In the last three years, the Northwest Division has been a two-team battle between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets. Both teams have finished first and second in the division, respectively, since 2010-11.
That will more likely be the case again for 2013-14, although Denver will be in a transitional phase with a new coach while OKC is still a team to beat in the West. Minnesota is hoping for a full and healthy roster to get them in the playoffs. Portland is not far behind and Utah will be in for a long rebuild.
A Preview of the Northwest Division Teams:
Oklahoma City Thunder
2012-13 SU Record: 60-22
Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder unfortunately ended their season in disappointment. The then-West champs failed to make it back to the Finals as they got eliminated in the Conference Semifinals after losing All-Star point-guard Russell Westbrook due to injury in the first-round of last year’s playoffs.
The Thunder has been the cream of the crop in the Western Conference. For the last two years, they have been one of the best offensive and defensive teams in the league. Last year, they ranked first in point-differential with +9.2. They are young, athletic and explosive. They have two of the best players in league in Westbrook and Durant. They have a bright young coach in Scott Brooks, although his weakness has been exposed once Westbrook was not playing anymore. The team has one of the best defenders in the league in Serge Ibaka. Back-up point guard Reggie Jackson grew up in the playoffs. Nick Collison is still very serviceable. They are a well-oiled team on the break and a difficult match-up on the half-court.
[sc:NBA490banner ]Even though they are expected to be one of the best team in the West, they are questions hanging over them for the upcoming season. Two in particular: 1) who will be their sixth-man? Since James Harden left, OKC are still looking for their primary contributor off the bench. Hot shot yet inexperience Jeremy Lamb could step in for the role. Other than him, their bench is full of young, raw talent and wily experience. And 2) how will the Thunder fare at the start of the season now that Westbrook will miss the first two months due to a second surgery on his knee injury?
Despite the setbacks, the Thunder are still going to be favorites to win the West, as long as Durant and Westbrook are still there. Next season, OKC is prized at +200 to win the Western Conference and +650 to win the NBA Championship.
KD has been a bridesmaid for so long, he already cannot stand it. He came in second two years ago in the Finals, and second for two years in a row at the MVP voting. Will this year be finally his time to be at the top of the NBA?
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Denver Nuggets
2012-13 SU Record: 57-25
What a devastating end for the Denver Nuggets last season.
A team that was once considered an NBA championship contending squad suffered an early first-round exit in the playoffs. Entering this upcoming season, the Nuggets present more questions on whether they are still among the upper-echelon teams.
The late-season injury to Danilo Gallinari will prevent the team to have him by the opener, former top-assistant Brian Shaw will now coach the team after the much revered George Karl was unceremoniously fired, and they lost Andre Iguodala to the team that eliminated them in the playoffs, the Golden State Warriors.
What doomed them in the playoffs were the struggles they had in the regular season. They were not good three-point shooting team (34.5%, 25th in league), not quick in defending three-pointers (allowing 8.4 threes-per-game), not a good free-throw shooting team (70.1%, 28th in league) and not taking good care of the ball (15.3-per-game, 26th in league).
[sc:NBA240banner ]Despite all those happenings, this Mile High basketball team still has the roster that can compete in the Western Conference. Ty Lawson will look to bounce back from a letdown season, Andre Miller is still good at his role, but is 37 years old, Danilo Gallinari will likely miss the first two months but will certainly give the team an versatile scorer, Kenneth Faried will still be a rebounding machine, and their bench is still deep with athletes like Wilson Chandler, Darrell Arthur, J. J. Hickson, Nate Robinson and Evan Fournier. And of course, the player who will make a huge leap for this team will be JaVale McGee.
Let’s not forget, this is a team that finished third in the West last year, a team with the best home record at 38-3 SU, a team that is number-one in points at 106.5-per-game, number-two in rebounds at 45.0-per-game , #1 in points-in-the-paint, #1 in fastbreak points, and #1 in second-chance points.
Certainly this high scoring team will be adjusting to a new system. Coach Shaw will emphasize a lot of defense to a team that is allowing a lot of threes, a lot of offensive rebounds (12.4-per-game) and a lot of points (101.1-per-game). Denver will try to take on a more complete team approach so that they can still compete in the wild, wild West.
Can the Nuggets adjust to Shaw’s new system in time to get back at the same level as last year?
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Minnesota Timberwolves
2012-13 SU Record: 31-51
Injuries last year deflated the playoff hopes of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The T’Wolves were loaded on paper, but with many of their key players and stars missing games due to injuries. Ricky Rubio recovered from his torn ACL well enough to play 57 games. Andrei Kirilenko, who is now with the Nets, missed 18 games. Nikola Pekovic missed 20 games, Chase Budinger missed 59 games, and Kevin Love missed 64 games. Brandon Roy’s comeback bid was cut short after five games.
