2020–21 Western Conference Preview
By: Scott B.
Tags: Basketball, Preview, Sports, Los Angeles, NBA

Dallas Mavericks- (43–32, 7th) Lost to Clippers in 6 games in round 1, Rick Charlisle

PG- Luka Doncic Jalen Brunson Trey Burke

SG- Josh Richardson Josh Green

SF- Tim Hardaway Jr. Wesley Iwundu Dorian Finney-Smith

PF- Kristaps Porzingis+ Maxi Kleber Dorian Finney-Smith

C- Dwight Powell Willy Cauley-Stein

It’s all Luka for possibly as long as the first half of the season. KP may not see game action until at least February so Maxi Kleber and Dorian Finney-Smith are going to get all the minutes they can handle. Dwight Powell is coming off a ruptured achilles, but if he’s full go he could blossom into an elite NBA center. J Rich and THJ can both score in bunches, but also go ice cold. With KP on the shelf it will be tough to improve on their 43 wins, but a long as Luka is healthy the Mavs will be competing every night,

Denver Nuggets- (46–27, 3rd) Lost to Lakers in WCF, Mike Malone

PG- Jamal Murray Monte Morris

SG- Gary Harris PJ Dozier

SF- Michael Porter Jr. Will Barton

PF- Paul Millsaps JaMychel Green

C- Nikola Jokic Bol Bol

The Nuggets had an amazing comeback from down 3–1 to eliminate the Clippers before getting bested by the Lakers, but it was an exciting bubble for them. Jokic is arguably a top 10 player in the NBA and Jamal Murray is electric. The departure of Jerami Grant opens the door for Michael Porter Jr. to take a big step and JaMychal Green is an upgrade from Mason Plumlee. Gary Harris had a quiet year last year and any sort of bounce back season only gives the Nuggets more options. They arent the Lakers, but they are a top team in the West.

Golden State Warriors- (15–50, 15th) Steve Kerr

PG- Steph Curry Brad Wannamaker Jordan Poole

SG/SF- Kelly Oubre Jr. Damion Lee

SF/SG- Andrew Wiggins Kent Bazemore

PF- Draymond Green Eric Paschall

C- James Looney James Wiseman Marquis Chriss

KD left town, Klay missed the entire season and Steph played 5 games. It was a serious back to reality season for the Warriors, and unfortunately this one started off with brutal news that Klay will miss this season as well. The Splash Brothers are such an incredible duo so it stinks Klay will be out once again. Steph is still one of the best players in the NBA and this season could prove to be important to his overall legacy. Can he lead GSW alongside just Draymond alone? Wiggins is a nice piece they added late last year. Kelly Oubre Jr. is a solid G/F as well. Kent Bazemore can open the floor and guys like Damion Lee and Eric Pashcall showed signs of being good role players last season. James Looney certainly isnt a top center but it could open the door for Wiseman to get early minutes. Steph will take the Warriors out of the basement, but it’ll be interesting to see how high.

Houston Rockets- (44–28, 4th) Loss to Lakers in 5 game in WCS, Stephen Silas

PG- John Wall Chris Clemons

SG- James Harden Eric Gordon

SF- Danuel House Ben McLemore

PF- PJ Tucker Caboclo/Wooten

C- Christian Wood Demarcus Cousins

The good news, John Wall looks healthy. The bad news, James Harden looks fat. The strategy of just gaining weight until a team trades you in quite a move but its looks like James Harden is fully committed to it. 4th in the West and winning a playoff series is great, but just like last year, this Rockets team doesn’t hold up against the best in the West. Harden will score in buckets, hopefully Wall is comeback player of the year candidate, Christian Wood can be a star but in the end, there’s better teams in the west.

Los Angeles Clippers- (49–23, 2nd) Loss in 7 games to Nuggets in WCS, Ty Lue

PG- Patrick Beverly Reggie Jackson

SG- Paul George Lou Williams

SF- Kawhi Leonard Nic Batum

PF- Marcus Morris Patrick Peterson

C- Serge Ibaka Ivica Zubacs

The Clippers blew a 3–1 lead to the Nuggets and players didn’t seem to have great trust in Doc. Ty Lue actually seems like a good fit to replace him. Any team with Kawhi is going to be a good team and if he can get some more help from Playoff P this year the Clippers will once again try and keep pace with the Lakers. They basically swapt Harrell for Ibaka and its never a bad thing to get a former champion and veteran and a guy who already won with Kawhi. Lou Williams is one of the best guys to have come of the bench in the league. They’re probably the second best team in the west again, but unfortunately the second still best team in LA

Los Angeles Lakers- (52–19, 1st) NBA Champions, Frank Vogel

PG- Lebron James Dennis Schroder Alex Caruso

SG- Dennis Schroder Wesley Matthews Talen Horton-Tucker

SF- KCP Markeiff Morris

PF- Anthony Davis Kyle Kuzma

C- Marc Gasol Monztrel Harell

The Lakers are going back to back. Lebron and AD are the best 1–2 combo in the league. They swapped Dwight and Javale for former NBA Champion Marc Gasol and mercenary Montrezl Harell. They added Dennis Schroder who has continued to improve year after year and will log a ton of minutes between playing next to Lebron and leading the second unit. They have jam in Markieff Morris. The Caru-show is back in town. The Lakers are the best in the league, hands down.

