FOR PART 1 (EASTERN CONFERENCE), CLICK HERE
The Society panel once again includes:
Martin Soaries (Twitter: @marley_mcfly)
Cyril Mpacko (@Cee_Armel)
B.J. Boyer (@wcboyer24)
John Lava (@JGBHoops)
Alex Fischbein (@ThatKidFisch)
Ryan Cowan (@RCC1992)
Aram Cannuscio (@ACannus)
Christopher St. Jean (@CSaint3)
Society Roundtable: ’14-’15 NBA Preview Part 2 – Western Conference
1. Which Western Conference coaches are on the hot seat?
Soaries: Scott Brooks. Every one knows it, probably even him. If Oklahoma City doesn’t break through to at least a formidable Finals appearance this season it’s hot fire for Scott Brooks with the Thunder at risk of losing Kevin Durant to free agency in 2016.
Mpacko: Scott Brooks & Steve Kerr should be on the hot seat. Scott Brooks solely based on what he’s had to work with and his lack of results. Steve Kerr should be on it based on how unceremoniously his predecessor was run out of town. Mark Jackson made lemonade out of beets it seemed like in his three years in the Bay. There should be no leniency spared for Kerr if he is unable to take this team a step further.
Boyer: Monty Williams. Many consider Anthony Davis to be a superstar, and with a fully healthy roster, the Pelicans should contend for a spot in the playoffs. If New Orleans gets off to a rocky start, Williams may find himself out of a job.
Lava: Kevin McHale. If there’s any question about the Rockets possibly missing the playoffs, McHale is going to be the fall guy. And with the way this conference is stacking up, there will be. So start writing your obituaries to the Celtic legend’s coaching career now.
Fischbein: Scott Brooks! This Thunder team has been so close to the promised land, and they even sniffed it a little in the one finals trip they made. The problem is just that however, they only made one final. This is a high powered team that should be competing for a ring almost every year and Brooks hasn’t shown much to coach them there. If he doesn’t get them to the Finals this season, he may be on his way out of OKC.
Cowan: Monty Williams. Williams has spent his entire head coaching career with New Orleans, but hasn’t found any real success with a record of 128-184. With a star player like Anthony Davis, combined with an exciting young core of athletes, Williams will be closely examined by the front office if the team doesn’t live up to the hype.
Cannuscio: In the Western Conference, Monty Williams and Scott Brooks are on the hot seat. Monty Williams is a great coach and I seriously hope the Pelicans can stay healthy this season so Williams will be able to coach a team of the same players for an entire season. Unfortunately, the Pelicans haven’t done well enough at all in the last 4 years to have cause for them to keep Williams around if there is no improvement. I can’t say that I truly believe in Scott Brooks as a coach. The reason is that I don’t see any coaching when the game goes on. Durant and Westbrook take almost every shot for the Thunder and that’s even if they are heavily contested. With great 3 point shooters in Lamb and Morrow for this upcoming season, I need to see Brooks implement plays for them to spread the ball around. If he doesn’t, regardless of Oklahoma City’s record, it will be time for him to go.
St. Jean: Monty Williams. Asik was brought in to improve the defense, if Monty can’t field an above average defense with Asik, Davis, and Jrue playing minutes then he’ll be the fall guy. Last years injuries gave him a pass, there’ll be more pressure to improve this year.
2. Which teams in this conference will surprise?
Soaries: Utah Jazz. Like my surprise team in the East I don’t expect Utah to make the playoffs, but adding more young talented pieces like Dante Exum and Rodney Hood to their core of Trey Burke and Alec Burks with Quin Snyder at the helm makes this a team that can turn heads.
Mpacko: The Phoenix Suns and the Denver Nuggets. Playoff appearances were the norm in Denver until injuries ruined Brian Shaw’s first season as Head Coach. They get their guys back healthy and have brought Arron Afflalo back in the fold. Phoenix will try to build on the progress they made last year. The addition of Isaiah Thomas is key as are the additions of the other Dragic and Anthony Tolliver. The Suns will be a handful in the open court.
