A Look at the West

March 11th, 2008 Posted in The Association

With the Bobcats and their 24-39 record, which is actually only two games out of a playoff spot in the East, coming to town tomorrow night there’s not really too much to do to prepare for the game. Jason Richardson should give the Mavericks new starting lineup a test as we’ll finally get to see how Stack can do against a better than average player. But with what should (better) be an easy win coming up I thought I’d take a look at the rest of the playoff picture in the West.

San Antonio Spurs – Still the team to beat. Tim Duncan is still Tim Duncan but the story is the emergence of Manu Ginobili as a top-level player. He’s the reason the Spurs are where they are right now. Tony Parker has been incredibly consistent as he’s averaging almost the exact same numbers he has for the last two years. However this team continues to get older; eight of their fourteen players are 32 or older (I’m counting Brent Barry since he’ll be back in two weeks). But a Duncan/Ginobili/Parker core should be good enough to stick anyone around and be able to contend for years to come.

Los Angeles Lakers – After robbing Memphis, is it robbery if the other side consents to the theft?, for Pau Gasol this team has been on a tear. There’s no doubt they’re a serious contender for the title this year but that hinges on Andrew Bynum’s ability to come back from a dislocated kneecap. Bill Simmons says it best on his latest NBA mailbag so I’ll let you head over there and read his take. If Bynum does come back and is effective then the Lakers can beat the Spurs. If he doesn’t the Lakers won’t be in the title picture this year.

Houston Rockets – Yes, they’re on a 19 game winning streak that has a real chance to go to 21 before it ends. They may also be a better defensive team and have a more potent offense without Yao. But, I’ll wait until Tracy McGrady gets out of the first round before I even consider them a threat.

Utah Jazz – The dark-horse. Deron Wiliams is amazing, Carlos Boozer is a beast, Andre Kirilinko is still a threat even though his numbers are down from a few years ago and Mehmet Okur is a serviceable center. The Kyle Korver pickup was an excellent move and really opens up the floor. Whoever they face in the playoffs are in for a tough challenge and any series involving them should be a blast to watch.


New Orleans Jazz – Chris Paul has been outstanding this season and should win the MVP, too bad Kobe’s already been anointed for that. David West is one of the biggest surprises of the season and Peja Stojakovic and Tyson Chandler have been solid players this season. However, inexperience is going to kill this team. They seem to be slipping a little bit lately, 5-5 since the All-Star break, and it remains to be seen how such a young team can close out the season. A Hornets-Jazz first round series would be a dream series though.

Phoenix Suns – The team that has the most riding on this season. The Shaq trade was done to win this year. They shut down the Spurs in a strong defensive outting a couple games ago but they’ve also games they should’ve won. They have the most mystery around them out of the rest of teams in the West. If their offense gets into a groove with Shaq by allowing Amare to play as PF then they could be dangerous.

Dallas Mavericks – The rest of their season depends on how the Kidd trade ends up working out. Kidd and Josh Howard have to get on the same page for this thing to go anywhere in the playoffs. Dirk has been playing his head off since the Kidd trade averaging almost 30 points. Dampier has also been solid since the trade, but at the end of the day he’s still Erick Dampier. The biggest question though might be Avery. Is he going to freak out and completely change a winning lineup in the playoffs? Is he going to be out-coached again? His job should be riding on their playoff results. Anything short of the Finals, and perhaps the championship depending on how the Finals go, and he needs to go.

Golden State Warriors – The biggest non-threat. They got hot last year and embarrassed the Mavs in the first round. That’s not going to happen this year if they play the Lakers or the Spurs in the first round


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  1. 12 Responses to “A Look at the West”

  2. By Hominid on Mar 11, 2008 at 11:09:11 pm

    The West is so tough this year it may come down to who gets home court. 5-8 are going to have a really tough time getting anywhere in the post-season, but at the same time, teams are so tightly matched ‘upsets’ are definitely possible. It’s going to be really fun to watch.

  3. By Chad on Mar 12, 2008 at 9:40:50 am

    You are crazy. Bobcats are going to bust up your precious Mavs. You watch, Matt Caroll will post a 23 point game and the cats will win by 7.

  4. By Cliff on Mar 12, 2008 at 11:49:47 am

    DALLAS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED A THREAT UNTIL THESE TWO THINGS HAPPEN:

    1) BEAT AN #8 SEED IN THE 1ST ROUND
    2) WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP

    DON’T KNOW WHY YOU DELETED IT, MAYBE BECAUSE THE TRUTH HURTS?

