Following the article about Eastern Conference’s prediction, I will attempt in the following paragraphs to give my predictions for the Western Conference. A few days before the beginning of the 2014-15 season and I feel like at the end of the regular season the same eight teams that qualified for last year’s play-offs will be competing for the crown of the West this year as well. The truth is that the most powerful teams of the West either maintained their rosters untouched, for the most part (Spurs, Thunder, Warriors, Blazers, Grizzles), or made few non-radical changes (Clippers, Rockets). I believe that only Dallas, from last year’s play-off teams, made some bold off-season moves. From the rest of the West, I expect New Orleans to be much more competitive than last year, but not good enough to claim a play-off spot, while I see the Nuggets and the Suns missing the play-offs for only a few wins. Other than that, I am really eager to watch the renewed Timberwolves team, which can I feel is going to be a lot of fun; I think that under the right circumstances they can also be competitive as well.
Northwest Division
1. Oklahoma City Thunder 50-55 wins (4), 2. Portland Trail Blazers 47-52 wins (6), 3. Denver Nuggets 42-47 wins (9), 4. Minnesota Timberwolves 20-25 wins (14), 5. Utah Jazz 15-20 wins (15)
In my initial prediction I had Thunder winning 60 games this season, but after the unfortunate news of last year’s MVP injury I think that they will finish with somewhere between 50-55 wins (54). I still think they will finish first in Northwest, as I believe Westbrook, Ibaka and Reggie Jackson will be able to carry the scoring load, in Durant’s absence, to hold the team above 50%. It is a shame that Durant was injured after a summer where he rested and had enough time to prepare, by withdrawing from team USA’s roster. However, I see him returning strong and hungry for success. On a different note now, I consider the Blazers as the only team that can compete for the top spot in Northwest, however, I have them winning less games (52) than last year’s (54) surprisingly good season. Aldridge is for me a top-3 power forward and Lillard a rising star. They have added to the mix of Batum, Matthews, Robin Lopez and Thomas Robinson, the experienced center Chris Kaman and it certainly looks like Portland is getting there, but is just not there yet.
Northwest’s third team, the Denver Nuggets, is probably the biggest question mark of the West, as it seems like they will have all their players healthy and available. Chandler will be there from day one as well as Danilo Gallinari after a long time; who knows, however, if he is the player he was before the injury. Lawson alongside the World Champion Faried are going to lead the team, while they hope JaVale McGee is not coming back to reclaim his ‘Shaqtin’ A Fool’ title. We should not forget about Nate Robinson, Afflalo, Mozgov and the rookie Harris. I really see them winning more than 50% of their games, but I find it really difficult to have them taking the place of any of the eight teams I have mentioned above. I rank them 9th in the West, but I feel they have the talent to surprise the NBA; probably by leaving out of the play-offs either Memphis or Dallas, or by finishing above Portland in the Northwest.
The remaining two teams of the Northwest do not have, in my view, any serious chances of making the play-offs this season. However, I am really excited about their future; mostly that of the Timberwolves. Minnesota is one of the teams that I am looking forward to watch this year. The Wolves have undergone a huge change this summer by trading their superstar Kevin Love to Cleveland for the talents of this year’s no.1 draft Andrew Wiggins (I feel he will be better than expected), last year’s no.1 draft Anthony Bennett and the ‘veteran’ Thaddeus Young. If we add, the explosive rookie Zach LaVine and last year’s starters Rubio and Pekovic we have a very promising young roster. Utah on the other hand did not undergo any major changes but added a player in Dante Exum that could change their destiny, while maintaining the services of Hayward and Favors. It seems to me that Utah and Minnesota are very far from reaching the play-offs.
Pacific Division
1. Los Angeles Clippers 55-60 wins (1), 2. Golden State Warriors 52-57 wins (3), Phoenix Suns 40-45 wins (10), 4. Sacramento Kings 30-35 wins (12), 5. Los Angeles Lakers 27-32 wins (13)
Is 2015 the year of the Clippers? That is a good question, and a difficult one to answer. I think they will finish with the best record in the NBA, probably 60 wins. I also believe that it will be Chris Paul’s year to win the MVP and it is really surprising how most of the NBA’s analysts have forgotten about him in their predictions. With Griffin becoming more consistent and with ‘Doc’ creating a roster with players that fit to his style of play (Hawes and Udoh) I believe the Clips are going to have a great regular season. The only team that is going to really create problem to the Clippers dominance in Pacific is not their intercity rivals Lakers, but the young and exciting Warriors.
Golden State with a new coach in Steve Kerr, even though Mark Jackson had a great season last year, will try to improve last year’s record and compete for one of the top spots in the West. I consider their backcourt as the best in the NBA, with Curry and Thompson, and their frontcourt one of the most underrated in the NBA with Lee and Bogut (if healthy). With Iguodola and Barnes at the wing, I think the Warriors should aiming for the Western Conference’s crown this year and nothing less. The battle between them and the Clippers will be one of the most interesting this year as well, however, I do not see any of them playing at the NBA’s Finals in June 2015.
