Southwest Division Preview

 San Antonio

After a highly controversial and competitive series against the Phoenix Suns in the second round of the playoffs last year the Spurs went 8-2 to finish the playoffs and get their fourth championship since 1999. This is hands down the best managed franchise in the NBA and a dynasty that still has a chance to win a few more. The one thing this team hasn’t done is repeat as champions, so that will be the challenge for them this season.

For the first time in a few seasons the Spurs made some questionable moves. Luis Scola, who they could not come to a deal with, was traded for Vassilis Spanoulis and a second round pick. It’s hard to be critical of them for trading Scola, but to let Spanoulis walk for nothing really was surprising. Spanoulis had a tough run in Houston, but I really think in San Antonio and the system they run he could have been very successful as he has similar skills as all-star point guard Tony Parker. They also cut James White, who many thought could be a contributor, in what appeared to be in favor of Marcus Williams, but then he too got cut.

Darius Washington didn’t have the most impressive preseason, but he’s a guy who I think could develop if the Spurs hold onto him. He was a big time player at Memphis but left way too early. He’s a small, quick, score first point guard that is definitely worth keeping. The signing of Ime Udoka cannot be questioned – that was a great pick up and I expect him to be a major part of the rotation as he is a perfect fit for this team.

The most important thing for the Spurs is the development of their bench players. Bruce Bowen, Michael Finley, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan will need ample rest time if they are going to be fresh come the playoffs. So guys like Ime Udoka, Matt Bonner, and the rest of the Spurs bench will need to step up so those guys aren’t depended on for 35 minutes a night. Still think this is the best team in the division, and this could be the year they finally repeat.

Dallas Mavericks

Probably the most humiliating defeat in the history of the Mavericks during the Mark Cuban era happened in the first round last year. The regular season was great for them, for a period of time some wondered if they were going to win 70 games, and Dirk won the MVP. But in the playoffs they ran into a familiar face in Don Nelson, whose team came in red hot. Six games later the Mavericks become the only number 1 seed to lose to an 8^th seed since the switch to a seven game series.

Followed by the Mavericks disappointing loss was a fairly quiet off season. The big additions through free agency were Eddie Jones and Brandon Bass and traded Greg Buckner for Trenton Hassell, which is about the most non-exciting trade I’ve ever seen. Dallas lack of toughness has been their issue the past few years. They start a small backcourt with Jason Terry and Devin Harris, Dirk’s toughness has never been his strength, and before you ask – no Josh Howard pushing Brad Miller from behind does not make them more intimidating. Bringing in two defensive minded guys like Jones and Bass is an improvement though.

They’re still extremely underwhelming at the center position with Diop, Dampier, and Mbenga. Because of their style of play they’ll be among one of the league’s best record wise during the regular season – but barring any moves during the season, expect another Mavericks fold come the playoffs.

Houston Rockets

Over the past two years one of the most disappointing teams in the league has been the Houston Rockets. Having one of the most intriguing one-two punches in the league in Yao Ming and Tracey McGrady has yet to amount to more than a first round exit. Houston had an extremely effective off season though.

They added Rick Adelman to install his proven offense. They picked up three shoot first, pass later point guards in Mike James, Aaron Brooks, and Steve Francis – who now appears to be out of the rotation. Along with Brooks they traded for Carl Landry from Purdue University who has looked solid in the preseason. The biggest pick up was made when they received Luis Scola in a trade from their division rival San Antonio Spurs. Scola’s addition gives the Spurs another legitimate post option on offense along with Yao Ming.

The addition of Adelman could mean the re-emergence of Bonzi Wells, who was very successful in Sacramento with Adelman just two years ago. In the playoffs against the Spurs Bonzi Wells ripped the state of Texas nearly single handedly as he played the best basketball of his career. Adelman should get Bonzi back in his comfort zone, punishing smaller guards on the block and wearing them down throughout the game.

I have the Rockets finishing third in the division simply because there are a lot of new faces and I do not believe they’ll have the chemistry and knowledge of each other’s game to be as successful during the regular season as they could be come the playoffs. This team is the dark  horse to win the NBA championship, they are loaded and could be really scary come playoff time.

Memphis Grizzlies

Entering the first year of the post Jerry West era and Mark Iavaroni first stint as a head coach Memphis looks to rebound off a season where they were without their star Pau Gasol for the majority of the season and starting point guard Damon Stoudemire tore up his knee and missed an equally large amount of time. To top it off, they missed out on Kevin Durant and Greg Oden despite having one of the best odds to be in the top two of the lottery.

The off season brought better things for the Grizzlies though. With the fourth overall pick they drafted stud point guard Mike Conley Jr. As the season progresses expect Conley Jr. to earn more time. Immediately though, it seems as his arrival has pushed Kyle Lowlry to work hard on his game and he too looks ready to contribute this year. Rudy Gay now has one NBA season under his belt and they will be expecting big things from his this season in Memphis.

Memphis was one of the few teams in the league with cap room this summer and they spent it on one of the league’s biggest disappointments, Darko Milcic. After doing next to nothing in Detroit, Darko showed some flashes of his potential in Orlando but was not brought back by the Magic. The Grizzlies will expect him to play some center alongside Pau Gasol. Both guys are interchangeable, but neither are very tough when it comes to man defense – which could be problems against the western conference’s premiere forwards.

After Gasol’s trade demands finally got the Grizzlies act together they brought in Pau’s countrymen Juan Carlos Navarro to help appease Pau and provide some scoring punch off of the bench.

This is an extremely young Memphis team that probably will not make the playoffs unless these guys begin contributing a lot sooner than projected. However, if Darko can find his game – because I feel it’s just a matter of time before Gay and Conley Jr. take the league by storm – this could become a very good Memphis team in two years.

New Orleans Hornets

Injuries really hurt the Hornets last season. Late in the season the made a playoff push but it was just too late in the deep western conference for them to make it in. It was a fairly quiet off season for them. Surprisingly, rather than taking who seemed like a perfect running mate alongside Chris Paul in Nick Young they went with Julian Wright, a defensive stud who realty struggles offensively. On a team that already has one guy like that in Tyson Chandler, I really thought it was the wrong way for the Hornets to go.

This year they’ll look for max contract player Peja Stojackovic to not just play this year (though that would be an improvement from last year), but actually contribute to the Hornets. However, the countdown until his contract expiring has already begun as Peja has proven to be nothing other than money misspent at this point in his tenure with the Hornets. Trading Cedric Simmons for David Wesley was an extremely questionable cost cutting move by the Hornets. A year ago this guy was worth a lottery pick, now he’s just worth David Wesley? Wow, talk about a fall.

Expectations will be high for Hilton Armstrong, who now will serve as one of the main players off the bench to spot David West and Tyson Chandler, during his second season. Free agent signee Morris Peterson will look to probably be the starting shooting guard. Peterson is not a starting shooting guard on the playoff team, and for this reason along with the lack of depth and health for this Hornets I have them finishing last in this division – although it is the toughest division in the league.

Southwest division standings prediction

1. San Antonio Spurs
2. Dallas Mavericks
3. Houston Rockets
4. Memphis Grizzlies
5. New Orleans Hornets.