Boyer: New Orleans Pelicans. IF these guys can stay healthy, they could prove to be last years Phoenix Suns, a talented and exciting tight knit group that’s tougher than expected to beat. The pieces are there, and the Omer Asik trade was an extremely underrated move. He provides the Pelicans with a quality defensive center who will rebound, block shots, and more importantly move Davis back to his natural position.
Lava: The Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets had a very intriguing offseason, adding underrated scorer Arron Afflalo for essentially nothing and trading down from the 11th draft pick to add more depth with SG Gary Harris and C Jusuf Nurkic. The team isn’t as good as it was in 2012-’13, but Denver has finally recovered somewhat from its 2013 offseason losses with this new core. It might not be enough to get them into the West playoffs, but it’ll be more than enough for a winning record.
Fischbein: The Mavs and the Pelicans will be the surprise teams this season. The Mavs have some serious offensive firepower this year and have the potential to just go crazy on some teams. The Pelicans have everyone back from injury along with the addition of Omer Asik. Anthony Davis is still improving and Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans, and Eric Gordon are all ready to take charge.
Cowan: Phoenix Suns. The Suns have amazing depth at the PG/SG position, which could help catapult them into a playoff spot. The West is still a very difficult conference however, and they would have to beat out teams like the Rockets, Grizzlies, and Pelicans.
Cannuscio: The Memphis Grizzlies and the Sacramento Kings are my two surprise teams in the West. If Memphis has a healthy Gasol for an entire year, I see the Grizzlies as being one of the best teams in the West. Memphis had the second best record in the NBA last year, behind OKC, when they had Gasol healthy. Sacramento will be a fun team to watch this year. I can’t see Cousins allowing the Kings to lose more than 45 games this year. In a difficult Western Conference, I can see the Kings scaring a couple of playoff teams and finishing right around 9th or 10th in the West.
St. Jean: The Lakers. I’m a Celtics fan, and hate the Lakers, but they have very low expectations and with a healthy Kobe, they could win close to 40 games. I’ll never count that guy out.
3. Which rising stars in the conference will emerge this season?
Soaries: Anthony Davis is the rising star blossoming before all of our eyes right now.
Mpacko: Look for Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins to set the basketball world on fire. Thompson was recently praised by Kobe Bryant for having the total package. A great run with Team USA should propel him to greater heights this year as well. Andrew Wiggins desire for a great rookie campaign should really need no explanation. The Cavs gave up on him before he even played a game for them.
Boyer: The obvious answer here is Anthony Davis. He’s an extraordinary talent and a future MVP.
Lava: Anthony Davis. Davis had an outstanding season in 2013-’14, improving in every statistical category; in Year 3 he’ll become a full-blown superstar. NBA players often break out in their third season, and if Davis can play close to a full campaign he should be able to cement himself as the league’s best power forward and one of its best players period.
Fischbein: Anthony Davis, Anthony Davis, and more Anthony Davis.
Cowan: Ricky Rubio. After facing devastating injuries in his first two seasons, Rubio started all 82 games last season for the Twolves. This year, Rubio will have the opportunity to take the reigns of a young team thanks to the departure of Kevin Love, and show the league why there was so much hype around him when he first came from overseas.
Cannuscio: Enes Kanter is my breakout player for this upcoming season in the West. He will be playing at the power forward position for the Jazz and he has improved his outside shot. Kanter should get a significant amount of time for the Jazz as they are looking to continue to build their youth during this upcoming season.
St. Jean: How about Mike Conley? Point guard is loaded across the league but few are as adept on both sides of that ball as Conley. I think Memphis is as strong as they have been with this core and hopefully Conley gets some of the love he deserves.
4. Which player has the most to prove?
Soaries: Chris Paul. After that horrendous conclusion to Game 5 against Oklahoma City in the playoffs last season, which he still thinks about, the proclaimed best point guard in the league has no excuse not to reach at least the Conference Finals.
Mpacko: Russell Westbrook has the most to prove this year. He’s long been ridiculed for his confidence. With KD out to start the season, Russ would love to prove that he too can lead the Thunder with his running mate on the sidelines.
Boyer: Chris Paul. After a handful of regular season wins and highlights, it’s time for Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers to take that next step. The Clippers have a legitimate chance to win the West, but Paul must stay healthy and play like an MVP for Los Angeles to make it past the second round this year.
