Pacific Division Preview

 Phoenix Suns

The 2006-2007 season for the Phoenix Suns was a repeat of what has become all too familiar for their fans. Played incredibly during the regular season and Steve Nash had another MVP caliber season, but again they fell short in the playoffs. However, serving as kind of a scapegoat, the suspension of Boris Diaw and Amare Stoudemire had a HUGE impact on that series and it’s not crazy to think had they not gone on the court during the altercation they may be world champions.

But 2006-2007 is over and it’s time for the Suns to look forward. Again this summer they made a series of cost cutting moves by trading Kurt Thomas to Seattle for nothing and picked up Alando Tucker and DJ Strawberry in the draft along with some training camp signings. They did however encounter something unusual this summer, when star small forward Shawn Marion made his displeasure in Phoenix known and demanded to be traded. As typical for every superstar who demanded out this summer outside of Kevin Garnett, who really didn’t even demand out, Marion went nowhere.

Unlike in the cases of Bryant and Kirilenko, don’t expect Marion’s demands to affect anything outside of the fact that he will opt out when he gets the chance. He’s in a system tailor made for his strengths and is the highest paid player on the team, despite the fact that he’s the third best player on the team. He’s still going to go out there and put up big numbers every night.

What Phoenix does have to worry about is the lack of depth that has bothered them for the past few seasons. Boris Diaw reverted back to his disappointing days in Atlanta this past season in Phoenix after receiving a pretty nice contract. If Phoenix is going to win the championship, they’ll need him to find his role off the bench and form chemistry with Amare Stoudemire. Marcus Banks, who had an impressive summer league after a very poor season, will also be given the chance to prove he deserves time. Banks has the physical tools to be a lock down defender, but it’s his offense that keeps him off the court.

This team is a virtual to lock to win the Pacific division, as the other four teams are just not at the level that Phoenix is.

Los Angeles Lakers

Last season the Lakers had high hopes after returning their entire team that took Phoenix to 7 games, but due to injuries the team really faltered in the second half of last season. As the off season hit for the Lakers, the slow decline they were on to end the season continued as Kobe adamantly demanded a trade, calling out his teammates and the front office in the process. What was once inconceivable now seems like a given as Kobe Bryant rumors are not only rampant but they are constant. He’s missed a solid portion of training camp and his performance this preseason was possibly the worst of his career.

The latest reports have the Lakers asking for Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, and Joakim Noah – too much for John Paxson’s liking. The Lakers will not make the mistake of getting undervalue for a superstar again, so expect Kobe to remain a Laker until Chicago at least parts with Luol Deng.

While they have become somewhat of an afterthought with all this, there are fourteen other Lakers. The hope of the franchise Andrew Bynum worked intensely this summer to show that the front office’s faith in his is not misplaced. He’s looked good so far in the preseason, but defensively he’s yet to get a grasp of what is needed from him on every night. Also, the rebounding is a major issue for concern. Despite the numbers, Andrew has done a poor job of rebounding out of his area, and keeping his man off the boards.

Lamar Odom will miss at least the first week and a half of the regular season. He’ll be moving back to his natural position, small forward, this season. Lamar’s become all too predictable during his time as a Laker. His numbers on paper are impressive, but on the court Odom’s passiveness continues to plague the Lakers who desperately need a second scorer. The addition of Derek Fisher to replace Smush Parker will do wonders for the locker room and perimeter shooting, but Fisher is marginally better, if at all, defensively.

This is a very talented Laker team, but there is really too many question marks to rank them as high as their talent would warrant. Lamar Odom hasn’t shown second scorer capability in three years, Bynum still has a ways to go, and Kobe is obviously miserable. This could be Phil’s toughest challenge of his entire career – because the way things are looking, LA could be without their superstar at any moment and he’ll have a new group of players that are clueless when it comes to the triangle offense.

Golden State Warriors

After accomplishing one of the biggest upsets in the history of the NBA by defeating Dallas convincingly in six games Golden State goes into the next season after making many changes during the off season. Standout shooting guard Jason Richardson is now a Charlotte Bobcat after being traded on draft night for Brandon Wright. Along with Brandon Wright, Marco Belinelli was brought in through the draft. Both players are loaded with talent, but whether or not they can be contributors consistently during an 82 game season is unknown.

