The Cleveland Cavaliers play their first preseason game at home on October 7th against the Toronto Raptors and then their first regular season game is October 28th against the Celtics in Boston. That gives us a little under a month until the season is officially underway, and so we will use the next week or two previewing the NBA season making predictions that will surely not even be remotely close to coming true.
First up is the Western Conference, and we begin with the Northwest Division.
1. Utah Jazz
Players Lost:
-Jason Hart, G (Trade – LA Clippers)
Players Added:
-Brevin Knight, G (Trade – LA Clippers)
-Kosta Koufos, C (Draft)
-Ante Tomic, C (Draft)
-Tadija Dragicevic, PF (Draft)
Projected Lineup (Players with +Average PER last year in bold):
PG Deron Williams (18.8 pts, 10.5 assists, 1.1 steals)
SG Ronnie Brewer (12.0 pts, 1.8 assists, 1.7 steals)
SF Andrei Kirilenko (11.0 pts, 4.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists)
PF Carlos Boozer (21.1 pts, 10.4 rebounds, 0.51 blocks)
C Mehmet Okur (14.5 pts, 7.7 rebounds, 0.4 blocks)
Bench:
Paul Millsap, PF
C.J. Miles, SG
Matt Harpring, SF
Kyle Korver, SF
Ronnie Price, PG
Brevin Knight, PG
Kosta Koufos, C
Analysis:
Last year the Jazz went 54-28 and were the 4th seed in the playoffs. The Jazz haven’t lost anyone off that team, and this year they look to be one of the deepest teams in the NBA. They can legitimately go 11 players deep if they need to. The Jazz were 5th in scoring and 13th in points against last season, and they will look to feast on the rest of their division. The Blazers are improved, but the Nuggets will likely take a step backwards, and the Timberwolves and Thunder look like two of the weakest teams in the Western Conference. As long as Jerry Sloan can find a good rotation and keep everyone happy with their minutes, this could be a big season for Utah.
Projected Record: 58-24 (2nd in the Western Conference)
Key Utah Jazz Blogs:
SLC Dunk
True Blue Jazz
All That Jazz
The Cowhide Globe
When the Cavaliers Play Them:
1. Sat, Nov 15th – Home – FSNOH
2. Sat, Jan 24th – Away – FSNOH
2. Portland Trail Blazers
Players Lost:
-Jarrett Jack, G (Trade – Indiana)
-Josh McRoberts, F (Trade – Indiana)
-Brandon Rush, G (Trade – Indiana)
-James Jones, F (FA – Miami)
-Von Wafer, G (FA – Houston)
Players Added:
-Rudy Fernandez, G (2007 Draft)
-Nicholas Batum, F (Draft)
-Luke Jackson, G (FA – Miami)
-Steven Hill, C (FA)
-Jamaal Tatum, G (FA)
-Shavlik Randolph, F (FA – Philadelphia)
-Jerryd Bayless, G (Trade – Indiana)
-Ike Diogu, F (Trade – Indiana)
Projected Lineup (Players with +Average PER last year in bold):
PG Steve Blake (8.5 pts, 5.1 assists, 0.68 steals)
SG Brandon Roy (19.1 pts, 5.8 assists, 1.07 steals)
SF Martell Webster (10.7 pts, 3.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists)
SF LaMarcus Aldridge (17.8 pts, 7.6 rebounds, 1.24 blocks)
C Greg Oden (rookie)
Bench:
Travis Outlaw, SF
Rudy Fernandez, SG
Channing Frye, PF
Joel Przybilla, C
Jerryd Bayless, PG
Sergio Rodriguez, PG
Nicholas Batum, SF
Ike Diogu, PF
Raef LaFrentz, C
Analysis:
Last season the Blazers began as a bit of an unknown quantity. It was a mesh of young players, and nobody was quite sure what to make of them. They had already lost first overall pick Greg Oden for the year, and so it was easy to write them off. However, in the difficult Western Conference, the Blazers put up a very respectable 41-41 record. They showed their promise in December when they went on an unbelievable tear of winning 13 straight and finished with a 13-2 record for the month. The Blazers were 28th in scoring and 8th in points against. One of the reasons for their offensive struggles was their lack of rebounding, as they were 25th in the NBA in rebounds per game. The arrival of Oden this year should go a long way to fix that. Their scoring should receive a boost as well by the addition of outside shooting specialist Rudy Fernandez and the acquisition of rookie PG Jerryd Bayless. Brandon Roy established himself as a premiere player last season and looks to build on his success. LaMarcus Aldridge is the other standout returning player. This is still a very young team, and there are many new faces this year who will have to learn how to gel together. If all goes well, though, the Blazers can do some damage in the West this year and they should be able to get into the playoffs this year.
