The Wildcard’s 2015-16 NBA Preview: Western Conference
Pacific Division
SACRAMENTO KINGS
2014-15: 29-53
Key Player: DeMarcus Cousins is in a strange place with this team, rumoured to have been on the trading block over the offseason. He’s undoubtedly one of the better centres in the league but he’s never quite done it yet – the Kings are heavy culprits for that.
What to Watch For: Rajon Rondo, haha. The latest in a long line of point guards for Boogie to work with. Which is weird, because this is a team that stressed how they wanted to get faster and everything they’ve done (drafting a centre and signing another one in FA + Rondo) kinda belies that. They’re an odd team, for sure, but if it clicks it’ll be amazing. Hey, if it doesn’t click it might be even more amazing.
Key Question: Do Boogie Cousins and George Karl talk yet?
2015-16 Prediction: 31-51
PHOENIX SUNS
2014-15: 39-43
Key Player: Brandon Knight’s trade to Phoenix last season was a gamble they maybe had to make and so extending him despite the injury was something they had no choice but to do. Which all means that Knight’s under big pressure to fit in.
What to Watch For: An exciting team that relies on chemistry and coaching to try keep up in the viciously crowded Western Conference. Tyson Chandler and Alex Len will give them a formidable interior and if Eric Bledsoe can start hitting threes he could be an All Star (if a few other guards pull out, anyway. West is loaded). There’s a worry they may have gotten worse, though.
Key Question: How pissed off is Markieff Morris really? He demanded a trade when they offloaded his twin to make room for a run at LaMarcus Aldridge but he says he’s all in again now. They sorta need him to be.
2015-16 Prediction: 35-47
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
2014-15: 21-61
Key Player: Nope, not Kobe, but D’Angelo Russell. Let’s see if he has what it takes to lead the most storied franchise in the NBA.
What to Watch For: Old Man Kobe hasn’t had the chance to really show what’s left in the tank because he’s been too busy being injured (Aside from a string of clutch misses at the start of last season). But as long as he’s fit there’s reason to watch these guys, for entertainment values as much as anything. Plus there are some decent looking young players around him. Julius Randle, for one.
Key Question: Will Jack Nicholson be back or have they finally broken him?
2015-16 Prediction: 34-48
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
2014-15: 56-26, Lost 4-3 to HOU in Conf. Semis
Key Player: Chris Paul is still the bloke with the keys to the car (though Blake’s the one selling them). Don’t sleep on the effects of Paul Pierce off the bench either. Leadership is everything.
What to Watch For: This is a pretty desperate team, and desperate is fun to watch. They have a core of Griffin/Jordan/Paul/Rivers (Doc, that is) and that core can compete with anyone, yet after years of questions about their playoff clutch, they followed a brilliant series win over the Spurs by blowing a 3-2 lead against the Rockets despite being 19 points up in the third quarter at home in game six. It was a meltdown, and if you don’t think they’re on the verge of panic then the DeAndre Jordan Saga sets that record straight. Oh, and they signed Lance Stephenson AND Josh Smith. Woah, boy...
Key Question: How many years do they have to be better than the Lakers for before Los Angeles turns blue and red rather than yellow and purple? Twenty?
2015-16 Prediction: 54-28
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
2014-15: 67-15, Beat CLE 4-2 in NBA Finals - Champions
Key Player: There are a bunch of them but none more important than Steph Curry, reigning MVP and owner of the sweetest shooting motion possibly ever.
What to Watch For: One of the most dominating and entertaining teams in modern basketball looking to go back to back. This is a team whose average game last year was a 10 point victory. A team who comfortably played at the quickest pace and yet not only shot at a league high field goal percentage, but they also forced opponents into a league worst FG%. The best three-point shooting team by a distance and with over 100 more assists than any other side in 2014-15 (definitely related, those two). The have the NBA MVP, the Finals MVP and the only player they’ve lost is David Lee, who hardly played anyway.
Key Question: Will there be a championship hangover? Coz that’s the only thing that could hold them back.
2015-16 Prediction: 59-23
Northwest Division
UTAH JAZZ
2014-15: 38-44
Key Player: Rudy “The French Rejection” Gobert. Attack the rim against Utah at your own peril.
What to Watch For: An undercover playoff threat in the West that made massive strides during the back end of last season. With Portland and Dallas seemingly regressing, there could be a spot for the Jazz to make a run, though they’ll need a big offensive jump and it won’t come from Dante Exum, who did his ACL with the Australian national team.
Key Question: Losing Dante Exum for the whole season is devastating. Will the Jazz be wondering “what if…” in 10 months?
2015-16 Prediction: 44-38
DENVER NUGGETS
2014-15: 30-52
Key Player: Getting Emmanuel Mudiay at 7 in the draft was a potentially franchise-altering slice of luck. It meant they could cut ties with Ty Lawson (best for both parties) and if you didn’t catch it, Mudiay bossed it at Summer League. Rookie of the Year potential all over him.
What to Watch For: Jusuf Nurkic’s taunting abilities, Dan Gallinari’s three pointers, Kenneth Faried’s hair and Mudiay’s explosiveness. Mike Malone should give this team more license as the new head coach as well. Might not mean too many wins in the meantime but there’s hope for the future.
Key Question: Faried was one of the most exciting assets in the NBA a couple years back but he ended last season having been benched. Is he good for a bounce-back season? And how’s Gallinari’s knee pulling up?
2015-16 Prediction: 27-55
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
2014-15: 16-66
Key Player: Well Andrew Wiggins is the reigning Rookie of the Year, Karl-Anthony Towns is the number one pick of the last draft and Kevin Garnett is a franchise legend entrusted with moulding the young core of the team. Take ya pick.
