6. Portland- Brandon aka ROY is an incredible scorer, with a healthy Greg Oden to play along side LaMarcus Aldridge the Blazers will have a frontline that can only be rivaled by the Clippers. With the addition of Rudy Fernandez and if the trade for Jerryd Bayless goes through, I strongly believe that Bayless is the most talented guard in the draft, and he will turn the Blazers back into the Blazers of the 90's
7. Phoenix- They're getting old... really old. Shaq and Nash are still great players, and Amare is still going to be a force, but I can't see Shaq lasting an entire season and the play-offs, and I still the the Suns would have been better off keeping Shawn Marion.
8. Dallas- Barely making it into the play-offs, and holding off the Rockets. I strongly believe that either Dallas or Houston, whichever team does not make the play-offs, will be the best team in NBA history to not make the play-offs. I think that a full year with Jason Kidd will make the Mavericks a better team this year, than the team that finished the season last year. Dirk is still an MVP caliber player, Josh Howard is emerging as an all-star in the shadow of Dirk, and with Brandon Bass playing as well as he did in the play-offs, I think Dallas will barely have enough to hold off Houston and Denver.
The Rest of the West...
Unfortunately for Denver, Houston, and Golden State... The future does not look very bright. With the Hornets, Jazz, Clippers, and Blazers young talent, these teams are too old to make an impact in the upcoming years. T-Mac is constantly getting hurt, so is Yao Ming, not to mention Rafer Alston was also hurt going into the play-offs last year.
For Denver, dealing Carmelo Anthony must be done, because Iverson can't possibly be traded although it would be the smarter thing to do. Anthony will never win a championship at the NBA level, simply because of his attitude. He's a prolific scorer, but I don't see Denver getting enough players around him to compete in the West. With Iverson near the end of his playing days, and Melo having to share the ball, the Nuggets will still probably win 40+ games, but they still aren't in position to compete for a championship.
Golden State losing Baron Davis sets back a very talented team for a few seasons. Monta Ellis will have to fill the spot left by Davis' departure, but they will not be able to make the play-offs with the roster they have now. Out of the 3 "Best of the Rest" teams, they have the best chance of making the play-offs in the next few seasons.
A team that I really believe is going to make some noise in 2010 is the Memphis Grizzlies. O.J. Mayo is the next Kobe, there is no doubt about it. Putting him on the floor with Rudy Gay, and Mike Conley Jr. I really believe that the Grizzlies are in prime position to make a huge run in 2010, but the talent alone will not be enough to get them to the play-offs this season.
Minnesota is also 1 year away from making an impact. With Al Jefferson becoming a center-piece for this franchise, the trade for Kevin Love makes perfect sense. Love is the smartest player in the draft, and if he is in the right line-up, he can make a bigger impact for the T-Wolves than Mayo would have. Bringing in Mike Miller also gives this very young team some veteran leadership and a quality scorer to give some stability to this line-up. Like Memphis, Minnesota is 1 year away from making a run.
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