Kobe Bryant & Lakers good bets in NBA West
Kobe Bryant & Lakers good bets in NBA West
Six of the top eight teams on the NBA futures market reside in the Western Conference, and for good reason after last year's dogfight. While the sun starts to set on Phoenix, and the Spurs and Mavericks give way on their hold in the Lone Star State and the Southwest Division, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers appear poised to make a run as possibly one of the best teams of all-time.
Tumbleweeds rolling across the sagebrush. Saloon doors swinging in the dusty breeze. Is this the legacy of the wild Western Conference?
Writers have halfheartedly pecked away at this theme ever since Michael Jordan left the Chicago Bulls. But there might be some meat on those bones this year. The Western Conference was a nasty nine-team dogfight in 2007-08. Phoenix (Shaquille O’Neal) and Dallas (Jason Kidd) rolled the dice on short-term fixes that didn’t pay out in the end. San Antonio is old and breaking down. Meanwhile, the Larry O’Brien Trophy lives in the East with the Celtics.
It’s still too early to slap a toe tag on the West. Six of the top eight teams on the NBA championship futures market are Western representatives. So are the bottom three teams. The competitive balance hasn’t changed – it’s just not the Spurs, Suns and Mavs anymore at the top of the food chain. Look instead for one of these three division picks to bring the hardware back home.
Northwest: Utah Jazz
The Jazz (54-28, 46-36 ATS last year) will win the Northwest almost by default. Their closest competitors, the Denver Nuggets, have already decided to cut bait by letting Marcus Camby (17.2 PER) go to the Clippers in a salary dump. Portland figures to make a surge from last year’s 41-41 (43-39 ATS) result, and could catch up to Utah in the event of an injury to a key player like Carlos Boozer.
On paper, Utah has all the right stuff to top 50 wins and take the Northwest for the third year in a row. Boozer has enjoyed two relatively healthy seasons and played well enough (21.9 PER) for a second kick at the Olympics with Deron Williams (20.8 PER) and Team USA. Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko return to a team that had the second-highest point differential in the West last year at plus-6.9. Their over/under for wins this year is 51.5 compared to 45.5 for Denver and 42.5 for Portland.
Pacific: Los Angeles Lakers
Perhaps you’ve met my evil doppelganger, Fat Chance. He says the Lakers won’t win the Pacific, let alone the West. He doesn’t think Andrew Bynum (22.6 PER) pairs well with Pau Gasol (24.0 PER) even if Bynum stays healthy, and he thinks turning 30 is not a good thing for league MVP Kobe Bryant (24.2 PER).
Fat Chance, you may be right. But that’s about the only way Los Angeles could realistically whiff on what has the potential to be one of the greatest teams of all time. This team has a very strong supporting cast, a brilliant coach in Phil Jackson, and a lot of motivation after losing to Boston in the Finals. The Lakers are 3-1 favorites to get over the hump and win the championship. Their total for regular-season victories is 56.5, tied for first overall with the Celtics. The closest Pacific rivals are the falling Suns at 51.5.
Southwest: Houston Rockets
Last year was supposed to be Houston’s breakthrough season, but the team got off to a very slow start before putting together a massive 22-game winning streak and finishing at 55-27 (47-33-2 ATS). That left the Rockets just one game behind New Orleans and San Antonio for the Southeast title. And they did it with Yao Ming (22.5 PER) missing the second half of the season with a broken foot.
Dallas was in the mix last year at 51-31 (35-43-4 ATS), giving this division four of the West’s eight 50-game winners. The Mavs and Spurs risk slipping away; the Hornets figure to battle Houston tooth-and-nail for the Southwest title with MVP candidate Chris Paul (28.3 PER) leading the charge. But the Rockets did much more than New Orleans in the offseason by landing Ron Artest (18.8 PER with strong defense) from Sacramento in another salary dump. Artest could be for the Rockets what Dennis Rodman was to Jordan’s Bulls – which would only be fitting, after all.