What to Watch For: A roster intriguingly stacked with supreme young talent and some grizzled veterans. One thing that often holds back teams in the post-tanking years is the culture of losing that ingrains itself. That won’t happen with KG around. Keep a line on how Ricky Rubio goes along his own developmental path too, he’s in an interesting place where if he can’t up his abilities as a scorer then he may start to plateau.
Key Question: How about turning some of that great promise into wins this season, eh lads?
2015-16 Prediction: 29-53
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
2014-15: 51-31, Lost 4-1 to MEM in First Round
Key Player: LaMarcus Al… no wait he left. Okay then, Wesley Matt… oh. All on you then, Damian Lillard.
What to Watch For: The Blazers were a really good team on the verge of competing when Wes Matthews went down with a torn ACL in January and they went on to be comfortably beaten by Memphis. Now Wes isn’t coming back (he’s a Maverick) and LaMarcus Aldridge isn’t coming back (he’s a Spur). Of their three best players, only one remains, which shouldn’t bode well. Yet they’ve gambled on a few free agents and this is a well-coached team. You never really know. Even if they suck, watching teams rebuild is always an intellectual exercise. C.J. McCollum is on the verge too.
Key Question: Where exactly is this team at now?
2015-16 Prediction: 38-44
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
2014-15: 45-37
Key Player: Kevin Durant. Coming off a busted season, he’s gotta get back to his MVP form of the year before for this team to win but there’s every reason to think he might do just that.
What to Watch For: A new coaching staff, led by Billy Donovan (after years of NCAA success), is either gonna reinforce the critics of Scott Brooks’ time or burn them. Plus Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in the same team, Deion Waiters being dumb and basketball’s premier kiwi (/best interview), Steven Adams.
Key Question: With free agency looming for KD and Russ… is this the band’s final tour?
2015-16 Prediction: 57-25
Southwest Division
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
2014-15: 45-37, Lost 4-0 to GSW in First Round
Key Player: Anthony Davis, genuine MVP candidate. He’ll be fantastic, it’s more what they get around him.
What to Watch For: If you like humble superstars and emphatic dunks, with some scattered jumpers to boot, then this team goes well. Alvin Gentry ought to make this team much faster and more dynamic too so if you’re looking for a bandwagon to hitch onto before it gets too crowded, this is as good as any.
Key Question: Can the support cast do enough around the leading actor?
2015-16 Prediction: 48-34
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
2014-15: 55-27, Lost 4-2 to GSW in Conf. Semis
Key Player: Marc Gasol’s inevitable, no-fuss re-signing with the Grizz for another five years was one of the best deals of the offseason.
What to Watch For: This is the team most deserving of the ‘Underappreciated’ tag. While some teams make big free agent splashes, the Grizzlies just do their thing in their smaller market and make the playoffs all the same. Five appearances in a row. They have their way of doing things and they see no reason to change. Slow, grinding and efficient.
Key Question: Can a team win the title playing like the Grizzlies in the modern NBA or do you have to have that vibrant offensive threat?
2015-16 Prediction: 55-27
HOUSTON ROCKETS
2014-15: 56-26, Lost 4-1 to GSW in Conf. Finals
Key Player: James Harden seems as good as any. He’ll never get his full due, but only coz he’s so methodical that it’s like watching a clock tick over. For a SG, that’s amazing.
What to Watch For: This team’s stacked with talent, even after losing a couple guys. And it’s been cleverly put together to fit into a particular style of play that they own. Layups, dunks, free throws and threes. Anyone shoots a mid-ranger and they get benched (not actually, but they may as well). If the Dwight Howard they got in the playoffs last season comes back for the new campaign then this is gonna be a superb team.
Key Question: There are a bunch of reasons why Ty Lawson might not fit in with Houston… but if he does then this team fills the one hole they have in their top-end rotation. (Pablo Prigioni was playing big minutes at PG last playoffs). So the question is: Will he?
2015-16 Prediction: 51-31
DALLAS MAVERICKS
2014-15: 50-32, Lost 4-1 to HOU in First Round
Key Player: Is it weird to say Zaza Pachulia? I mean, someone’s gotta rebound and he’s the desperate, last-minute DeAndre Jordan replacement. Chandler Parsons is gonna have a big role on this team too. Plus Saint Dirk, of course.
What to Watch For: Their first round pick belongs to the Celtics if the Mavs finish outside the top 7 selections. But with the squad they have after DeAndre U-turned and with Chandler Parsons and Wes Matthews both under fairly serious injury clouds (Parsons is doubtful for opening day, Wes may not be back ‘til 2016), they don’t look to have the stocks to make the playoffs. Right now, with a highly competitive coach and a 37 year old Dirk Nowitzki, they’re going for it. A bad start and they have a tanking decision to make.
Key Question: Who gets the first flagrant on DeAndre Jordan when they first play the Clippers? Surely Chandler Parsons, right? Or do they put in a depth guy to take the hit in case of suspension? Zaza might do it to prove his loyalty, like Michael Corleone in the restaurant.
2015-16 Prediction: 43-39
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
2014-15: 55-27, Lost 4-3 to LAC in First Round
Key Player: Kawhi Leonard. There’s no better defender in the NBA and he has the trophy to prove it.
What to Watch For: The smartest team in basketball, one that always finds a way no matter how old they look or how much people reluctantly write them off. They play that stylised Euro-ball that all the hipsters like but everyone knows how good they are. How they fit LaMarcus Aldridge in will be interesting (and presumably flawless).
Key Question: Has any team ever packed more market value into a single squad? Not only did they capitalise on the low cap holds of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, and not only are Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili playing for fractions of their worth, but David West opted out of a $12m option with Indiana to sign for the minimum in SA. No wonder they could afford LaMarcus Aldridge.
2015-16 Prediction: 53-29