    GO ROCKETS!

    CAN YOU SAY 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-20?

    20-0 TONIGHT!

    LOSE MAVS LOSE!

  5. By Michael on Mar 12, 2008 at 12:13:58 pm

    The problem is That I can’t see Avery outcoaching any of the playoff coaches, so that puts us at a huge disadvantage.

    By they way, watch tonight against the Bobcats, I can pretty much guarantee we come out to start the 3rd quarter terrible. We do it every game. whatever Avery is telling them at halftime, just doesn’t work.

  6. By TD on Mar 12, 2008 at 12:58:10 pm

    HAHA AT LOSER ROCKET FANS! SPURS WILL REPEAT. Rocket fans even worse than Mav fans, wake us up when Yao and Half Man-Half Season Tmac gets past the first round!! Good for your 20 win streak, too bad Rockets are still a postseason JOKE!!!

  7. By Axes46 on Mar 12, 2008 at 1:30:39 pm

    The mavs are good. I think they will get on the same page with Jason Kidd and when they do it’s gonna be a beaut. I can’t put them past the spurs at the moment, but if they learn how Jason Kidd can work it, I can see that being a real game!

  8. By captainjack on Mar 12, 2008 at 3:48:08 pm

    Is it robbery if Memphis consented? Depends on if the league was complicit. Garnett & Jesus Shuttlesworth to Boston and Gasol to LA is Great for the league but smacks of WWF type FAKENESS. What happened to the gambling ref who was going to name some names? He disapered from the news as fast as Kobe’s Colorado girl who was paid off. Why is “Bugsy” Stern fixated on Vegas?

    Gionobli did not “emerge”. He has been the “go to” man on offense for the most consistent team in the league for years. That he was not a all star is more WWF. What is more important? Winning or selling tee’s & shoes. Kobe is the best one on one player in the league. But IMO, Mono is the best one on one player in the context of 5 on 5 which is, I think, how they play the game.

    To the Houston fans. Enjoy it while you can. The “winning” streak is silly. It does not speak of the team ability or the coaches ability. It speaks of how weak the NBA is overall. If AK47 had not jumped off the floor at a inopportune time and thus made the dirk foul into a suspension (the league suspends the reining mvp, does anyone think they would have suspended kobe or james for the same foul, hell no). If Dirk had played the other night the streak would have been over. I still remember McGrady whining about zone defense. He is a loser who loses interest fast. Not as bad a “vinsanity” but in the same category. Houston has zero chance of winning a series against any team in the west. When the half court game starts in the playoffs the absense of yao as a offensive weaopn will be big as well as the other coaches seeing the film and adjusting to the new rocket scheme without yao. The rockets are average at best.

    Too bad the Mavs did not get Kurt Thomas. I think the mavs will begin to click as soon as JET and JOHO realize they are going to have to get their points off the flow or they will be replaced. Kidd and Dirk, the two hall of famers, will have the ball most of the time as they damn well should. Get over it. But they could really use a bruiser to help the big man. perhaps Bass or the new fella will emerge. I still think it will be the mavs or spurs in the end. I can’t pick the lakers because I think their
    best player should be doing 15 to 20 and I don’t think the Gasol trade passes the smell test. The league is just too damn anxious to show that split screen and compare kobe/garnett to the bird/magic wilt/russell, etc, battles of the past. It strikes me as about as legit as floyd merriweather being a professional wrestler.
    This is a big game for the Mavs. The bobcats are in the playoff hunt and will give a whole lot more effort than the knicks. I think the mavs will begin to click and win going away. Avery needs to stop gyrating over minor defensive mistakes by kidd and stick his popovich “system” where it cannot be seen. He also needs to forget about him and bobby knight being “generals” and make Kidd the general. That is why Mr. Cuban paid all those millions and jumped through flaming hoops to get this guy. Go Mavs!!!!!

  9. By Mav in Cali on Mar 12, 2008 at 4:59:14 pm

    Uh… so when can we fire Avery? There’s not enough Avery firing talk on this “fireavery” website.

    He’ll never out coach any of the West coaches in the playoffs, like someone stated above. What that means is that it will purely depend on the talent of the team to beat another one in a series. And the way the West is stacked, that’s not likely to happen. Can we fire Avery now before we see this come to fruition?