Memphis Grizzlies- (34–39, 9th) Taylor Jenkins

PG- Ja Morant Tyus Jones DeAnthony Melton

SG- Dillon Brooks Grayson Allen Desmond Bane

SF- Kyle Anderson Justice Winslow Xavier Tillman Sr.

PF- Jaren Jackson Jr.+ Brandon Clarke+

C- Jonas Valanciunas Geoirgi Deng

The Grizzlies are one of the most exciting young teams in the league. Outside of Ja Morant, who is only in his second year, they don’t have any superstars, but they have a solid core of players from top to bottom. They may not be ready to compete for the West, but they will once again be in the playoff mix and look to find their way into the 7–8 or 9–10 games. They’ll need to wait on JJJ to return but he and Brandon Clarke are two incredibly talented young forwards. Valanciunas is quietly a nice center. Rookies Desmond Bane and Xavier Tillman may see early action until the Grizzlies get healthy which isn’t always a bad thing. Grizzlies will be a fun team all year.

Minnesota Timberwolves- (19–45, 14th) Ryan Saunders

PG- Ricky Rubio Malik Beasley

SG- DeAngelo Russell Anthony Edwards

SF- Anthony Edwards Josh Okogie Jake Laymen

PF- Juanacho Hernangomez Rondae Hollis-Jefferson J. McDaniels

C- Karl Anthony-Towns Ed Davis Naz Reid

The Timberwolves had a rough go of it all year with KAT on the shelf for the majority of it. You hope KAT is in the right place mentally and has a nice comeback season but its tough to see them competing in the west. DeAngelo Russell is certainly an impact player to add next to KAT, and bringing back Rubio isnt terrible. It stinks to get a high draft pick but not be able to be overly excited about them. Anthony Edwards could be a fine player but he’s a big question mark and won’t necessarily help right away, They’ll improve on their 19 wins but that’s about it.

New Orleans Pelicans- (30–42, 13th) Stan Van Gundy

PG- Lonzo Ball Kira Lewis Jr.

SG- Eric Bledsoe JJ Redick

SF- Brandon Ingram Josh Hart

PF- Zion Williamson Nilcolo Melli

C- Steven Adams Jaxson Hayes

It’s no secret the Pelicans have staked their futures in Zion Williamson and in the process have stockpiled picks, and surrounded him with some decent talent. This could be the year Brandon Ingram takes a big leap, Eric Bledsoe is a step down from Jrue Holiday but still a worthy guard and Steven Adams is a center who is going to do everything no one else wants to do. Lonzo Ball has a lot to prove at point guard but will pretty much have an endless leash. Whether or not Zion is ready to carry a team just yet will determine if the Pelicans stay in the bottom of the West, or get those extra wins to move into a potential play-in for the playoffs.

Oklahoma City Thunder- (44–28, 5th) Lost R1 in 7 games to the Rockets, Marc Dagnieault

PG- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander George Hill

SG- Luguentz Dort Hamidou Diallo

SF- Trevor Ariza Kenrich Williams

PF- Darius Bazely Mike Muscala

C- Al Horford Aleksej Pokusevski

Let’s call this a transition year for the Thunder. CP3 gave them all he could last year and took the Rockets to the brink, but this year the Thunder have a totally different team that just doesn’t look like it will fare well in the West. SGA is on his way to being a star, and will have full reigns of this team and that is about the only brightspot. The Thunder could go from playoffs to last in the West.

Phoenix Suns- (34–39, 10th) Monty Williams

PG- Chris Paul Cameron Payne Jevon Carter

SG- Devin Booker Langston Galloway

SF- Mikal Bridges Etwuan Moore Abdal Nader

PF- Jae Crowder Cam Johnson Dario Saric

C- Deandre Ayton Damien James

If the Grizzlies are one of the most exciting teams in the west this year, the Suns are the other one. Winning 8 straight to end their time in the bubble and adding a bonafide leader in Chris Paul have the Suns coming into 2021 with high expectations. Devin Booker is a super star and Deandre Ayton is a monster who is going to benefit greatly from CP3. Jae Crowder adds defense. Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson are nice role players. It’s tough to come into the West with high expectations because there are no bad teams in the West, but 10th place again will get the suns a chance to get into a playoff series.