Lava: Chris Paul. This is a make-or-break season for the Clippers.They have their best opportunity perhaps ever to make a run to the NBA Finals, as the Spurs’ age, the Thunder’s lackluster bench and eveyone else’s playoff inexperience leave the door wide open for a new team to take control of the West. The 29-year-old superstar may not have that many years of elite play left on his surgically repaired knees. This has to be the year that Paul breaks his long playoff slump and finally reaches at least the Conference Finals; otherwise he may not have that many opportunities left to enhance his long-term legacy.
Fischbein: Kevin Durant, easily, has the most to prove. The reigning MVP has to show he can stay at an MVP level and also show he can lead his team to the finals. Everyone is waiting for him to get back to the big stage, but he hasn’t been able to get past the teams in the West.
Cowan: James Harden. Being the catalyst for a playoff projected team leaves a lot of pressure on the shoulders of Harden. His postseason stats thus far in his young career haven’t been terrific, as he’s struggled to shoot a high percentage. With the departure of Chandler Parsons, Harden will hold even more responsibility for a Rockets team with high hopes.
Cannuscio: Russell Westbrook has a lot to prove coming into the season. First of all, he must show that he can truly be a leader of a team and the first option with Durant not being able to play for the first couple of weeks. Westbrook must prove that he can help the Thunder instead of hurt them since he has been a thorn in their side at times late in games with poor decisions.
St. Jean: Ty Lawson. If Denver wants to be considered a legitimate threat he has to clearly be their best player and perform at a higher level (consistently) than he has ever before.
5. Will age finally catch up to San Antonio or will the possible last seasons of Duncan and Ginobili propel them to continue their greatness for one more season?
Soaries: If Duncan, Ginobili, Parker, and Gregg Popovich have decided that they truly want a crack at a repeat as their encore, they’ll go through this season accordingly in order to ensure they have the best chance to make that happen. Who’s to say they can’t or won’t? If they’re healthy, they’ll at least put themselves in the position to do so.
Mpacko: The Champ is the champ until someone beats them. San Antonio just laid the SMACKDOWN on the Heat that ultimately led to the NBA being turned on its head once again with the departure of LeBron James. I believe the western conference title will be battled out between Texas’s two best teams. Dallas will win the regular season, the postseason hinges on how much motivation and how healthy the spurs can remain. They’ve never repeated as champs, so the storyline will really pickup come April.
Boyer: Age doesn’t worry me about San Antonio, because we’ve been asking the same question for years. Yes Father Time is undefeated, but if anyone is going to beat him, it’s going to be the San Antonio Spurs. San Antonio’s greatness will not cease this year if they remain healthy.
Lava: This is it for the Spurs. One more run and Duncan and Ginobili will be gone. Let’s take some of the reverence people gave to Derek Jeter and appreciate the excellence of these two while it lasts, because we may not have many more opportunities to see it. That said, this top-10 all-time player and his borderline-Hall of Fame sidekick still have one more campaign of excellence to go.
Fischbein: The possibility of Duncan and Ginobili’s last seasons will propel this team to try as hard as possible. Everyone wants to see great players finish on top, especially their teammates. Not only will they fight for Duncan and Manu, but this team will be propelled by the idea that this could be the last season for Coach Popovich as well.
Cowan: No. Every season it seems like San Antonio is ruled out in the beginning of the season due to their old age, and every year they make fools out of the ones who doubted them. The window is certainly closing for Duncan and Ginobili, but they will still manage to have a successful season with a chance at a deep playoff run.
Cannuscio: San Antonio will not have any problems this season. Popovich is too good of a coach to let his team sink at all. If Duncan and Ginobli do in fact suffer setbacks because of age, I have no doubt in my mind Popovich will find a way to win as he has done for his entire life. That being said, Duncan will most likely continue to play at that hall of fame level that he has done for so long. Ginobli will also continue his dominance coming off the bench.
St. Jean: No. Kawhi will be in the running for Most Improved. The Spurs will win 60 games and be as much of a threat to win it all as ever.
6. Is the window closed for Oklahoma City? Do they have enough bench help for a championship team or is OKC doomed to watch Durant leave ringless in 2016?