  10. By Dallas mavs on Mar 13, 2008 at 8:31:57 pm

    Haha maybe this is dallas’ year the Heats are not making playoffs and looks like Dallas sucks too much balls now to match up with warriors with another no1 no8 matchup.

  11. By LakerRick on Mar 14, 2008 at 5:33:43 pm

    The Lakers are a title contender as much as anyone else in the west with or without Bynum.
    Mavericks are still “soft”. I said 3 years ago they would never grab an nba title, and i stick with that.
    Spurs are the team to beat. Their window for more titles is closed at the end of this year. Not as much because of them, but because of other teams getting better.
    Phoenix, no.
    Utah, no.
    N.O., no.

  12. By LakerRick on Mar 14, 2008 at 5:44:15 pm

    captain jack…..Dirk Blowitzki should have been fined. clearly a flagrant.
    Kobe did get suspended last year for whackin someone up side the head.
    As much as i love Kobe, i would say that LBJ is the best 1 on 1 player. not because of his outside shot which i give kobe the edge easily, but because of lbj’s move to the basket.

  13. By captainjack on Mar 14, 2008 at 11:09:18 pm

    Hey Laker Rick. Labron James or Hyperbole James as I call him, is a nice power player and seems like a nice guy. But much like that famous Texas power player and nice guy, Nolan Ryan, in the final analsis he is a .500 ballplayer. ESPN helped to “break” the story of Lebron when he was at “Oak hill adcademy”, That bastian of academic achievement. Nothing in the history of sports has been hyped as much as James. All in an attempt by the league to find another Michael at any cost. If James had attended college like Magic, Bird, Kareem, Duncan, etc., His game (and his character and his mind and his competitiveness) would have evolved faster. As it was, he was given everything all the time as granted so what did he have to work for? Perhaps he would have developed the killer instint and understanding of team that made these great players multiple champions. He will sell lots of shirts and shoes and tickets and the masses will tune in and buy the panty liners and steel belted radials and he will still never be in the same category as these players who turned their teams around in a year or two. But you are right about him being one hell of a one on one player.

    Kobe Bryant? More physicaly talented than Michael. But his ego has cut his actual value to winning by at least half. As a lakers fan, riddle me this: How do you and other lakers fans forgive this narcisistic nut for whinning the most dominant big man of the era out of town when not doing so would have probably resulted in a dynasty that could have surpased Michaels bulls? What was his reason for doing so? His ego wanted to do it himself? jesus wept. How can anyone with a wife, sister or mother accept his treatment of women? Because his money bought him some justice? As a laker fan how the heck can you keep a straight face when Memphis (really the league or “bugsy vegas” stern) GIVES you a 27 year old 7 ft center with a great inside outside game after doing the same with the celtics just to set up the east west rivalry the league desires so much? Where was vince Mcmahon and the WWF? But the lemmings will lap it up. When they show the early 80’s tape of dick stockton hyping magic/bird and split the screen and show kobe/garnett. Contrived, possibly illegal and certainly immoral. yet it will be eatten up like pizza. A pox on Kobe Bryant. yeah hes fun to watch. But you know that little white spot on chickenshit? That’s chickenshit too. I do agree with you that the champion spurs are the team to beat. Detroit must also be considered because they are so well put together by the great joe dumars that they are the only team that could lose any player to an injury and still be able to take it all. Still, the mavs have a legit chance to win it all. They are no longer “soft”. Stack was never soft. Bass is not soft. Damp has gotten harder with Kidds presense and Kidd is not soft. If you really believe Dirk did what he did to AK on purpose then that don’t seem too soft to me. The double embarassment of the finals lost and nelson cutting their collective hearts out last year has toughed them up a good bit. What don’t kill you makes you stronger. They have their best chance to win it since Dick Bevetta decided to start calling fouls on JET for hitting Dwayne Wade in the elbow with his eyeball. The biggest thing that can stop the Mavs from a deep run is Avery. Avery needs to go coach Prarieview A&M and become the Edie Robinson of college basketball. That is where his talent lies. An outstanding man and a good coach but not a pro coach. His “i’m ok, you’re not ok”, “parent to child” communication style is never going to work coaching millionaires. I really believe that and that is why I post here. Thank you for responding to my post.