[sc:NBA240banner ]Minnesota limped around during season as they fielded mostly bench players and D-League stars on the court. The bright side of their season was Wolves play hard defensively; their defensive rating (102.9, 14th overall) was the best in seven years. But their offense struggled (100.1 offensive rating, 25th overall) thanks to abysmal shooting, particularly from 3-point range (30.5%, worst in league), and showed way too little of the ball- and player-movement his offenses typically exhibit.
Coach Rick Adelman hopes that his team would be complete for next year since his team knew they have what it takes to compete in the Western Conference with everyone playing.
They basically still have their stars and key players from last year. However this time, they have more talent to surround the wizardry of Rubio and the all-around game of Love. They brought back Corey Brewer from Denver; they brought in Kevin Martin from OKC. They drafted a couple of rookies who can make direct impacts right away in Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng.
Of course, the success of Twin City basketball will only go as far as Rubio and Love would take them. And both of them are ready for respective next steps.
With all the pieces are in place, can Rubio and Love finally stay healthy and lead the Timberwolves to the playoffs?
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Portland Trail Blazers
2012-13 SU Record: 33-49
The Portland Trail Blazers, a franchise with a once-promising roster with Brandon Roy and Greg Oden, decided two years ago to blow it up for the future, start from scratch and build their way up again.
They started with a point guard to begin the process, and he helped accelerated it. Damian Lillard, last year’s sixth overall pick, made an immediate impact and had a stellar rookie season, winning Rookie of the Year. Although he provided the Trail Blazers a game changer alongside All-Star power-forward LaMarcus Aldridge and versatile small-forward Nicholas Batum, the Blazers did not improve in their standings.
The main cause of that was their plenty of problems on the defensive end, the Blazers finished 29th in field goal defense, 21st in scoring defense and 19th in defensive rebounding by percentage.
Another main reason for their struggles last year is depth. The Trail Blazers lost 13 straight games to end their season where their starters had gone exhausted for playing too many minutes – their first-five played for 35.1 minutes-per-game together, the most in the league among starting units, with Lillard, Aldridge and Batum placed in the top 10 in minutes – and they had to rely on their thin bench – scoring only 18.5-per-game, the worst in the league.
[sc:NBA240banner ]The Blazers realized these problems and they went to work on them this offseason. They brought in Robin Lopez to provide size, rebounding and defense. To bolster their bench, they traded for last year’s fifth overall pick Thomas Robinson; they signed veterans Mo Williams and Earl Watson; they added shooters Dorell Wright (free agency) and Allen Crabbe (draft-day deal), and they drafted C. J. McCollum with the tenth-overall pick to play behind Lillard or in tandem.
In his first season, Terry Stotts did an excellent job with a roster that featured a rookie point guard, a 6-9 center and no bench. He changed up Aldridge’s positioning to be more Dirk Nowitzki-like, first to criticism then praise. He now has more talent and depth to take the Blazers to their next step, which will be the playoffs.
The Blazers are now going on the right direction after the decision they made two years ago. This season comes with an extra dose of hope and will require Lillard to build on his Rookie of the Year campaign. Having better players around him should help.
Are the Trail Blazers primed for a playoff spot in the West this upcoming season?
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Utah Jazz
2012-13 SU Record: 43-39
After two years of toiling around the middle of the Western Conference with a veteran roster, the Utah Jazz have now chosen to try to win with youth, mainly with their “Core Four” and a rookie point guard.
Finally, the basketball world will be watching the development of Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Gordon Hayward, Alec Burks and rookie Trey Burke. All five are loaded with potential and this upcoming season, they will all be thrust on the spotlight as the youngest starting line-up in the NBA.
Favors and Kanter will certainly get the minutes they have deserved for so long. Hayward will likely step up in his new role as captain. Burks, who average 19 points-per-game in college, will get to showcase his scoring. Burke, the ninth-overall pick in 2013 draft, will show why he is one of the favorites to win the Rookie of the Year award, where he is prized at +450.
The Jazz has to work on their weaknesses during the rebuilding process. They will have to make more threes, as they ranked 23rd in that category. They have to play better defensively, getting a defensive rating of 106.8 that ranked 21st. And lastly, they have to avoid fouling a lot, as they committed the third most fouls-per-game last season. But the energy was there to compete as shown in their offensive rebound percentage (eighth best at 28.8%), steals (eighth at 8.4-per-game) and blocks (fourth at 6.3-per-game).
Certainly, their young core will experience growing pains together, but they will have to tap that potential together, who knows maybe one or two of them will turn out to be an elite talent. For their fans, it is a new era of Jazz basketball and they are going to be one of the most exciting teams to follow in the entire NBA this season.
Can their young starting five of the Utah Jazz develop into a winning team down the line?
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