Soaries: This season, the Oklahoma City Thunder have to reach the Finals and either win or force a Game 7 in defeat to ensure that Kevin Durant won’t fully consider leaving via free agency in 2016. He’s out for the first month and a half. It’s important for the Thunder reserves to build their confidence in that time. Their bench isn’t any stronger than it was last year personnel-wise, but they need to let guys find their production with more collective basketball.
Mpacko: OKC needs to win now for them to avoid a LeBron like situation in 2016. They have two cracks at it. KD’s injury is a setback, but it’s happened early enough in the year for them to be able to recover in time for a primed playoff run.
Boyer: Oklahoma City is actually my favorite to win the championship behind San Antonio. Anthony Morrow isn’t the defender Thabo Sefolosha is, but he’ll provide them with much better shot making ability. The Thunder need Jeremy Lamb, Andre Roberson and or Perry Jones III to take a major stride this year, filling not only Durant’s void in the early season, but Sefelosha’s defensive void as well.
Lava: The Oklahoma City Thunder will not win a championship this season. Ever since letting James Harden go, they’ve been repeatedly killed by their lack of any talent beyond their three stars, and yet for two straight summers they’ve done nothing about it. Yes, Reggie Jackson and Steven Adams are solid role players, but OK City can’t play five guys 48 minutes per night. The other horrifying pieces on that bench are going to have to come into the game sometimes. The countdown to The Decision: Durant Edition begins now.
Fischbein: The window is not closed for OKC, but they do need to get more bench help if they want to win. This team can win a good amount of regular season games, but they need a lot more depth to compete for a championship. Durant will be leaving in 2016 without a ring, only to win a ring with the team he leaves for. Quote me on it.
Cowan: No. OKC is a force to be reckoned with despite the depth of a great Western Conference. KD should be able to return to elite form after a full recovery from his injury, and bench players such as, Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb will bring a spark to the thunders second unit.
Cannuscio: OKC’s fate rests in the hands of Scott Brooks. I mentioned earlier that this is the season for Brooks to step up or leave. If Scott Brooks actually coaches this team and shows a different offense once in a while, there is a great chance that Oklahoma City will be one of the top tier teams in the West this year vying for a championship. That being said, I can’t see Brooks changing as the time he spent with the Thunder already has been a complete waste of time. Scott Brooks has to take control of that team or else Durant will surely find another place to call his home.
St. Jean: I think this is the year for OKC. People forget how close they were last season and they had to get through Memphis (always a tough out) and the Clippers (distracted but formidable) before matching up with San Antonio with a banged up Ibaka.
7. Who else in the West besides SA and OKC is a legitimate title contender?
Soaries: The Los Angeles Clippers. They should be the third best team in the conference.
Mpacko: OKC’s title hopes took a slight blow with KD’s foot injury. Dallas as I’ve said before is in line to challenge the Spurs. OKC, depending on how well Russ can keep them in contention, will truly be judged when KD comes back.
Boyer: The Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers have two top ten talents on their roster, and a plethora of capable and heady role players. Their wing depth may need to be addressed, but hopefully Matt Barnes can have a consistent and solid season.
Lava: The Memphis Grizzlies and L.A. Clippers. The Grizz got the 7th seed last year because they lost Marc Gasol for half the season, then they proceeded to nearly knock the Thunder out in Round 1. This team is dangerously good, and we still haven’t seen them completely put it all together. The Clippers bolstered their bench enough to enter the title conversation, but I have to see it from them in May before I trust them.
Fischbein: The Clippers seem to be the only legitimate title contender. Chris Paul has a lot to prove and a championship will be the only thing to silence the critics. This team is finally out of the horrible Sterling debacle, and now it’s time for them to bring a trophy and banner back to LA.
Cowan: Clippers and Warriors. These two teams will certainly be able to contend in the West. It’s difficult to predict this conference, but the Clippers and Warriors have the necessary pieces to make deep playoff runs, barring any major setbacks or injuries.
Cannuscio: OKC’s fate rests in the hands of Scott Brooks. I mentioned earlier that this is the season for Brooks to step up or leave. If Scott Brooks actually coaches this team and shows a different offense once in a while, there is a great chance that Oklahoma City will be one of the top tier teams in the West this year vying for a championship. That being said, I can’t see Brooks changing as the time he spent with the Thunder already has been a complete waste of time. Scott Brooks has to take control of that team or else Durant will surely find another place to call his home.