Projected Record: 47-35 (8th in the Western Conference)
Key Portland Trail Blazers Blogs:
Blazer’s Edge
Blazer’s Blog – OregonLive.com
The Rip City Project
Deceptively Quick
Portland Trail Bloggers
When the Cavaliers Play Them:
1. Wed, Jan 21st – Away – FSNOH
2. Thu, Mar 19th – Home – TNT
3. Denver Nuggets
Players Lost:
-Eduardo Najera, F (FA – New Jersey)
-Yakhouba Diawara, F (FA – Miami)
-Marcus Camby, C (Trade – LA Clippers)
-Bobby Jones, F (Trade – New York)
-Taurean Green, G (Trade – New York)
Players Added:
-Chris Anderson, F (FA – New Orleans)
-Mateen Cleaves, G (FA – D-League)
-Nick Fazekas, F (FA – LA Clippers)
-Juwan Howard, F (FA – Dallas)
-Dahntay Jones. G (FA – D-League)
-James Mays, F (FA)
-Smush Parker, G (FA – LA Clippers)
-Ruben Patterson, F (FA – LA Clippers)
-Renaldo Balkman, F (Trade – New York)
-Sonny Weems, G (Trade – Chicago)
Projected Lineup (Players with +Average PER last year in bold):
PG Anthony Carter (7.8 pts, 5.5 assists, 1.54 steals)
SG Allen Iverson (26.4 pts, 7.1 assists, 1.95 steals)
SF Carmelo Anthony (25.7 pts, 7.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists)
PF Kenyon Martin (12.4 pts, 6.5 rebounds, 1.2 blocks)
C Nene (5.3 pts, 5.4 rebounds, 0.88 blocks)
Bench:
J.R. Smith, SG
Linas Kleiza, PF
Renaldo Balkman, SF
Chucky Atkins, PG
Chris Anderson, C
Sonny Weems, SF
Steven Hunter, C
Analysis:
Sometimes you just have a good feeling about a team, other times you just have a bad feeling. For the Denver Nuggets, I sense much more of the latter. Last year the Nuggets finished at 50-32, thanks largely to the fact that they could outscore just about anyone. They were 2nd in the NBA in scoring, but 29th in points against. So how did they go about fixing their defense? They shipped off Marcus Camby and his 13.1 rebounds/game and 3.61 blocks/game just to save a few bucks. This is a team that is horribly short on depth and will have to rely on discards and retreads like Chris Anderson and Juwan Howard for any kind of depth at all. They don’t have much in terms of quality PGs. Allen Iverson could be playing with one foot out the door already and Kenyon Martin isn’t quite the player he used to be. They do still have ‘Melo and J.R. Smith is an exciting young player, but overall, all signs point to this being a team on the decline.