Portland Trailblazers- (35–39, 8th) Beat the Lakers 1 game in R1, Terry Stotts

PG- Damian Lillard Anfernee Simons

SG- CJ McCollum Gary Trent Jr.

SF- Derrick Jones Jr. Rodney Hood

PF- Robert Covington Carmelo Anthony

C- Jusuf Nurkic Enes Kanter Harry Giles

The Blazers shocked the world….and won game 1 of the series of Lakers. In all seriousness however, the Blazers only got better to start this season. Dame and CJ can score with the best of them and no one puts a team on his back like Dame. A full season of a healthy Nurkic is the x-factor for this Blazers team though. A super talented center who really makes this team so much deeper. RoCo is an all around stat getter. And, Cornrow Melo. Blazers have to bring it every night just like the other teams fighting for the lower playoff seeds in the West, but they’ll be there.

Sacramento Kings- (31–41, 12th) Luke Walton

PG- De’Aaron Fox Cory Joseph

SG- Buddy Hield Tyrese Haliburton

SF- Harrison Barnes Jabari Parker

PF- Marvin Bagley Nemanja Beljica

C- Hassan Whiteside Richuan Holmes

There isn’t a huge reason to be overly excited about the Kings, but there also isn’t really a reason to be down on them either. De’Aaron Fox is there long term and is an amazing point guard. Whiteside and Holmes are a solid combo at center. It would be nice to see Marvin Bagley stay healthy for a full year. Buddy and Barnes are a decent SG/SF combo. Does this lineup improve on 31 wins in the tough West though? If they do, that makes them a potential playoff team, and that just doesn’t seem likely.

San Antonio Spurs- (32–39, 11th) Greg Popovich

PG- Dajuante Murray Patty Mills

SG- Derrick White+ Quinndari Witherspoon

SF- DeMare Derozan Lonnie Walker

PF- LaMarcus Aldridge Rudy Gay

C- Jacob Poeltl Tyler Zeller+

Greg Popovich is an all time great coach and that is probably why the Spurs got to 32 wins last year. It’ll probably be why they win more games than they should this year as well, but it might not be more than 30 this time around. The Spurs just the most vanilla team in the West. the Vanilla Ice Cream cone, the twitter egg, the miso soup, the rice cake of the west. Aldridge is going to continue to lose a step. Derozan just isn’t a franchise number 1. Their depths guys are okay but not great. The spurs were outside of the top 10 in the conference and will be yet again.

Utah Jazz- (44–28, 6th) Lost in R1 in game 7 to Denver, Quinn Snyder

PG- Mike Conely Nigel Williams-Goss

SG- Donovan Mitchell Jordan Clarkson

SF- Joe Ingles Elijah Hughes

PF- Bojan Bogdanovich Royce O’neale

C- Rudy Gobert Derrick Favors

The Jazz are pretty much coming with the same formula they had last year that got them 44 wins and took the Nuggets to 7 games in round 1. They lost Ricky Rubio but that isn’t necessarily a huge loss, it just gives more responsibility to Donovan Mitchell. Rudy Gobert is an elite center and one of the best defenders in the league. It is a question mark how much these two like each other however. The Jazz need more Joe Ingles this year with Rubio gone. Bojan is a more underrated player across the league. The Jazz would need to over achieve to match last year’s 44 wins, but they will be competing for a playoff slot.

PREDICTIONS:

Standings:

1st: Los Angeles Lakers 9th: Golden State Warriors

2nd: Denver Nuggets 10th: Portland Trailblazers

3rd: Los Angeles Clippers 11th: New Orleans Pelicans

4th: Utah Jazz 12th: Minnesota Timberwolves

5th: Phoenix Suns 13th: Sacramento Kings

6th: Dallas Mavericks 14th: San Antonio Spurs

7th: Memphis Grizzlies 15th: Oklahoma City Thunder

8th: Houston Rockets

Playoffs:

“7–8 Game” — Memphis Grizzlies over Houston Rockets

“9–10 Game”- Portland Trailblazers over Golden State Warriors

“8 seed game”- Portland Trailblazers over Houston Rockets

ROUND 1

Los Angeles Lakers over Portland Trailblazers in 4

Denver Nuggets over Memphis Grizzlies in 5

Los Angeles Clippers over Dallas Mavericks in 7

Utah Jazz over Phoenix Suns in 7

WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

Los Angeles Lakers over Utah Jazz in 5

Los Angeles Clippers over Denver Nuggets in 7

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

Los Angeles Lakers over Los Angeles Clippers in 6