St. Jean: I think people are sleeping on Memphis. Neither the Spurs or OKC wants to see this team in a playoff series and I could see Memphis knocking off either of them. They are as deep as they’ve ever been, especially offensively.
8. Last year the West had nine of the league’s top eleven teams by record. Will the conference continue their dominance?
Soaries: Yes, but the East is on the rise.
Mpacko: The West will continue to be the Wild Wild West. The East got better, but so did the West.
Boyer: Surely. The Western Conference has always been superior to the Eastern Conference, and that will not change this year. The West is loaded with talented teams eager to rise to the top, and although the East has improved, it hasn’t improved enough to overtake the West.
Lava: No question. The Western Conference last season had 9 of the top 13 teams in the entire league, and a couple of the teams not in that top 9 (Denver, New Orleans, Sacramento) will be significantly improved and are going all-in for the playoffs. By the way, any of West teams 10-12 that I just mentioned are much better than any candidate for the East’s 8 seed. The only significant loss for the West is that Minnesota is no longer a .500 team, but three more challengers have risen to make up for that.
Fischbein: The West will still dominate. Look at the bottom of the East and then look at the bottom of the West. The West will continue to have teams with winning records not even make the playoffs, while the East will have below .500 teams make a sixth or seventh seed.
Cowan: Yes. There is no slowing down the dominance of the West over the East for this season. The East may in fact be even weaker than last year with the injury to Paul George.
Cannuscio: The Western Conference will continue their dominance. It seems like the only difference from last year is that the lower tier teams in the West have significantly improved while the East has remained weak for the most part. The West will be very good this year and there are so many good teams that we shouldn’t be shocked to see an elite team like the Thunder finishing outside of the playoff race at 9th or right around the 8th spot. The Suns grabbed the 9th spot last year and they have significantly improved with the addition of Isiah Thomas. If they are going to make the playoffs, then one of the elite teams will have to take a step aside.
St. Jean: Things won’t be as imbalanced as last season, but the West will still be dominant. It’ll have more contenders and it’ll be a fight for the 7 and 8 seed. Where there may be 4 teams in the East that get to 50 wins, there could be 7 or 8 in the West.
9. Who will win the conference?
Soaries: If the Spurs are healthy, I’ll take them. The conference is loaded with possibilities, I just don’t know who else I can trust.
Mpacko: The Dallas Mavericks will win the conference. The team that gave the Spurs their biggest challenge got better in the off season. Tyson Chandler is back manning the paint, we all know what happened last time he donned a Mavs uniform. The Mavs firmly believe they should’ve beaten the Spurs. Dirk is fresh, Chandler Parsons is pissed off. All these things suggest the Mavs will need very little to be motivated for games 1-82.
Boyer: If fully healthy? The San Antonio Spurs. I don’t worry about complacency from Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard or Manu Ginobili, but I do worry about some championship hangover from several other guys. But, San Antonio is primed for another title run, and capturing a second consecutive championship would only further cement them as the best team of the last decade.
Lava: The Memphis Grizzlies. Stop laughing, I’m serious. If everyone is healthy at the right time for Memphis, they can compete with absolutely anyone. I think this could be a changing of the guard year in the West- although I might be a year early on that prediction.
Fischbein: San Antonio will take the conference yet again. They kept the same team and added Kyle Anderson who fits perfectly for their team. Tim Duncan and company aren’t satisfied and they want another ring.
Cowan: Spurs. Every season the Spurs are doubted, but somehow they consistently contend for the Western Conferences best record. OKC will have a good shot at claiming the title of best record, but Coach Pop’s coaching and strategizing may be too much for them to overcome.
Cannuscio: The San Antonio Spurs will win the Western Conference this year. The Spurs are too good of a team and Popovich is too good of a coach. The Clippers will have the best shot to stop them, but realistically it is hard to say right now that any ream can have a better record than the Spurs this regular season.
St. Jean: Such a toss up between OKC and SA. So much may depend on playoff paths (the Spurs lucked out last season). I think this is OKC’s year to break through and win a title.
(Looking for our Eastern Conference preview? Click here)
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