Another big unknown is the health of Baron Davis. Make no mistake about it, had Baron Davis not put on his MVP cape late in the season and during the playoffs last year Golden State is in the lottery. However, he is playing for a contract extension this year – but losing his reliable running mate could hinder the up tempo style that Golden State and Baron Davis thrive in.

Along with the aforementioned Marco Belinelli at the shooting guard is Kelenna Azuibuke. After leaving Kentucky too early and spending a lot of time in the NBDL Kelenna appears to be ready to be a part of the Golden State rotation. With his size and athleticism, if he can get it together he’d help fill the void that Richardson left along with Belinelli and the explosive Monta Ellis, who also sees a lot of time at the point.

Golden state will look to offensively challenged post players Patrick O’Bryant, Andris Biedrins, and Brandon Wright to focus on the defensive side of the court and just finish when they get the ball dumped down to them off of penetration.

Run and gun teams like Golden State are made for the regular season. If they can get things sorted out at the shooting guard position and keep Baron Davis healthy, they’ll likely beat out the Lakers for 2^nd in the division.

Sacramento Kings

The Eric Musselman era can only be looked at as a failure. The Kings not only lacked chemistry between their top three players in Brad Miller, Mike Bibby, and Ron Artest but were one of the worst rebounding teams in the league last year. They simply do not have the size needed to compete in the western conference.

Reggie Theus will look to turn things around. He’s already enforced a highly controversial and not very characteristic curfew along with completely new on court concepts. However, if the Kings think signing Mikki Moore is the answer to their problems in the post, they’re severely mistaken. Moore is an energy guy who will get hustle boards and crowd-igniting dunks, but without Jason Kidd spoon feeding him those dunks will be a lot less common. Spencer Hawes brings better low post game than Miller does, but brings the same lack of athleticism and ability to rebound – he’s also battling constant knee issues this summer, and they could linger.

Adding on to the Kings woes, Mike Bibby’s injured thumb ligament not only required surgery but will keep him out for 10-12 weeks. Guards Quincy Douby and Mustafa Shakur will attempt to fill the void while Bibby is gone, but all signs point to another struggle for the Kings as they’ll be among the NBA’s worse. Possible Bibby deals that have been rumored the past year could finally come to fruition.

Los Angeles Clippers

Injuries have really hurt this team before their season even started. This was supposed to be Shaun Livingston’s year to establish himself as the point guard the Clippers thought they were drafting with the fourth overall pick in the 2004 draft. Along with Shaun, Brand will also miss a large portion of the season with a ruptured Achilles.

Alarmingly, the Clippers point guard rotation is the aging Sam Cassell, Brevin Knight, Dan Dickau. This will be an area of concern for them as Cassell’s nearing retirement and Knight’s work ethic is in question. With Brand being for at least two more months, the Clippers will look for Chris Kaman to play at a level equal to that of the large contract he has. Corey Maggette, who is in a contract year, should have a huge year as offensively he is the team’s number one option. As hard as he attacks the rim and as much as he’ll have the ball, expect Maggette to be among the league leaders in free throw attempts.

A real bright spot for the Clippers this off season has been the play of Al Thorton. After underachieving at Florida State but climbing up the draft boards during the camp and workout period Thortnon has looked like a potential rookie of the year. He’s simply too quick and athletic for most power forwards to guard, and his perimeter skills make him even more lethal. He’ll spend time at both small and power forward this season.

With Brand out of a boot and cleared to begin cardiovascular work the Clippers are counting down the days until he can come back. However, Achilles injuries are really devastating and if Brand is able to come back and be the all-star player that he was before the injury this season – I’ll be shocked. Despite what some reports may say, and I’m not a doctor – but I just cannot imagine Livingston being able to play at all this summer. That injury was catastrophic; I’m not so sure he’s ever capable of being able to play a grueling NBA season again. Injuries make this team the worst in the Pacific.

Pacific Division standing predictions:

1. Phoenix Suns

2. Los Angeles Lakers

3. Golden State Warrios

4. Sacramento Kings

5. Los Angeles Lakers