Who Will Win the West (Besides the Lakers)?

[PosImpos]

On ESPN.com, 25 out of 25 experts picked the Lakers to make it to the Finals again this year.  

They certainly have good reason to do so, but I'm not so sure.  Kobe is right about at the point when he should be seeing some serious decline (6-24 in Game 7?  Did somebody say 6-24 in Game 7?), and though they may be due a healthy year from Andrew Bynum, there's no guarantee Pau or Lamar won't get injured.  Derek Fisher is also very old at this point; he's declining and is due for a significant injury.  The point is, I'm not sold on the Lakers winning the west again.

I'm going to go ahead and make a bold prediction right now: the Lakers will NOT win the West this season.  

Who will?  I'm not really sure. The Thunder seem like the most talented team, but are still too young to reasonably make it to the Finals.  The Blazers have a bit more experience, but they haven't made it past the 1st round recently, either.  The Mavs and Spurs strike me as too old.  I can't really believe the Jazz are contenders; they aren't big enough or talented enough defensively with Big Al and Mehmet Okur or Paul Millsap up front.  The Nuggets are in disarray.  The Rockets have an outside chance, and I like their roster a lot, but Yao will be limited.

If I had to make a gut pick, I'd go with the Blazers.  There's no way God hates them enough to give them another injury plagued season.  If they remain healthy, they have a very good shot of ousting the Lakers, especially since the Lakers historically struggle at the Rose Garden.


Who do you think will win the West, assuming the Lakers do not?

[LilRip]

If Pau gets injured, the Lakers are in deep trouble. Bynum is nowhere near Gasol's skill level and neither is Odom. But if Gasol remains healthy, i can't see why the Lakers won't win the West. Without Gasol though, I'd like to give the edge to either the Thunder or the Nuggets (with Melo).

If Oden can string together a healthy enough season, i like their chances too. But i doubt he will.

[Birdbrain]

If LA is relatively healthy come playoff time I don't there is a team in the West that can compete.  Now if they had 1 of the other top 4 teams in West (orlando,miami,BOSTON) it might be a different story.  But just for arguments sake the following are the list of teams that have a shot:

Houston if Yao is in top form...(... = I think the chances are unlikely)
Portland if Oden is in top form...
Denver if everyone is on the roster and healthy come playoff time.
OK - I really don't think they have a shot with 2 great players and no inside game but, I wanted to put a 4th.

[EJPLAYA]

No one. However if they aren't in it, the Jazz.

[Celtic]

The Thunder are the only other team in the West worth mentioning, unless the Rockets can stay healthy (which they can't).

[Fafnir]

The Thunder are the only other team in the West worth mentioning, unless the Rockets can stay healthy (which they can't).

I think Portland could also threaten if they stay healthy.

I'm not sold on the Thunder as contenders, I don't they have enough quality size. They could knock someone out in the first round however.

[xmuscularghandix]

[fairweatherfan]

OKC is probably a year away, Portland always looks great on paper but never plays as well, and Denver has the talent but looks to be on a collision course with total implosion.

Utah seems like the best candidate, but the Lakers have had their number in the playoffs, and it's very debatable if their bigs can defend LA's.  Houston has the chemistry to have a shot, but they need a lot to break their way (esp. injuries).

I think the most likely team to knock them off is Dallas, to be honest.  They didn't have long with their full squad last year and looked lost in the playoffs, but if things work out with Butler, they'll have a big advantage at PG, some decent bigs to bang with the Lakers, and enough scoring to keep up with them.  Still, it doesn't look great for the field going in; the conference is LA's to lose for this season at least.

[Chris]

I think Houston and Portland could both contend if they could keep their centers healthy (unlikely), and OKC could if they can pick up an impact big man (or two).  But as of right now, I give the best shot to Dallas.  They got knocked out early last year, but they really have a well built team.  They have tremendous frontcourt depth, and some versatile and talented perimeter players.  Now that they have had more time to assimilate Butler into the system, and with the way Chandler looked on team USA, I think they could be ready to give the Lakers a run for their money.

[Celtics4ever]

Big Al and Utah ought to be a nice match.

[Fafnir]

Big Al and Utah ought to be a nice match.

I don't like what I've seen out of Utah in their first two games. Last night they didn't have enough shooting spacing the floor. Despite Big Al and Milsap having their way with the Suns they got waxed.

[mgent]

1. Blazers (if healthy)
2. Spurs (if healthy)
3. Mavs
4. Nuggets (if Melo stays)
5. Rockets (if healthy)
6. Thunder
7. Jazz

[Celtics4ever]

Utah will improve as they play together.

[jdpapa3]

Houston is the team that can throw out the size to compete with LA. Especially now with their signing of Dampier. For that reason, I also think Dallas and Portland have a chance at them. I just love Houston's roster, though. I wonder how long Yao will be sitting the second nights of back to backs? All season?
A great defensive center like Yao added to that explosive offense should make for a good season.

[barefacedmonk]

Who will win the West?