?). If healthy I expect they will pick up where they left off last year and rise to the top tier of teams with their excellent defense and methodical play.

3. Golden State Warriors

Golden State got DEEP at the forward position this year, and for good reason. Klay's target return date is Christmas Day against the Suns, but after repeated injuries and plenty of rust, even a player as good as Thompson will need time to feel out an NBA court again. Even then it's tough to say what he'll be able to do. The biggest threat to their team is Curry's health. If he gets injured again, nobody on that team comes close to replacing his leadership and ability to run the offense.

4. Portland Trail Blazers

The Blazers have a small advantage despite their tough schedule at the start of the season - nobody in almost a decade has seen this team play under any other coach than Terry Stotts. This doesn't mean that Billups will throw out the playbook; if it works it works, but it is guaranteed Chauncey will retool it. In addition the philosophy, roles and style of play will change for the Blazers squad (like actually TRYING to play defense). Portland's still an offensively gifted team, and if they can pair that with strong defensive effort, they have what it takes to rise near the top of the Western Conference, especially if they can stay healthy.

5. LA L*kers

Once again, NBA pundits are hyping up one of their darling big market teams. Except the potential of this roster is predicated on the health and perimeter shooting ability of an aging LeBron James, an injury prone Anthony Davis, and a stat-chasing Russell Westbrook. Yeesh. They DO have the ability to be a thorn in the side of many teams in the West, but a true championship contender they are not.

6. LA Clippers

The Clips lost their defensive maven in Pat Beverley and brought in Eric Bledsoe (an all-team defensive player once in his career), and Justice Winslow (Miami and the Grizzlies both gave up). Maybe it's just me but I don't see Bledsoe and Reggie Jackson meshing that well in the backcourt. Paul George will have to carry the team in the absence of Kawhi Leonard who could be out for potentially the whole season on a partially torn ACL. The Clippers will still bring a dogfight mentality to every game, but if they lose any of their other starters to injury, they could be in real trouble.

7. Denver Nuggets

Paul Millsap was not a priority for the Nuggets to re-sign, so instead they went out and got Jeff Green. That gives them the ability to play the PF spot by a committee of Aaron Gordon, MPJ, JaMychal Green, and Jeff Green. Basically Denver is the same team you saw last year, except that their Allstar guard Jamal Murray could be out as late as January with a torn ACL. That leaves Monte Morris and Campazzo. Let's be real, while the Blazers didn't play defense last year other teams did, and they did not struggle as much with guarding the smaller and less talented PG's on Denvers roster.

8. New Orleans Pelicans

The Pels are a little bit tricky when it comes to nailing them down in rankings. They lost Lonzo Ball, Steven Adams, Eric Bledsoe, JJ Redick and James Johnson. In return they got Devonte Graham, Tomas Satoransky, Garret Temple and Jonas Valancuinas. They also dropped Head Coach Stan Van Gundy for Willie Green, who went on to hire Jarron Collins and Mike D'Antoni as assistants. If Brandon Ingram continues his Allstar-level play, Zion stays healthy and improves, and the rest of the roster acclimates to what will be a very creative offense under the new coaching staff...they could be a very interesting team this year.

9. Dallas Mavericks

Oh boy, Luka fans will not like this. You may argue that they should be ranked higher, but I'll insist they took a step back this year. They signed no one of note, and didn't trade for an additional star to pair with Doncic. Sadly for Mavs fans, it looks like Kristaps has settled comfortably into a good-but-not-great role. The biggest hit to the team came with the departure of Head Coach Rick Carlisle and the subsequent hiring of Jason Kidd. If you've been watching NBA basketball the last 5 years, you know that Kidd struggled as the HC of the Bucks and doesn't have the greatest playing style philosophy. More than any other team, Dallas in my opinion has the most potential to fall apart during the season.

10. Minnesota Timberwolves

The Wolves additions this offseason were Pat Beverley and Taurean Prince, so there's that I guess. They don't have any key players out due to injury, so as long as Malik Beasley doesn't waive a rifle threateningly at another family while they park outside his home during a Parade of Homes tour again, Minnesota should have a full and healthy roster. Do they have an opportunity to break out of their slump this year? Sure. But somehow they always find a way to stay in the bottom half of the Western Conference.

11. Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizz have...21 players under contract? In addition to a bloated roster that will have to be trimmed through trades or cutting players, they made some head-scratching moves this offseason. I guess by trading Jonas for Steven Adams, Winslow for Pat Bev (traded to Wolves), and Rajon Rondo, they gained veteran experience? I have no clue what Memphis is trying to do with their team, it feels like they made moves just to make moves. I suppose they could rise in the rankings if Ja Morant improves and Jaren Jackson Jr stays healthy. If they want to trade us Brandon Clarke to trim the roster down, I'm all ears.

12. Houston Rockets

The Rockets are in a somewhat awkward transition from being a guaranteed playoff team to a young rebuilding squad. I say awkward because while they drafted and signed young players, they kept Eric Gordon, traded for John Wall last year and picked up DJ Augustin. My guess is that they will follow the Spurs model of gradually replacing their veterans with rookies, other promising young players, and picks. We may see some of that movement this season.

13. Sacramento Kings

Tyrese Haliburton came on strong last year, which incidentally creates a bit of an issue as De'Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield already take the lion's share of minutes at the guard positions. The oft-injured Marvin Bagley has still not lived up to the hype he had coming into the league and his most reliable back-up, Nemanja Bjelica, signed with the Warriors on a minimum contract. It's a hard-knocked life for Sacramento fans.

14. San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs took on a few ex-Blazers in Zach Collins and Aminu, while also adding Thaddeus Young. They lost LaMarcus Aldridge, Gorgui Dieng, Rudy Gay, Demar Derozan and Patty Mills. San Antonio is officially in rebuild mode.

15. Oklahoma City Thunder

OKC is Warren Buffet-rich in future draft picks - more than they could reasonably use. Re-signing Mike Muscala and trading for Derrick Favors keeps a modicum of veteran presence on their team, but it's reasonable to look at both players as assets to trade at the deadline if another team finds themselves in dire need of frontcourt players. When you have a grip of picks, why not try to get a few more?!