Last year’s pleasant surprise Phoenix team will, in my view, have a fairly good year and will win almost 50% of its games in regular season, but I do not think they will be able to ‘steal’ a spot in play-offs from the West’s current ‘big-8’. Sacramento will, again, have a so-and-so season with some promising and some disappointing moments. Cousins, I feel, will make the all-star team and Gay will be Gay (good but not good enough to help his team reach the next level). I do not think the rookie Stauskas will make a great difference for them and the additions of Sessions and Collins in the PG position are not the ideal ones for a team that needs leadership badly. Finally, the once dominating Lakers team will have another year struggling to find its new identity, having its great star returning and making this even more difficult. I feel that Lakers need to start rebuilding, picking Randle at the draft was an excellent move, but Kobe, being the competitor he is, is basically messing with the team’s rebuilding by refusing to accept the reality. Anyway it is good to see him back and I urge you all to enjoy watching on the greatest that ever played the game in one of his last seasons.
Southwest Division
1. San Antonio Spurs 55-60 wins (2), 2. Memphis Grizzles 50-55 wins (5), 3. Houston Rockets 47-52 wins (7), 4. Dallas Mavericks 45-50 wins (8), New Orleans Pelicans 35-40 (11)
This is the most competitive division in the NBA with four teams in what I consider to be West’s ‘big-8’ and New Orleans as an up and coming NBA power. Except from being the most competitive, Southwest is the division of NBA’s champs San Antonio Spurs that are returning (all of them) to defend their 2014 title. As I have written in an older post on whether Spurs are a dynasty or not, I believe that San Antonio is going to do what it wasn’t able, for various reasons, to do in the past and will repeat this year as NBA’s champion. From the rest of Southwest’s challengers I pick the Grizzles as the the team that will finish second as I believe that they have the best frontcourt in today’s NBA and possess good players in every position. The addition of Vince Carter gives them a good outside shooter and an experienced player in position three where they looked they needed help.
I expect Houston Rockets to have a fairly good season with around 50 wins, but once again I see them underachieving as I can’t see them being focused and determined, at least not under coach McHale. Ariza and the Greek ‘monchichi’ (don’t tell me he doesn’t look like one!!!) Papanikolaou will help the team become better defensively, but with Harden and Howard having too much fun the Rockets will remain a mediocre Western Conference team. The Mavs on the other hand will be better than last year, even though Dirk is not getting any younger. The signing of Parsons from the state rivals Rockets and the return of an old friend in Chandler will help the team perform at a high level; high enough to reach the play-offs, but not for something more than that. Lastly, New Orleans Pelicans seem to be able to make some noise with the impressive development (he was dominant in FIBA World Cup) of their young star and one of the league’s greatest talents, Anthony Davis. However, it seems like they are missing some pieces and it looks like they are packed with perimeter players with similar playing styles (Gordon, Rivers, Evans, Holiday). On paper they look better than I think they will be on court and I believe they will trade one of Gordon or Evans during this season.
Western Conference Play-offs
1. Los Angeles Clippers 60-22, 2. San Antonio Spurs 58-24, 3. Golden State Warriors 56-26, 4. Oklahoma City Thunder 54-28, 5. Memphis Grizzles 54-28, 6. Portland Trail Blazers 52-30, 7. Houston Rockets 50-32, 8. Dallas Mavericks 48-34
So, the end of the regular season will find the Clippers having the best record in the West followed closely by the Spurs. From the following first round matchups in the Western Conference I believe that the most competitive one will be that between the Thunder and the Grizzlies, while I think that the Rockets could create some problems to the Spurs.
Western Conference First Round
1. Los Angeles Clippers – 8. Dallas Mavericks: Clippers win 4-2
2. San Antonio Spurs – 7. Houston Rockets: Spurs win 4-2
3. Golden State Warriors – 6. Portland Trail Blazers: Warriors win 4-2
4. Oklahoma City Thunder – 5. Memphis Grizzlies: Thunder win 4-3
I expect home-court advantage to be decisive for the first round of the West, while I believe that the Grizzlies have the more chances from the teams without home-court advantage to advance to the second round.
Western Conference Semi-Finals
1. Los Angeles Clippers – 4. Oklahoma City Thunder: Clippers win 4-3
2. San Antonio Spurs – 3. Golden State Warriors: Spurs win 4-2
My prediction is that 2015 will be the last season for Scott Brooks as the Thunder’s head coach and the last season the dynamic duo of Durant and Westbrook playing together. The defeat in the hands of the Clippers will be devastating and will mean the end of Durant-Westbrook era in Oklahoma City; a sad end. On the other hand, I see the Spurs solving the Warriors problem and moving to the Western Conference’s Finals. However, I see this happening after a series of extremely competitive games, in which the Warriors will simply fall to the Spurs’ system.
Western Conference Finals
1. Los Angeles Clippers – 2. San Antonio Spurs: Spurs win 4-2
Western Conference Finals will, in my view, reinstate that the Spurs are the best team in the West. However, change is coming with the Clips, the Warriors and the Rockets that will, most probably look to replace McHale and add a third star. Also, I expect the Thunder to undergo dramatic changes after the end of the season. But most of all the change is the one that started last year and will be completed this year; Kawhi Leonard replacing Tim Duncan as the face of the franchise.
NBA All Time 