Projected Record: 46-36 (9th in the Western Conference)
Key Denver Nuggets Blogs:
Pickaxe And Roll
The Nugg Doctor
Denver Stiffs
When the Cavaliers Play Them:
1. Thur, Nov 13th – Home – TNT
2. Fri, Dec 19th – Away – ESPN
4. Minnesota Timberwolves
Players Lost:
-Marko Jaric, G (Trade – Memphis)
-Antoine Walker, F (Trade – Memphis)
Players Added:
-Kevin Love, F (Draft)
-Nikola Pekovic, C (Draft)
-Brian Cardinal, F (Trade – Memphis)
-Jason Collins, F (Trade – Memphis)
-Mike Miller, G (Trade – Memphis)
-Calvin Booth, C (Trade – Philadelphia)
-Rodney Carney, F (Trade – Philadelphia)
Projected Lineup (Players with +Average PER last year in bold):
PG Randy Foye (13.1 pts, 4.2 assists, 0.92 steals)
SG Mike Miller (16.4 pts, 3.4 assists, 0.5 steals)
SF Rodney Carney (5.8 pts, 2.1 rebounds, 0.5 assists)
PF Kevin Love (Rookie)
C Al Jefferson (21.0 pts, 11.1 rebounds, 1.45 blocks)
Bench:
Craig Smith, PF
Ryan Gomes, SF
Rashad McCants, SG
Sebastian Telfair, PG
Corey Brewer, SF
Calvin Booth, C
Jason Collins, C
Mark Madsen, PF
Brian Cardinal, PF
Analysis:
The Timberwolves were a woeful 22-60 last year, a fitting result for a franchise which handed the Celtics an NBA Championship….or so the school of common thought says. In reality, the Timberwolves found themselves an absolute stud in Al Jefferson, a franchise building block in the low post. Jefferson is a game changer who has the ability to just dominate the paint on both ends of the court. Last year the Wolves were 26th in scoring and 21st in points against. They made some nice trades in the offseason to address their offensive woes by adding Mike Miller, Rodney Carney, and Kevin Love. With further development from the likes of Foye, Telfair, and Gomes, the Wolves suddenly have some weapons on offense. Their defense, however, is another story, as they still lack a true difference maker on the perimeter in terms of defense. The bottom line is, this is still one of the worst teams in the Western Conference. The good news for Wolves fans, though, is that this team took a step in the right direction this year, and the Wolves are likely to see an improvement of a few games this season.
Projected Record: 26-56 (12th in the Western Conference)
Key Minnesota Timberwolves Blogs:
Canis Hoopus
TWolves Blog
Mad Dog Blog
Wolves Watch
When the Cavaliers Play Them:
1. Wed, Dec 17th – Away – FSNOH
2. Fri, Mar 27th – Home – FSNOH
5. Oklahoma City Thunder
Players Lost:
-Francisco Elson, F (FA – Milwaukee)
-Luke Ridnour, G (Trade – Milwaukee)
-Adrian Griffin, G (Trade – Milwaukee)
-Donyell Marshall, F (Waived)
Players Added:
-Russell Westbrook, G (Draft)
-Serge Ibaka, F (Draft)
-D.J. White, F (Draft)
-Kyle Weaver, G (Draft)
-DeVon Hardin, C (Draft)
-Joe Smith, F (Trade – Cleveland)
-Desmond Mason, G (Trade – Milwaukee)
Projected Lineup (Players with +Average PER last year in bold):
PG Earl Watson (10.7 pts, 6.8 assists, 0.9 steals)
SG Kevin Durant (20.3 pts, 2.4 assists, 0.96 steals)
SF Jeff Green (10.5 pts, 4.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists)
PF Chris Wilcox (13.4 pts, 7.0 rebounds, 0.58 blocks)
C Nick Collison (9.8 pts, 9.4 rebounds, 0.77 blocks)
Bench:
Joe Smith, PF
Desmond Mason , SF
Russell Westbrook, PG
Damien Wilkins, SG
Johan Petro, C
Kyle Weaver, SG
D.J. White, PF
Mouhamed Sene, C
Analysis:
Oklahoma City’s first season in the NBA looks to be one of extreme growing pains. The good news is that this is a team setup beautifully for the future with no bloated long term contracts and plenty of draft picks. But what that means is that for this season, the Thunder will rely on players who are playing more minutes than players of their caliber really should be. Last year, as the Sonics, they finished 20-62 and were 16th in the NBA in scoring and 27th in points against. Nick Collison lead the team in rebounds at only 9.8 boards per game. There’s nobody on the team that really excels at setting up the offense and distributing the ball. Kevin Durant is a fun and exciting player to watch, but he needs to show he can do more than just put up points. The team acquired a ton of late 1st round/2nd round projects like White, Weaver, and Hardin in the hopes of finding a diamond in the rough as well as to have cheap contracts they can easily shed if need be. The sooner Westbrook can prove he’s ready and work his way into the lineup, the quicker this team can start to get better. For now, though, this looks to be a long season full of losing for the Thunder.
Projected Record: 22-60 (14th in the Western Conference)
Key Oklahoma City Thunder Blogs:
Blue Blitz
Bend It Like Bennett
Oklahoma City BBall
The Thunderworld
Thunderguru.com
When the Cavaliers Play Them:
1. Wed, Nov 26th – Home – FSNOH
2. Sun, Dec 21st – Away – FSNOH
Next up will be the Pacific Division…