Six of the top eight teams on the NBA futures market reside in the Western Conference, and for good reason after last year's dogfight. While the sun starts to set on Phoenix, and the Spurs and Mavericks give way on their hold in the Lone Star State and the Southwest Division, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers appear poised to make a run as possibly one of the best teams of all-time.
Tumbleweeds rolling across the sagebrush. Saloon doors swinging in the dusty breeze. Is this the legacy of the wild Western Conference?
Writers have halfheartedly pecked away at this theme ever since Michael Jordan left the Chicago Bulls. But there might be some meat on those bones this year. The Western Conference was a nasty nine-team dogfight in 2007-08. Phoenix (Shaquille O’Neal) and Dallas (Jason Kidd) rolled the dice on short-term fixes that didn’t pay out in the end. San Antonio is old and breaking down. Meanwhile, the Larry O’Brien Trophy lives in the East with the Celtics.
It’s still too early to slap a toe tag on the West. Six of the top eight teams on the NBA championship futures market are Western representatives. So are the bottom three teams. The competitive balance hasn’t changed – it’s just not the Spurs, Suns and Mavs anymore at the top of the food chain. Look instead for one of these three division picks to bring the hardware back home.
Northwest: Utah Jazz
The Jazz (54-28, 46-36 ATS last year) will win the Northwest almost by default. Their closest competitors, the Denver Nuggets, have already decided to cut bait by letting Marcus Camby (17.2 PER) go to the Clippers in a salary dump. Portland figures to make a surge from last year’s 41-41 (43-39 ATS) result, and could catch up to Utah in the event of an injury to a key player like Carlos Boozer.
On paper, Utah has all the right stuff to top 50 wins and take the Northwest for the third year in a row. Boozer has enjoyed two relatively healthy seasons and played well enough (21.9 PER) for a second kick at the Olympics with Deron Williams (20.8 PER) and Team USA. Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko return to a team that had the second-highest point differential in the West last year at plus-6.9. Their over/under for wins this year is 51.5 compared to 45.5 for Denver and 42.5 for Portland.
Pacific: Los Angeles Lakers
Perhaps you’ve met my evil doppelganger, Fat Chance. He says the Lakers won’t win the Pacific, let alone the West. He doesn’t think Andrew Bynum (22.6 PER) pairs well with Pau Gasol (24.0 PER) even if Bynum stays healthy, and he thinks turning 30 is not a good thing for league MVP Kobe Bryant (24.2 PER).
Fat Chance, you may be right. But that’s about the only way Los Angeles could realistically whiff on what has the potential to be one of the greatest teams of all time. This team has a very strong supporting cast, a brilliant coach in Phil Jackson, and a lot of motivation after losing to Boston in the Finals. The Lakers are 3-1 favorites to get over the hump and win the championship. Their total for regular-season victories is 56.5, tied for first overall with the Celtics. The closest Pacific rivals are the falling Suns at 51.5.
Southwest: Houston Rockets
Last year was supposed to be Houston’s breakthrough season, but the team got off to a very slow start before putting together a massive 22-game winning streak and finishing at 55-27 (47-33-2 ATS). That left the Rockets just one game behind New Orleans and San Antonio for the Southeast title. And they did it with Yao Ming (22.5 PER) missing the second half of the season with a broken foot.
Dallas was in the mix last year at 51-31 (35-43-4 ATS), giving this division four of the West’s eight 50-game winners. The Mavs and Spurs risk slipping away; the Hornets figure to battle Houston tooth-and-nail for the Southwest title with MVP candidate Chris Paul (28.3 PER) leading the charge. But the Rockets did much more than New Orleans in the offseason by landing Ron Artest (18.8 PER with strong defense) from Sacramento in another salary dump. Artest could be for the Rockets what Dennis Rodman was to Jordan’s Bulls – which would only be fitting, after all.