NBA Weekly

2008-2009 NBA Overview: Last week I took a look at what happened in the offseason in the Eastern Conference, so this week I'll take a look at what happened in the offseason in the Western Conference:

Los Angeles Lakers: The biggest move for the Lakers is getting Andrew Bynum back from injury. Once he returns, it will be interesting to see if he picks up where he left off last season or if he struggles. If he plays as well as he was last year, then the Lakers might be pretty tough to beat out West, but if he struggles then I think the Lakers would have a good chance of getting knocked off. The Lakers also added Chinese star Sun Yue but who knows how much he'll help them out this season.

New Orleans Hornets: This team is probably my favorite to win the West if the Lakers don't. I think the addition of James Posey will really help them out, especially when they go up against Kobe. Of course he'll also help them against Ginobili and McGrady and any other wing player they go up against in the playoffs. No other big additions for the Hornets, but Julian Wright should see some more playing time this year and could make a solid impact.

San Antonio Spurs: This is a team that I think could be in a little bit of trouble because Manu Ginobili seems like he is breaking down. He was not 100% healthy in the playoffs last season and now he just got hurt at the Olympics as well. He plays such a hectic style and throws his body all over the place, so I'm not sure he is going to be able to stay healthy. I think the biggest mistake the Spurs made was not adding another wing player, like Corey Maggette this offseason. If Ginobili goes down again, they will certainly be in trouble, but even if he doesn't, they might have a hard time making it out of the West.

Houston Rockets: The Rockets are the team that everyone is going to be talking about coming into the season because of the addition of Ron Artest. I like the move and think the Rockets will be a much improved team but you just never know for sure until they play some games together. McGrady, Artest, and Yao have all been injury prone throughout their careers too, so that is also something to think about. I like the additions of Brent Barry, D.J Strawberry and Joey Dorsey as well. This team could win the West if everything goes right for them but I want to see them play some games before I'm ready to declare them a Finals contender for sure.

Utah Jazz: The Jazz didn't do much this offseason to improve their team. Their biggest weakness is at SG and while Morris Almond played well in the Summer League, I don't think he is the answer there. Maybe Ronnie Brewer will develop some more. I still don't see how this team will be able to stop Kobe if they have to face the Lakers again and I don't think they improved all that much from last season. I see them being a 4 or 5 seed and getting knocked out in the 2nd round at best.

Phoenix Suns: The Phoneix Suns should be an interesting team to watch all season. They are definitely a playoff team but I don't see how they can compete with the better teams out West as long as they have 3 flawed defenders in Nash, Shaq, and Stoudemire. The addition of Robin Lopez should help them defensively when Shaq isn't on the floor but it's still not enough. I think Nash is on the decline as well, which makes their offense less potent and makes it harder for them to beat teams without playing great defense.

Portland Trailblazers: This team should be fun to watch this season with their young core of talent. Greg Oden will be the story early on and I'm interested to see just how good he is. Even if he struggles, this team should still be in the playoffs, because they have plenty of talent. Jerryd Bayless looks like the real deal offensively and we know what Brandon Roy can do already. I think Portland is at least the 7th best team out West and should make the playoffs easily.

Dallas Mavericks: You know, it seriously wouldn't surprise me if the Mavericks didn't make the playoffs this season. They didn't add anything to their team and they still have Jason Kidd as their PG. Kidd is pretty much worthless right now and it looks like the Mavs made a big mistake by trading Devin Harris. If teams like the Clippers, Nuggets, Warriors, and Kings play well this season then Dallas could be in the lottery next season. If Dirk Nowitzki has an off year or gets hurt, then it could be a long season for Dallas.

Los Angeles Clippers: Despite losing Elton Brand and Corey Maggette this offseason, I like what the Clippers added to their roster to make up for those losses. Marcus Camby should help ease some of the loss felt from Brand's departure and I think DeAndre Jordan will be solid off of the bench. Baron Davis will make a big impact on this team and should help out Al Thornton and Eric Gordon. The problem with this team might be the defense though. They are going to have to play an uptempo style of ball to be successful enough to make the playoffs.

Denver Nuggets: I really don't like the Nuggets chances without Marcus Camby but I'm not sold on Dallas or the Clippers 100% and any team with Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson is going to have a chance to win every night. The Nuggets didn't do much to try and replace the defense of Camby, so that is going to be their biggest issue. They don't have much down low at all and that will keep this team from making the playoffs if Dallas doesn't falter.

Golden State Warriors: The Warriors just lost Monta Ellis for 3 months, which would put him out until December probably. They should be able to stay afloat without him and it's possible this team could sneak into the playoffs. They added Corey Maggette in the offseason and he should thrive in the Warriors offense. I expect him to put up big numbers while Ellis is out. Brandan Wright and Anthony Morrow could give the Warriors some unexpected solid play this season as well.

Sacramento Kings: There's just something about this team that makes me think they could have a good year but then when I look at the roster I'm not sure anymore. They played well last season but now they have lost Ron Artest and got a lot younger in the process. Jason Thompson played well in the Summer League and I'm interested to see what he brings to the table during the regular season. Beno Udrih was solid at the end of last season and he'll join the underrated Kevin Martin in the back court, but I'm not sure the added enough in the offseason to build upon last seasons showing.

Minnesota, Memphis, and Oklahoma City should be fun to watch this season but I don't think they have any chance at the playoffs. They all should be more competitive than last season though and they all have good young talent and could develop into playoff caliber teams over the next 2-3 years if everything works out.

Other NBA News:

- Some sad news in the NBA world as Portland Trail Blazers center Kevin Duckworth died when his enlarged heart failed and former NBA player Wayman Tisdale had part of his right leg amputated Monday because of bone cancer. Duckworth and Tisdale were both solid players in their day. Duckworth was two time All-Star who averaged 11.8 points and 5.8 rebounds a game and was a key member of the late 80's - early 90's Trailblazers teams that featured Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter among others. Tisdale shot over 50% for his career and averaged 15.3 points and 6.1 rebounds. His best season was 1989-1990 when he averaged 22.3 points and 7.5 rebounds, while shooting 52.5% from the floor. Hopefully Tisdale will be able to beat cancer now that he has had his leg amputated.

- Monta Ellis will be sidelined for at least 3 months after severely spraining his ankle. As I stated above, I think the Warriors will remain competitive without Ellis and should be in the hunt for the 8th playoff spot out West by the end of the season. Marcus Williams looks to be the guy who will get the bulk of the minutes with Ellis out but the Warriors will also be taking a look at PG Shaun Livingston, who remains unsigned. All bets are off on the Warriors playoff chances if Ellis is out longer than 3 months though.

- The Celtics signed troubled forward Darius Miles and I think this is a good move for them. The Celtics didn't have the money to sign any big free agents, so they need a player like Miles who they can get cheap as a low risk, high reward signing. They probably hope that being around KG will get him to play up to his full potential.

- The Denver Nuggets re-signed shooting guard J.R. Smith. Smith averaged 12.3 points a game last season and shot 40.3% from 3-point land.

- The Lakers signed 2nd Round pick Joe Crawford, who I still think can be like a poor man's Chauncey Billups off the bench for the Lakers.

- The Suns and Kings swapped guards D.J. Strawberry and Sean Singletary. Both players should be able to help their teams out this season but I think Strawberry will have more of an impact for the Rockets than Singletary will have for the Suns.

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