NBA Western Conference

Northwest

Utah Jazz – The Jazz beat every team in the NBA last season, and they were extremely exceptional at home. Although away from home they are outright disappointing, they are led by Deron Williams and haven’t really done much to improve their team during the offseason.

Denver Nuggets – The only ‘D’ that the Nuggets posses is in their home city. So they solved the problem by not bringing back their only defensive prowl in Marcus Camby, the Nuggets will once again give up the most points in the NBA, and more likely than not score the most. The only question is, will they give up more than they can score?

Portland Trail Blazers – Look for the Trail Blazers to be the surprise team this year. Greg Oden missed all of last season with micro fracture surgery on his right knee, even without Oden last year the Trail Blazers showed moments of promise, now we’ll finally get to see just how good Oden is.

Minnesota Timberwolves – Letting go Kevin Garnett wasn’t the best of choices last year. This year the Timberwolves drafted Kevin Love to go along with Mike Miller and the leader Al Jefferson, look for the Timberwolves to still lurk around the bottom of the very powerful Western Conference.

Oklahoma City Thunder – Well Oklahoma City finally has their team, their team is young and led by Rookie of the Year, Kevin Durant, the Thunder doesn’t seem to pose a threat this year. The Super Sonic, name, logo, and colors stayed in Seattle in case they get another team down the road.

Pacific

Los Angeles Lakers – The returning Western Conference champions will be looking to return to the finals again this year. MVP Kobe Bryant has elected to not have surgery on his pinky and maybe we’ll get to see how good this team can be with a healthy Andrew Bynum who only played in 35 games and missed all of the playoffs.

Phoenix Suns – Shaquille O’Neal has officially announced his retirement, but it’s not for another 2 years. Now that Shaq has had the offseason to meld with the team they might become an even more potent opponent.

Golden State Warriors – Although the Warriors lost Baron Davis, everything looked well when they picked up Corey Maggette. Now the news is looking dim, the Warriors were unable to land another key player for their team and now Monta Ellis will be missing at least 3 months, looks like another disappointing year for the Warriors.

Sacramento Kings – The Kings will be without last year’s starters, Mike Bibby and Ron Artest. Kevin Martin will be the shining star on this team along with center Brad Miller, besides that expect for the Kings to have another less than average season.
Los Angeles Clippers – With the Clippers there is good news and bad news, and the bad sounds worse. The Clippers gained Baron Davis and Marcus Camby through free agency, but in turn lost their 2 biggest players in Elton Brand and Corey Maggette.

Southwest

New Orleans Hornets – The Hornets are without a doubt posed to make an even deeper run this year. With Chris Paul leading the team and David West to dish it too this team is built to win the championship, especially with the addition of James Posey.

San Antonio Spurs – The Spurs are another year older and things already don’t look for this squad. Manu Ginobili, who is a vital part of the team, will miss a good amount of the opening season after having left ankle surgery, which he reinjured in the Olympics.
Houston Rockets – The Rockets who went on a phenomenal 22 game winning streak last season. In the playoffs, however, McGrady and company, who were without Yao, do to a foot injury, exited in the first round to the Utah Jazz.

Dallas Mavericks – The Mavericks were dismal at best once they traded for Jason Kidd. Mark Cuban fired Avery Johnson, and it has now become known that 5 players wanted out if Johnson would have stayed. The Mavericks will now be coached by Rick Carlisle.
Memphis Grizzlies – The Grizzlies are still in the rebuilding process, but with players such as Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo, and Marc Gasol they might win a few surprising games. The Grizzlies will most likely still be in the cellar in the tough and competitive Southwest division.