Up next in my division previews is the Southwest Division, home to the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, and New Orleans Pelicans. This division once again projects to be highly competitive and very interesting.
The Houston Rockets were a healthy Chris Paul hamstring away from reaching the NBA Finals last year and will look to finish the job this year. The addition of Carmelo Anthony is aimed at giving them more offensive potency off the bench and another veteran in the locker room. Anthony will be coming off the bench for the first time in his career and will have to adjust to this new role.
Another key piece on this Rockets team is big man Clint Capela, who is one the most talented big men in the league. He runs the floor extremely well and is becoming a pretty versatile player, capable of scoring, rebounding, and blocking shots. With him anchoring the middle, the Rockets have one of the better front courts in the NBA.
While Anthony and Capela will have big roles on this team, the success of the Rockets ultimately hinges on the success of James Harden and Chris Paul. When healthy, these two guys form one of the most dangerous backcourt in the NBA, capable of putting up points and making plays for others. When they're not at full strength, this team suddenly becomes very beatable.
The key thing for Mike D'Antoni to do this year is to manage his minutes effectively and keep Paul and Harden as rested as possible for the playoffs. That won't be easy, but it's essential that he finds a way to keep these guys fresh. If he's able to do that, these guys just might reach the NBA Finals.
It's a new era in San Antonio. Manu Ginobili has retired, Tony Parker is now with the Charlotte Hornets, and Kawhi Leonard is now a member of the Toronto Raptors. Despite these changes, the Spurs have a very talented team led by DeMar DeRozan, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Rudy Gay.
Of course the main guy to watch this year is DeRozan since he is the main new face on this team. Coming up short in the playoffs dogged him during his entire time in Toronto, so he'll be eager to show that same reputation won't follow him in San Antonio.
I don't see the Spurs coming out of the Western Conference this year or anything along those lines, but I do expect them to make the playoffs and compete to win an opening round series. What really hurt this team last year was the drama surrounding Kawhi Leonard. With that now behind them, these guys can get back to focusing on playing Spurs basketball. I expect this renewed focus to do them a lot of good and make them a sneaky good team.
The New Orleans Pelicans are led by double-double machine Anthony Davis, who is arguably the best player in the NBA. His 32 points, 16 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 blocks in their opening night win over the Rockets speaks for itself. When you have a guy like Davis on your team, you are automatically going to be a tough team to beat every night you step on the floor.
In addition to Davis, the Pelicans have some other talented pieces in Nikola Mirotic, Jrue Holiday, and Elfrid Payton. Holiday and Payton form a really dynamic backcourt while Mirotic is one of the better stretch forwards in the game. They're starting to put together a talented core around Davis and that should put the rest of the Western Conference on notice.
Like every team, health will play a big factor in the success of this team. If they are able to remain relatively injury free and develop some cohesion, they should be another team vying for a playoff spot.
With Dirk Nowitzki in the twilight years of his career, it is a new era in Dallas led by Dennis Smith, Jr., DeAndre Jordan, and rookie sensation Luka Doncic.
Doncic will be the one to really watch on this team. There was talk of him possibly going #1 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft and many feel he's got the chance to be really special due to his unique blend of size, shooting, and play making. While I think Deandre Ayton will win rookie of the year, Doncic should put himself in the conversation.
If there's one other guy to really focus on, it would be DeAndre Jordan, who is looking for a fresh start after spending a decade with the Los Angeles Clippers. For the first time in his career, Jordan is expected to be the top dog on an NBA team, which puts more pressure on him than ever before. I expect Jordan to have a solid season with the Mavericks, but he's not enough to make these guys competitive.
It will be a long season in Dallas, but hopefully one where they are able to develop their young talent and start to build an identity. The future could be bright for this team, but we are at least a couple of years away from finding out what they really have.
The Memphis Grizzlies still have their one-two punch of Mike Conley, Jr. and Marc Gasol and they added a really talented rookie power forward in Jaren Jackson, Jr. out of Michigan State. It's a bit of rebuilding situation in Memphis, but the hope is they'll be back to playoff form sooner rather than later.
Conley is coming back from a left Achilles injury and might take a little while to get back to full strength. So long as he's not 100 percent, it will be hard for this Grizzlies team to be competitive. As good as Marc Gasol is, he can't shoulder the load all on his own.
If the Grizzlies are going to have any success this year, they're really going to need major production from their first round pick Jaren Jackson, Jr. There are high hopes for him and with a really young roster, the opportunity for a lot of minutes are there to take advantage of. If he can have a big rookie year, the Grizzlies could exceed expectations.
Similar to the Mavericks, this will be a year for the Grizzlies to really focus on cultivating their young talent and figuring out who they want to be a part of their franchise for the long-term future. One such example is Ivan Rabb, who got some minutes for them in the front court last year and showed some promise. If they can get a feel for Rabb's future along with their other young players, the Grizzlies will have a productive season regardless of their record.
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