July NBA Western Conference Power Rankings
With the whirl wind of trades in the NBA and most of the top names off of the market, many teams have made a giant splash this off season. With all of the moves made I give you my top eight NBA Western Conference teams.
I have LA at one due to the fact that they are the champions and deserve to be there until proven otherwise.
If LA keeps Lamar Odom, I expect them to finish in the top of the West once again next year. However, if LA loses Odom along with Ariza, I don't believe that they are the best team in the west.
Two—Denver Nuggets
This was a real toss up between Denver and San Antonio, but I still believe even after the Richard Jefferson trade that the Nuggets are number two in the West.
Denver is returning with all of its key players, with an upgrade at shooting guard with the acquisition of Arron Afflalo, and the draft day trade to acquire a young star-to-be point guard in Ty Lawson.
Denver now has a four player nucleus to play with for the next decade, and on paper is probably the most dangers team in the NBA.
Three—San Antonio Spurs
Like I said before, this is a toss up with Denver, but until San Antonio can build chemistry with Jefferson in the starting line up and still play consistent defense without Bruce Bowen, I have them behind Denver.
If San Antonio can get all the pieces to work then I see them making a real strong push for the title.
Portland is the one team that can challenge Denver for being the most athletic and talented team in the NBA. But, with the lack of experience I have Portland here in the four spot. The Blazers lack of experience showed last year in the playoffs.
The pick up of Andre Miller will help a lot but I still don't see Portland touching one of the three elites above them.
Five—Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks added Shawn Marion and Tim Thomas but lost a young talent in Brandon Bass. I think Marion will fit in nicely with Dallas and provide them with much needed defense on Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant.
Dallas has the talent to be a top three team but I don't see them there, yet.
Before the Omeka Okafor trade I had New Orleans at eight, but Okafor is a huge upgrade over Tyson Chandler. The Hornets are still one scorer away from being a top three team in the West again.
Seven—Utah Jazz
The Jazz are in a big mess right now. Keeping Paul Millsap was good, but unless Utah gets two all star players for Carlos Boozer, I don't see them going very far next year.
Eight—Golden State Warriors
I have the Warriors ahead of both the Suns and Rockets for a few reasons. I think with Anthony Randolph and Anthony Morrow having huge summer leagues, and the addition of Stephen Curry, Golden State could be very dangerous.
Stephen Jackson will have a lot of talent around him that can shoot including a post scoring threat in Andris Biedrins. Look for Golden State to make some noise.
Houston will become a lottery team with the loss of Artest and Yao and the Suns just don't have enough talent to break the top eight.
The West should be a wild ride and really many of these teams could end up on top. The 2009/2010 season should be a great one.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
